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melissa_kelbley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
kathydavie's review against another edition
2.0
First in the Moving Violations romantic suspense series (and second in the Law and Disorder series) in Deerhaven, California. The couple focus is on Samantha Ryder and Sheriff Hunter Steele.
This eARC was sent to me by NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for an honest review.
My Take
I liked the premise of the story...phew, talk about rock and hard place in this overly melodramatic romantic suspense where Hunter is stuck with corrupt deputies and a mayor, leading to some tense drama for Hunter and Sami Jo.
It's the third person dual point-of-view from Hunter's and Sam's perspectives that keeps the reader informed of their thoughts and emotions, however, the interactions between Hunter and Sami Jo were annoying...and too insta-love for their hooking up. Yes, Leigh/Chadwick had set up their past history, but there was something fake about it that bugged me. Nor did the can-I-trust-him meme help. I mean, oy...
There's plenty of action in bed and out, and Leigh/Chadwick kept it somewhat balanced between story and all the sex. There wasn't much time spent on characters other than Hunter, Sam, and Shane although enough was spent on the bad guys to ensure we knew they were truly bad.
What was very annoying, however, were all the screwed-up sentences, the missing articles, the confused words, the too-obvious bad guys, and a lot of missing character info. I still don't know if Samantha was a detective or an officer back in Detroit...I'm guessing street cop. It read as if Leigh/Chadwick were overdue on their deadline and no one was particularly concerned with proofreading.
The Story
Dottie was found dead. And Sheriff Steele doesn't buy it. Just like he doesn't believe those previous "accidents". The clues are all there, and Steele has a good idea who the guilty suspects are. It's the why and what that's in question.
Then Sami Jo comes back for Aunt Dottie's funeral, and Hunter is determined she'll be staying.
The Characters
Samantha Jolene "Sami Jo" Ryder is/was Dottie's niece and a wild child, now living in Detroit, working as a cop. Her father died three years ago of a heart attack; her mother remarried and is living in Florida. Dorthea "Dottie" Coulter is her middle-aged aunt and close friends with Lillian and Zachariah.
Sheriff Hunter Steele, former Special Forces, has been on the job for eight months now and lives on the Steele Spur Ranch, the family spread. He still rides and has a couple of mustangs, Buck and Shiloh. Myrtle is a pregnant cow. His uncle Zachariah Steele, the previous sheriff (and ex-Marine who'd raised Hunter), died in a "hunting accident". Aunt Madeline is the governor of the state.
Deerhaven PD
Deputies Ray Decker and the abrasive Joe Rodgers are questionable...and had been hired by the mayor over the sheriff's head. Deputy Shane Warren is a watcher. Bill Markham is the useless coroner. Carol is dispatch?
Deerhaven, California
Hunter's sister, Hannah, is married to Mark Ferguson, an officer with the California State Police Force. Gracie Ann, Mark's sister, is married to Clyde and they have three sons and a daughter: Shane, Levi and Ethan who are younger twin brothers who work on Uncle Hunter’s ranch, and Brandy. (Levi is seeing the newly divorced Jenny Talbert.)
William Henderson is the strutting mayor; his wife, Lillian died, "accidental drowning". She'd also once been Zachariah's girl. Margie Reynolds is the mayor's secretary. John and Clara Abernathy still run the mom-and-pop pharmacy where they still make ice cream. Ms Bell. Irene Holt is a sobber. Sadie works at the Night Hawk Saloon. Jacob Donovan, a fellow Marine and ex-cop who now works as a private mercenary, has a cabin in the mountains. George and Drusilla Golding sold their family farm. Eldon and Vanetta Miller have a rep for domestic violence. Sid Carter runs a camping area. Mrs Hickman is a local candle crafter. Doc Mosley is the veterinarian. The Lafollette boy has a lead foot. Miss Eunice is an elderly spinster with a regular habit which Charlie Beckett, a widower enjoys watching. Tommy Austin will never drink again after he discovered his wife's past skills.
Back in the day...
...when Sami Jo used to live in Deerhaven, Jesse had been Sam's friend. Donnie and Robbie Collins had been bullies. And Hunter had been her champion, nicknaming her "Pixie Pest". Chelsey Horton is probably still ticked off about that frog and Amanda about the sand and duck poo combo. Kelly is Hunter's ex-wife.
California Highway Patrol
Gabriel Sloan and Logan Grant are troopers with a grudge.
Jasper Michaels is a small-time illegals dealer. Wago Darney is a flesh peddler.
Detroit is...
...where Sami Jo works at the police department where Captain Bradshaw is her supervisor. Tom Novak is Sam's ex and works with the chief information officer for Detroit city government.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a beautiful summer sky with a background of forest in front of which stands Hunter Steele in white cowboy hat, white, short-sleeved T-shirt with a gold star, and jeans. Over one shoulder, he's carrying a saddlebag...just to make sure you know that Sheriff Hunter Steele is One Tough Cowboy.
There's an info blurb at the top in orange with the primary author's name in red beneath it. Beneath that is the secondary author's name in orange. To the right of Steele's shoulder is the info that this is a novel while the title is at the very bottom in a combination of serif and a "tough" script in yellow. I do wish they'd included the series information...my pet peeve.
This eARC was sent to me by NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for an honest review.
My Take
I liked the premise of the story...phew, talk about rock and hard place in this overly melodramatic romantic suspense where Hunter is stuck with corrupt deputies and a mayor, leading to some tense drama for Hunter and Sami Jo.
It's the third person dual point-of-view from Hunter's and Sam's perspectives that keeps the reader informed of their thoughts and emotions, however, the interactions between Hunter and Sami Jo were annoying...and too insta-love for their hooking up. Yes, Leigh/Chadwick had set up their past history, but there was something fake about it that bugged me. Nor did the can-I-trust-him meme help. I mean, oy...
There's plenty of action in bed and out, and Leigh/Chadwick kept it somewhat balanced between story and all the sex. There wasn't much time spent on characters other than Hunter, Sam, and Shane although enough was spent on the bad guys to ensure we knew they were truly bad.
What was very annoying, however, were all the screwed-up sentences, the missing articles, the confused words, the too-obvious bad guys, and a lot of missing character info. I still don't know if Samantha was a detective or an officer back in Detroit...I'm guessing street cop. It read as if Leigh/Chadwick were overdue on their deadline and no one was particularly concerned with proofreading.
The Story
Dottie was found dead. And Sheriff Steele doesn't buy it. Just like he doesn't believe those previous "accidents". The clues are all there, and Steele has a good idea who the guilty suspects are. It's the why and what that's in question.
Then Sami Jo comes back for Aunt Dottie's funeral, and Hunter is determined she'll be staying.
The Characters
Samantha Jolene "Sami Jo" Ryder is/was Dottie's niece and a wild child, now living in Detroit, working as a cop. Her father died three years ago of a heart attack; her mother remarried and is living in Florida. Dorthea "Dottie" Coulter is her middle-aged aunt and close friends with Lillian and Zachariah.
Sheriff Hunter Steele, former Special Forces, has been on the job for eight months now and lives on the Steele Spur Ranch, the family spread. He still rides and has a couple of mustangs, Buck and Shiloh. Myrtle is a pregnant cow. His uncle Zachariah Steele, the previous sheriff (and ex-Marine who'd raised Hunter), died in a "hunting accident". Aunt Madeline is the governor of the state.
Deerhaven PD
Deputies Ray Decker and the abrasive Joe Rodgers are questionable...and had been hired by the mayor over the sheriff's head. Deputy Shane Warren is a watcher. Bill Markham is the useless coroner. Carol is dispatch?
Deerhaven, California
Hunter's sister, Hannah, is married to Mark Ferguson, an officer with the California State Police Force. Gracie Ann, Mark's sister, is married to Clyde and they have three sons and a daughter: Shane, Levi and Ethan who are younger twin brothers who work on Uncle Hunter’s ranch, and Brandy. (Levi is seeing the newly divorced Jenny Talbert.)
William Henderson is the strutting mayor; his wife, Lillian died, "accidental drowning". She'd also once been Zachariah's girl. Margie Reynolds is the mayor's secretary. John and Clara Abernathy still run the mom-and-pop pharmacy where they still make ice cream. Ms Bell. Irene Holt is a sobber. Sadie works at the Night Hawk Saloon. Jacob Donovan, a fellow Marine and ex-cop who now works as a private mercenary, has a cabin in the mountains. George and Drusilla Golding sold their family farm. Eldon and Vanetta Miller have a rep for domestic violence. Sid Carter runs a camping area. Mrs Hickman is a local candle crafter. Doc Mosley is the veterinarian. The Lafollette boy has a lead foot. Miss Eunice is an elderly spinster with a regular habit which Charlie Beckett, a widower enjoys watching. Tommy Austin will never drink again after he discovered his wife's past skills.
Back in the day...
...when Sami Jo used to live in Deerhaven, Jesse had been Sam's friend. Donnie and Robbie Collins had been bullies. And Hunter had been her champion, nicknaming her "Pixie Pest". Chelsey Horton is probably still ticked off about that frog and Amanda about the sand and duck poo combo. Kelly is Hunter's ex-wife.
California Highway Patrol
Gabriel Sloan and Logan Grant are troopers with a grudge.
Jasper Michaels is a small-time illegals dealer. Wago Darney is a flesh peddler.
Detroit is...
...where Sami Jo works at the police department where Captain Bradshaw is her supervisor. Tom Novak is Sam's ex and works with the chief information officer for Detroit city government.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a beautiful summer sky with a background of forest in front of which stands Hunter Steele in white cowboy hat, white, short-sleeved T-shirt with a gold star, and jeans. Over one shoulder, he's carrying a saddlebag...just to make sure you know that Sheriff Hunter Steele is One Tough Cowboy.
There's an info blurb at the top in orange with the primary author's name in red beneath it. Beneath that is the secondary author's name in orange. To the right of Steele's shoulder is the info that this is a novel while the title is at the very bottom in a combination of serif and a "tough" script in yellow. I do wish they'd included the series information...my pet peeve.
romilanfranchi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
keller6690's review against another edition
4.0
One Tough Cowboy is my first read by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. Hunter finds himself dealing with 3 seemingly unrelated deaths within his county. Hunter is former Special Forces who is ruggedly handsome and totally swoonworthy. Hunter begins to put clues together detecting a pattern of corruption within his county starting within his own department all the way to the mayor and beyond. When Samantha comes back into his life Hunter finds himself in a new mode of operation, protector. Samantha returns to Deerhaven for the funeral of her Aunt Dottie. Samantha realizes she can not return to Detroit without knowing who killed her aunt. Samantha was known as Pixie Pest to Hunter. She was always sabotaging Hunter’s dates and needing him to bail her out of trouble as a young girl. Hunter and Samantha begin a steamy love affair. But will their quest to bring justice to their loved ones end in tragedy or will love prevail? Read One Tough Cowboy to find out. This hot, steamy romance is a thriller too. If you like your romance with a bit of suspense then you will enjoy this read. The bedroom scenes (not all in the bedroom either) are very hot. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
kymreads's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Not sure where to begin with this one...
I was a little curious about the co-authorship of this title from the onset. I’ve read other stories from Lora Leigh (Elite Ops, etc.) and wondered how/why this new series was being written this way. I was expecting a lot more, given past stories from this author.
Unfortunately, it reads like certain parts were written separately by each author, then edited together for a final conclusion. In the beginning, it’s a suspenseful mystery. In the middle, it becomes a highly descriptive string of sex scenes between the MCs (without much chemistry) with the end drawing conclusion to the mystery (which seemed to have been sidelined in the middle of the story).
There were also incongruences that detracted from the story such as the “southern” and “yankee” references, as if the story was be set in the Midwest rather than California. Californians do not refer to their northern or southern residents in this manner. A little too much “Sugar”, as well.
And Hunter as a cowboy? Maybe so but he was predominantly characterized as being the sheriff, with only a small percentage of the story actually depicting him as a cowboy.
Both Hunter and Samantha, as police officers, constantly used poor judgement in their public behavior - to the point of being unbelievable.
Overall just not what I expected.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Not sure where to begin with this one...
I was a little curious about the co-authorship of this title from the onset. I’ve read other stories from Lora Leigh (Elite Ops, etc.) and wondered how/why this new series was being written this way. I was expecting a lot more, given past stories from this author.
Unfortunately, it reads like certain parts were written separately by each author, then edited together for a final conclusion. In the beginning, it’s a suspenseful mystery. In the middle, it becomes a highly descriptive string of sex scenes between the MCs (without much chemistry) with the end drawing conclusion to the mystery (which seemed to have been sidelined in the middle of the story).
There were also incongruences that detracted from the story such as the “southern” and “yankee” references, as if the story was be set in the Midwest rather than California. Californians do not refer to their northern or southern residents in this manner. A little too much “Sugar”, as well.
And Hunter as a cowboy? Maybe so but he was predominantly characterized as being the sheriff, with only a small percentage of the story actually depicting him as a cowboy.
Both Hunter and Samantha, as police officers, constantly used poor judgement in their public behavior - to the point of being unbelievable.
Overall just not what I expected.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
romancejunkie1025's review against another edition
3.0
not my favorite read in recent times. The premise would have been interesting but there were a lot of plot lines and the sex scenes were too prevalent for the plot to hold up and i never thought i would say that.
ldooten's review against another edition
2.0
This was "no" for me. Samantha comes back home after years because her aunt dies, and she doesn't believe it was accidental. Hunter is still in her hometown, and they soon realize they have chemistry. That's where everything goes down hill. They are pretty much just getting busy for the first half of the book. After that, when the action starts, they still can't keep their hands off each other. I don't think for one second that 2 cops on a stake out would risk messing around and missing something important. Then there is the dramatic end, where Samantha is almost raped in front of a group of people, makes it out and then proceeds to, you guessed it, fool around with Hunter. I can't recommend this one.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
teresajluvs2read's review against another edition
4.0
**I received a copy of One Tough Cowboy from St. Matin's Press and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. The opinions below are mine and mine alone or solicited in any way.**
One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. I've read Ms. Leigh"s Elite Ops series and decided to give this a try. I have to say I tried to like this book more than 4 stars worth but I couldn't with this story and am disappointed in saying I didn't. But I do give it 3.6 stars for trying to make the second chance at love somewhat believable.
Hunter Steele now Sheriff has suspicions that those close to him are being killed because of what they know about the Mayor of Deerhaven, California has something to do with their deaths. Especially since one of them was his Uncle Zachariah. But its Dottie Coulter and he knows that Samantha Ryder won't let it rest until she finds out why her beloved Aunt Dottie has dies unexpectedly. Since Hunter know that she'll return he wonders if he'll be hard pressed to keep his hands off the woman who was known as "Pixie Pest" as a child. He knows that there is a dark underside to Deerhaven with drugs and now perhaps a terrorist cell?
Samantha Jolene Ryder loved her Aunt Dottie and knows that something isn't right as she knows her aunt hated pain pills. But while at the wake she runs into Hunter and decides that he may know something and did I mention that she's has a crush on him since childhood? While dodging sniper bullets and doing what she does best being a detective in Detroit she'll have wild monkey sex with Hunter in very interesting ways. Because of this I feel that what could've been a wonderful story it just fell flat for me. I still want to know did the bad guys get what was they was due to them? We know her former boyfriend she as heck did what about the others?
One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. I've read Ms. Leigh"s Elite Ops series and decided to give this a try. I have to say I tried to like this book more than 4 stars worth but I couldn't with this story and am disappointed in saying I didn't. But I do give it 3.6 stars for trying to make the second chance at love somewhat believable.
Hunter Steele now Sheriff has suspicions that those close to him are being killed because of what they know about the Mayor of Deerhaven, California has something to do with their deaths. Especially since one of them was his Uncle Zachariah. But its Dottie Coulter and he knows that Samantha Ryder won't let it rest until she finds out why her beloved Aunt Dottie has dies unexpectedly. Since Hunter know that she'll return he wonders if he'll be hard pressed to keep his hands off the woman who was known as "Pixie Pest" as a child. He knows that there is a dark underside to Deerhaven with drugs and now perhaps a terrorist cell?
Samantha Jolene Ryder loved her Aunt Dottie and knows that something isn't right as she knows her aunt hated pain pills. But while at the wake she runs into Hunter and decides that he may know something and did I mention that she's has a crush on him since childhood? While dodging sniper bullets and doing what she does best being a detective in Detroit she'll have wild monkey sex with Hunter in very interesting ways. Because of this I feel that what could've been a wonderful story it just fell flat for me. I still want to know did the bad guys get what was they was due to them? We know her former boyfriend she as heck did what about the others?
tiggeruo's review against another edition
2.0
I was not a huge fan of this book. I found the book really predictable, I felt like there wasn't much story going on a little here and a little there until the end. I will say if you are sensitive to human trafficking, sex or rape this book may not be for you. This book does have a lot of chemistry jumping off the pages, it sure didn't lack at all. I did like how Sam was this strong women who did not take crap from anyone she was a complete strong willed women who had no problem taking on just about anything. I also liked that Hunter tested her and pushed her boundaries, he was annoying sometimes. I want to say Jacob and Shane where some of my favorite they seemed to have to a strong but silent types in the book. I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to post a review and have given my honest opinion