His Kind of Cowgirl by Karen Rock

Synopsis:

Would he still love her…if he knew?

Tanner Hayes smashed Claire's life to pieces when he chose the rodeo over her ten years ago. And now he'd wrecked her truck! Fantastic. She'd lost her husband, the family ranch was mired in debt, her father was recuperating from a stroke and her son was being bullied. Why not throw a reckless bull rider into the mix?

All she'd wanted was a safe, stable life. But with Tanner back in town—and staying on her ranch—nothing was safe, or under control. Not the feelings she'd fought so hard to forget. Not the son she was determined to protect. And certainly not her long-held secret…

My Review: 4 Stars

Ten years ago, Claire Shelton gave Tanner Hayes an ultimatum... her or the rodeo. She was heartbroken when he chose the rodeo. But Tanner knew he needed to make something of himself and prove their small town wrong if he was ever going to be worthy of Claire. Little did he know the heartaches and hard decisions that would come from that one choice.

Fast forward to present day and Claire's life is far from easy. She's a widow, a single mother, a caregiver for her father who recently had a stroke and is dealing with her father's ranch that is about to be foreclosed on. She does not expect Tanner to come crashing back into her life... literally. 

And now with her deepest, darkest secret on the verge of being discovered, she would give anything for Tanner to disappear again. Little did she know that fate had something else in store for these two. Sit back and hold on tight as Claire and Tanner embark on a journey filled with adventure, family, self discovery, forgiveness and most importantly love.

Tanner was such an amazing hero! He had a tough life growing up but was determined to be a better person than either of his parents were. I loved the way he interacted with little Jonathan. He was so good with him and for him. I loved watching these two develop their relationship. Any scene with the two of them had me grinning from ear to ear. Absolutely adored them! :)  

Sadly, I had a hard time connecting with Claire. I have to admit I spent a lot of the book disliking her. I get that she was trying to protect everyone around her because of her fears but I think she went about it the wrong way. She was doing more harm to others than good to herself. I wish that her secret would've come out a bit sooner than it did. I was really hoping to see Claire and Tanner work things out more and maybe see her take the initiative rather than Tanner jumping in and fixing it like he did. I personally think she got off too easy. 

I also would have loved to see an epilogue. Maybe a year later to see how everyone was settling in. :) 

This was my very first book by Karen Rock and I have already added other books of hers to my list Any author who can evoke so many feelings in just one book is definitely one to keep an eye on. I can't wait to read more by her. 

And now for my casting... what do you think? ;)