TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT, COWBOY…

A Weary warrior… After eight years as a Marine sniper, war-scarred Reid Everett is back in his native Wyoming. He knows and loves this rugged land, so working for wildlife services to reduce the booming wolf population suits him to a T.

A Caring crusader… Wildlife biologist Haley Cooper is desperate to make a difference. Leaving the world of academia behind, she accepts a position as a wolf advocate to protect the animals she loves.

Raw attraction… Their jobs set them on a collision course, but chemistry sparks like wildfire between Reid and Haley. They’ll have to brave some rough territory if they hope to reconcile their polarizing views with a passion that won’t be denied.

I went into this book without reading the blurb really, I saw the cowboy cover and since I haven' read many cowboy romances I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be more than cowboy romance but rather a curious mix of military, cowboy and wildlife/environmentalist story.

I liked the writing and the story had an easy flow to. It takes place over the course of a few years and I especially appreciated the slow build up of the romance. Reid and Haley met when she was really young and there was strong chemistry between them but the timing was all wrong and with him on a mission in Iraq they started an epistolary friendship. After getting together some years later with a little help of some friends, unfortunate circumstances and personal difference drew them apart until they finally met again when both were ready for each other.

It's a nice, curious story of becoming your own person, making tough choices but deep down it is a tender, heartfelt love story. 

A really strong aspect of the story which I particularly enjoyed was the how different Reid and Haley were. They stood at the opposite sides on everything, yet they managed to overcome their differences once they were grown up enough to think things through and discuss them openly. 

Haley's choice of career, wildlife biologist, especially working for preservation of the wolf population was in direct conflict with Reid's family business as ranchers and lodgers/hunting guides. I liked all the details were given into these issues, they added a solid background to the romance and made the characters feel real.

I enjoyed most of the story, things were dynamic and there were a few surprise twists thrown in. It was engaging and felt realistic. Unfortunately, everything went too too sweet and cliche in the final 1/4 of the book after Reid and Haley got together eventually. I like the HEA in my romances as much as the next girl but I want it to feel a natural fit to the characters and the overall story line and not something forced and artificial, written there just to make everyone happy. 

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Indiebound / Books-A-Million

Title: Branded (Cavanaugh Brothers #1)
Author: Laura Wright
Date of publication: 3 June 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Cowboys

Author links:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My rating: 2 stars

When the Cavanaugh brothers return home for their father’s funeral, they discover unexpected evidence of the old man’s surprising double life—a son named Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. The eldest son, Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn’t wait to leave the ranch and move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to stop Blue at any cost. He never expected the ranch’s forewoman, Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way.

Mac knows Deacon means to destroy the ranch and therefore destroy her livelihood. But as the two battle for control, their attraction builds. Now Deacon is faced with the choice of a lifetime: Take down the Triple C to feed his need for revenge, or embrace the love of the one person who has broken down every barrier to his heart.

I've read a previous book by Ms Wright - a contemporary romance, First Ink (my review) - which I enjoyed and my main complaint was its novella length didn't allow for much character development. So, when I got a chance to read an ARC of her full-length cowboy romance, Branded, I was curious to read it. 

Unfortunately, it didn't work well for me. I expected a cowboy story of love and second chance and instead I got a billionaire hero (a character which I generally don't like and avoid reading about) and some instalust and over-the-top love scenes which read more like paranormal that contemporary.

The hero and heroine had a complicated history, he was her best friend's older brother, her teenage crush and he had tried to stay away from her. At present they have opposite goals and nothing much in common. The beginning was promising - liked the atmosphere at the ranch and getting to know the characters, not Deacon and Mac, but Deacon's brothers as well. They had an important role and strong presence in the story which I quite liked. 

Deacon and Mac didn't work for me as a couple. I felt we were not given any reasons for them coming together (except, pure lust) and no real development of their relationship. They became from adversaries to soulmates overnight. It was unrealistic and their romance seemed forced. 

The love scenes, which were plenty, were so over-the-top that I skipped a lot of them. The chemistry didn't seem authentic but forced, the dialogue was stifled. 

On the positive side, there was a strong mystery/thriller element and it really held my attention throughout the whole story. This, together with the interactions between the Cavanaugh brothers were the best elements in this book.  

Still, despite being intrigued by the mystery I had too many issues with this story and I'm on the fence about continuing with series.

Here are the new releases this week. This might be the last post in the current format. I am thinking of changing this to a monthly page on the top bar of the blog. I will be able to add titles as the month goes by if I learn of new books coming out. 

The new titles this week are all second books in series that I have read and reviewed. We start with Blood Warrior by Lindsey Piper which is the second book in the Dragon King series. I loved book 1, Caged Warrior (my review), and I am excited to learn more about the world of the Dragon Kings.

The second title is Near and Far by  Nicole Williams. Lost and Found was a NA cowboy romance which was a nice surprise and I enjoyed it a lot (my review). Can't wait to see how the story of Rowen and Jess continues (I wouldn't mind seeing more of Garth Black, as well). 

The final title coming out this week was a welcome surprise since it is coming out early. This is the sequel to Jessica Sorensen's The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden. After the terrible cliffhanger at the end of book 1, I hope The Redemption of Callie and Kayden finally brings a much deserved happy end to those two. 

Goodreads Blurb

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

My Review

I have read the first two books in the Crash series by Nicole Williams (I love you, Jude Ryder!) and the third one is on my TBR list. I was really intrigued by the blurb for Lost and Found, so I decided to read it first and was not disappointed.

This is my first cowboy romance and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a fairly stereotypical New Adult story about a bad girl, Rowen, and a good, actually, perfect (cow)boy, Jess, falling in love. There was nothing stunning or remarkable about this book but it was a quick nice read.

The story was well told despite being predictable. The author tried to send some powerful messages about good and evil, right and wrong, acceptance of who you are, even if you are different from the rest and for the most part she succeeded. The messages came across a bit forced, the Jess's family seemed to possesses all the world's wisdom, yet they left me hopeful and optimistic. 

The characters, although likeable, were just too much to be realistic. Jess was too perfect, too good-natured, too wise and positive and Rowen was his exact opposite - too broken, too immature, too rebellious. Even Garth Black was too black, though he redeemed himself a bit in the end. Rowen and Jess, as well as their whole families were complete opposites. Still, I have to say that Rowen worked better for me. There was growth and development, a sort of coming of age, she had her moments of weakness (Garth Black, being one) and they made her seem real and that much more convincing as a character. The really enjoyed their first time together, Jess being a virgin made a funny, yet warm and deeply intimate sex scene. 

Despite being of the verge of cheesy at some points, overall this book was a good read for me. I definitely plan on reading the sequel, Near and Far (coming out on 30 July) to see how the relationship between Jess and Rowen develops. 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. I learned about it from my friend Nix at Unraveling Words. Here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

My teaser this week comes from Nicole Williams's latest book, Lost and Found. I have read The Crash series of Ms Williams and I liked them a lot, so I decided to try this one too. So far it is really good and I am already looking forward to its sequel, Near and Far, which is due to be released in the end of July 2013.

"I'd worn so many different labels I lost count. People liked to label things; it made them feel like the world made some sense. Like, if I was one thing, they were the other. I guess that made people feel better about themselves. If they focused on how screwed up I was, they could pretend they weren't just as screwed  up."

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.