★★★ ½ #ThatCowboyofMine
Waking up to a shotgun in your face is not the best way to recover from a bad hangover. Not only do you have a headache, but a bullet may make that headache come to an end. Cal can't remember what happened, all he knows is that he's out in the open and a very angry woman wants him off her land. This book starts out with a bad situation that only gets worse before it gets better.
Cal is a man with torn loyalties. He feels bad for the situation he's landed but he wants to make it right. After learning more about Dillion and her troubles, he wants to help her. He is a kind of man with integrity and it pains him that Dillion's nemesis is a long-time family friend, Hank Stephens.
For me, this entire book is all about loyalties, betrayal, and greed. This is more than romance starting off on a rocky foot. It is about family, choices, and the consequences of a series of bad decisions. This story caught me off guard a bit at the end because whilst in my gut, I thought something was off, I didn't figure out all the villains in this story. I was sad to see what happened. It's a bittersweet ending in some ways. What is sweet, is Cal's relationship growing with Dillion as well as the repairing of his relationship with his mom.
Usually, I'm leering of cowboy themes because they don't really do it for me. With Ms. Grant, it is more than a cowboy theme. It is bringing forth a way of life and educating those about the ranching business in a palatable way. Her cowboys aren't a gimmick to get readers hot and bothered. It is a way of life for these people and she writes them so well. I admire Cal's up and downs in his life and how he sticks to his guns. Dillion's desire to move to the ranch and leave the banking world is explained in an understandable way. This contemporary romance is recommended to readers who enjoy a bit of suspense and a firecracker female protagonist.
* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
