Happy Sunday and welcome to Read-Love-Blog’s Summer of Cowboys! I am SO happy to have my dear friend and guest reviewer, Selene, here every Sunday for some cowboy loving fun! She will be stopping by each week with a new review from Lorelei James’s Rough Rider Series….totally delish! Enjoy!
A Summer of Cowboys
by Selene Ramirez
Fifteen books, two anthologies, one short story…
…and one very happy rider. GIDDY UP!!!
Almost two years ago now, a few friends of mine suggested I read the first title of Lorelei James’s Rough Riders series. Having never picked up a romance novel of the cowboy persuasion, I thought I’d give it a whip, er, I mean, whirl. Personally, I never understood the appeal of a man in Wranglers, a flannel shirt, and a cowboy hat. Boy howdy did these books change my opinion on that!
Now that I’ve exhausted all the cowboy references I know, onward to the purpose of this narrative; a summer of cowboys. My dear friend Jillian, blogger extraordinaire, loves to post reviews from the serious reader. That’s me. And I’m seriously in love, lust, whatever you want to call it, with the McKay men, protagonists of the Rough Riders series. Jillian will be posting my reviews of all the books and stories of this series so we can persuade you to pick up these scorching titles and make your hot summer even hotter.
Ok, y’all. Let’s shut up and ride…
Selene reviews book #1
Long Hard Ride
Book links:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Goodreads
Synopsis:
…One lucky woman…three sexy cowboys…she’s in for the ride of her life!..
Channing Kinkaid itches for a change; a wild western adventure with an untamed man. Determined to shed her inhibitions and embrace the steamier, seamier side of life, she sets her sights on hooking up with a real chaps-and-spurs-wearing cowboy.
Enter Colby McKay—bull rider, saddle bronc buster and calf roper. From the moment he sets lust-filled eyes on the sweet and fiery Channing, he knows he’s found the woman who’s up to the challenge of cutting loose. What rough and rowdy cowboy could resist a no-holds-barred sexual romp with a sassy young thing starring as his personal buckle bunny?
Intrigued by Channing’s bold proposition of horsing around on the road, Colby impulsively sweetens the deal; sexual escapades not only in his bed, but in the bedrolls of his rodeo traveling partners, Trevor and Edgard.
Although Channing’s secretly longed to be the sole focus of more than one man’s passions, Colby’s demand for complete submission behind closed doors will test her willful nature.
Can Channing give up total control? Especially when not all is as it seems with the sexy trio? Or will the cowboys have to break out the bullropes and piggin’ string to break in this headstrong filly?
Selene’s Review:
Holey sheets and pillows, Batman! The sex was SCORCHING HOT!!!
After reading this little ditty, it’s no wonder why the novel was categorized as erotic and not just romance. Fortunately for us readers, this was a win-win all around!
From the get go, I definitely had my reservations about the female protagonist Channing Kinkaid, what with her enormous rack, killer body, and hunger for a man sandwich that our male lead Colby McKay was more than happy to provide, along with hot studs Trevor Glanzer and Edgard Mancuso. How can someone like that be relatable or even interesting beyond the scope of being the recipient of some smokin’ sex? But by the end of the book, I found my doubts were completely pointless; Channing is an incredibly charming character with a big brain and an even bigger heart. Honestly, I loved her just as much as her sexy counterpart.
Colby McKay, tall, dark, beyond handsome and with some piercing icy blue eyes, is easily one of the better fantasies ever written on a page. He gave Channing exactly what she wanted – unattainably hot sex and plenty of it. And he did this even when his feelings for her grew deeper and his instinctual possessiveness became an issue for them. Add to that his competency with everything rodeo and you have the perfect man.
Secondary characters Trevor Glanzer and Edgard Mancuso added a sizzling factor to an already boiling hot scene. Not only that, but they added mystery and a very rare element. Whereas Trevor and Colby are easily the best of friends, sharing everything together…and I do mean everything…Trevor and Edgard are something else entirely. And when their true relationship is revealed, it produced, in my opinion, one of the hottest scenes in the entire series. Also, Trevor and Edgard’s good treatment of Channing made these two even more appealing, if that’s even possible.
I’d definitely read some erotica and romance before these books, but I have to admit that James is one of the few authors out there that within the span a few chapters can make what seems to be a shallow or extraneous character become something much more and with layers, depth. Her main characters compliment each other so perfectly and her writing style makes it so you forget you’re even reading and more like you are experiencing everything happening in the story.
This first book in what has quickly become one of my favorite series of all time will always hold a special place in my heart…and other areas.
*All books in series were bought by the reviewer through Amazon.
Four-and-a-Half Loves
From author website:
A bit about me: When I’m not squirreled away behind my laptop writing fun, sexy, contemporary erotic romances set in the modern day Wild West, I can be found reading everything under the sun, practicing yoga until I’m a pretzel, shootin’ my .22, watching the Professional Bull Riders tour on Versus, and running a kid’s taxi service, all in the guise of avoiding housework and rustlin’ up vittles.
Why do I have a particular fondness for all things western? Well, I’m a fourth generation South Dakotan, living in the Black Hills, which is chock-full of interesting characters, including cowboys, Indians, ranchers, and bikers. The geographical diversity of the surrounding area showcases mountains, plains, and badlands. Living in and writing about rural settings gives me a unique perspective, especially since I’m not writing historical westerns. Through my fictional world, I can show the ideals and the cowboy way of life are still very much alive.
iBooks:
Four Loves