Today was Houston’s wedding day. He was marrying Becky the only girl he had ever loved. She was ten and Houston was twelve when he fell in love with Becky. His brother Sam was hurrying him up. Sam had been a Texas Ranger until he married Sierra and now he was the sheriff of Lost Point, Texas. Their father Stoker was glad Sam was close to the Lone Star ranch- home- now. Sam and Houston wondered if their other brother luke would make it to the wedding. He was out looking for the man who set him up for murder. Luke had a thousand dollar price on his head for robbery and the murder of a federal judge -Edgar Percival. Luke did show up for the wedding But then a shot rang out and Becky cried out and as she collapsed houston caught her and blood oozed from her chest. Luke whirled and fired and Sam jumped over bodies to capture the shooter. Becky died in Houston’s arms. Houston sat next to Becky’s cold body holding on to hre bloody weil. He wanted to grieve in private. He wanted to be left alone in the darkness of his soul. In the shadows he could pretend it was all a dream and Becky would wake up. Houston was lost in a thick haze . little thought could penetrate. Houston didn’t know how he could live without Becky. But then he found out from the man- Ernie Newman that killed Becky- that she had been cheating on Houston and was pregnant by the man- but was going to marry Houston anyway and lie to him as he would be a way better provider. The Doc conformed all this. Her lover had shot an killed Becky and his unborn child. Houston vowed never to trust love again. He would never speak Becky’s name again or allow it to be said in his presence. Betrayal still tore Houston to the core. But Luke’s life was a tangled mess worse than Houston’s. Luke and his brothers went for a ride. Luke said the man who had set him up and really murdered edgar Percival was going by the name of Ned Sweeney. Luke asked if they could ask around and send some telegrams to see if anyone had heard of a man around going by that name. Sam said he still had ties with the Texas Rangers and his old boss captain O’Rielley. Sam and Houston had access to to people and Places Luke didn’t have. Luke had helped get rid of a outlaw mess and saved the people of the town and made that part of texas safer. Luke had also saved his brother Sam and the woman Sam was to marry Sierra. Houston felt it would take him a lifetime to forget the woman who ruined him. Lara Boone had been attacked,beaten, raped, and scarred and ended up pregnant and now a mother of a baby girl she named Gracie. Lara now needs protection from a very evil man that will stop at nothing to possess her. Stoker had lost at gambling and had put the Lone Star Ranch up for collateral. Now he came to Houston and said he had to marry a neighbor or they would lose the ranch. Houston agrees knowing he really doesn’t have a choice. Lara’s father held Stoker’s gambling debt and he would forget it if Houston married Lara and gave Gracie his last name. Lara agrees to the marriage for her daughter’s sake that she would have a last name. Lara and houston meet at the altar. Houston is on a tight schedule to take his cattle on a cattle drive and he has to find a cook. Lara volunteers to be the cook and goes with Houston. Gracie wraps houston around her little finger. Then that horrible man brings fear into the lives of Houston and Lara and the people they are protective of.
I loved this book. I loved the plot and the pace. I didn’t want to put the book down.this had my attention from the first page until the last. I was happy when Houston decided he really wanted his marriage to Lara to work. I loved watching Houston and Lara grow into a loving relationship. This was an emotional roller coaster and action packed and I loved it. If you read the books in order this will make more sense and you will have the background you need for this to run even smoother for you. I loved Lara and Houston together. Gracie added to this book also. I also loved how Houston saw Lara’s scar after he lifted her veil and he told Lara she was beautiful and he was a very lucky man. Also loved how Houston called Gracie his “ Little Angel”. I really couldn’t find anything to criticize while reading this book and loved that. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend.

I always enjoy a good cowboy story, and this did not disappoint. This is actually book 2 in the series, and I enjoyed it so much that I purchased book 1. All of the characters are well developed and the ending is perfect. I also love a Happy ever after ending. Very enjoyable and entertaining!

I read this book for my Smart Bitches Trashy Books Covers & Cocktails post and man, this romance has so much heart. I'm not much for westerns, but the tenderness of the hero combined with easing the uncertain heroine in their marriage of convenience is incredibly sweet. The book does have some darker themes, which surprised me at times

Houston was twelve and Becky was ten and even at that age he knew she was the one. But at their highly anticipated wedding things unraveled swiftly – with a single gunshot.

That’s just the opening salvo in the latest and greatest addition to a wondrous series by Linda Broday. I love a good western. Linda Broday pens the greatest tales of the old west and isn’t afraid to expose the grit necessary to survive this period of time. In THE HEART OF A TEXAS COWBOY we are back with the Legend boys. We met them in book one of the Men of Legends Series: To Love A Texas Ranger. Definitely whet my appetite for more and so here we are in book two.

The three Legend brothers, Houston, Sam and Luke have become very close but each has gone their own way. Each brother has had to face their own challenges. Sam a sheriff after years as a Texas Ranger now lives with his wife and son off the family ranch. Luke is still living off the land trying to prove his innocence in a murder charge hanging over his head. Houston will have to battle many demons after losing his bride to a bullet from her vengeful lover who fathered her unborn child.

Signs – there are usually signs but love struck Houston ignored them and now he’d lost his one true love and trust through this ultimate betrayal.

It would seem that Houston is going to have to step up to the base once again for his family. The future of the family ranch is at stake after Stoker, his father, lost half the acreage in a poker game. And according to Stoker it’s up to Houston to fix this mess. Once again as the oldest Houston has to do the right thing. And in this case it meant marrying a complete stranger and giving her baby girl a name and real father. Candidly that was the deciding point. Says a lot about this Legend man.

Lara Boone was the only female in her household. Treasured and protected by her father and three younger brothers. But all that could not foretell of her tragic, brutal ordeal. In her eyes Lara is damaged goods. Would Houston come to realize just how wonderful she is, this woman who became his wife under very unorthodox circumstances.

Well, in a blink Houston, Lara and Gracie became a family. And now the adventure begins.

Linda Broday totally outdoes herself with the trials and travails of this little family. When Houston and Gracie wed both the Legends and Boones become quite a cohesive group. One not to be trifled with. So expect to be awed by this voyage through the old west penned by one of the best Linda Broday. THE HEART OF A TEXAS COWBOY is simply gorgeous in its use of imagery of the vastness of the land – most of it still in infancy as wilderness. Linda Broday provides a beautiful written portrait of the sheer bravery of these crazy cowboys and their family. THE HEART OF A COWBOY by Linda Broday takes us on a trip – a journey that will stay in your heart and mind forever.

I really enjoyed reading Houston and Lara's story. They had both been hurt in the past and didn't want any emotional ties, so their marriage of convenience was perfect for both of them. But, of course, the best laid plans always take a different path.

I loved watching Houston and Lara become friends before they become lovers. So often in stories the sexual attraction comes first and you never see that friendship build. Because of Lara's history, Houston knew that his first priority was to become his wife's friend if they were to have any kind of future together. I also enjoyed the added element of the story taking place mostly during the cattle drive. Definitely a nice change of pace from what I normally read.

I can't wait to read Luke's story, To Marry a Texas Outlaw, which comes out in Nov.

5 stars

This one is SO good!

Houston Legend will do whatever it takes to keep Lone Star Ranch in the family. His brothers, Sam, the former Texas Ranger, and Luke, the bastard son and outlaw-on-the-run, stand firm with him in a fight, but what Stoker, his father, asks of him will have to be done alone—not going to be easy.

The Legend men would stand out in any era, but they are magnificent in the time Linda Broday brings them to life on the pages of her memorable books about them. The late nineteenth century in Texas and on the trail to market in Dodge City, Kansas, was not an easy time to stay alive and thrive. The Legend men do it with aplomb.

However, Lara Boone is the character who slipped right into my heart. Her courage and determination to make a good life for her baby, Gracie, in spite of her nightmarish fears, makes for emotional reading. After the horror she had endured at the hands of cruel men, her trepidation almost defeats her at times, but never does—not in a house built for another woman nor on the trail is a chuck wagon with her baby and her mentally challenged young brother.

Amid chaos, Houston Legend and Lara Boone, inch by inch, create one of the sweetest loves stories I’ve read in a long time.

All the while the antagonist, Yuma Blackstone and his gang show themselves to be maddeningly cruel and glorying in it. They are antagonists one can love to hate and not even feel guilty.

Goodness me! Linda Broday does know how to create characters that elicit decided emotional responses as the plot unfolds with back-story, little-aside-stories, danger, hard-work, family love and loyalty, and the memorable humor and love baby Gracie brings to it all.

GREAT READING!

The book starts off with a bang, literally. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it especially with that foreshadowing at the beginning but I wasn’t and I was unsure about how we could go up after such a tragic down. Thankfully Linda is a pro and took this tragedy and makes it up with an action packed adventure and the swooniest, sweetest romance ever. Two broken people, brought together by necessity, find protection and companionship in each other. As the story progresses, they gradually fall hopelessly and helplessly in love. It was really a wonderful read.

A family of brothers- The Legends- working to continue what their father started on the wild Texas frontier. This calls for courage and toughness to face life and love and those who would seek to take it from them. Houston Legend has already had his share of tragedy and now he’s forced into marriage with a stranger who has not had it any easier. I was delighted to pursue their story as they found a way to not only make it work, but do it on a tough, gritty cattle drive facing stampedes, rough terrain, and outlaws.
Review

The Heart of a Texas Cowboy is book two in the Men of Legend series. Somehow I missed book one which was Sam’s story (Houston’s brother). I will indeed be going back for that and continuing on with Luke’s story. Suffice to say, I had no trouble reading Houston’s story out of order.

This one had the most shocking openings I’ve read in a romance. It starts with a wedding, a tragic shooting, and a guy without his bride. What gives, right? Actually, it punched hard grabbing my attentions and emotions as a result. I was so far on Houston’s side that I was rarin’ to go for him to move on and catch a break. And one forced marriage scenario later, he spots his opportunity.

I loved how the author didn’t mess around wallowing stuff in the angst. This story had enough internal and external conflict already without extra stuff tossed in. Houston and Lara take one look at each other and neither feel too badly about this arrangement their father’s came to for them. There are tough circumstances for them to surmount. Houston planned for a name-only match because he doesn’t think he can take having his heart crushed a second time. Lara was raped and left with a hideous scar on her face and a little baby girl who she cherishes as a result. Houston steps up and cares for both Lara and Gracie in a way that totally had me melting. He actually wanted the marriage to give both of them his name and protection even though he thought he would stick to a friendly affection at most.

Beyond this fantastic romance situation, there is great Western cattle drive action and a truly vile villain and his gang hot on Houston and Lara’s heels. The cattle drive took up much of the book, but it was great with the colorful cast of cowboys with Houston including Lara’s younger brothers. And Houston’s own brothers get in on the action when things go from tough to ‘Remember the Alamo’ tough.

The Western historical elements are well drawn as are the settings behind the strong layered plot. This was only my second encounter with the author’s books, but I think I need to dig up a backlist and get busy on it. Those who love historical western romance with some grit need to give this one and the rest of the series a go.

Loved it! A definite buy buy buy buy buy book! I( am not usually into the cowboy reads, for I love the regency most.... however, I absolutely positively loved this book! I am not so very familiar with the author up until this point, however, I will be getting much more familiar with her now! I love the characters, I absolutely loved the plot. I like the way she laid out the story and the pace was great and steady all the way through! It seems this author has a natural born story telling ability that captures and holds you captive from beginning to end in this book! I can only say buy the book it is a great read! I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna

The Heart of a Texas Cowboy, by Linda Broday is a captivating historical romance set in the 1870s.

Since childhood, Houston Legend knew that he'd marry Becky Golden. However, Becky was shot and killed on their wedding day, which led to Houston discovering his deceased fiance had betrayed him and retroactively damaging his heart and ability to trust.

For the next year, Houston focused solely on his family's ranch in Texas, until his father lost a lot of money and half the ranch in a poker game to a new neighboring rancher. The only way to save the ranch lead to an arranged marriage between Houston and Lara Boone, who was struggling with emotional trauma from a tragic past situation, as well as needing a father for her baby daughter.

Despite their marriage resulting from unusual circumstances, Houston and Lara slowly decided to build a friendship and eventually a real relationship within their marriage of convenience. As the story unfolds, they're forced to deal with family complications, ranch problems, and issues from the past affecting their future.

Since it's the second book in the Men of Legends series, it's recommended to start with the first book, To Love a Texas Ranger, yet it's not necessary to read the books in order.

The Heart of a Texas Cowboy is an enthralling story with captivating characters. It's geared towards those who enjoy reading historical romances with some suspense interlaced into the story.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Houston Legend was to marry the woman of his life. Becky Golden and he had known each other since they were young, and he soon knew she would be his wife. On the day of their marriage a tragedy collapses and he can not fulfill his dream.
Feeling betrayed, Houston promises never to give his heart to any woman. The house he had built to live with Becky remained closed.
A year later, he still bittered his pain in the drink, until his father, a poker player, gives him the news that they had lost much of their lands at the Lone Star Ranch. There was only one way for his debt to be forgiven: if Houston married Tillman Boone's daughter, Lara, and assumed her baby daughter.
Knowing the way Lara had become pregnant, through a rape, tampered with Houston's protective side, even though he had never seen the girl. He decides to accept the bargain of his father, but imposes some conditions.
Only on wedding day he and Lara know each other, and Houston has a new revelation of what had happened to the poor girl.
Now more than ever, Houston decides that those two would be his new family and that he would hunt Yuma Blackstone to hell to avenge her.
But in the meantime, Houston and Lara would learn to take care of their scars and discover the new path to love....

I didn't know this series (I have to read book #1 yet), but I loved the plot and the characters.
Great reading!!
5 stars

'The Heart of a Texas Cowboy' by Linda Broday is book Two in the "Men of Legend" series. This is the story of Houston and Lara. I have not yet read the previous book so for me this was a standalone book.
Houston was set to marry his childhood sweetheart but in a shot of a bullet that changed. Which that changed came the knowledge that he didn't know the women he was marring after all.
Now almost a year later his father gets into a gambling debt that only Houston can get him out of. The debt... to marry a women he has never met and giver her child a name.
Lara's father is trying to help Lara give her child a name and has arranged a marriage to Houston in exchange to forgive his father's debt. Lara was brutally raped and hurt about a year ago and is looking only to give her child hope for a future.
But when Houston and Lara meet at the alter it appears that there might be more to what will be happening to them than just giving Lara's child a name.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2HX0B5ELOPP5Z?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookReview
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1709181636033417/
https://twitter.com/soapsrus68
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1831318-sissy-s-romance-book-review-for-you
http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/
https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordpress.com/
http://booklikes.com/blog
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebookreviewforyoublog
https://plus.google.com/+SissyHicks
https://www.pinterest.com/u2soapsrus/
https://www.instagram.com/sissy.mae/
*A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection*

With one bullet this story began. Houston Legend was looking forward to getting married. Cut, of a finger and blood, is flowing, something bad will happen. Houston Legend didn’t believe in any of that. This was a joyous occasion for him and nothing and he means absolutely nothing will spoiling that for him, not even a shallow cut, of a finger.
The groom is ready the music starts to play. The woman of his dream is walking down the aisle. He’s not nervous. One brother is beside him where is the other. He looks up there he is. He turns, he smiles at his soon to be wife. A shot is heard his bride goes down, his life is changed, forever.
With that one instance, Houston swore he wouldn’t love again. Until he founds that his father put the Lone Star Ranch up for collateral in a poker game. Now he stands before a priest swearing to love and cherish a woman that he’s never met, a woman he learns that was attached a born a child from that atrocious day.
Lara Boone wants nothing more than a name for her baby. She never hoped that any man would except her baby as his own. She never thought she would grow to love the man that she calls husband.
When I read the synopsis of The Heart of a Texas Cowboy, the plotline sounded good and since it has been awhile that I even picked up a cowboy romance. I thought I give it a try. Well, this book surprised even me how good it was.
Normally when the action takes place at the beginning of the story it seems very hard for some authors to maintain that flow of excitement throughout the book. However, Linda Broday seems to have no problem. The Heart of a Texas Cowboy was actioned packed throughout the entire book. The characters grew on me, especially the younger brother Henry. I just knew that something bad was going to happen to this carried. I am not going to tell you if something did or not that is your mystery that you must solve.
The romance between Houston and Lara was beautifully written and progressed naturally. What I loved about this book was Houston he was attentive and very protective of his little family. Even when Lara past came knocking Houston was there to answer the door.
Since I didn’t get the chance to read Sam’s book I just should. If his book was anything like this book, must catch up with the Legends before Luke’s book comes out. Now, that book is the one I will be anxiously waiting to read. If what I’ve read in this book, Luke is one dangerous hombre.

Though the premise of this book is good, found many chapters filled with details that added nothing to the root of the book, especially the middle chapters. Love westerns just this one not so much.

The second book in the Legend series was great. Houston seems to be a man of integrity. When he makes a vow, you can bet he'll keep it.
Lara has courage in spades, she just has to learn to believe in it. Houston is the best man to help her find the best part of herself.
The best part of the book is hands down Lara's daughter, Gracie. I can still imagine her pointing her fingers at everything and telling it off in her baby garble. Too cute for words.