ARC REVIEW Hard Loving Cowboy by A.J. Pine

Crossroads Ranch #3, The last of the Everett brother's finally meets his match. This was such an enjoyable series to read. 

Walker Everett after being a drunk for the last ten years finally hits rock bottom. His brother, Jack, finally convinces him to go into rehab and now two months later he's back working the ranch and fixing up the tasting room in preparations of the vineyard opening up and Jack and Ava's wedding. He's determined to stay sober but everyone keeps treating him like he's going to fall back on old habits he needs some time away from his family and from the town who has seen him at his worst but he has to make it to the wedding first.

Violet Chastain really needs a job, she dropped out of college to help her mother when she was diagnosed with MS, she also helps her father in his restaurant as needed. She's a sommelier by trade she's gone to the Crossroads Vineyard to help set up the tasting room and help with the wedding what she finds is a sexy cowboy she knows she shouldn't want.   

Walker and Violet's story is emotional and heartfelt. Walker is struggling to find the new him, the new sober him and Violet dealing with her mother's failing health and having given up so much for her parents. Together they form a friendship, when he's with Violet Walker isn't constantly reminded of what a failure he's been. For Violet, Walker is someone she can talk to and together even though they are pretending for her parents to be boyfriend/girlfriend they form a deep connection and along the way it become real but Walker still hasn't confided to her that he's an alcoholic afraid that she'll look at him differently.

Overall, this was a great ending for the Everett brothers. I hope A.J. Pine does something with Sam and Ben Callahan. I enjoyed the story very much the narration, the flow, the diverse cast of characters it was all wonderful. 

ARC REVIEW Cowboy Brave by Carolyn Brown

Longhorn Canyon #3, Yay this isn't the last one! Longhorn Canyon Ranch is a working ranch that in the summer takes on some city kids on the verge of being troublemakers and teaches them about ranching and other stuff. We've already seen the oldest of the Maguire brother's find true love and their best friend/foreman find true love, Justin wasn't looking he didn't even think he was ready to settle down but the moment he set eyes on Emily Baker everything changed.

Emily is the events coordinator at a retirement community and one group she deals with heard about the Longhorn Canyon Ranch and their work with kids and asked Emily if she could arrange a special trip for them to the ranch. By all appearances Emily is a city girl but there is more to her than meets the eye. The attraction between them is instant but Emily is determined not to fall for a cowboy. Justin has never felt this way about anyone and he's determined to show Emily he means it. Aside from Emily's family that she hasn't told him about another obstacle is Justin's mother who took an instant dislike toward Emily automatically assuming she's a golddigger.

Overall, this was another really good read from Carolyn Brown. I loved Emily and Justin and all the hyjinks that the Fab Five get into are hysterical. Even though Justin's mom kind of plays the part of the bad guy in this book Emily really is her own worst enemy. The Bonus Book Second Chance Cowboy by A.J. Pine is a book I have previously read it's the first book of the of Crossroads Ranch series and is really good. So as a two for one deal this one is really good one both books are entertaining and fantastic reads.   

ARC REVIEW Tough Luck Cowboy by A.J. Pine

Crossroads Ranch #2, So I really enjoyed this one. We met both Luke and Lily in the first book, Luke is the middle brother in the Everett family and Lily is the co-owner the the best BBQ joint in the area. The book can be read as a stand alone but to really get the family dynamic and history I would recommend reading the first book.

Luke and Lily meet at a honky tonk three years ago, Luke was just getting started in the rodeo and Lily had just moved to the area to start working on her dream of owning her own farm to table restaurant. Luke didn't have eyes for anyone else that night but Lily unfortunately so did his best friend Tucker. Thinking he had nothing to offer a girl like Lily especially when Tucker had the money to help her with her restaurant dream he left and a couple of months later Lily and Tucker were married. For three years Luke has pretended he didn't like Lily to distance himself from her, it was hard enough to see her with his best friend. But now Lily and Tucker are officially divorced, tough luck for Lily the finalization happened on her birthday and then on the same day she gets her first gig as a caterer for a wedding for a famous T.V. baker, that can seriously make or break her career, it isn't until after she offers her services that she realizes the groom is her ex-husband. Luke was there and he tried to stop her but head strong and dead set to be the best at what she does Lily takes the job.

Luke has always managed to keep his head in the game but the night of Lily's birthday with the divorce and the announcement of the wedding and a baby all Luke can think about is Lily and that's how he got injured. All Luke has ever wanted, besides Lily, was to make it to the Nationals this year is his year even with this most recent injury Luke knows he can make it this year but the doctor has restricted him for six weeks to stay off a bull, horse, and definitely no rodeo which grates on Luke's nerves but he can still make Anaheim and qualify for Nationals. In the meantime he's elected to help set up the wedding making him work very closely with Lily. Through the wedding planning and organizing Lily begins to see Luke for who he really is, through her marriage it was easy to blame him for the acting of her husband but in retrospect she sees she was blaming him because it was easier than blaming Tucker or herself and Luke took the blame it helped keep his feelings in check. Now Lily knows the truth about Luke and his feelings but she hates that he still wants to ride in the rodeo even after all his injuries and the probability that if he gets another concussion could be fatal.

Overall, it was a great read. I love Luke and Lily they had a long wait for their romance, especially Luke who was in love with her the whole time. The story was a quick and easy read very well written with fantastic characters. The internal conflict they both deal with is emotional and heartwarming it had such a wonderful end. I can't wait for the next one.   

ARC REVIEW Saved by the Cowboy by A.J. Pine

Crossroads Ranch #1.5, My First A.J. Pine book and it left me with a good first impression. This was a very cute and fun read a nice novella. I loved the characters and their chemistry, they had some great banter too. Cash Hawkins came back home after college with a broken heart and buried himself in work as the local Sheriff. He's content with his dog and his job and he never realizes just how lonely he is until Olivia Belle speeds through town. Olivia was running away from a proposal and toward some answers. She believed she could find out what love is by reading the old letters her grandparents exchanged before they got married. Olivia thinks herself as broken because she has never fallen in love she wants answers and is determined to find them in Oak Bluff. But her answer comes in a way she wasn't expecting.

Cash realizes the extent of his feelings first and he's not shy at admitting them. Olivia is a little slow on the uptake she keeps thinking she needs to learn how to love by reading someone else's story. Overall this was a nice read. It can be read as a standalone but it's has a real ehh introduction to the Everetts who are the main family in the series and it just raised more questions without really tantalizing you into reading the other books. It is still unclear as to if Olivia was still technically together with Michael when she hooked up with Cash therefore making her a cheater or if running away from him right after he proposed counts as a break up? I for one think it counted as a break up.