Sheltered by the Cowboy is the seventh installment in the Cowboys of Holiday Ranch Series. So, the murder mystery at the Holiday Ranch was finally solved and now Brody is ready for love but doesn’t know it yet. Mandy is a woman that is known around town for being loose but come on just because she goes out on dates to find her prince charming doesn’t make her a loose woman. That is something that I hated but it’s so true when you live in a small town and Brody is someone that believes it. He saw her at the party bash they had when one ranch hand was found dead but as he gets to know Mandy he wonders if he has miss conceived her. Mandy is in danger and someone is trying to kill her and I couldn’t believe who it was. I had a suspicion but then that went away and I really thought he had nothing to do with it. Mandy and Brody go through a lot in their journey to find love and she gives him her heart and soul and Brody has a hard time with it.

Sheltered by the Cowboy is the seventh novel in Carla Cassidy's latest entry in her Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series, and since the murder mystery that was keeping this reader entertained was solved in book six, Killer Cowboy, this is the first novel in the series that doesn't take place on the ranch, and I'm happy to report that Ms. Cassidy found a way to get at least one more hot and sexy cowboy away from Holiday Ranch, and this novel gets 4.5 stars from this reader.

The cowboy in question this time around is Brody Booth, and this tall, dark and handsome hunk is one of the cowboys on Holiday Ranch, currently acting its temporary foreman, and he's definitely every bit the sexy, dark, silent and brooding type, and I personally love that in a romantic hero.

The heroine in this novel is Mandy Wright, who works as a waitress at gossip central, aka Daisy's Cafe. She's pretty, upbeat, and rumor has had it from her high school days on that she's been intimate with nearly every single guy in town--a reputation that her flirtatious nature does little to dispel. As the novel opens, Mandy is working the late shift at a Christmas-themed kissing booth to help raise money for charity. When she sees Brody approaching, she asks him if he'd like to buy a kiss for charity, but he responds by stating that he prefers to be the one man in town whom she hasn't kissed.

Shortly thereafter, she closes the booth for the night and heads for home, but the road is icy and she soon ends up in a ditch, followed soon afterwards by Brody, who also ends up with his pickup truck in the same ditch and the two are forced to spend the night in the only room left at the local motel which is near their crash site. Brody does keep his distance, but is nevertheless attracted to the pretty and upbeat woman, and after passing the time chatting, the two have begun to form a friendship by the next morning, and, at Mandy's request, they exchange phone numbers. Mandy does indeed call him one night, and their friendship begins to deepen.

Although Mandy can usually be found wearing a smile, her home life had been anything but happy. Her mother passed away when Mandy was just a child, her brother, Graham, ran away from home at age 14, and has never returned, leaving Mandy alone to care, cook and clean for her father, who is a verbally abusive drunk, and who has Mandy convinced that she's stupid and worthless. Mandy, who's now living and renting the apartment above the garage, still dreams of finding her prince among the toads, bettering her relationship with her unappreciative father, opening her own restaurant, and someday raising a family. In spite of all the negatives in her life, she's a determined optimist, making the daily decision to be happy, even though she has little to be happy about.

Strong, silent Brody, also escaped from his physically and emotionally abusive father when he was still a child, choosing a life on the streets as better than being beaten on a regular basis. His mother, who'd been abused for years is so beaten down that she doesn't even try to get between Brody and his father. Luckily, Brody was rescued from life on the streets by Cass, the owner of Holiday Ranch, and he's been there ever since. To say that he has issues is putting it mildly. He's convinced himself that he inherited the same rage and aptitude toward violence that drove his father, and has decided never to chance a relationship, marriage or fatherhood, although he's certainly not immune to Mandy's prettiness and sweet nature.

All that changes one morning when Mandy enters her father's house to make him breakfast, but her dreams of improving her relationship with her father come to an abrupt end when she finds him dead, with his throat slashed, seated in his recliner, and who does friendless Mandy call? Her newfound friend, Brody, who advises her to call the police and races to her side. Who shows up at her father's funera several days laterl? Her long lost brother Graham, and she's overjoyed to see him. Although her father left everything he owned to her, she tells Graham that she'll be happy to split everything with him, something he claims not to want or need. Soon after that, as she's cleaning out her father's belongings in his bedroom, she hears a noise and heads downstairs, thinking it's Graham, but instead there's is a masked, knife-wielding intruder, chasing her back up the stairs, and she barely manages to fend him off until the police arrive, and she insists that Brody be called, since she's now terrified to be alone.

As the dangers and threats to both Mandy, and even Graham, escalate, so too does Brody's protective nature. He feels obligated to be there for her, and he takes leave from the ranch to do so, but will he be able to keep his attraction to her in check? Who's is trying to kill her? Who attacked Graham? There's certainly no shortage of suspects, but you're going to have to read this gripping, suspenseful, sexy and deeply moving novel to find out.

My only issue, and the one thing that detracted from what would have been a 5-star review is that the ending of this novel occurs way too quickly, and far too abruptly to be truly believable, and I sincerely wish Ms. Cassidy had drawn out the heart-wrenching conclusion a bit more. Otherwise, I have no problem highly recommending this otherwise excellent novel of romantic suspense.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

In true Carla Cassidy style, Sheltered by a Cowboy, continues the mysteries that she writes. She lets the reader go along in helping to solve the mystery and will always do so.

The Cowboys of the Holiday Ranch series continues with the story of Brody Booth and Mandy Wright. This series has been a delightful mix of thrilling suspense and enticing romance, and Brody and Mandy deliver the goods as well as the rest of them!
Mandy is the flirty waitress from the local cafe. From high school on, she has had a reputation in the town to be easy with the fellas, but you should never trust the gossip, there's always more underneath the surface. Mandy's home life hasn't been easy, her mother passed away when she was a young girl, her brother ran away leaving Mandy alone to deal with the escalatingly abusive father. All Mandy wanted was to make her father proud of her, find her prince charming to rescue her from the mundane life, and open her own restaurant. She is determined to stay positive, to be happy, and see the silver lining in everything. Her goal to wake up happy, every day, is put to the test when she finds her father murdered in their home.
Brody escaped his abusive father to the streets at the young age. He was rescued to the Holiday Ranch, and now was serving as the temporary foreman of the ranch. His biggest fear of having inherited his father's abusive nature made him decide to avoid any closer, intimate relationships. A decision that Mandy and being close to her made a difficult promise to hold.
Brody is stubborn, strong-minded and protective. Mandy loves to smile, make people around her happy, has a childlike belief in magic, and likes to spread cheer around her. They might seem like the opposites at the first glance, but the connection between them is real, the feelings growing inside them are true, and the passion simmering between them, with every innocent touch and look, is irresistible.
The danger surrounding Mandy wakens Brody's protective strike and keeps him close to the constant temptation Mandy is to him. The unexplainable attacks towards Mandy and her long-lost brother are escalating, the menace is deadly, it is obvious someone is determined to kill Mandy and her brother as well.
I really enjoyed this story, there was something very humble and vulnerable about both Mandy and Brody, making them easy to relate to, like, and understand. The brotherhood of the men at the Holiday ranch is admirable, a tangible force to be reckoned with. The mystery of the suspense, with so little clues and so many suspects, keeps the investigation intriguing, puzzling the mind.
Captivating investigation into mystifying crimes with delightful, tender romance delivers an engaging and entertaining tale
~ Four Spoons

Many and Brody first met during a snow storm that traps them together for the night and from then on they are friends. When Mandy finds her fathers body the first person she calls for help is her new friend Brody. With a stroke of luck her long lost brother is back but things start to go bad with it appears that someone is out to kill her.

Love a good romantic suspense book and this book just did it for me. I loved watching that connection between Mandy and Brody. I loved that there was enough mystery for the readers to try to guess who the killer is or wonder if it's just some random person after something. I was pretty happy at the ending when I found my suspicion was true on who I thought the killer was. I liked when I was able to get surprised when the killer would strike next and how it would happen. I loved that for the most part Mandy wasn't someone who was willing to sit around and wait for someone to save her, when things got tough she fought with all she had. Overall this book was pretty good and I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoy Cassidy's novels. Each of the ones I've read has kept me hooked. Each of her novels has something that has me glued to the page. In this novel it was Brody and how he treats Mandy. At first I thought he was awful at the beginning, but I love how he integrated himself into helping her and how surprised he was that it had happened. This novel is once again a pleasure to read and I would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a modern romance novel steeped in crime.

A continuation of Cowboys of Holiday Ranch, Sheltered by the Cowboy was a very well developed story. Even thought the main mystery at Holiday Ranch has been solved there are a few more cowboys who need their HEA. Enter Brody, the quiet broody one. He and Mandy become involved in another murder mystery centering around Mandy's Dad.

I really enjoyed both Mandy and Brody, they were both damaged but lovable people. I felt they and their relationship were well thought out and well executed. I continue to enjoy Ms. Cassidy's Holiday Ranch series and hope she writes many more.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

I like strong heroines and grumpy/mysterious Heros which both Mandy & Brody had in spades. This was a fantastic read with lots of suspense & intrigue and a sweet romance.

Mandy is the proverbial girl from the wrong side of town. She's a good girl who the town thinks is a bad girl. Brody is the cowboy who believes the stories, yet finds himself pulled into a surprising friendship with her.

The friendship becomes more when Mandy's father is murdered and then someone starts coming after Mandy.

There is quite a bit of stereotypical behavior but who cares, because it's well done. I loved Mandy's positive attitude and Brody's protectiveness. I loved how their friendship developed and then turned into something more.

I was relieved that this was a standalone story.