Jennie Marts

CONTEMPORARY COWBOY ROMANCE After a car accident wrecks his shot at a professional hockey career, Colt James doesn't want to take any risks. Especially not on Chloe Bishop, his nephew's kindhearted teacher and the one woman he can't get out of his head. When Chloe's female student wants to play on the hockey team he's coaching, though, he needs her help. Chloe's life goes from managed to messy when she finds herself the new assistant coach to Colt's hockey team. Being this close to the cowboy she's crushing on is dangerous territory. But when a real enemy threatens Chloe, Colt will do anything to protect her. Even if it means risking himself--and his heart.

It Started with a Cowboy

Sheena

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 Stars)
Title: Caught Up In A Cowboy
Author(s): Jennie Marts
Character(s): 
― Chloe Bishop: 30 years old, Brunette, Blue Eyed
― Colt James: Blonde, Blue Eyed
Setting: Creedence, Colorado
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary 
Content Rating: PG-13
POV: Third Person
Smexy Level: Warm
Favorite Quote(s): 
― “I think the stuff that happens to us can affect and maybe shape who we become, but I also think we can choose to either let that stuff destroy us or use it to make us stronger.”
― “Love is stupid. I don’t get why everyone is always getting so worked up over this love deal. If you ask me, love sucks. It doesn’t make you feel good . It only makes you feel like shit. Like someone reached inside your chest and ripped your dang heart right out. Why would anyone wish for that?”
Overall Opinion:
What is with me and cowboy stories nowadays? Sure I've never been a big fan of them so I'm guessing I'm still trying to find one that one Western Romance that completely wins with over. Believe it or not, this one almost did. I'm pleasantly surprised how much I really liked “Caught Up With A Cowboy”. It was a cute romance story starting Chloe, who is a third grade elementary school teacher that helps coach the hockey team while trying to overcome her obvious crush on Colt, a cowboy who is back home on the family ranch after a car accident that ruined his shot at a professional hockey career. Little encounters and accidental touches enlighten a fire in their hearts but would they risk everything for love when a real enemy threatens the irresistibly charming teacher Colt can't keep his mind off?

The lead characters are wholesome and realistic. They didn't live ideal lives and their background definitely explains a lot about their actions. Chloe had a rough upbringing when her mother ran off and she got stuck the burden and the misery of being raised by Butch Bishop, her alcoholic father that damaged her in more ways than one. That allowed her to feel more than sympathetic towards some of her students, whom had similar upbringings but unlike them, her childhood had ultimately destroyed her self-esteem making her believed she's not worthy of the sexy cowboy who she had been crushing on the last two months. Colt on the other hand still struggles with a car accident that not just ended this professional hockey career but made him lost the girl he thought he’d marry and any plans for college scholarships went up in smoke.

Their attraction and strong connection to each other was there from the get-go but they struggle to to comes in terms with what they're feeling. Unbeknownst to them, the feelings are mutual and they're were stuck in the more than friends, less than lovers stage. The feelings come to play when Chloe's life is threatened by Rank Johnson, her neighbors abusive father who was recently released from prison. When in confrontation with the man, Chloe looked up at him and saw her father’s face, and she was like an injured animal caught in a trap. Snarled in this ambush of the past and the present blending together, she was rendered useless before the authorities came. When Colt discovers she’d been attacked and threatened by her neighbor’s crazy husband, he's willing to do everything in his power to protect her and his actions doesn’t go unnoticed. His comforting words and actions soothed her battered heart, touching a part of her that she normally kept locked away. Unsure where he stood with his feelings, Chloe didn’t know if the cowboy was offering her a friendly hand because she was part of his community or he shared her feelings too. For once in her life, to get an answer on how Colt felt about her, Chloe decided it's time to be bold and take action. Who knew all it would take was for her to drop her towel.

The premise was quite refreshing, the concept was unique and differ from other series I have read as of late, and how the characters were able overcome their fears and took the chance on love sealed the deal for me. The romance definitely wasn't rushed and it slowly built over time. Obviously this wasn't series perfect. Chloe insecurities was the elephant in the room and the leads constant back and forth was overly played but that that didn't take away from the story. Overall this was not I was expecting when I picked up this novel. It wasn't the best of the best Western Romance I've read but Jennie Marts’ descriptive words, the flow and mesh of characters, that also includes secondary, made this story for me. After “It Started With A Cowboy”, I look forward reading the remaining books of the “Cowboys of Creedence” series.

It Started with a Cowboy

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