USA Today bestselling author Caitlin Crews returns to the Cold River Ranch series with The Last Real Cowboy! In Cold River, sometimes forbidden love is the sweetest of them all… Perennial good girl Amanda Kittredge knows that her longtime crush on Brady Everett was never really supposed to go anywhere. But when Brady comes home during Amanda’s first attempt at independence, well, who better … Amanda’s first attempt at independence, well, who better to teach her about rebellion than her older brother’s bad-boy best friend?
Brady’s plans did not include being forced to work the family homestead for a year–and yet, here he is. And, to make matters worse, his best friend’s innocent little sister is making a menace of herself in the most grown-up, tempting ways. When Amanda begs Brady to teach her about men, he knows he should refuse. But could Brady’s greatest temptation be his salvation?
“Loaded with charming characters [and] wit….will win the heart of any romance fan.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A True Cowboy Christmas
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I like Caitlin Crews books, they are always well-written and I don’t ever feel like something is missing. While this wasn’t one of my favorites – mostly because I’m not into age gap – it was still a great read with quite a bit of funny/goofy moments. Amanda is trying to prove her independence to her older overbearing brothers and family and decides to use one of their best friends to help do that. Absolutely nothing could go wrong right? Especially when they are keeping it a secret AND he’s dealing with his own family issues.
This is the first story I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The characters are so real. Amanda is so spunky. She gave me more than one laugh. She stands up for what she thinks and doesn’t care the size of the person she informs her opinions to. Brady may be ten years older the Amanda but that doesn’t stop her from crushing on him. The crushing goes from a crush to falling in love with him. He is a broken soul in his own way. His relationship or lack of, with his family is heart breaking. Even though his is a successful businessman his opinion of himself is so sad. It’s really uplifting to picture Amanda standing up for him and bringing him around. I wish I had found this author earlier. I would have enjoyed this series if I had started with the first book. It’s not necessary but since the characters are in this book I would have liked the background. I’m planning on reading the first two in the series next. I absolutely recommend this book.
Such a great story about two people destined for each other if some hard variables (her over protective older brothers) can be dealt with carefully.
What I really liked about the story is how the individual stories of the main characters, Brady and Amanda, swirl and converge around their joint story of a rocky romance. Both characters have stresses from their lives that play out as they find and hold each other.
It was nice to see another Everett brother find some happiness. Even though Brady was the youngest brother, he had the biggest sacrifce when returning to the homestead to help out his two older brother work the ranch that is their family’s legacy. Amanda, the youngest of five, and always being viewed as that little Kittredge girl. Eager to break out of the stereotype, mainly for herself, she has a proposition that Brady knows, but cant’s refuse – even though his best freind is one of Amanda’s older brothers. The unexpected chemistry creates passion, heat, and some steam nights, but long can they keep going without being discovered, where your business is everyone’s business in this small town. It was an fun read, and you find yourself rooting for Amanda and cheering her all the way!
This is the third installment in the Cold River Ranch series about the Everett Brothers. This shows the lasting effects of an abusive relationship between a parent and a child. The story shows how each son was affected by their mean, drunken father. All three episodes showed how all three boys related to each other and they all got their HEA. It was a quick read with a sweet storyline.
This book was gifted to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
“The Last Real Cowboy” by Caitlin Crews is book 3 of the Everett’s of Cold River series and book 1 of the Kittredge’s of Cold River and features Brady Everett and Amanda Kittredge.
Amanda is the youngest of the Kittredge family and has had a crush on Brady for years. Unfortunately, he still sees her as “little Amanda Kittredge”.
Until that moment he doesn’t.
Sadly, I was unable to finish this book.
Amanda is twenty-two, and though she’s fighting for her independence, she comes across as immature with her temper tantrums.
Brady is about ten years older and, in one scene he tells her she is like a sister to him, while in earlier scenes he noticed she isn’t a kid anymore. I get why he said she’s like a sister to him (and the author’s intent that he’s fighting his growing feelings), but it really made me feel uncomfortable anyway.
Usually, books with a marked age difference don’t bother me, but the characters in this book didn’t sit well with me and my preference as a reader.
I received a complimentary of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
OMGosh! This was a great book. I wish that I could give it more then 5 stars!
It was a wonderful conclusion to the legacy of evil Amos Everett on his three sons. The three boys grew up around his hateful ways. Each had to overcome his demon. Brady was the youngest and the one that Amos ignored the most. Brady was the smart one and was able to get a free scholarship to college. He then spent the remaining years in Denver away from his family. Several months after Amos’ death, Brady’s oldest brother Gray, asked him to stay and work the ranch for one year. During this time, Brady discovers that his best friend’s younger sister is all grown up.
This is the touching story of Brady and Amanda Kittredge. The difficult road that they travel to get to their HEA. It was one that kept me glued to my e-reader late into the night. After my poor old eyes gave out early in the morning, I had to put it down. It was the first thing I picked up in the morning (after my coffee that is!)
I adored the first book in this series not so much the second one (as I really couldn’t identify with Hannah but I was very glad to have read it). This one really brought to a conclusion the boys getting over the destruction that their father wrought over them.
I adored Brady. He was a character that I was a little unsure about in the other stories. Having a dual POV here allowed me to “see” inside of his thought process to really understand him. He is one fine character! Amanda was a little immature but then again the character is 22 and has been overly protected by 4 older brothers.
This is a sexy romance story. There are a couple of “bedroom” scenes but are highly glossed over for the most part. There wasn’t anything overly descriptive here. That being said though, I would highly recommend this story to anyone OVER the age of 18. This book can be read as a stand-alone but I would recommend to start at the beginning. Even though I was not overly happy with the Hannah character in the second story, that one really should be read as well. It really helps to understand Ty a whole lot better.
I hope that the author decided to continue the series with the Kittredge brothers.
I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and found book 2 ok. That said, I hoped this time around I would once again fall in love with the story. Sadly, that was not the case.
The story centers around Amanda Kittredge and Brady Everett. Amanda is a young woman starting out in life. She moves away from home, determined to be independent of her over protective brothers. Brady, best friend of Amanda’s brother Riley, is back home to work the family ranch.
Amanda has had a crush on him for years and asks him to basically “help her be a woman”.
I was not thrilled with the plot and the characters just did not connect with me.
Maybe because I am older, but this one was just ok.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley and St Martins.
The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Amanda is the youngest in her family with older brothers. She has decided to spread her wings, move out of her parents house, and live her life. She gets an apartment above a bar, where she gets a job being a bartender. She works days at a little coffee shop and nights at the bar. Brady, who I think is a banker or some sort of investment guy, goes back home after his father dies and helps on the ranch. He gives his brothers a year to convince him to keep the land. But when he goes to the bar one night and sees his best friend’s little sister working, he is struck dumb. He never noticed how much she has grown. Amanda has had a crush on Brady for years but never thought anything would come of it. When she asks Brady to teach her about sex, he is stunned but agrees to it as long as it’s a secret and no one finds out. Can Brady fight his demons and find his out that love his for him?
I’ll be honest I read a review and they didn’t like this story. I almost stopped reading it because it was coloring my thoughts of it. But I really enjoyed the story, the only thing I hated was how Brady’s brothers treated him. Romance and some sexy scenes. The ending I didn’t care for but I liked the book.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *
Best friends’ little sister, check.
Four big overprotective brothers, check.
Family that doesn’t take you seriously, double check.
Brady and Amanda have been slotted into the roles the town and their families set them in long ago. It is burning them both up, making them angry, restless, and feeling unwanted. They don’t gravitate towards each other though, sharing their commiserated grievances, but they do end up clashing. Which leads to much more pleasurable moments. As Amanda finally learns to stand up for herself, Brady finally realizes some truths. And they had me cheering for them, and weeping for them, alternatively, and sometimes concurrently, as they figured everything out, so they could live their happily ever after, together
The Last Real Cowboy is an outstanding western romance by Caitlin Crews. Ms. Crews has produced a book that is well-written and furnished it with fantastic characters. Brady is the third of the Everett brothers and has agreed to stay on the ranch for a year to help out after his father’s death. Amanda is a Kittredge with four big burly brothers that have kept her dateless. Amanda and Brady’s story is packed with drama, humor, Kindle melting heat and is a fun read. The Last Real Cowboy is book 3 of the Cold River Ranch Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was the first book by Caitlyn Crews that I’ve read. I was surprised that I liked it as well as I did. It might have helped to have read the previous books about the two other brothers but I got the jist of the backstory of both the Everett and Kittredge families. I really liked Amanda who was strong and forthright. I admire women who don’t play games and put everything right out there. My only complaint was that Brady was so focused on comparing himself to his father and not speaking up more to his brothers. I love when I find an author that I enjoy and have some new books to discover.