Romance

I'm sure Savannah Richards narrates other cowboy romances I've read, but her performance in this is perfection - I loved it! I see that she also reads the books of Gena Showalter, who is new to me.

Turns out Therese Plummer (aka Savannah Richards) has narrated more than 200 books! including 3 series by Robyn Carr. I'm sure I've dipped into Robyn Carr, but I haven't got her listed on Library Thing, which is why the voice seemed new to me. Of course I've seen Virgin River on Netflix. Savannah Richards is the name Therese uses for 'saucy' romances.

One Tough Cowboy has more fun in the tone than other cowboy novels I've consumed. I think I picked up this novel because I got mixed up with Lorelei James, whose cowboy novels are giant, dramatic romances with a big dose of the tragic, but I liked this a lot because of the humour.

Hunter, the sheriff and rancher, will be one of the great cowboy lovers in my reading of romance novels! And Chicago cop Sam is a great match.

This does have a murder mystery underpinning, but that's all it was, though a good one. I liked that it wasn't trying to be two books in one - a suspense and a romance , to make a double size book - the romance had the upper hand. The audiobook length is just right for once, at 7 hrs 45 mins. ( )

"Listened to audio narrated by really well Savannah Richards. Hunter and Sam grew up together, he was her guardian and she could always find trouble. After her aunt was died under mysterious circumstances Samantha comes back to town to mourn and to uncover what really happened to her aunt. Hunter is the sheriff now, he has three suspicious deaths and now he has Sam back. Hunter hires Samantha to join the force to help with the investigation, while they also have a whole lot of hanky panky going on.

In real life, I can't imagine hiring a lover to work as a subordinate would ever work out but we're suppose to suspend disbelief right? that get's hard when they get hot and heavy in the office without locking the door and while they are on a stakeout, knowing the bad guys are trying to kill them. It's interesting that the previous book I read, Pirate, had a lot of sexual innuendo that didn't work but in this book it added to the playful charm of this couple.

There's no guessing who the bad guys are, just a matter of figuring out what they are doing and catching them at it. There's a sexual assault scene that may be hard for sensitive readers. Overall a decent read, I would have rated higher but the realism issues knocked it down for me."

More of my reviews can be found at https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/ ( )

One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh & Veronica Chadwick
Moving Violation Book #1

Action-packed suspense-filled murder mystery with a spicy romance running through the story...fun read that kept me up way past my bedtime.

Samantha left Deerhaven over a decade ago but has returned to bury her aunt and also find out who killed her. She has a job in Detroit on the police force and has taken a couple of weeks of to see if she can find the murderer. There have actually been three possible murders in town of people who were close friends and Sheriff Hunter Steele smells something fishy going on.

Samantha was young and a thorn in Hunter’s side before she left but she is all grown up now and the chemistry is strong and potent. They agree to look for the murderer and find out what is wrong in town and as they do so they grow closer every minute. This story has corruption, drug and human trafficking, terrorists, abuse, a stalker and a HEA for Samantha and Hunter but FIRST they have to get out of a sticky situation with the help of a few other law enforcement personnel.

The story never really said who the murderer was though the reason why the people were killed is made known and, the young child heard in the back of a camper was never mentioned as found or not so there were a few loose ends that were not tied up in a bow...perhaps they will be when the next book comes out with Jacob, an interesting man indeed, the star in his own book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

One Tough Cowboy is a hot, steamy, sexy romance with a captivating mystery. To me, the mystery was the attraction. The plot was fast paced & action packed. I really enjoyed how it played out. Sam & Hunter are both skeptical of the deaths of her aunt, his uncle & a friend of theirs. It’s awfully coincidental that they all suffer “accidental” deaths. The coincidences & bear misses continue to add up. As Sam & Hunter start to investigate, their attraction is sparked & their lives are put in jeopardy. This is obviously more than they expected! ( )