ARC Review – Rodeo Riders by Vonna Harper

This was not an easy read for me. I got lost in parts and felt like crying through most of the book. It was a story filled with angst when it could have been so much more. ~ Kitty, Guilty Pleasures

Description:
When an expert takes the reins, holding back is not an option.

Enough with the nightmares!

A year after a near-fatal run-in with a Brahma bull, barrel racer Jordan Shore is determined to put the trauma behind her and get back to the circuit. As she nervously settles her newly healed body into the saddle for her first event, she feels eyes on her assurely as fingers on her skin.

She knows who those eyes belong to. Cougar Lighthorse. Childhood friend. Grown-up sexual fantasy. Owner of the bull that almost killed her.

Cougar always told himself there could never be anything between him and his father’sboss’s daughter, but he feels responsible for her accident. It’s up to him to guide her back to top competition form, mentally…and physically.

Jordan draws on Cougar’s strength, basks in the heat that flares between them. But the inner fire that drives her back to the arena has nothing to do with courage…and everythingto do with the one secret she can never tell him.

Warning: Cougar Lighthorse is everything no woman can resist: equal parts Native American, expert horseman, sexy hands, smokin’ body, and igniter of carnal fires.

Review copy provided for an honest review.

 

Looking over the list of books for review, I chose Rodeo Riders by Vonna Harper based solely on the Blurb provided. What better way to get myself out of the paranormal realm than a hot, steamy book about a cowboy, the rodeo and lurve. Well, I did get a steamy read but, unfortunately, both characters were brooding so much I am still not sure if it’s love or not.

Yes, there is an HEA for Jordan and Cougar and I think they have feelings for each other. I am still unsure if the feelings are love or woe-is-me pity and guilt pulling them together. As the blurb states, they have a history together as children and they have both wanted each other sexually for a long time. Jordan isn’t sure if he wants her because of his guilt or that he’s attracted to her. Cougar isn’t sure about Jordan either … would she chose him or stay on the circuit to prove that she can come back after her injury. There are touching moments as Cougar helps Jordan get over her fear of the one bull that took everything away from her but the sexual heat it was totally shines through in this book.

So, actually, I was depressed reading this book. Both of them had me feeling really bad about everything. Cougar’s misplaced guilt and Jordan’s fear totally overran the story. I would have loved to have seen some “light” time between them …. even the sex scenes were intense. It would have been wonderful to have seen a little bit of a playful side of Cougar maybe bringing Jordan out of her fear with something fun. But, then again, I am not really sure if Jordan would have let him.

So, as you can tell, this was not an easy read for me. I got lost in parts and felt like crying through most of the book. It was a story filled with angst when it could have been so much more.

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