Cowboy Strong

Cowboy Strong by Stacy Finz Dry Creek Ranch #3 What an interesting story! Definitely NOT the usual boy meets girl, few ups and downs and then a happily ever after. Nope…this time when two people meet they make split second assumptions that place the other person in a box they clap the lid on tightly thinking that their assumption will NEVER change…well… you know what they say happens when you do that! What I liked: * Sawyer: a man who loves his home, job, and family. He is not easily taken in. He is slow to movme but once moved cares deeply. He is also on the hunt for his missing sister. * Gina DeRose: smart, savvy, rich, and dealing with negative publicity that she would really like to bury. She might be on the cusp of some major changes in her life * Dry Creek Ranch: a place where cousins have come to keep the family cowboy-ranching legacy alive. * The Dalton cousins: good men who know right from wrong and when they find their woman…stick tight * The community: there for one another and a place I would like to live * That both male and female lead “changed” in positive ways through the book * The mystery of who leaked the naughty photos and how it all was resolved in the end * The smiles that I wore from time to time – this story did make me smile :) * Wondering if perhaps there will be more books in the series…even though the three cousins are settled…there might be a way to have another story or two :) What I didn’t like: * Being reminded of how cutthroat some people can be * Realizing, again, that some people should not be parents Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I read more in this series/by this author? Definitely Thank you to NetGalley And Kensington Lyrica Shine for the ARC – This is m honest review. 5 Stars

I have come to love not only this series, but also the writings of this author. This latest book in the Dry Creek Ranch series, gives us the story of the 3rd cousin, Sawyer Dalton. The premise of the series is about three cousins that inherit their grandfather’s ranch. Though each one has a profession , they are cowboys strong at heart and determined to do all they can to keep the ranch afloat. Sawyer, and investigative journalist, has been traveling for over a day hoping to get home and rest after his latest assigned. Anxious to get to his loft apartment, he trips over a number of expensive suitcases and finds a woman in his kitchen. None other than a well known cooking celebrity that is hiding from the media. Not happy with this latest development, he realizes that if his mother, a PR “fixer” sent her to the ranch to hide, he will not complain . Instead, he takes her to a dilapidated cabin and informs her this is her new dwelling. Though I have to confess it took me a while to warm up to Gina, the plot was engaging. Not only do the sparks fly between Gina and Sawyer, but there are also a couple of mysteries to solve (who spread the compromising pictures of Gina and where is Angie). It’s also a story about family support or in Gina’s case, lack thereof, how rumors can destroy an individual as well as how the media can sometimes do more harm than good. Though this book was about the third and the last of the male cousins, I hope that we get one the long lost cousin, Sawyer’s sister. I was entrusted this copy by Netgalley and the publisher. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it. This was another well written story of the Dalton cousins. This time it is Sawyer's turn. (Here is to hoping that his sister Angela gets a story!!!!) My emotions were all over this one. I laughed, cried, sighed with happiness and felt frustrated at times. Gina comes to stay at Dry Creek Ranch as her life implodes. She is a celebrity chef that is named in the break-up of another famous chef couple's marriage! She can't wait to get back to L.A. and her life. Dry Creek Ranch is out in "Timbuktu". She has too much to do and her crisis manager told her to lay low. Sawyer Dalton is a journalist. He is just getting home from a convention/assignment when he stumbles over someone's luggage in his loft apartment which is located over the barn on his and his cousins' ranch, Dry Creek Ranch. From the look of the designer label, it is no one he knows. He finds a beautiful young woman in his bedroom on her computer. Boy these two just strike jambs right off each other. Sawyer discovers his parents represent her in her time of need. He doesn't want to share his loft so he manages to take her to his cousin's former cabin that she dubs the "Unabomber" cabin. The witty repertoire just gets better and better as the story goes on! I just loved these two. I also adored the reappearances of the first two couples. It was like catching up with old friends here. Also this story was written in my favorite dual POV. Seeing how they thought in a given scene really made them seem more human. It really helped me to relate to Gina as well. She was hilariously funny when she goes to the diner in town and dealt with Laney the waitress/owner! She was so uppity and came off snobbish (at least to me at first but was someone that I grew to love!) There was a great deal that was going on in this story. I was glued to my e-reader to try and figure out how the author was going to bring it all together. She managed to do it with great skill. This was a story that had a few sexy scenes. It was written in a way that was not overly graphic or comadered the story. That being said, I would only recommend this to someone over the age of 18. Also while this is a part of a series, really it can be read as a stand-alone.