Out-and-proud volunteer dance instructor, Reid Alexander, is a California boy accustomed to living in flashy luxury. He is less than thrilled upon inheriting his late grandfather’s South Dakota horse ranch. Yet he must endure three months of cowboy hell before he can even consider selling the property.As the ranch foreman, Walker Corrigan’s entire life is Pine Ridge. When Reid arrives with … cold-hearted plans to sell, Walker endeavors to endear the place to the younger man. Reid is unprepared for the sudden attachment to Walker, the land, and – unbelievably enough – the horses. Walker’s long-suffering heart takes an unexpected gallop straight toward Reid. Both men are on-board with exploring their relationship, and Reid discovers ranch ownership is more gratifying than he’d once imagined.But Reid is forced to reconsider his place on the ranch when threats put the property and employees in danger. Menacing events call Reid’s integrity into question, and he considers saving everyone the hassle and throwing in the reins. But how can he leave when his heart now feels at home on Pine Ridge Ranch and in Walker’s arms?
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I love Reid and Walker! Both characters are rough around the edges in their own way to start with but that is what makes them work. Each one has to overcome their own demons and misbeliefs about themselves and families. It is also great how the secondary characters play such a hands on roll in the story. Reid is a character that at first comes off as very superficial but then you realize he is such a multi demenstral character. Walker is the typical rough cowboy with the heart of gold once you can break into that heart. I loved both characters and can’t wait to see more books in the series to see their relationship grow and learn about some of the other characters.
Reluctant Cowboy is the perfect title for this story. Reed is proud of who he is, not ashamed to admit his sexual preference or the fact he doesn’t want to live on or own a farm, add a slow burn romance with the farm manager Walker some intrigue and you got a steamy, enjoyable storyline. Brad King narrator brought these characters to life.
Reviewed for Audiobook Obsession
I read His Reluctant Cowboy when it first came out, but didn’t review beyond giving it 5 stars. A recent reread confirmed that I made the right decision. Walker and Reid work well as a couple. When Reid is “bratty” at the start there is a reason, but after the first few chapters he mellows into his real character which is fun and generous. Walker is always solid and knows exactly what he wants. The secondary characters are interesting and the animals adorable, and these add another layer of detail to a well written story.
This is my review of the audiobook:
I enjoyed this story about Reid moving to the ranch he inherited and learning to embrace the land, the people, and the horses. Walker’s patience with Reid was hit or miss early on, but once they got together as a couple, he could not have been more supportive. Walker and Reid were fun and sexy together, and I liked their interaction. Reid’s father was evil, and I was anxious for him to get what he deserved.
The performance was good, but I didn’t care for Norma’s voice, which sounded too “witchy” to me. The narrator did an especially good job with the main characters, which is really the most important thing.
I was given this free audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Reid Alexander is so adorable. Lol he starts his adventure as he lives his life- brash, brave and totally put together with cute outfits. Hehe I was laughing out loud with his antics – designed to try a saint- and Walker’s responses are amazing. Sigh.
There is a lot of push and pull and some nerve wracking parts that keep things interesting. I did find there are some parts that didn’t quite ring true. As in the dialogue was more of a textbook response on coming out than a real world response. However, Walker and Reid are a great couple. I so totally adore how Walker is strong enough to handle all of the precociousness that gets thrown his way.
The audiobook performance is really good. I got a good sense of who is who and just had plain old fun! I will confess to putting this book on repeat 4 times in a row. Kinda embarrassing, I know. I just really enjoyed listening to the story while working. So much sass!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Edited to add my review of the audiobook.
Overall 5
Performance 5
Story 5
A great narrator made this story even better!
As has often happened for me since I started listening to audiobooks, Brad King’s performance of His Reluctant Cowboy elevated the story from a 4 to a 5 for me. I really enjoyed the book when I read it and now I love it after listening to the audio.
This is the first book I’ve listened to by Brad King and I can only find one title by him on Audible (there are two others by a Brad W. King but the voices are nothing alike). I can’t believe this is his first narration so perhaps he has a second name that he uses as many M/M narrators do.
In any case, he really brought this story to life with all of the different voices he used. There was only one female voice that I didn’t really care for and that was Norma, the ranch cook. I think it was a bit too hokey, stereo-typed old lady voice but that was just a minor dislike for me and didn’t ruin the overall great performance.
Below is the original review I wrote for the book when I read it in December 2018.
Good story, good suspense, great HEA.
I could hardly wait to read this new book by A.D. Ellis and then stuff happened so I only just finished reading it this afternoon even though I got an advanced copy.
I’ve loved A.D.’s MM books since I read my very first one, Brody & Nick, back in 2016. His Reluctant Cowboy is a good story. It has a little bit of everything in it. It’s humorous (Reid is a hoot at times), it’s suspenseful in places, and it has a great cast of characters. It also has puppies and horses; who could ask for any more?
Reid is an out-and-proud gay man who hates horses; he’s forced to go live on a ranch for 3 months to fulfill the terms of his grandfather’s will. Walker is the foreman of the ranch and he has no interest in babysitting Reid let alone falling for him.
There is a slow build up to their relationship until Walker and Reid admit their attraction to each other; but then WOW, sexy time ensues. These two go through some tough times together trying to get the goods on the person who wants to force Reid to sell the ranch. Even though the suspect is pretty much revealed early on there was still a lot of suspense as shenanigans continued to go on and they try to prove who is responsible.
His Reluctant Cowboy was a very enjoyable story to read. I’m not sure if this is going to turn into a series or not but there was one young character in the story that I’d definitely like to learn more about and see him get an HEA.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
No one does these stories like A.D. Ellis!