Review: Kissed by a Cowboy by Debra Clopton

Fun Cowboy Romance

I’ve read and enjoyed all three of the books in the Four of Hearts Ranch series, but I think this was my favourite. I thought the first two books (especially the second, Counting on a Cowboy) spent too much time introducing and getting to know the townsfolk, at the expense of the central romance plot. While Kissed by a Cowboy still had some focus on the older folk in town—particularly Rand and Pebble—it wasn’t so much that it detracted from Cass and Jarrod’s story. In fact, parts of it linked to Cass and Jarrod . . .

If there was a flaw with Kissed by a Cowboy, it was probably that Jarrod was a little too perfect. He’s spent the last eight years regretting that he ran from Cassidy, and he’s thrown himself into the ranch to compensate. Now he’s got rustlers on the ranch and seems to work about twenty hours a day managing the ranch, saving neglected horses, searching for the rustlers and his volunteer job as the Wishing Springs fire chief, but still has time to do a good deed or three for his new neighbour, Cass. But who’s going to begrudge anyone their fantasy cowboy? The closest he came to a fault was being a little impatient to develop a romance with Cass, but in his defence, he’s finally got the opportunity after eight long years.

Cassidy is a little more complex. She raced into a rebound marriage with a man who turned out to be a serial adulterer, and now she’s convinced she’s never going to trust any man with her heart. Especially not with her family history of failure in marriage. While I could understand her viewpoint, there was also a little frustration with it: this is a romance, which means they need to get together, and they can’t if she doesn’t change her mind! But that’s good frustration.

Overall I really enjoyed Kissed by a Cowboy—the plot, the characters, and especially the strong writing with flashes of brilliant humour. Recommended for those who love cowboys with their contemporary romance.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.