The Last Real Cowboy (Cold River Ranch) – ARC Review

The Last Real Cowboy
by Caitlin Crews
Release Date:  January 28, 2020
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Book #3 in the Cold River Ranch series
Number of Pages: 384
Kindle Edition
Source:  ARC from Net Galley
Contemporary Romance/Western M/F
Rating:  NC-17
Read 1/24/20 to 1/25/20

 

Perennial good girl Amanda Kittredge knows that her longtime crush on Brady Everett was never really supposed to go anywhere. But when Brady comes home to Cold River during Amanda’s first attempt at independence, well, who better to teach her about rebellion than her older brother’s bad-boy best friend?

Brady’s plans did not include being forced to work the family homestead for a year–and yet, here he is. And, to make matters worse, his best friend’s innocent little sister is making a menace of herself in the most grown-up, tempting ways. When Amanda begs Brady to teach her about men, he knows he should refuse. But could Brady’s greatest temptation be his salvation?

Another winner from Caitlin Crews.  This was a bit of a slow starter for me, but by 25% in it picked up steam and I didn’t want to put it down.  And, to be fair, the set up in the beginning was needed and more likely than not very intentional by the author.

Amanda has a problem that many people have, whether they are from a small town or not.  She was looked at as one thing, and one thing only.  In her case it was a little girl.  But you know the drill…the smart one, the impetuous one, the serious one, the young one.  Her burden was being looked at as a girl instead of a woman.  Not just by her family, but also by the whole community.

While it doesn’t seem to be as much of a cut and dry label, Brady is somewhat looked as the one who leaves.  The college boy, city slicker…neither said as a good thing by the people who say as much.  Instead of getting to know Brady for who he is, his brothers assume they know all there is to know about him.  Most of which is information from when he was 18 and younger, before he left for college.  Or, information they got from their no-good father. 

Once the connection is finally made between Amanda and Brady, I love how their relationship progresses.  Mostly for Brady because, although he’s the older of the two, his emotional IQ isn’t quite the same as his age. It’s almost like he’s a sullen teenager finding his first love, and it’s really cute.  But, since he’s an experienced man, it’s also extremely sexy.

This was a lot of fun with enough emotion to keep my heart fluttering.  On top of the great story, Amanda’s family (the Kittredges) is introduced a bit more fully in this book so I believe the author plans to expand and continue this series.  Which makes me a very happy reader.

4.5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**