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Cowboy Rebel (Longhorn Canyon #4) by Carolyn Brown [arc review]

Don't you just love discovering new authors?
Read Forever has been introducing me to quite a few authors since I started working with them through my instagram and I love it! :)
This week I discovered Carolyn Brown
Also, is this the year of cowboy romances and I somehow lost the memo? So many have come out and are still coming out. I didn't even know I liked cowboy romances this much!!!!
Cowboy Rebel by Carolyn Brown @glimpses_of_my_books
Anyway, that is enough of an intro right? 
Here is the Blurb:

A WILD COWBOY WITH A BIG HEART
Ever since losing his best friend in a motorcycle accident, Taggart Baker wants to make every moment count. No dare is too dangerous, no adventure too crazy for this cowboy. But after one bad brush with the law, he realizes it's time to ditch his hooligan friends and grow up. Now he's running his own ranch next to the Longhorn Canyon spread in Texas. Still, no one would ever call him tame.
Nikki Grady has worked too hard for her RN license just to throw it away for some reckless cowboy who shows up in her emergency room after a barroom brawl. But she can't help being drawn to Tag's sense of humor and those crystal blue eyes. The more time they spend together, the more she sees his good heart. But just as Tag seems ready to settle down for good, his troubled past comes calling-and this time he won't be able to walk away so easily.

The Review: 3.5 Stars

Let's start by saying that although this is the fourth book in the series it can easily be read as a stand alone. Is it obvious through the book that there are stories you are missing? Sure. Previous couple do have a strong appearance and it does take a few pages for who owns what to make sense, but it is ok, it doesn't in any way hinder the story. 

Tag was not as wild as I thought he would be but I am guessing we see more of that side of him in the previous books. Here he appears to be finally accepting that it is time to choose to settle down a little. He was a likable character with a heart of gold. A daredevil not a bad person makes right? 
Nikki was sweet and strong willed. Her love for her job and her weird mother made you fell for her.

I loved the friendship that grew between them. Being able to trust someone with the darkest parts of you and your family is not always an easy thing to do. Their new found friendship was beautifully written and it made me smile often. The downside for me is that there was never enough chemistry and passion between them for the relationship to actually become something else. I could tell she was attracted to him, but that is about it. He tells her she is pretty but it is hard to take that to mean something more. Their intimate scenes were short and very clean. That is obviously not a bad thing, but it didn't help with the luck of chemistry.

So although I really enjoyed the book and will hopefully read the others I finished the book without quite understanding how such a beautiful friendship became something else. How? When? Why? Ok, he saved her... gratitude? As weird as it may sound coming from an avid romance reader, the ending would have made more sense if they stayed friends....

Release Date: May 28th 2019
Find the book at: GoodReads - Amazon - Inklings Bookshop

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