This New York Times bestselling author delivers a “page-turning romance” (Nora Roberts) about a city girl on the run and the strong, protective cowboy who keeps her safe. Brand Merrick is a take-charge cowboy who considers relax a four-letter word. So when an injury lands him six weeks of physical therapy, he intends to keep right on working-until his grandmother hires a therapist to stay at … grandmother hires a therapist to stay at their family ranch. He’s not used to following orders, or slowing down, but Avery Grant has a way of getting him to do things he’d never thought he’d do . . .
Avery hates to admit it, but this super sexy rancher is testing her patience…and her professionalism. She’s a born-and-bred city girl, yet she finds herself drawn to the rugged wilderness and the equally rugged cowboy she’s here to help. But when a threat from her past follows Avery to Montana, it’s Brand who rides to the rescue-if only she’ll put her trust in him, and the growing feelings in her heart.
Includes the bonus novel Cowboy Rebelby New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown!
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A sexy cowboy and the woman he falls in love with, would die for! What an excellent read!
My Kind of Cowboy by R.C. Ryan is the first book in her new Wranglers of Wyoming series. What a great start to what is stacked up to be a fantastic series. The plot is enticing, filled with romance, action and suspense. The two main characters physical therapist Avery Grant and cowboy & rancher Brand Merrick are both well-developed, likable characters. Traveling physical therapist Avery is hired by Brand’s grandmother to do therapy after Brand’s fall from a horse injured his right leg, not that Brand is interested in doing physical therapy. As they get to know each other they start falling for each other. When trouble follows Avery to Wyoming from her hometown Brand is there to keep her safe. There are two more Merrick brothers to look forward to reading about as they fall in love. Can’t wait.
I’ve only recently started reading novels by R.C. Ryan, so I was happy to get in on the first novel in the new Wranglers of Wyoming series, and, although I felt a bit put off at the outset of this novel, which I’ll get to, in the end, I stayed up to finish reading it at 6:00 a.m. this morning, and it gets 4.5 stars from this reader.
The novel opens with a prologue, set 20 years earlier, with the old Butcher Ranch house on fire, and a death in that fire. While it does give a bit of early family history, I didn’t find it much help when I got to Chapter One, set in the present day, containing 4 generations of the Merrick family, all living and working together on the Merrick Ranch, and all introduced so quickly that it was had to tell who was who, a problem which could have been averted by a simple family tree preceding the prologue or Chapter One.
We soon learn that Brand Merrick, one of the 3 children who survived the house fire in the prologue, is now a grown man and a wrangler on the Merrick Ranch. He recently suffered multiple breaks in his leg, after being thrown from his horse during a storm. He’s healed but still limping, his leg held together with titanium rods, but he ended his physical therapy 2 weeks early, is not terribly successful at hiding his pain when getting around, and not at all happy to learn from this grandmother that physical therapist, Avery Grant, has been hired to come to the ranch for 6 weeks to provide additional physical therapy for Brand while there. To say he’s isn’t happy about this plan is putting it mildly.
Big surprise–Avery Grant is not the male physical therapist they are expecting, but a woman, and an attractive one at that, nor is she local–this is Devil’s Door, Wyoming, after all, and she’s a city gal, and as flummoxed by the large Merrick family as I was, but she’s certainly not afraid of horses or hard work, and volunteers to help muck stalls, and is happy to explore the large ranch and beautiful Wyoming countryside either alone, with Liz, the photographer in the family, or with Brand, who figures that after a day of riding on horseback along with him, she’ll soon be heading back to city she came from, happy to leave the busy, hardworking ranch and its inhabitants behind, but he and his family are about to be surprised, Brand most of all, because he becomes both impressed by and attracted to Avery, and the attraction is mutual.
As the novel progressed, I became more and more interested in its well-drawn characters, and the effect that getting to know Avery had on all of them. Then, in what I assumed would be the usual contemporary western romance, this turned out to be more of a romantic suspense novel, as we learn that Avery appears to have a stalker–possibly her jilted boyfriend, whom she broke up with when she learned that he was only seeing her because he wanted to get asked to join her father’s thriving medical team of cardiothoracic surgeons, considered among the best in the nation.
Not long after she ended that relationship, her car was keyed from front to back, then, a nasty note was left on the door to her apartment, written in her shade of lipstick. The police in her home town didn’t take either event seriously, but Avery was glad to head for far-off Wyoming to take the job at the Merrick Ranch. But now she’s getting somewhat eerie and threatening text messages from a blocked number, and although she has her suspicions, she hasn’t mentioned any of this to the Merricks, even as the texts become more and more frightening, and a mysterious package arrives for her, which is when she finally confides her fears to Brand.
Except for some character confusion at the outset, I found myself liking the Merrick family members more and more as the novel progressed, thoroughly enjoying their family dynamic as well as this well-written, slightly steamy, entertaining and suspenseful read. I’m looking forward to following this series and can’t wait to discover which member of the Merick family will be featured next.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
Brand and Avery have their work cut out for them.
This enthralling story grabs your heart from the beginning with a tragic prologue from twenty years before. When we catch up to the present time, we already know the hurt that Brand is carrying, that his whole family has shouldered, and get an instant feel for how tough this ranching family really is.
Avery is summoned to provide physical therapy for Brand’s injured leg, and the story deftly weaves a magic spell as everyone in the family benefits from her therapeutic touch. There’s a danger that has followed her, though, giving our hero a chance to save her in return.
The Merricks are a wonderful, loving family and I really enjoyed seeing so many generations all thriving together. I was swept away by the beautiful storytelling and visual feel of the setting. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves contemporary cowboy romances. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Avery and Brand!
Wyoming rancher Brand Merrick needs physical therapy so his badly broken leg can heal correctly but when he refused to get help, his grandmother arranged for a therapist to stay at the ranch so the therapist could work around Brand’s schedule. Slight problem, the therapist is a woman Dr. Avery Grant, but when he tries to get Avery to leave but she has more patience than he thought she would have being from the big city and she gets him to understand that doing the therapy will hopefully make the pain go away and the leg stronger.
My Kind of Cowboy has a lot of romance and a little bit of romantic suspense but I’ll let the author take you down that path. R. C. Ryan makes the reader feel the wide open spaces of Wyoming and the families that settled there for generations.
If you like romance especially western romance, My Kind of Cowboy is the one for you! My Kind of Cowboy is the first in the Wranglers of Wyoming series and I really want to read the next one soon.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was a rather bucolic read from everything from the ranch settings to the family interactions. There was supposed to be some tension between Avery, a physiotherapist, and Brand who was in need of physiotherapy but that was pretty low key. Even the love scenes were pretty discreet. There was some tension with the threat of a stalker so all was not so picture perfect. Well written with great descriptions of the Wyoming countryside. This is one to read if you need an easy, feel good book.
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher**
My Kind of Cowboy is the first R.C. Ryan book I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. I enjoyed it very much. It was well written, had characters that were enjoyable and the story line kept me engaged.
Brand Merrick is the oldest of the Merrick great-grandchildren. When he fell off of his horse and injured his leg, he cut his physical therapy short because he didn’t want his great-grandfather, grandfather, father and brothers to have to pick up his slack. While he wasn’t totally healed, he’s now paying the price and his grandmother has taken notice and taken things into her own hands by hiring a physical therapist to help him out. Something Brand is less than thrilled about.
Avery Grant lives is Michigan, but works for a group that lends out their physical therapists when needed, so she’s headed to Wyoming to try her hand at helping Brand heal up his leg. Avery is looking forward to the new surroundings since she has a very strained relationship with her father and she’s been receiving threatening texts, but the local authorities don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
As Avery starts her time at the ranch, she finds that Brand is stubborn and that she’s going to have her work cut out for her, but she’s up to the challenge. She isn’t afraid to help with chores and that helps to endear her to the family and Brand begins to take notice too. Slowly he realizes that she’s there to help him and he allows her to start the therapy. Will there be more that develops between them?
I really enjoyed this entire family and the interactions between all of the generations. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series!
Entertaining story, interesting characters and storyline makes this a good read. Avery flies out to Wyoming from Michigan to personalize PT for an injured wrangler. Brand doesn’t believe he needs any help, he’s doing fine even if he has a limp, he’s tough. But Avery and her magical touch not only help his limp but also extend to his family. There’s sweet romance, passion and suspenseful twists, it all adds up to a very interesting read.
ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley and Forever.
Brand Maverick, cowboy/rancher always on the go but when he is injured and needs therapy he is determined to do it on his own except that’s not possible if he’s constantly helping on the ranch. So his grandmother decides to prove him wrong and show him that therapy will help his injury…except everyone thinks the therapist is a man.
Avery Grant, physical therapist, city girl leaves home after a threat to her life and takes a job in Montana. She is not prepared for the hostility of Brand or his great grandfather but is determined to show him she can help him repair his injury. Only problem is…can she keep it on a professional level or will her heart get in the way? Only time will tell…
This is the first story in the Wranglers of Wyoming series.
What I liked best in this romance, was not only the introduction to the Merrick multi-generation family, but the descriptions of the beauty and uniqueness of Wyoming.
The story centers around rancher Brand Merrick, the Merricks family oldest great-grandson , and physical therapist Avery Grant, who has come to Wyoming to help Brand .
Though there was some action towards the end, though not memorable, it was a low key, sweet romance to be enjoyed in an afternoon of leisure.
For me, it was more of a 3.5 stars story. That said, I look forward to the stories of the other Merrick brothers and catch up with the rest of the family.
I was entrusted this copy by Netgalley and Forever. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
The one thing that Ms Ryan does well is write about families. This is no different. This was an easy, enjoyable read that takes you out of your reality into one that you would like to be a part of. This is what a book should do; put you in a different world and leaves you feeling good at the end. The relationship between Brand and Avery did seem to take a long time to get heated up. But, I guess, that’s what happens when you have a houseful of people. If you want to escape with an easy to read book, you’ve found it.
I’ve read several books by RC Ryan and they all have a suspenseful twist to the typical cowboy romance. I thought that this plot twist was much different from the other ones in her stories and found myself really enjoying the book. I was eager to find out what was going to happen to put the main character in danger. RC Ryan did not disappoint!
Oh yeah, then there is the other part of the story – Avery Grant (physical therapist) comes to Wyoming to help Brand Merrick properly heal from a bad fall. The Merrick family is amazing and the love story that evolves is so worth the time to read