Review The Last Cowboy by Lindsay McKenna

Posted by Nicole on Nov 28, 2011 in Contemporary, K-N Authors, Western | 3 comments

City girl. It was written all over her like a sign warning him to keep off. Sure, Slade McPherson would train her horse…With his ranch one bad day away from foreclosure, he can’t afford to turn away a paying customer. But no way is this cowboy getting involved with a woman like Jordana Lawton—no matter how pretty she looks in a saddle.

Yet everything can change in an instant. A terrifying run-in with an angry bull tilts Slade’s world off its axis, leaving him wounded and unable to compete in a race that could change his future, for good. With Jordana by his side, he just might stand a chance. But what happens when this old-school cowboy finds himself falling for a modern city girl?

Slade is on the verge of losing his ranch. As a competitive endurance racer, after keeping his family ranch afloat for years by himself, one of his fellow competitors has it in for him. Working with the bank that owned his loan, forcing his rates up, Slade has kept the ranch by taking on and being one of the best horse trainers around, and by using his endurance competition wins in order to keep his ranch afloat.

Jordana has a horse and has competed in some smaller endurance competitions, she needs Slade’s training to push her and her horse over the top to the next level in her riding. Slade doesn’t want the complication of another city woman, another woman who would invade his life and his sanctuary, his ranch and turn his world upside down.

I’m a Western fan. We all know that. I loved this story about a crotchety cowboy who was so stressed out, concerned about losing his ranch, his finances, his family that he pushes Jordana away and almost loses her business on purpose. Then there’s the re-emergence of his brother, the lucky one that went to Wall Street lost it all, then decided he wanted a piece of the ranch too. I loved how complicated and crazed Slades’ life was, and how by simply staying, by being steady, sturdy, and keeping her cool, her focus and her eyes on the goal, Jordana managed to reel him in and find romance.

This is a great Western for fans of the genre, and of course Ms. McKenna is one of the greatest Western romance writers, so it stands to reason that she would know exactly how to write this story.

Overall Rating: B