ARC Review: Tall, Dark, and Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy

Tall, Dark, and Cowboy

by Joanne Kennedy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

 

Stunned by the discovery that her lux lifestyle was funded by crime, runaway trophy wife Lacey Bradford is desperate to escape from her ex’s criminal cronies and start a new life, so she heads west to find an old love.

But rugged rancher Chase Caldwell has changed, hardened by bitterness and loss. The last thing he’s looking for is romance with the first woman who broke his heart…

My Review:

Tall, Dark, and Cowboy is a romance about Lacey, a woman who is ready to begin a new life, a life where she has her own identity.  Lacey went straight from her daddy’s house to her husband’s house and never found out who she really was.  Her husband never let her do the things she wanted to do, and after finding out her husband was a crook, she divorced him and set out to find herself and a new life.  Lacey decided to go to a small town where her former friend Chase Caldwell lived in hopes of gaining his help.  Chase had been in love with Lacey through high school and was shocked and hurt when she married a wealthy, older man.  He was even more shocked when Lacey came to him for help.  Chase was still hurt by the past, and, at first, only begrudgingly helps Lacey.  Chase and Lacey find that attraction simmers between them, but they have to overcome past hurts, and Lacey is in danger from her husband’s former business partners who have targeted Lacey .

I really like Tall, Dark, and Cowboy, it is a romantic suspense set in a small town, and the hero is a hottie cowboy.  The characters felt real, they had issues that were easy to identify with and understand.  Their actions fit their issues and their personalities.  Chase held onto hurt, and Lacey was trying to find herself.  When they meet up again, they both have to deal with their pasts, and make changes for the future.  Chase and Lacey each grew up over the years while they were apart, and their attraction they they had develops into a very promising romance.  I also really enjoyed the supporting characters, Chase’s sister who welcomes Lacey, the crime-invesigating niece, and even the crotchety old man neighbor.

Everything in the story fits, the characters, the issues, the jobs.  The pacing was well done, I was never bored while reading.  Joanne Kennedy blended serious moments, humor, action, and romance into a seamless, well developed story.  I recommend Tall, Dark, and Cowboy to fans of contemporary romance, especially the readers who like the cowboys.