I nearly missed this because I was only a quarter listening in to the audiobook when I started playing it the first time, and I didn't much like Jack Garrett's voice - after all, he does a great drawl. But I like the mood and characters of cowboy novels, so I gave it another go and was immediately swept into the attraction between JR and Thalia. And came to admire Jack Garrett's presentation of the novel. ( )

Really 4.5 Stars

Reviewed at http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-nix-cowboy-review-real-cowb...

When I think of Sarah M. Anderson’s writing, I usually think of an inter-racial romance where the hero and heroine have to overcome cultural divides to be together. I think of tales full of heat and angst. This one felt completely different the other stories in her back-list. It was a smooth ride all the way through, with a whole heap of spice and just a smattering of misunderstanding to make sure that my attention was kept. I loved Thalia throughout the tale and, although J.R. was a dishy, dishy Cowboy, there was a sprinkling of Hollywood Diva in there that made sure I was never completely sure he was good enough for the lovely leading lady.

Thalia is a woman that believes in making the most of her chances. She encourages her cantankerous boss to let her cast the infamous James Robert Bradley in their latest film but she knows that if she doesn’t get him she will be fired. She heads off to the ranch, to confront the man she has harboured a crush on for years, only to find a man that completely rejects Hollywood and anyone involved in it. Determined not to let one rather brutal rebuttal set her back, she heads back the next day, gaining favour with his adopted family. Thing is, the more she sees of him, the more she wants him and she is soon having some very unprofessional thoughts about her future leading man. I liked Thalia. I liked her determination and spirit, enjoyed the fact that she knew what she wanted from all aspects of life and wasn’t afraid to put herself out there to be rejected. She didn’t seem to have a very good experience of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood but she was determined that she would make it better if she just kept pushing. She had spunk.

J.R. has rejected Hollywood because he truly didn’t like the man he was becoming in that kind of environment. He was happier at home on his ranch being a cowboy. When Thalia turns up she reminds him of everything he doesn’t want to be but his attraction to her makes her the ultimate temptation back into the life of sin he turned his back on. He tries to fight his attraction but, when a snow storm means that she will be staying with them for a while, I pretty much knew the writing was on the wall. However, they both knew that their dalliance had a sell-by date. Whilst the snow was around, they lived in their happy cocoon and have lots of sex. Once the snow melted.....Well, that was when a decision would have to be made.

I love Cowboys. I wax lyrical about Cowboys and my darling friends have bail money saved up for our trip to Cowboy Country when I could potentially get arrested for stalking. J.R. was an absolute angel when he was in a good mood. He wasn’t particularly romantic but he was honest with his feelings and he had me swooning with his sweet words at several opportunities. I really liked him but I wanted to love him ('cos he was a Cowboy!). Unfortunately, he had a tendency to be a prat when he lost his temper. He was one to use his fists first and asks questions later and I ended up wanting to punch HIM for some of the horrible things he said to Thalia. He was redeemable but I just wanted to see him crawl....

Together, they were fantastic. What I love about Sarah’s sex scenes is that, although she doesn’t go all out and have scenes that last a couple of pages, she doesn’t shy away from the details. You feel the heat; see the passion in the scenes without it ever straying into the realms of Erotic Romance. She is and, based on this book, will remain an author I can turn to when I need a Cowboy pick me up.

Overall, this is fantastic story that made me laugh, swoon and get very frustrated, often all at the same time. I loved the romance, loved the very real look into the Hollywood scene and I loved the sense of family that seem to sit at the heart of Sarah M. Anderson’s stories. She has promised me more Cowboys and, after this one, I really can’t wait. ( )

I really liked this book. JR had left Hollywood after twenty one years there because he realized that he lost in the lifestyle. He left that life behind, went to Montana and bought a ranch. He's now living a life he's comfortable in - most of the time. Because he had spent his childhood and early adulthood as a star, he had never really learned how to handle himself in social situations and occasionally gets in over his head. When Thalia shows up he is totally rude to her and just wants her gone. There's something about her that gets under his skin, but he wants nothing to do with that life again. Thalia is desperate. She needs to deliver him as an actor for the movie or her career will be over. But she quickly sees that the man he has become is so much better than the one he left behind. I really liked seeing the way her vision of him changed from the product she had to deliver to the man who belonged to the land he lived on. She made a couple of bad choices that came back to cause her problems but she did an excellent job of overcoming them. I really enjoyed all the characters in the book. They were written in a way that I could see them and hear them as I read. Besides JR and Thalia, I loved Minnie and her motherliness and the way she treated both JR and Thalia as if they were her own. Her son Hoss was terrific as JR's buddy, not saying much but getting the point across when needed. I also liked the way she described the smarmy Levinson and the attitudes back in Hollywood. I'm really looking forward to the next book. ( )