Mateo Lopez is on medical discharge from the United States Marine Corps after receiving a severe spinal cord injury. He doesn’t believe his life can get back to normal, but a sexy, feisty new horse trainer has other ideas. Mateo Lopez, honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on medical leave, is struggling to rebuild his life. The spinal cord injury that left him feeling like a broken man … broken man resulted in his inability to ride the horses he loves and works with on Round Top Ranch.
The new horse trainer at the ranch, however, has decided that this isn’t acceptable. Claire Windsor, a spirited, London-born spitfire of a woman, has come to begin a new program to turn the horses into therapy animals. She turns Mateo’s world upside-down, and try as he might to avoid her, she keeps inserting herself into his life. As their plans for the ranch clash, so too do their hearts…making all things fair in love and war.more
Clare is excited to start training therapy horses at Round Top Ranch. However the reception she receives at the barn is not what she anticipated.
Mateo had finished up what he could and was heading to his place to take his pain meds. Before he reached his truck he ran into the new arrival. As he realizes her purpose he is not pleased.
Tanner sort of soothes things over with Mateo, but essentially tells him to work with her. They need her expertise with training the horses to be therapy horses.
Now while there is some animosity between the two, there is also a truce.
I absolutely loved the prim and proper Claire. She’s smart and feisty and more than capable of holding her own against Mateo.
Mateo has much to overcome and he fights almost every step of the way.
The relationship is a slow build-up that I found very satisfying.
The book held some nostalgia for me, and I loved the British insight to being in Texas.
I laughed, yelled and cried too.
This mix of cowboy and former military is a definite win!
I can’t wait to see what the next book will hold for us.
First, I loved this book – it will touch your heart and smack you in the gut, all at the same time. Yes, it is a book 2 of a series however it is a standalone. The author did an amazing job of connecting the dots, where needed, so you do not have to read the first book but I would ask: WHY wouldn’t you read it? Seriously, it is an amazing series. I couldn’t wait for AYWC and I was not disappointed.
I’m not going to recap the story – you can read the blurb and buy the book – but I wanted to try to convey how much I believe the author put into this story. It is about Mateo Lopez and Claire Windsor who, IMHO, make the best couple ever. He is suitably alpha and stubborn; she is strong, smart and doesn’t put up with any guff from him. Perfect! Where the story will grab you, again in my opinion, is how Ms. Long writes Mateo’s struggles. He is a returning veteran, with a medical discharge, and lingering effects from a spinal cord injury. He feels…less. Less of a Marine, less of an employee, less of a man because of his injury. What was so amazing to me was when I read Mateo, his struggles to live each day were so real to me. Ms. Long made you forget you were reading a story and I could actually feel the depths of his pain. I am having a hard time putting that into words but suffice to say it is such a beautiful story. And Claire is the perfect foil to Mateo’s downward spiral and I just loved her character as well.
You will not be disappointed with As You Were, Cowboy or with the Lone Star Leathernecks series. Seriously, I cannot recommend this story enough. You will actually feel the story; it has stayed with me long after I finished reading the book.