“Dell takes you on a fun, wild ride!” —B.J. DANIELS, New York Times Bestselling AuthorHe came to Blackfeet Nation looking for his missing horseAnd found the heart he’d lost along the way.One thoughtless moment cost David Parsons everything—his irreplaceable horse, his rodeo career, and his fiancée. After four long years he’s finally tracked his horse to the Blackfeet Reservation and is ready to … tracked his horse to the Blackfeet Reservation and is ready to reclaim his pride.
It should be the happiest day of his life. But the troubled young boy who’s riding Muddy now has had more than his fair share of hard knocks, and his fierce guardian Mary Steele will do whatever it takes to make sure losing this horse isn’t the blow that levels him. David finds himself drawn to both woman and child, and is faced with a soul-wrenching dilemma: take his lost shot at rodeo glory…or claim what could be his last chance to make his shattered heart whole?
Author Kari Lynn Dell is a Blackfeet descendant who lives with her family on the reservation and brings a lifetime of rodeo experience to this touching family drama.
What People Are Saying about Kari Lynn Dell:
“Look out, world! There’s a new cowboy in town.” —CAROLYN BROWN, New York Times Bestselling Author
“An extraordinarily gifted writer.”—KAREN TEMPLETON, author of Wed in the West series
“Real Ranches. Real Rodeo. Real Romance.”—LAURA DRAKE, author of Sweet on a Cowboy series
“A sexy, engaging romance set in the captivating world of rodeo.”—Kirkus
“Illuminating…a standout in western romance.”—Publishers Weekly
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A Journey with so much personality
All I can say is I was there for the whole emotionally charged ride and loved every minute.
There’s heart and soul poured into this, touching on life’s realities whether they’re good or gritty. The settings and events very well described to easily imagine every scene, right down to Muddy’s mannerisms, or him shooting out of the box.
David, an old soul cowboy, thru bizarre circumstances, which some would call fate, meets Mary. They both get put to the tests of trust, love, letting go, and so much more.
In the end, it all comes round and I could do a very happy sigh!
I received an advance reader’s copy thru Netgalley and giving my opinions honestly and freely.
I loved everything about this story, especially that it was solely from the POV of the hero, David. Kari Lynn Dell is such a master at everything rodeo and she intertwines it into her writing so well. I’m so sad to hear of her passing. RIP Kari Lynn Dell
Have you ever had that one horse or special pet, that was so amazing, beyond comprehension? That one companion you never dreamed would no longer be by your side? You were a team, destined for greatness. Until all was lost.
David Parson has it all, the best roping horse, drawing checks with every run, and a shot at the NFR. Muddy, a small brown gelding and nothing special to look at, but man can he start, stop, and get back, a ropers dream.
The Last Cowboy, I can’t put into words how moving, compassionate, and healing it became for me.
David, Mary, and Kylan’s story is phenomenal, simply phenomenal. Three lost souls brought together by a common denominator, Muddy. Sometimes fate plays a powerful hand, as if someone’s watching from up above.
Kari Lynn Dell’s, The Last Cowboy, is one of the best books I’ve read. Her picturesque
ability in describing the Montana landscape, her flawless detail in the roping arena, and the bittersweet emotions she tackles with depth and conviction are spellbinding.
Last Chance Rodeo by Kari Lynn Dell is a cowboy romance with a little more substance and a much lower key romance than normal. David Parsons is a pretty successful calf roper on this way to nationals when his success gets the better of him and he parties, neglecting to get his horse, Muddy, away from the fireworks that totally stress him out. By the time David realizes his mistake and returns to Muddy, the horse is gone and no amount of searching brings him back. Life is not longer good for David, despite borrowing a horse from his cousin his rodeo careers is lackluster, as is his bank account, which had once been bursting at the seams. His girlfriend has announced that she is not longer interested in his lifestyle and is moving on. Still no Muddy. After a few months some woman hocks his saddle but the pawn shop can provide no leads. Life moves on. Until one day four years later a friend calls him from Montana saying he has seen Muddy and sends a photo. David hits the road and ends up at a high school rodeo on the Blackfoot reservation where he sees his horse. He is beyond happy. Of course, someone else owns him now. Complications ensue.
David is a fabulous character. Nicknamed Dudley Do Right. He always does the right thing, as he sees it. He doesn’t worry about the law, which is on his side. He worries about people. He works hard, doesn’t drink much, doesn’t fight, doesn’t cheat on his girlfriend, in fact, has pretty much given up on women. In Montana he runs into Mary Steele, whose name tells it all. She is a petite Native American veteran, currently a Special Ed teacher on the reservation, who brooks no nonsense. She is the guardian of the new owner of his horse, Kylan, who appears to be a little slow; he is certainly not a talented calf roper although he is adequate. He is going to the National High School Rodeo finals, unless David takes his horse, which is the only thing keeping him completing. How can both David and Kylan compete using Muddy? It’s a tough story, but David figures out a way. This is a compelling novel, one that should not be missed by fans of cowboy romance. I highly recommend it.
I received a free ARC of Last Chance Rodeo from Netgalley. #netgalley #lastchancerodeo
I love books that take me back to my childhood full of rodeo days and the plains of the north. Last Chance Rodeo takes on that journey and I loved every minute of it.
David finally is reaching the peak of his rodeo career. With a horse that is an extension of himself, he is finally bringing in the wins to shine in the rodeo circuit. But with one small indulgence, he loses his beloved gelding and now four years later he finds himself at rock bottom, having lost everything he held dear.
When he gets a call that his horse has been spotted, David is ready to start his climb back up to the top but what he never expected was to find the bond between his beloved horse and a boy who had already had so much taken from him.
This book was full of emotion and heart. I loved David and what a stand up guy he was. He could have gone in with a blaze and taken his horse back but that’s not what he does.
Mary is a strong heroine and provides just the right amount of push that David needs.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more from Kari Lynn Dell.
Kari Lynn Dell is a prime example of a good writer telling a genuinely great story by writing what they know, and what Kari Lynn knows is really different to most of the rest of us. Living on the Blackfeet Nation reservation, steeped in the rodeo business since childhood, she tells stories that feel authentic because she doesn’t need to go away and research the things she doesn’t know. She’s sharing what’s in her heart, her love of horses and the rodeo and the truth of the Blackfeet, and it makes for shining, unique stories that are a genuine joy to read.
David’s a calf roper who’s lost the horse which upgraded him from good to exceptional. Without his treasured Muddy, he’s drifting without an anchor, so when a friend brings him a genuine sighting of the missing horse, David’s willing to do just about anything to get him back. But it’s not gonna be that simple, because Muddy now belongs to Kylan, a Blackfeet teen with special needs, and Kylan’s protective aunt Mary is in full tigress mode.
Kylan was very much a part of this story, just as much as the romantic pairing of David and Mary, and I found Kari Lynn’s portrayal of a teenager born with fetal alcohol syndrome and struggling with finding his path in life to be both sensitive and realistic. His future and happiness became just as much David’s concern as Mary’s, and that was absolutely necessary for their romance to be believable, but to some extent I think we needed more time in Mary’s point of view because almost the whole story was in David’s head, which is pretty unusual for a romance. We never got much insight into what Mary was thinking and feeling, and I do think we needed to see more of her inner narrative, because there came a point in the story where I was absolutely furious about something she’d done and we never got to really hear her reasoning for it. It was pretty late in the book and honestly, I just wanted David to walk away. He’d been totally honest from the beginning and had every right to absolutely lose it.
I really want to give this five stars because there are so many good things about it, but a romance which makes me dislike the heroine for a pretty long-running integrity failure has some serious issues. Four stars, but it’s a genuinely excellent read in every other respect.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
Amazing, a book with emotions that run deep and hitting emotional topics…Kari Lynn Dell delivers with this one. Taking a minute to catch my emotions from this book it gives you the journey that David Parsons takes in finding his beloved horse Muddy along with Mary Steele.
You won’t want to put this book down.
Last Chance Rodeo by Kari Lynn Dell
A Blackfeet Nation Novel #1
David Parsons believes in Karma and it nipped him hard when he put himself first instead of first taking care of his perfect roping horse, Muddy. For four long years he struggled and then one day someone saw Muddy in a rodeo and off he went to claim his horse. Well, that did NOT go as he had expected and again…worried about Karma and how it might nip him again if he didn’t do what was right…he had some tough decisions to make. The young man riding Muddy definitely needed something that David had to offer and over time David figured out how to offer it and in so doing help not only himself but Kylan, too. Throw in a sweet romance between David and Mary, Kylan’s guardian, and you have a story that was well plotted, well written and a delight to read.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Will I read more by this new-to-me author? Yes
Did I enjoy the beginning of this series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
follow for years to come. I want to see Kylan achieve his heart’s desire to win! I’d like to see David win at Nationals and marry Mary. Maybe someday a series?
Each character in this story was well-developed and added to the story-line in a way there was no doubt of where they stood. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a serious problem and while Ms. Dell handled it with care, it was an intrinsic part of the story. Honest cowboys with values is, indeed, something to behold. Good job, Kati Lynn Dell
This book was gifted to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
The story is about a horse, yes and no. The story starts with David Parsons and he seems to have it all, and then his hose goes missing and he loses it all his luck seems to have changed. On a quest to find Muddy he hears that he is a reservation and when he goes to find it he ends finding more than just his horse Muddy. And then the story really begins there is heartbreak, lots of feeling and learning of others and acceptance..The story was not what I thought but it was a lot and goodness..
Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
David Parsons was on his way to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas when he made a major mistake. He was riding high with his rodeo calf roping success when he neglected to secure his valuable, very talented horse, Muddy at the end of the rodeo in Cody, Wyoming. Muddy broke loose during the fireworks, ran like the devil was on his tail and then disappeared. A few years later David got a tip about seeing Muddy at the Montana State High School Rodeo Finals. Yep! It was Muddy alright but getting him back got complicated. Mary Steele and her nephew Kylan entered the picture. Kylan has been riding Muddy in the calf roping events all the way to state finaals. Mary is very protective of Kylan and she isn’t going to let anyone mess with him. Even if she does find herself attracted to David Parsons.
Last Chance Rodeo by Kari Lynn Dell is a Blackfeet Nation Novel. This book is filled with love, community sticking together, family interactions and thrilling rodeo scenes. There are fun moments and some very intense moments. The storyline leads the reader from conflict to resolution flawlessly. The characters are strong and likeable. It took me a while to warm up to Mary Steele but the author brought me around to what a special woman she is. The rodeo scenes are very authentic and exciting. All in all this is a very entertaining story.