Nate Grant knows that his eldest brother has the respect, his middle brother has the smarts, and he was left to fight for his own piece of the spotlight. Thus, began his daring, dangerous, and often a little bit crazy foray into the world of rodeo. Now, with his career on the rise, Nate is back in town to do a promotional show at the local Strawberry Festival to land himself a major sponsor. But … But when he arrives expecting to be welcomed as the hometown hero, he instead finds himself challenged by the only person who could ever make him shake in his boots: Athena Moore.
Athena grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Limited money for rodeo lessons or competitions meant that while she could best the boys, she couldn’t follow them to the big leagues. Watching Nate excel really lit a fire in her britches and after school she began training and teaching young girls rodeo skills. Winning against Nate at the upcoming Strawberry Festival will show the girls (and Athena) that they could do anything boys could—and do it better to boot.
But promoting the event means Nate and Athena are forced to spend time together. Too much time to keep their tumultuous feelings under wraps. Now, there’s a grudging respect to their relationship and a heavy dose of passion too. But as Nate and Athena get closer, their competition becomes public via a reality show. When the lines between promotion and passion are crossed, they’ll be forced to ask themselves what it is they’re fighting for…and what they’ll lose if they win.
This novel contains sexual content, profanity and scenes with substance abuse.
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An amazing well written cowboy romance. This wonderful storyline is a standalone in the Grant Brothers series that has an amazing journey of the last brother finding his HEA. It includes misunderstanding, denial of feelings, frustration, some tears, and complications with other previous characters having their own agendas while the cameras follow these two around. This fun entertaining story had me addicted beginning to end with well developed, interesting, fun, and realistic characters that try to deny amazing intense chemistry between them.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a wonderful story the characters are realistic and well developed.
The storyline is interesting and well developed. Nate and Athena have both work hard to get to where they are both competing for the same spot. When lines get crossed and feels get involved both Nate and Athena have some big decisions to make.
The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival by Leslie North is the third book in the Grant Brothers Series. Love this series! The books so far in the series have been wonderful. This book is about Nate and Athena, their passion, and what they’re fighting for.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Highly entertaining, action packed and emotionally thrilling adventure filled with interesting charters, heart pounding excitement and undeniable passion…. was a great read from beginning to end and the perfect summer time afternoon read. Really enjoyed this journey.
The third book in the Grant Brothers Series a well written book that held my interest until the end. Nate and Athena’s story have two strong people with strong chemistry between them. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Love is an equal opportunity sport. In the battle of hearts there are no losers, only winners, if you know how to play the game. Nate and Athena are about to gain hands on experience in breaking all the rules. The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival delivers the spice while shaking up the heart. North is a wiz at sensuous, but she never misses the mark when it comes to the emotional side of romance. A doubly pleasureful experience.
This was a great book that had well developed characters that were engaging from the start. The storyline was well developed and flowed smoothly.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Nate was the youngest of the Grant brothers. He’s on the rodeo circuit. He’s getting to the age where he’s looking for a sponsor. He’s doing a competition in his home town to get a sponsor. Athena always wanted to compete in the rodeo but had to take care of her mother. She wins the rights to compete against Nate. They are attracted to each other. Can she learn to trust Nate and let her walls down? I really enjoyed this book.
This is entertaining and interesting. Nate is a cocky, selfish and unfeeling man that he doesn’t see anybody but himself. Athena is strong, caring, generous and naive. When rodeo star Nate comes back to town for the Strawberry Festival, the biggest event is him going head to head against a local. He knows Athena does local competitions, but never thinks that it could be her. One of his PR events is to help her with her rodeo school for a few days. Athena has always been irritated by him, and the attraction she feels towards him doesn’t help the situation. He always teased her because he could, he enjoyed getting her riled up. Now he’s attracted to her, which doesn’t work for him because he doesn’t do relationships, and he can’t risk his reputation on the hometown sweetheart. He talks her into doing a bunch of PR stuff, even if it’s embarrassing for her. When he decides to make up for things, he does it behind her back. And afterwards she takes responsibility for his sponsor issues. That sort of ruined the story for me, he never took sole responsibility like he should have, he set it up, he hyped it up and he never mentioned to her or asked if it was something she wanted. Saying no, and the fallout, was all on him. She had every right to say no without being guilty of anything. But other than that, it’s a great story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booksprout. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.
This book is about Nate and Athena, he is a rodeo star who has done it all and aiming to win more while Athena is starting off with her competitions as she hasn’t been lucky enough to leave town while caring for her mother. Nate returns to his hometown as there is a competition there and he is aiming to win as there is a huge sponsorship, he wants only to find out that he will be competing with Athena. They have a spark between them and act on it for mere show biz, but it backfires on one more than the other for which one almost loses everything. Will they keep their spark regardless of who wins?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Maybe, “The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival” Will Find A Few Tricks Up Her Sleeve, & Rope HER A Cowboy To Own!
She’s ready to Move Up in the World,
But to DO Sooo means She’s gotta become “The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival!”
Although when the Time comes,
They End up CLOSER than RIVALS should Be…
And the Promoters are sure want’n to Definitely see Sparks Fly’n,
But… She’d like IT too be Real…
Instead of a Promotional Deal!
SomeTimes, Being “The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival” isn’t ALL it’s Cracked Up to BE,
When Every Moment is Live & She’s Expected to be ON…
Plus, There’s the Li’l Problem of what’s gonna Happen,
When the Competition IS OVER…
Who’s HEART’S gett’n Broken when the OTHER walks Away!
I was granted, via B00|{$P®0UT, an ARC of Leslie North’s “The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival (Grant Brothers Series Book 3).” I recommend this book to others based upon its own recommendations. All opinions expressed within this review are uniquely my own & freely given!
Until next time… Happy Reading!
The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival (Grant Brothers #3) was a good read by Leslie North. Nate Grant always looked for his own piece of the spotlight with his brothers which led him to the crazy world of rodeo. Nate is back in his home town to do a promotional show at the local strawberry festival and looking to land himself a major sponsor. He didn’t expect to find himself challenged by Athena Moore. Athena grew up with limited money for any rodeo lessons or competitions. She decided to teach and train young girls rodeo skills after skills. She is hoping to win against Nate at the strawberry festival to prove that girls can do anything boys can do. While promoting the event, both Nate and Athena are forced to spend time together. They grow closer and their competition becomes public with a reality show. I really enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.
The third book in this series has Nate the younger brother coming home from the rodeo circuit for the big festival in town. His name should draw in a lot of people for the rodeo and other businesses. The one person who is really not that happy to see him is Athena Moore, they grew up together and she has not been able to leave town because of her mother and she feels and knows she is as good as or better than Nate at the rodeo. They square off which is good for publicity and Nate helps at her camp for girls. The problem becomes more of an issue when they begin to have feelings for one another and then he finds out that he will be competing against her in the rodeo. They do get into many arguments and both of them have issues, but will they be able to get past all of those for the sake of love? Read this wonderful story to find out. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at http://www.1rad-readerreviews.com
This is the third book in the Grant Brothers Series. I love these Brothers! Nate and Athena’s enemies-to-lovers romance is sweet, and fun. They are two stubborn competitors/rivals. Their chemistry is sizzling. This is a good story. Mathias Strongbow did a good job with the narration. I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival
Grant Brothers Series, Book 3
By: Leslie North
Narrated by: Mathias Strongbow
I was waiting for this third Grant Brother! And he was so worth the wait! We get to meet Nate, the youngest of the brothers, returning home from the rodeo circuit. He is performing at home and hoping to get a sponsor. Everyone is happy to see him, except his childhood friend, Athena Moore. She too is a rodeo rider, but life has taken a different path for her.Their rivalry is real, but so is the underlying passion. Will these two be able to work together without igniting? I love Leslie North’s novellas. They are just long enough to suck me in and invest my heart. I was wondering how Athena and Nate would turn out. These two are combustible. Not only do they have chemistry, but their both stubborn and get in each other’s way. I love the addition of the reality show too, giving them another stumbling block. Add in cameos from Ian and Jonah and the story is complete for me!
Mathias Strongbow finishes out the trilogy, as he has become the Grant Brothers voices! He breathes life into these two giving Nate the competitive sound and makes Athena a spitfire! It’s a fun listen!
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Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/the-cowboys-rodeo-rival-leslie-north/
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the end of my particular ARC marathon, so don’t mind me if I seem drained and the review is a gibberish even harder to crack than a Illuminati puzzle. I’m going to need a rest from NetGalley and review my relationship with that site. It is great, but those damn request buttons are so tempting!! I will need to control myself next time, otherwise I will end with too many ARCs and too little time to read them… like this year. But enough about me, I’m not reviewing myself today (I would barely give me 2 stars right now, by the way…). Let’s put our hands all over the third Grant brother!!
We go back to that Texas town to meet Nate Grant, the rodeo celebrity who drives all woman crazy with his good looks and his womanizer attitude. He is back in town to take part in a rodeo competition that is just a PR stunt for him. But for Athena, that competition could mean her first step into a life as a professional. The weeks before the big day, Nate has several public appearances in order to promote himself. One of them is teaching in Athena’s class for little girls interested in rodeo. The special spark between the two of them is obvious, so Nate’s agents and producers decide that a reality show following both of them could be a great idea…
What the previous book lacked of, this last one has plenty of it. Well, maybe that is going too far, but the third book is way more lively with interesting situations happening almost in every chapter. And yet, I’m not 100% happy with it. Not even a 50%. In all these books I have read lately there were great ideas, nice starting points that could lead to something noteworthy. But in the end, everything is underveloped and the ending tends to be rushed and weird. This one is no exception. I love the idea of following the blossoming of a romantic relationship surrounded by PR stunts. That keeps the reader engaged wondering what is real and what is just pretending in front of the cameras. The tension keeps growing and growing until everything explodes. That climax is so epic, that the damage control should have taken waaaay longer than a half-hearted final chapter.
The length of these books is their greatest asset and their worst enemy at the same time. Due to the style of the author, I’m almost certain that longer books would be burdened with too many boring moments. I don’t want that to seem like hard criticism. These books fill masterfully the spot for extra-light summer readings where you don’t want to invest too much brain processing in order to truly relax during holidays. Nothing shameful about it! It is just that in order to achieve that lightness, some plot and character development must be cut down.
This time the characters don’t seem like a couple of sloths taking a nap as in the previous book. They have some personality that I’m thankful for. Nate is cocky, which helps in the daialogues due to the banter that is usually linked to that behaviour. But he is also humble enough to accept when he is wrong and to take notice of Athena’s emotions. Yes, he is pretty clumsy emotionally speaking; but he is always willing to learn from his mistakes, which makes him a good character in my book. I also like that Athena doesn’t drink the cool celebrity aid Nate is pouring for everyone. She has an opnion of her own and she is not afraid to let him know about it. But even though they have that kind of personality that could bring a lot of deadpan humor into a story, I’m afraid that spice is mostly ignored. Once again, we are in front of a lost chance for good sense of humor!
The development of the romance is OK until the ending, which happens all too fast. But I don’t really mind, because I was mad about another detail that kept my rage entertained. They are constantly bablbing about the competion during the festival. Nate vs Athena in an epic rodeo spectacle. I had great interest in it, because I have no idea what they have to do in that rodeo thingy. In my ignorance, I thought they were bullriders, but they actually ride horses… I was hoping for some enlightment and also to a good and healthy competition between the stars of the story. It pissed me off big time that that huge event was reduced to a couple of lines in a retelling of that day…
ARCs no more (for now)! Well, being honest I still have a couple, but they are the third and fourth book of a saga I have yet to start, so I’m not reading them anytime soon…
This is the last installment of the Grant brothers series and it doesn’t disappoint! The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival sees the youngest Grant brother in a rodeo competition against his childhood friend Athena Moore.
Early in the book, Nate seemed to be the Grant black sheep – just another rodeo cowboy too full of himself. I liked Athena right away – girl from the wrong side of town who made the best of her options and was finally getting her shot to be in the rodeo game. Of course, Leslie North never writes stories that cut and dried. Coming home and spending time with his brothers challenges Nate to take a hard look at his life and what he wants. Athena is challenged by Nate and not just as a fellow competitor – she has been a big fish in a small pond and having a another big fish in the pond with all the public scrutiny by outsiders propels Athena into the realization that the competition is about more than just beating Nate at his own game. Then there is the attraction between Athena and Nate that strengthens as they get to know each other as adults.
This is a thoroughly satisfying book – but don’t start it if you need to be up early the next day.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Running a rodeo school for girls is fine, but Athena wants what Nate has, and that is to be a rodeo star. When Nate comes home to support the local rodeo, the fun begins with their competition. They each have their reasons why they need to win, but it just might work a bit different than they thought, as their awareness of each other gets in the way. Nate and Athena’s story is fun reading as the sparks and banter between them lead to a HEA.
*I received “The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival” from Booksprout and voluntarily give my honest opinion* 4 Stars!
The great character and plot development made this book a very engaging read! As I turned each and every page I felt like the characters jumped from the pages and pulled me right into their story as it unfolded!
I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This was a good story. It went pretty fast. The two characters Nate and Athena were despite being rodeo rivals at the hometown festival, having a journey to their HEA. There were times when they story felt contrite though. Nate was a bronc rider and Athena as well. I didn’t feel like the author really put the characters into a bronc rider competition though. I mean in one scene they go to one of his friend house to show off her riding skills. Also there was never any description of the competition. It just seemed a little on the fluff side.