Jenna's Cowboy Hero by Brenda Minton

I've read one of Minton's other books and enjoyed it. This one, not as much. It wasn't a horrible book, but it just didn't hold the charm that "The Cowboy's Family" did, even if it does take place in the same fictional town.

Adam isn't very happy when he has to go back to Oklahoma. But with his cousin's death, the camp he invested in either has to be sold or worked on to get it running. And he could use some shine to his name considering his previous football career included quite a bit of him losing his temper and making himself noticed. What he doesn't expect though, is to meet Jenna, when he returns to Oklahoma. But Jenna isn't really looking for anyone. She has two boys to raise and a missing leg from her time in Iraq and she knows that a relationship probably isn't going to happen for her. But she does want to be Adam's friend and get the camp running.

So little character development in this book. Backstories are hinted at but rarely go in depth as much as they should. We know a little about Jenna's time in Iraq but hardly anything about her childhood, which is the whole motivation for her wanting the camp so it should have been described. Adam we know a little more about his past but I just didn't feel he was connectable as a character. He tried to claim to be a bad boy, but he really wasn't from anything shown in the book. The two kids were kind of two dimensional. They more served as props.

The camp was a nice idea, but it ran kind of slow and there wasn't really any serious conflict in the book. Which made it read quick, but that's not always a good thing. Being that this was a Love Inspired Romance I expected religion to be in it, but unlike Minton's other one, this one was kind of preachy and it turned me off a bit. I can handle a little bit but I have trouble believing there are people out there that talk like the people in this book do about religion. Especially since all the characters in the town seem to do it. But as you may expect, since this is a Love Inspired, there are no risque scenes, so appropriate for almost all ages if you will.

I didn't really like it. Characters could have been better, plot had more conflict, and less preaching would have been great. I'll probably still read more of Minton's books though since I liked her other one.

Jenna's Cowboy Hero
Copyright 2009
211 pages

The Cowboy's Family by Brenda Minton

I almost rated this book only three stars. But then I thought about it more and more, and discovered that there were actually quite a few things I appreciated about it.

After the death of his wife, Wyatt really hasn't gotten back into the swing of things. Sure he's still out there working, taking care of the two daughters he loves, and just getting on with life, but he isn't really moving on. So when the preacher's daughter, Rachel starts coming around, helping with the kids, he's not really prepared for the feelings he has for her either. And Rachel has pretty much given up on love, she lives with her parents to take care of her ill mother and hasn't had love come her way despite wanting it for so long. So she's given up and just devotes herself to her work in the ministry and helping others around town. The two don't seem too prepared for a relationship, but they can't deny that there is some spark between them.

The kids were great in the book. My favorite characters actually. Wyatt wasn't too bad either. Confused, loving, clueless, he did the best he could and seems to be a great guy without being unrealistic. Rachel is nice too, and a caring person. I just wish more of her back story would have been included. The author hints at so many things but never really comes out and says a lot of what Rachel refers to. They have a quiet chemistry between the two of them, and it works. Its rather sweet actually.

My biggest complaint with the book would probably be pacing. It does so well for awhile and then the ending just kind of shoots off like a rocket and goes way too fast. It really did feel too rushed and made the ending seem fake to me. But the rest of the book was good. Nice plot ideas, easy writing. Since this is a Love Inspired one I actually expected not to like it. I haven't had too good of luck with that type. But this one, unlike most of the others isn't really preachy. Sure it mentions elements of Christianity, but it doesn't shove it down your throat, which is nice for people just looking for a gentle read. And another result is that there are no sex scenes in this book, just some light kissing.

A very nice sweet romance. If the ending hadn't been rushed it would have been almost perfect.

The Cowboy's Family
Copyright 2011
218 pages