4 Stars
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperback
Date of publication: January 29th, 2019
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Series: Moving Violations
One Tough Cowboy—Book 1
Where you can find One Tough Cowboy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Goodreads synopsis:
First in a brand-new series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick about one man’s pursuit of justice—and unbridled desire.
LAW AND ORDER.
For as long as Samantha can remember, Hunter—a man as strong as steel, with a heart of gold—has been her hero. It came as no surprise to Samantha when she found out that the ranch-hardened cowboy who always protected her from bullies went on to become the town’s sheriff. What does surprise her is how incredibly hot he still is. And how much she still wants him…
PRIDE AND PASSION
And, lo and behold, Hunter still has feelings for Samantha. The long-smoldering heat of their innocent flirtation has grown into a full-raging fire. But when tragedy strikes and their small-town community is shattered, Hunter vows to do everything he can to keep his childhood sweetheart safe. But can Samantha trust that Hunter has her best interests at heart…and that, after all these years, his love is true?
My review:
I needed to read One Tough Cowboy. I had come off a string of books that had some heavy subjects in them. I needed a book that I could read, not worry about the plotline and enjoy. I got that in this book.
The plot of One Tough Cowboy was pretty simple. Samantha has come back to the town she grew up in for her beloved Aunt’s funeral. She is also there to investigate her aunt’s death. See, her aunt overdosed on pain medication. The only thing, she didn’t like to take it and that was a well-known fact. Which made her death very suspicious not only to Samantha but to Hunter, the sheriff for her hometown. The deeper Samantha and Hunter dig into her death, the more danger they both are in. Who killed Samantha’s aunt? And why?
I liked Samantha. She was going to back down when it came to investigating her aunt’s death. As a detective in the Detroit police force, she was tough. She wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way. I was chanting, in my head, “You go girl” every time she did something that empowered herself. Loved it!!
I wasn’t as big of a fan of Hunter. I liked him at the beginning of the book. He knew something shady was going on. There was a string of suspicious deaths which included his uncle. But he lost his mind as soon as Samantha arrived. Strike that. As soon as he had sex with her. Then it went all downhill from there. He spent all his free time (which seemed to be a lot) in bed with her. People were starting to comment on it. I kinda wanted to shake him and say “Dude, it can’t be that good.” But since it is a book, I had to be satisfied with muttering to myself.
I will say that the sex scenes were scorching hot. The sparks between Hunter and Samantha were hard to ignore. I figured that they would have sex early in the book. But, they had hot sex every single time. Every single time. It was amazing that the author could keep that sexual attraction and tension up the entire book. I mean, with most books, they usually lost it after the first encounter. I also liked that there was a bit of voyeurism in this book. Hunter got caught watching his friend nail a chick outside his house. People kept walking in on Samantha and Hunter as they were messing around. That made the sex spicier and, dare I say, hotter?
The suspense angle was wonderfully written too. You knew who the major players were early in the book. But, what they were doing was kept under wraps until almost the end of the book. I was taken by surprise at what was going on. But, at the same time, I had no problem imagining what was going on actually happening in real life.
There are a few disturbing scenes that are later on in the book. There is an attempted rape (well, there was penetration with fingers. Is that considered rape?). It was graphic and disturbed me.
I didn’t like how the book ended. Not getting into it but I would be pissed if I was woken up and told that. Talk about rushing into something. Jeeze.
I would give One Tough Cowboy an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is violence. There is language. There are trigger warnings. They would be attempted rape, human trafficking, and domestic violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.
I would reread One Tough Cowboy. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.
I would like to thank the publisher, the authors, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review One Tough Cowboy.
All opinions stated in this review of One Tough Cowboy are mine.