Romance Book Review: Donna Alward's The Last Real Cowboy

Author: Donna Alward
Series Connection: Cadence Creek Cowboys
ISBN: 9780373178070 (#4311)
Category: Classic Romance/ Category Romance
Publisher: Harlequin

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Harlequin markets this book as one novel with a bonus story, but actually it appears to be to short stories as they are both roughly the same size novellas.

In The Last Real Cowboy Angela is a former social worker opening a halfway house for abused women. Her goal is to help women start a new life. The home and property has been donated by the Diamond Family. Along the way she has been happy to work with Molly Diamond, but family circumstances makes it so that Molly's son Sam has to set in and help her with committee obligations. Angela has already met Sam and found him lacking.

Sam is under a lot of pressure and he really doesn't have time for this committee or working with the cold Angela Beck. The only problem is that he has promised his mother and he knows what Angela is doing is for a good cause.

When Angela tries to get more help than Sam is willing to give fireworks start, but Sam does warm to Angela's cause. Now the two need to work out whether two dedicated individuals can come together in a relationship.


In the second book, The Rancher's Runaway Princess, Lucy is on a mission to prove that she is a good horsewoman. Her mother has recently passed away and she learns her father is a King for the first time. Her father prides himself on his stables and sends Lucy on a mission to Canada to check into some horses. The owner of the property, Brody Hamilton, isn't as welcoming as she'd like at first, but Lucy holds her own with the attractive rancher.

Brody doesn't trust easily and he isn't about to trust this little slip of a woman so fast. He could be a little nicer, but just can't help himself. He knows though that getting the King's business is the answer to his business's future.

Both stories are okay, but not really page turners. Those who like horses will be more interested in the second story as the author goes in a quite a bit of detail. I would have liked to have seen the first story, The Last Real Cowboy, be drawn out more. The two characters are fine separately, but need a little more work to make them into a future couple. Same goes for the second story. Both would make fine full novels with a little more relationship work between the main characters. 

Description:
From the moment he turned up late to her charity's meeting, placating everyone with a tip of his Stetson and a lazy smile, Angela Beck knew that Sam Diamond was going to be Trouble with a capital T.

Angela is the prickliest woman Sam's ever met—let alone had to work with! He'd love to still her sharp tongue with a kiss, but first he has to get close enough to awaken the complex woman beneath the deliberately cool exterior. And that's something only a real cowboy can do.…