SAVED BY THE COWBOY / Tough Luck Cowboy (Crossroads Ranch 1.5 & 2) by AJ Pine-Reviews & Giveaway
Saved by the Cowboy / Tough Luck Cowboy
Crossroads Ranch 1.5 & 2
by AJ Pine
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
SAVED BY THE COWBOY
Crossroads Ranch 1.5
by AJ Pine
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 7, 2018
Cowboy to the rescue
Once upon a time, Sheriff Cash Hawkins left his simple life for something bigger—and came home with a broken heart. Now he has everything he needs right here in Oak Bluff, California—his job, his dog, and a quiet ranching town best explored on the back of a horse.
Olivia Belle believes in fairy tales—just not for herself. So when her boyfriend drops to one knee at his sister’s wedding with a proposal that is more business than romance, she hightails it out of San Francisco in search of the only evidence she knows that true love exists—her grandparents’ lost love letters from fifty years ago.
When Olivia speeds into his town like a modern-day Cinderella in her ball gown and glass slippers, Cash’s careful existence is finally thrown for a loop. Maybe the answer Olivia’s looking for is in Oak Bluff, but the life she ran from is more than 200 miles away. As for Cash . . . he knows a thing or two about being left on bended knee. Olivia Belle could be his happily ever after . . . if this runaway bridesmaid doesn’t run off with his heart.
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REVIEW: SAVED BY THE COWBOY is instalment 1.5 in AJ Pine’s contemporary, adult CROSSROADS RANCH romance series. This is Oak Bluff’s sheriff Cash Hawkins, and San Francisco events planner Olivia Belle’s storyline. SAVED BY THE COWBOY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Olivia and Cash) SAVED BY THE COWBOY follows the building relationship between Oak Bluff’s sheriff Cash Hawkins, and San Francisco events planner Olivia Belle. A quiet Saturday night found Cash Hawkins stopping a speeding car with the most beautiful bridesmaid he has ever seen. A broken glass slipper, and a twisted ankle found Cash hoping for his own happily ever after but happily ever afters were meant for fairy tales and never real life.
Olivia Belle was running from quite possibly the biggest mistake of her life in the hopes of finding her grandparent’s love letters in the small town of Oak Bluff, California, where her grandmother was born and raised. Meeting Sheriff Cash Hawkins sent Olivia into a tail-spin of possibilities, a tail-spin that started with a marriage proposal from a man back home.
The relationship between Olivia and Cash is quick to develop as Olivia battles her attraction to Cash knowing her time in Oak Bluff is drawing to an end. Cash wants something more than a one-night stand but Olivia is quick to point out that she has responsibilities back home. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The colorful secondary and supporting characters include many of the people who live and work in Oak Bluff. We are introduced to Cash’s mother Lucinda; recently divorced pastry chef Lily Green, and rancher Luke Everett. Lily and Luke’s story line is next in TOUGH LUCK COWBOY.
SAVED BY THE COWBOY is a quick read; a sweet and sexy romance; a fun and flirty love story that is a bit of a departure from the ‘cowboy’ scenario. The premise is spirited; the romance is enchanting; the characters are feisty and adorable.
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
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TOUGH LUCK COWBOY
Crossroads Ranch #2
by AJ Pine
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 28, 2018
The only girl he ever wanted was the one he could never have.
What’s the saying, bad luck comes in threes? If so, Lily Green is due for something good. First, her divorce is finalized—on her birthday, no less. Then the first job she lands for her catering company turns out to be for her ex-husband’s wedding. To top it off, she’s stuck working the event with Luke Everett, the sexy-as-hell best man who’s never been able to stand her. When can a girl catch a break?
For years, Luke has kept his feelings for Lily safely hidden. Hitting on his best friend’s ex-wife would definitely break the cowboy code of honor. But ever since an injury sidelined his rodeo riding, the two of them keep getting thrown together. It’s only a matter of time until his true feelings come to light. When that happens, it will either be the biggest mistake of his life, or a sign that his luck is about to change.
••••••••••••••
REVIEW: TOUGH LUCK COWBOY is the second full-length instalment in AJ Pine’s contemporary, adult CROSSROADS RANCH romance series. This is rodeo rider and rancher Luke Everett, and pastry chef /caterer Lily Green’s story line. TOUGH LUCK COWBOY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Some of the premise crosses-over, and runs parallel to some of the events in the August 2018 novella Saved By the Cowboy.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Lily and Luke) TOUGH LUCK COWBOY follows the second chance relationship between rodeo rider and rancher Luke Everett, and twenty-seven year old, pastry chef /caterer Lily Green. Lily Green signed the divorce papers on her twenty-seventh birthday, feeling like a complete failure having never anticipated her husband’s affair. A perfectionist and list maker at heart, Lily knew she was difficult at times but our heroine had only ever loved one man, her ex-husband’s best friend Luke, a man she fell for, three years earlier, the same night she met Tucker Green. When Lily accidentally agrees to cater her ex-husband’s upcoming wedding, all bets are off when she is forced to work alongside the man she has loved from afar. Enter Luke Everett, rodeo rider, and the bane of Lily’s existence as our heroine believes Luke despises his best friend’s ex. What ensues is the rebuilding friendship and relationship between Lily and Luke, and the fall-out as an injured Luke is determined to re-enter the rodeo ring in the hopes of remaining on top.
The opportunity to cater the upcoming feast for a Food Network star, Lily has no idea that she has offered up her services for her ex-husband’s wedding. Struggling to make a name for herself, outside of her failed relationship with her ex-husband, Lily is hoping to succeed in a business where others have failed. Luke Everett knows that one more concussion could mean the end of his career. Badly injured in his last outing six weeks earlier, Luke struggles between head and heart when Lily gives our hero an ultimatum in order to save his life. Lily’s constant need to run is disconcerting especially as it reminds her of a man who left long ago.
The relationship between Lily and Luke is acrimonious at best; their constant bickering, back and forth, vitriol comments and accusations are hurtful especially when neither one is deserving of the other’s actions. Luke is unaware of his best friend’s affair, and Lily knows nothing about Luke’s feelings for her. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and seductive, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
TOUGH LUCK COWBOY is a story of family, pride, heart-break and second chances. The premise is engaging and lively; the characters are determined and challenging; the romance is provocative and intense. TOUGH LUCK COWBOY is an emotional and energetic story line.
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley
Review by Sandy
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A teen librarian by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When she finds that 25th hour in the day, she might indulge in a bit of Netflix and Hulu, nourishing her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs where she resides with her two amazing kids and three little devils disguised as cats.
AJ Pine’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of book one SECOND CHANCE COWBOY to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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