Review 29: Cowboy Valentine

Cowboy Valentine. Mia Hopkins. 2015. [August] Samhain Publishing. 84 Pages. [Source:Netgalley]

First sentence:  At half past midnight, Cora decided to start closing down the shop.

Premise/Plot:  From Amazon - Forget chocolate and flowers. This homegrown honey is all the sweetness he craves.
Small-town life is nothing but a waiting room for eighteen-year-old honor student Corazón Gomez. Work and school leave little time for love, but with a full-ride Ivy League scholarship and a one-way ticket out of the boondocks, who needs it?
The answer appears on Valentine’s Day when her old cowboy crush ambles into the ice cream parlor where she works, inviting her to go on a late-night ride in his truck. For the first time she wavers between staying on the straight and narrow, and going off-road with the handsome heartbreaker.
After four years working on ranches all over the country, Caleb MacKinnon is back on the family farm helping out his mom and brothers while his father fights cancer. The one bright spot: smart, funny, and wickedly sexy Cora.
From the start, they both know this blazing-hot love affair can’t last. But when autumn comes and Cora has to leave for the East Coast, Caleb must find a solution to keep himself—and his heart—from falling apart.
Warning: Contains hard, cherry-poppin’ sex in a pickup truck and a cowboy charmer who talks dirty in two languages.

My thoughts:  Ok where to start.  We have Cora a studious ‘good girl’ she has worked very hard to get out of her small town she meets Caleb the former high school crush.  Now then I will admit that most girls have the fantasy of being swept off their feet by their crush however I can not really imagine going from not seeing someone for 3-4 years to getting in their truck and proceeding to engage in a extremely sexual relationship mind you she is a ‘good girl’ which translates into virgin (not really a spoiler you find out within like 10 pages or so.)  The writing was extremely descriptive in ALL aspects of this book so my hat is off to Mia Hopkins on that!  One huge drawback for me though was that the sex seemed to be at the forefront of the book and the storyline secondary.  But it is a novella so I excuse that due to that fact.  All in all it is a very quick read and a very shall we say fun read as well.

Rating 7/10

Recommendation:  Novella fans will enjoy this.  Romance fans that like lots of steamy sex will definitely enjoy this!

*I received a digital review copy for free from the publisher courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Review 28: His Blushing Bride

His Blushing Bride. Dani Collins. 2015. [May] Tule Publishing. 115 Pages. [Source: NetGalley]

First sentence:  Piper Tierney saw the email from her parents as she was tidying up the band room, after the final bell.

Premise/Plot:  From Amazon - Piper Tierney is busy wrapping up the school year and planning the music for Marietta’s Wedding Of The Century. She does not need one of her parents’ backpacking hippies under foot. Except the guy they let stay in their house is so much more than the California couch-surfer he resembles. Before she knows it, she’s making time to make time, even though he’s only in town for a couple of weeks.

Taking a break from working on his doctorate in political science, Sebastian Bloom wants to reassure himself his sister isn’t making another mistake with her upcoming wedding to a Marietta rancher. He’s definitely not looking for a bride for himself. Marriage and family are a trap. But Piper is cute, funny, and wants to move on from her ex.

They agree to a no strings affair, but will they wind up tying the knot?

My thoughts:  I enjoyed this novella quite a bit.  This was pretty much a by the books romance with one small difference she’s a virgin looking for no strings attached not typical in my opinion but not bad.  The sex was steamy without being overly graphic in my opinion.  I did enjoy reading Sebastian’s change even while he was fighting his feelings he still did embrace them in the end.  Piper had her own demons to fight and she did conquer them in the end.  Over all it was a satisfying read.

Rating 8/10

Recommendation:  Contempory romance fans will enjoy this novella

*I received a digital review copy for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*