In this brand-new series from award-winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon, a charming cowboy and his sleeping beauty find their modern-day happily ever after . . . With a headline spot on a hit morning show and truly mouth-watering culinary skills, chef Evie Buchanan is perched on the edge of stardom. But at an industry party, a fall lands Evie in the hospital—with no memory of who she is. … stardom. But at an industry party, a fall lands Evie in the hospital—with no memory of who she is. Scrambling to help, Evie’s assistant contacts the only “family” Evie has left, close friends who run the luxury dude ranch in California where Evie grew up. Evie has no recollection of them—until former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant walks into her hospital room, and she realizes his handsome face has been haunting her dreams . . .
Zach hasn’t seen Evie in years—not since their families conducted a campaign to make sure their childhood friendship never turned into anything more. When the young cowboy refused to admit the feelings between them were real, Evie left California, making it clear she never wanted to see Zach again. Now he refuses to make the same mistake twice. Starting fresh is a risk when they have a history she can’t recall, but Zach can’t bear to let go of her now. Can he awaken the sleeping beauty inside her who might still love him?
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Such a fun read, and I am now looking forward to meeting the rest of the Pleasants!
I adored this book. This was such a fun ride and I loved it. I loved the characters so much. It was so great getting to know Evie as she was also getting to know herself. I am looking forward to reading more of this series!
Sleeping Beauty but with a Smoking Hot Cowboy!
Evie and Zach share a long and bumpy history, too bad she can’t remember thanks to an accident that has left her with memory loss. Zach isn’t surprised to find that Evie still reacts to him but he is surprised that he may finally get a second chance with the love of his life.
Amnesia plots can be hard to pull off but I absolutely loved the way Rebekah Weatherspoon handled it. Evie adapted to her situation and was willing to try and learn things that were new to her, but also still fought to recover her memories. Zach’s love was clear and his willingness to do what he could to make things right led to an amazing grand gesture!
I also really loved Evie’s “fairy godmother” crews. Her New York crew helped her through the first traumatizing days and her Charming crew helped her find her new self and her old self.
One of my absolute favorite things about a Rebekah Weatherspoon book is that she includes and normalizes all types of romantic relationships.
I’m super excited to read Sam and Jesse’s books!
Couldn’t Put It Down!
My first read by Rebekah Weatherspoon, A Cowboy To Remember, was so emotionally satisfying, filled with love, laughter, tears, and romance, along with the strength found from the enduring ties of family and friendship. The ins and outs, ups and downs of Evie and Zach’s wonderful love story and the colorful backdrop of the Pleasant family ranch has me eagerly looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
I love a good second chance book. Evie and Zach have a past. When trouble strikes, he knows he is being given a second chance to make it right. The problem is this is new Evie, the one with no memory of the past. Watching them fall in love again is fun. Miss Leona, Zach’s grandmother, is a hoot. She uses everyone’s full and proper name and she does not tolerate any foolishness. They say with amnesia anything can trigger the return of your memory and when it does, it is devastating. How do you trust and forgive the one person in the past to move forward with the future. It seems cousin Lilah has some suggestions. Love the ending!
This book is the first in a series about a black owned luxury dude ranch in California. It is the first book that I have read from this author and I have very mixed feelings about it. Second chances is my favorite trope, and this book is all about second chances.
I started reading and thought this sounds so familiar and then realized that I had read the first Chapter at the end of another Kensington book, which is why I must have requested it from my public library- but that was so long ago. They are finally open for their staff and holds are picked up. In this first Chapter, Chef Evie Buchanan is pushed down a flight of stairs by a rival and wakes up in the hospital with total amnesia.
Evie Buchanan was raised on Big Rock Ranch by her grandmother after her parents died. She had a crush on Zach Pleasant, who tried to keep her in the friend zone, but eventually came to love her too. But they were young and her grandmother made it clear that she had more plans for Evie than staying in their small town and that Zach wasn’t good enough for her, so the day after her grandmother was buried, he buried his feelings and pushed her to follow her plans to study in Paris, while he and his brothers were working to take over the reins of running the ranch from their father. She left angry telling him she never wanted to see him again, and as she pursued her career in the culinary arts, sold off her grandparents’ property. Years later, Zach still thinks of her all the time, but respects her wishes, not knowing that she was still in touch with his brothers and cousin.
Waking up in the hospital, not remembering anything, her roommate, assistant and agent all decide to call Zach’s brother Jessie, who is Evie’s emergency contact and all conclude that to keep her out of the limelight until her memory returns she should go across the country to the ranch in Southern California. Zach has every intention of using this second chance to make up for his earlier mistakes, especially when he finds out that she has been dreaming about him. Likeable characters and an engaging story. Despite the amnesia, Evie is a sweet person and is pulled toward Zach despite her misgivings. However it takes “two to tango”and Evie’s was just as responsible for their 10 year separation as Zach, yet she never owned up to it. Zach apologize over and over again, but Evie never owns up to her part. Still, I look forward to reading Jessie’s story.
DNF at 55%. I really enjoy Rebekah Weatherspoon’s writing, it’s consistently 4 & 5 stars for me, and she has several books I’ve read multiple times – but this is boring. I kept forcing myself to pick it back up hoping *something* would happen. Other than being constantly told – it doesn’t *feel* like there’s anything between Zach & Evie. There’s also a significant amount of *vague* about what’s happened in the past (not in a way that’s explained by Evie’s amnesia) – but in the interactions the other characters have with each other. Zach & Jesse have several odd convos that I guess are designed to create tension or build up to some reveal – it feels forced & unnatural. And tedious.
There’s also an overwhelming number of secondary characters that don’t always seem to serve a purpose or move the story forward.
I might try Sam’s book and this definitely won’t keep me from reading Harbor.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
I am a little torn as to the amount of stars to give this. The story was basically a good one but there were times that I had to re-read sections as I just couldn’t seem to understand it at all. There were things that I had to look up as I am not up to date on slang. That in itself was educational and I enjoyed. I love to learn new things while reading romance books. But with this book there just seemed to be a disconnect to me.
As to the story well the main characters were just so-so to me. Evie has amnesia after she is pushed down the stairs at a party. She is a well-known chef in New York and a co-host on a television show. Her friend and agent, Nicole, contacts her emergency contact, Jesse Pleasant, in California to see if he will take her back to his ranch in California for some healing. Zach, Jesse’s younger brother, has loved Evie since she came to the ranch many moons ago. Unfortunately he was too young to know what love was and sent her away after her Nana died ten years ago. Nana didn’t want Zach and Evie to get together as she had so much more planned for Evie. Evie on the other hand has loved Zach forever as well. She right after Nana’s death, Evie tells Zach that she loved him and was devastated when Zach told her to go and finish her dreams. Evie, after just burying her last family member, was pissed at him.
I did enjoy the multiple POVs that the story was written in. It normally helps me to connect with the characters. Here though I was perplexed with Evie. During her amnesia, she repeatedly tells Zach that since she has no memory that she needs to focus on the present and the future. Great idea. Problem, where she gets her memory back, the old hurts come back and I felt she definitely handled it badly. Here she needed to grow up.
I look forward to more of the Pleasant family and their stories. Especially Jesse’s. The gentle giant of a man seems really complex and I can’t wait to see the kind of lady that will attract him.
This is a sexy story. I would only recommend this to someone over the age of 18.
The first book in the Cowboys of California series a well written second chance story for chef Evie Buchanan and cowboy and former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant, that held my interest throughout. I want to read more in this series. This is a new Author to me. I received a copy through Net Galley and I am voluntarily reviewing.
This book has been sitting on my bedside table for two months. It was supposed to be my cruise book but when the cruise got canceled, I was too sad to pick it up. However, I finally did and I’m so mad at myself for waiting this long!! I loved Evie, who is beautiful and kind and a brilliant chef. When she loses her memory and goes back home, she connects with her old flame Zach. There were times I was a little frustrated with his density (boys!) but he was sweet and so in love. This book was amazing and I can’t wait to read more by the author!!
Good book easy read.
I loved this twist on Sleeping Beauty, with a VERY charming (& sexy) prince coming along to wake up a sleeping beauty who is smart, kind, gutsy, talented, and vulnerable – Evie is one of my fave new characters, for sure.
I really can’t wait to read more of the Pleasant brothers and their adventures while falling in love!
Highly entertaining, heartwarming, fun and action packed adventure filled with engaging charters, witty dialog, heart racing twist and undeniable emotional thrills. Was a great read from beginning to end. Really enjoyed reading this fun and engaging read!
First time read from Rebekah and I couldn’t wait to start A Cowboy to Remember. I honestly couldn’t tell you if I’ve read a romance where one of the characters suffers from amnesia, so I jumped right in to see if it’s a trope I’d like or not.
I have to say that only after reading a couple chapters, Rebekah truly sucks you in with her writing. I simply couldn’t stop reading, but I did learn that I’m not really a fan of the amnesia aspect of Evie and Zach’s story.
Before I talk about how amazing Evie’s character was, I wanted to touch on Zach. I didn’t connect with him as much as I hoped. He actually wasn’t really my favorite and I had a million questions like why he stayed away from Evie for nearly 10 years. And after Evie’s horrific accident, he was so quick to swoop in and hope to pick up where they left off 10 years ago … yes, Evie has lost her memory and any recollection she has of Zach is that he pops up in her dreams. I wasn’t really okay with the way Zach went about things.
I absolutely loved Evie’s character, I can’t even imagine everything she was going through. Her reactions to losing her memory and just trying to grasp her new reality seemed very real to me. I was able to connect with her on the emotional front and just trying to figure who everyone was and what they meant to her before she lost her memory.
I did enjoy this story and can’t wait to read more from Rebekah! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
*sigh* That’s my review right there in one totally enamored, heady, swoony sound. We could really all just scroll on now, but hol’ up, I got more to say! When I found out Rebekah Weatherspoon was going to be writing a small town romance with a black cowboy hero, I was aaaall in. She has such an easy, smooth and beautiful way of writing that you start on page one, and before you know it, one hundred more have passed by. This book about second chances, forgiveness, redemption and family was simple beauty, sweet romance, deep emotion and hot passion. In other words, HOLY MOLY, I WANT MORE! *ahem* I’m back.
Evie Buchanan is a top-notch chef on a popular morning show who has paid her dues (including working in restaurants, doing two stints on cooking competition shows) and is now finally starting to enjoy the spoils of her success. She’s sacrificed along the way, focusing on her career, and though she’s a bit lonely, it’s worth it. But then an assault lands her in the hospital with no memories of who she is, her current life or her past. But then her past comes calling in the form of tall, handsome, sexy cowboy and rancher, Zach Pleasant. He and his brother Jesse have come to take her back home to Big Rock Ranch, southern California’s most exclusive luxury dude ranch, and Evie’s childhood home. The home she left years earlier and never returned to after Zach rejected her and her love. Now, she’s headed back to recover from her fall and hopefully regain her memory. And maybe, just maybe, give love a second chance.
This book was just everything that a small town romance should be. Full of heart, family, drama, laughter, warmth and love. What really drove this book from good to stellar were the characters. Evie was incredibly strong and yet vulnerable. She’d fought for her success and did it honestly. But there were costs. She zealously guarded her heart so it couldn’t be broken again and she cut herself off from the family and home she loved. But that strength that drove her to the top didn’t desert her even though she had amnesia. It didn’t break her. She remained resilient and determined. She reclaimed her life and her heart. Yes, the thought of opening herself again when she still couldn’t remember the past or her history with Zach and the Pleasant family, terrified her. But her bravery made her such an admirable heroine. And Zach was a perfect hero. He freely admitted from the beginning of the book that he botched his relationship with Evie. He never should’ve let her go all those years earlier without confessing how he felt. But he allowed pressure and other people’s opinions to color his decisions and caved to them, resulting in the loss of his best friend and the woman he loved. But now, with this opportunity to fix what he broke, he’s not letting anyone stand in his way. He climbs over, kicks through and scales those walls that Evie has erected around herself. He’s gently relentless in his pursuit of her heart and it was refreshing and so sweet to read.
Throw in a little suspense–not exactly a Who Done It, because we, the readers know who did it. But amnesiac Evie and her friends don’t. So that was a bit of a nail biter to find out when it was all going to hit the fan. And let’s be honest, amnesia is a tough trope to write without it veering into the unbelievable, annoying and ridiculous. And Rebekah Weatherspoon handled it flawlessly. The secondary cast was wonderful, real and fun. The sense of family in this book set it apart from others for me. They were loving, frustrating, teasing and loyal. I want to be a Pleasant! LOL! Or at least a close friend, so then I can marry a Pleasant man. I can’t wait for the rest of the books in this series–especially Jesse and Sam’s stories!
So things did not go according to plan because instead of reading 100 pages and moving on to another book, I couldn’t put this one down! Between everything going on with Evie (the loss, the assault, the amnesia, oh my), Zach taking the utmost advantage (in the best way possible) of his second chance, and getting to know the Pleasant family – I was utterly engrossed and captivated. Plus, the scandal of Evie’s accident, getting to know this family that is rife with Hollywood AND cowboy royalty, following the life of a chef, and all the fun, witty, and real banter between all of the characters, AND Leona… I can not wait to read the rest of this series! I need HEAs for EVERYONE: big brother Jesse, little brother Sam, cousin Lilah (I so need more tea about what went down with her parents), goddaughter Corie, and even nurse Vega – I need Rebekah Weatherspoon to give me all the stories! This was a delicious slow burn with the perfect amount of tension and emotion to keep me gripped. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.
GOOD CHARACTERS A LITTLE DIFFERENT
When Evie is injured and loses her memory she reconnects with her childhood sweetheart Zack…if she had her memory it would have been worlds colliding.. I found this sweet and endearing. I so enjoy Rebekah Weatherspoons work.
A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Cowboys of California #1
Chef Yvonne Buchannan and Zachariah Pleasant are given a second chance to find their HEA in this book that begins a new series by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Evie is a well known chef on a television cooking show who suffers a traumatic brain injury that sees her agent calling the emergency contact she has listed. When Jesse and Zach Pleasant show up in New York to see her through the hospital stay then take her home to their ranch in California it provides time for Evie to, hopefully, regain her memories and get to know people that meant a lot to her in the past. Whether or not Evie and Zach will find their HEA is up in the air for awhile but thankfully they to eventually work things out to achieve that happy ending.
What I liked:
* Evie: willing to do what it took to get her memory back and in that time tackle learning pretty much everything from scratch.
* Zachariah: a good guy that only at the end really did the soul searching to determine what he truly wanted in life and then made the moves necessary to achieve it.
* Jesse: a gentle giant that I hope gets his own book because he so deserves a partner that appreciates him.
* Sam: youngest of the Pleasant brothers and an actor, someone that I believe will prove to be not only charming but deep and interesting when his story is told.
* The cooking sessions/lessons
* The supporting characters: Lilah, Nicole, Miss Leona, Blair, Raquelle…and the rest
* The trigger that returned Evie’s memories
* The Pleasant family and their dude ranch…
* The animals
* The idea that there are MORE Pleasant family members in the extended family that might be story-worth for the series
What I did not like:
* Melanie- what a horrible person she was!
* Tilde – the first home health nurse – what a pill
* Having to wait to find out who will have their story told next
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more books in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
I couldn’t get into this book and I tried. I was tempted to put it aside but I kept at it hoping it would pick up.
The whole time I kept thinking this is just information being shared about some characters, it felt more like an outline an author would use for a book.
Ms. Weatherspoon is one of my favorite authors so I look forward to this expanding into a series. She set up the cast perfectly to have their own stories to be told.
I received this as an ARC for an honest review.