The Cowboy Next Door by R.C Ryan

Author: R.C Ryan
Release Date: February 26, 2019

I was a little conflicted on the rating because the ending was really good and it only took, I don't know, the entire book to get some action. Geesh.!! I was craving that climax and that conflict and I finally got it in a form of a daring escape.  I do not want spoil the story, so I will give the bare minimum. Someone had to escape from a dark place and that is all that I am going to say about that.  Anyways, here we are again with another rugged cowboy. Cowboys are my favorite and I feel as if the author did it right.  Sam was wild, hard-working, and a bruised soul who had to learn how to trust. Penny has a dream of becoming a teacher, but a bone was thrown into her plans and she ends up at the Monroe as a housekeeper/chef.  Penny had to raise three brothers and take care an ill aunt when she was just a teenager.  With Sam's inability to trust and Penny's dream at stake, will they be able to overcome their past and find true love?  Well, let's find out.

First off, I liked Penny and Sam together because I like any woman that can tame a beast. Sam is wild, likes to take on poor saps at the pool hall, and sleep with random women. That all changes when he sees Penny and taste her heavenly food.  Penny is a hard worker, very motherly, and she comes to Haller Creek for a teaching job, but that job is, unfortunately, retracted. Waiting for a teaching position to become available, she accepts the position at the Monroe ranch as a housekeeper.  I really admired Penny, her huge heart and her caring nature.  She was grounded and was forced to grow up early to care for her family and that really gave her character softness and compassion.  If you read book one, then you know that Sam and his two brothers had a rough childhood before they were adopted by Mac.

There were some things that I loved and some things that I did not love so much.  I liked the chemistry between Sam and Penny, but I did not like the slow burn of their romance.  I became very impatient with the small pecks on the lips. I wanted the good stuff and the pacing was killing me!!!  This book did not have that small town feel that the first book had which was what I loved about the series in the first place.  The setting of this book only took place in two places which was the ranch and the restaurant in town.  I absolutely loved the family dynamic just as much as I loved it in book one.

I was really excited for this book and it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was missing that small town feel and the romance was very slow.  There was no real conflict in the story and when the climax did happened, the story was almost over.  This book was a straight line right up until the 80% mark. In contrast, I enjoyed myself while reading this book and I enjoyed seeing Sam's character progress.  I recommend this book with a nice hot cup of tea. You will need the caffeine. :)

Rating:  3 ½🤠🤠🤠