Showing posts with label Western. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Western. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Book Review - Cowboys for a Cause: A Western Romance Anthology

  
 
 

Five Stars!


Is there anything better than a book chock full twenty seven (27!) sexy spanky Cowboy stories? Well, yes there is, as it turns out. It's a book full of sexy spanky Cowboy stories which is raising money for two amazing charities - Direct Relief Coronavirus Response and Feeding America Covid 19 Response Fund.

Dozens of fantastic authors, including Vanessa Brooks, Alta Hensley, Piper Stone, Stevie MacFarlane, Maggie Ryan and Alyssa Bailey, have contributed this anthology collection and really is a lot of fun indeed.

I couldn't possibly review all of the books in this collection - I haven't actually finished them all yet. But I couldn't resist giving you a quick rundown of my three favourite stories so far.

Schoolteacher Verity Lasse is new to her job and new to the town of Elmo, Colorado in this delightful historical romance. When she meets the recently widowed father of two of her students, there is an instant attraction to the (frankly delicious) rugged rancher, Jake Calhoun. There's just one problem: she thinks that he's the man she saw committing a murder a few days earlier. There is enough doubt over the identity of the killer and enough chemistry between the pair of them that a friendship grows between the two of them that builds into something more despite the small minded gossip of the townsfolk. 

She must decide whether she wants to commit to spending the rest of the life with the man she loves, knowing that he might well be the person she saw taking another man's life. This is a wonderfully engaging story with plenty of sex and spanks nicely woven into a fully fleshed out storyline which builds towards a satisfying denouement.

Verity is my absolute favourite kind of historical heroine. She's intelligent, independent and a pioneer of rights for women. She also gets regularly upended and spanked by her dominant cowboy. As a well-spanked feminist myself, I heartily approve.


Mountain Blue by Alta Hensley

The hero of this beautiful and emotional historical story, Rem Langston, isn't actually a cowboy. He's an Ice Harvester so I'm not quite sure how he snuck into this story collection but I'm very glad that he did. He's a tough, rugged, powerful man who, when he finds a woman attempting to sleep rough in the freezing snow and winds, brings her home with him in an act of gentlemanly compassion.

Birdie Bluebell is a woman without a lot of options in life. She has a violent drunken father whose behaviour makes it necessary for her to risk camping out in sub-zero conditions rather than return home. She accepts Rem's offer out of necessity but it turns out that it was the very best decision she could make.

The romance that inevitably blossoms between Rem and Birdie is artfully and sensitively written. There are some wonderful supporting characters in this book, most notably Rem's widowed mother who provides some stable maternal support that Birdie has been lacking in her life for so long.

The road to the couple's happy ending is a difficult one as the dangerous and dark machinations of the Bluebell family threaten to take everything that Rem and Birdie have managed to build together. Birdie is a resilient woman who deserves a Happily Ever After. And happily, Rem is the very man to give it to her.


Dangerous Ride by Piper Stone

Set in the present day, Dangerous Ride is a wonderfully hot and sexy story. Right from the very start of the story - astonishingly soon after they have met - the two protagonists, Butch and Falcon indulge in the steamiest sex possible with a wonderfully generous amount of BSDM-y punishment. And while they carry on this fashion for the whole of the story, it's the first sex scene which is undoubtedly the best. There is just enough dubious consent in the initial set up to make it as breathtakingly hot as hell while still keeping it very firmly on the side of being something that both parties are very happy to participate in.

There's a tightly plotted story about horse thievery to keep the whole book ticking along nicely. After an initial misunderstanding, our two heroes find that they are very much on the same side which is good because Falcon and Butch are falling for one another hard. There is some wonderful dialogue, a nail-biting climax and did I mention that this book is HOT? Because it is. It's very hot indeed. Absolutely scorching. 


Cowboys for a Cause is a wonderful collection of different and diverse stories. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It will only be on sale for a limited time so ensure that you snap up your copy as soon as possible. Sex, spanks, romance and the chance to help two amazing charities, what's not to love?

Buy it at:


You can find out more about the charities they are supporting and the work they do here:


Saturday, 2 November 2019

Book Review - Summer Storm by Marie Hall


Marshal Storm. Firm but fair.
 

Five Stars!

Marie Hall’s beautifully written Western is a delight to read. I loved it. Protagonists Marshal Chase Storm and Summer Rain are both intelligent, passionate, honourable and incredibly stubborn individuals. So naturally they butt heads for quite a lot of this book. Given that barely a chapter in – in an attempt to circumvent an unjust jail sentence – the two of them get married, they have more motivation than most to work things out. Which you know they will do because (a) it’s that sort of book and (b) they are both utterly lovely.

Summer has had a tough life. Her loving family was ripped away from her when she was still a child. When her path crosses with Chase’s many years later, she is working as a very successful bounty hunter with an independent streak so wide that it doesn’t really count as a streak any more and is just fundamentally who she is. She doesn’t need anyone in her life and she trusts no-one.

Calamity Summer

This is a problem if you’re married to a straightforward, fair-playing kind of a guy like Chase Storm. Happily, Chase gets his point across with numerous heavy-handed spankings. The relationship is beautifully balanced. Chase isn’t trying to break Summer’s spirit. He loves her pants-wearing sharp-shooting feisty independent nature. He also wants to keep her safe. It’s wonderful to watch Summer opening up to the possibility of love despite the numerous hurdles that they encounter on the way.

There’s plenty to enjoy in the meticulously painted portrait of life in the Old West. The narrative is crammed with saloon bars, jailhouses, railroads and pioneering spirit. Not to mention the small-town bitchiness and rivalry which comprise Chase and Summer’s biggest problems in their new life together.

Willow Creek. A town in need of a bakery.
To use a riding metaphor (which seems appropriate for a book which is joyously stuffed full of riding metaphors), this is a book you need to hitch your wagon to, go where she takes you and enjoy the ride.


Want to know more about the book review star rating system? Or find out what other books I've reviewed? Check out this page here.