Title: Wild Cowboy Ways
Series: Lucky Penny Ranch #1
Author: Carolyn Brown
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: December 22, 2015
Publisher: Forever
My Rating: 5 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:
Allie Logan isn’t the type to land a hot hunk of cowboy. Truth is, she’s given up on dating since shedding her no-good ex. But the new owner of the most ramshackle ranch in Texas might just change her mind about that. He’s six-foot-plus of tall, dark, and charming—the kind of guy who could make a girl throw caution to the wind . . . or the kind of guy who could break her heart.
Blake Dawson hopes he can make Lucky Penny Ranch finally live up to its name, but the property needs a ton of work. Allie and her carpentry skills are his best shot at getting things in order. Besides the fact that her brown eyes and dangerous curves have him roped and tied. Now Blake only needs to convince her that a wild cowboy can be tamed by love—and she’s just the one to do it.
Read on for my thoughts on Wild Cowboy Ways. No true spoilers, promise.
The Lucky Penny ranch has never lived up to its name for any of the previous owners. More like unLucky Penny. But Blake, his brother and cousin are determined to make this place into a successful ranch. It’s long past time when Blake should be settling down from his wild ways, and the Lucky Penny could be that one thing he needs to focus on for a change. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have the cute and feisty Allie doing carpentry work on the ranch. She’s a lady he could find himself falling for – now he just has to convince her family, a gossipy town and over zealous wanna be lady friends that he’s serious about one woman now. And maybe he might want to convince Allie too.
Allie’s grandmother, Irene is in the early stages of dementia. You never know when she’s with you in the now or somewhere back in the then. Apparently today she’s back in the ‘way back then’ when she walks into Blake’s place and gives him a harsh set down calling him Walter all the while. The handsome cowboy dealing so gently with her grandmother was the absolute last thing Allie expected when she arrived at the Lucky Penny ranch to collect her grandmother from yet another misadventure. But she’s been burned bad before and a sparkle in a cowboy’s eyes isn’t going to convince her to take a chance. On the other hand, a steady, paying job working on the ranch is exactly what she does need. And if along the way the handsome cowboy manages to capture her heart… that would be a miracle. But miracles do still happen, right?
I completely enjoyed this first story in the Lucky Penny Ranch series. I expected some world building, as this is the start of it all and I did get background but it wasn’t overwhelming, in fact it fit in well with the story development. I’m hoping at some point to find out who Irene’s Walter was too.
Blake and Allie have a definite journey to take before they get to their happy ever after. Between family, past histories and gossips it’s really a wonder that they did eventually get to the romance stage. But love is a stubborn cuss, and Blake and Allie were made to be together eventually. Irene’s dementia was handled gently and realistically. Many of us have or had family members who in their golden years had to face dementia and all the memories it steals from us all. It was touching to see Irene treated with understanding and not portrayed as a crazy old lady. It may seem like a small touch in a larger story or series – but those small things add up and make a memorable reading experience.
If you love strong, sexy cowboys – equally strong women, even when their families are interfering, love the small town feel in spite of the gossips then Wild Cowboy Ways is a perfect fit for you. Toby’s story is due out mid-year 2016, so we have the next story in this series to look forward to. Take a chance on a cowboy and enjoy.
*I received an e-ARC of Wild Cowboy Ways from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*
Available in paperback and for the Kindle
