ONCE A RANCHER by Linda Lael Miller

 

The Carsons of Mustang Creek Series Book 1

Harlequin

March 29^th, 2016

978-0-373-77968-0

Contemporary Romance

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by self-purchase

3 Hearts

Slater Carson is a cowboy at heart and a filmmaker by trade. But under the hot Wyoming sun, he knows the merit of a hard days work. When he sees teenager Ryder going down a path that will just bring pain and heartbreak, Slater offers a way out from that slippery slope: A job on the ranch he shares with his brothers. It probably doesn’t help that his guardian, Grace Emery, is also the Mustang Creek resort’s new manager and is feisty to boot.

Grace Emery doesn’t have time for romance or that sexy cowboy, Slater, right now. She has a new job to learn, caring for her ex-husband’s rebellious son and she has all she can handle at the moment. Love and passion just don’t work for her at the moment. But she can’t deny her attraction to Slater is strong. But when danger emerges from the shadows, Slater will show Grace that he’ll protect her at all costs and that love that is blooming between them is worth the fight.

Linda Lael Miller is usually my go to author for heart felt stories that leave you breathless but the first book into her new series, ONCE A COWBOY, left me slightly disappointed. The story was okay though the suspense portion of it was a bit of a let down since I figured out who did it half way through the book. The characters were really good for the most part but I honestly couldn’t enjoy Grace too much. She was very independent and determined to never fall in love again. Her waffling over her feelings for Slater annoyed me and I felt she either had to admit she has feelings for him or just walk away. It got old really quick especially since she went from zero to all out ‘love you’ with barely any talk between her and Slater. I’m not a fan of instant love stories but if told right then it works. Unfortunately because I couldn’t enjoy Grace, the romance between her and Slater felt more forced than anything.

What I did love was meeting and learning about Slater, his brothers and Ryder, Grace’s ex-husband’s son. They were enjoyable and quite entertaining. I can’t wait to read about Drake and Mace’s adventures in romance. The writing was good and the characters were quite enjoyable. For the most part, ONCE A COWBOY is a good read just not one of this author’s best in my opinion. Ms. Miller still delivers a classic tale of two people who find one another and fall in love. I just wish we could have seen Grace fall in love more realistically and not so fast like she did. If you enjoy a cowboy tale then you might enjoy Ms. Miller’s new book, ONCE A COWBOY, and the residents of Mustang Creek. I look forward to seeing where the next book goes and revisiting this wild portion of the country again in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.