My Favorite Cowboy

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from St. Martin's Paperbacks in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. My Favorite Cowboy by Donna Grant is my FIRST contemporary romance that I have read from Donna Grant and I haven't read her in quite a while. But when I was offered the ARC of this book, I just knew I had to grab it up because one its Donna Grant and she is writing cowboys, so how could I ever resist? Because I never can resist a sexy cowboy in a stetson and boots. So I was really impressed with this book and I swept through the story very quickly...much faster than I even expected from myself. This is a mix of a military hero, some suspense/mystery elements, a vet as our heroine and some hot cowboy lovin'....so much goodness is contained in this book and I gobbled it up like it was chocolate. Our story begins with our heroine, who is a veterinarian with a specific field in expertise in horses. She loves everything about horses and devotes everything to their protection and care. She works with two main ranches and is well-known as one of the best in the area. She has the expertise but she also has a deep love for horses and that makes her someone who is highly coveted in the area. When a family friend, calls her in for help who runs an auction house for horseflesh and he has four horses that are getting sick with no reason why. She is devastated and determined why and she starts to realize that they are being poisoned on purpose but she has to be careful in giving them the right medication or it could kill them or worse. And this is where she runs into Caleb who is Texas true and tough. He is a military hero and also runs his own ranch in training horses and has a gift with them. When he and his family reaches out to Audrey to help discover who is behind the poisoning and why someone is targeting Audrey, sparks fly between them and true love is about to rear its head on them both. I have to say that I was very impressed with how My Favorite Cowboy was written here. Now there is no doubt that Donna Grant is a talented author, I have been everything from her historical's to her paranormal and now her contemporary. I love how well versed she is in the various genres and there is something for everyone to enjoy. What I really enjoy about Donna Grant is her talent for story telling. She is the type of author that will always deliver a superb story and My Favorite Cowboy is no different. This is the first time I have read a contemporary romance from Donna Grant. However, this book was fantastic. I really loved the focus being around horses and solving a mystery. I love a good mystery in a romance and I just don't see it enough and what a well told mystery this one was. There are levels of suspense so it does keep you on the edge at times, but I really enjoyed how the story evolves from beginning to end. We see in this story though some complexities that I wasn't even expecting. Both the hero and the heroine have a deep reverence for horses and you see how much horses matter to them. I really liked seeing how these two work together in the end. Our hero is a bit of a bad boy at times though. He did serve in the military and still suffers the affect of PTSD at times. We see what a great bond that he has with his siblings and how much they stick together and help each other no matter the situation. Caleb likes his women though, he always has flings and never has been serious with anyone until Audrey. He looks at Audrey very differently than any other women he has had interest in the past. He has some issues with women though since his mother abandoned her children when they were little. But he trusts Audrey and doesn't even understand why he looks at her differently but he senses that there is something more to Audrey. Audrey is a very strong and capable heroine but she isn't one to have casual affairs at all. She is looking for the real thing and willing to wait for it. I love how determined and intelligent she is and how passionate she is about life but most especially about her work with horses. She isn't one to trust easily but I enjoyed seeing her allow Caleb and his family into her tight circle. The romance that builds between Caleb and Audrey is sexy and sweet like you would expect from a western romance. Now I love me some hot cowboy lovin', but this had so much more emotion and intimacy that I have grown to admire about this author. I loved the level of chemistry that builds between these two, but there is also a firm emotional bond that grows with the level of affection and trust and seeing this growth is fundamental to the story. I truly adored seeing Caleb and Audrey come together, they were such an endearing pair and you gravitate toward these two. There is a focus on the plot and the mystery and danger aspects that had some intensity to the story. I really enjoyed this part and yeah I will admit that I didn't suspect the villain for quite some time. You see the villain enter the story, but you don't see that this person is the one responbile for the horses being poisoned more like an added conflict to the story so I was really surprised when everything is revealed in the end and what a fabulous ending to savor!!

I've received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It was a slow start at the beginning of the novel that I debated rather or not I should drop it but I thought I would give it some time for the story to develop and I'm so glad I did. The characters were really likable and the relationship didn't seem force nor rushed. I enjoyed the bubbling romance between Audrey and Caleb, their chemistry is impeccable. Highly recommend if you're looking for a romance novel with lots of twists and turns.

I have mentioned in other reviews that I love reading contemporary western romances. Something about cowboys makes me weak in the knees. They are my not so guilty pleasure. It was a no brainer that I was going to read and review My Favorite Cowboy when I was approached by the publisher. I liked Audrey. She was a no-nonsense large equine veterinarian who genuinely cared about the animals. She worked for two large ranches and also helped a horse rescue out, free of charge. Her passion and love for horses were palpable. I loved that she was Hispanic. I have read very few books where Hispanic’s are the main female romantic lead. I thought it was wonderful and refreshing. Caleb had some serious abandonment issues. He was the last person to see his mother before she took off. He asked her not to leave and she left. Her leaving affected everyone but Caleb was affected the most. That left some deep-rooted issues that manifested in Caleb having trust issues. He also couldn’t invest himself in relationships. I did like Caleb. Besides his issues, he was a great guy. It was interesting watching him fight himself as he was falling in love with Audrey. Interesting and sad. The main plotline was excellent. It went from who was making the horses sick to who had a personal vendetta against Audrey. Usually, I guess who the person was early on in the book. But, in this case, I was kept on my toes. I was surprised at who that person turned out to be. I was also surprised at the lengths that person went through to cover their tracks. I thought it was going to be someone else and my mind was blown when that person’s identity was revealed. There were a few secondary plotlines. One involved Caleb, Brice and Abby’s mother, Helen. Another one was Brice and Naomi’s fertility issues. Another one involved Audrey and Maddy’s father. They were all wonderfully written. I was mad with the storyline involving Brice and Naomi. Caleb shouldn’t have said ANYTHING. NADA. It wasn’t his place. I would have been so upset if someone else broke news like that to the family. I also understood why Caleb was so against meeting Helen. I also understood why he did what he did at the end of that storyline. Forgiveness is a hard thing to do. I will say that the storyline involving Audrey and Maddy’s father was the only one that didn’t make sense. From the beginning to the end, I was left going “He did what? Why turn up now?“. The sex scenes were fog up my Kindle’s screen hot. I was a little disappointed that the author went the whole “I forgot to wear a condom, hope you are clean” route. I know these are fictional characters but I was mentally screaming at them “Diseases, people. DISEASES. Get tested ASAP.” The end of My Favorite Cowboy was nail-biting. The bad guy was revealed as was the reasons why that person did what they did. I loved the epilogue. I was left wondering if there was going to be more books in the series. I am hoping so. I would give My Favorite Cowboy an Adult rating. There is sex (not explicit). There is language. There is violence. There are triggers. They would be the abandonment of a child, death of a parent, death of a spouse, infertility and animal abuse. I would recommend no one under the age of 21 read this book. I would reread My Favorite Cowboy. I would also recommend this book to family and friends. I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review My Favorite Cowboy. All opinions stated in this review of My Favorite Cowboy are mine.

I read this as soon as I received the eARC last year because everything Donna Grant writes I just can't wait to read them as soon as I get them. As you all probably already know, I have been a huge fan of Donna Grant's books for a few years now and I have reviewed many of her books. Anyway, My Favorite Cowboy is book 3 in the Heart of Texas series and I have to say that I have loved this book and this series and yes I loved this book so much. The story is well done and I love Caleb and Audrey together. If you are looking for a good Romantic suspense book I do highly recommend this series. It is best to read the first and second book first I think. I do highly recommend this.