The Horse Whisperer 3.5*
Sam had his heart broken by his fiancée and is determined to never put his trust in a woman again, casual encounters are the way forward. When he meets Mia he put his foot in it by underestimating her badly but eventually they get together; until she puts her foot into it, by telling him she has feelings for him! It was an enjoyable book but I didn’t find myself fully engaged and the bedroom scenes didn’t do it for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Mia is just a down home girl who comes from Texas royalty but can she convince her new horse trainer to give her a chance and see where it leads. Sam it done with traveling and it ready to enjoy life back home at the ranch when he get a call and is wondering if tangling with Texas royalty will be worth it? Can they both come to an agreement and help each other out or will it all be to much for both of them?
I enjoyed the story it was a really sweet love story with some fun adventures thrown in. I have never read anything by Soraya so I am not sure if its normal for her books but it seemed like the story would have been a lot better with out all the curse words it just seems a little to much. There is strong language and adult scenes in the book. I will say that the relationship with Kat, Tanner, Angie, Cody and Mia was super sweet I loved the bickering and the back in forth but when one needed the other they were there for each other and added such a sweet element to the storyline.

This was my first time reading Soraya Lane & this story was really good. I enjoyed the intense reaction that Sam & Mia had towards each other & how they worked to save Mia’s friends stallion. So much hurt & betrayal in the past of both the people & the horse makes this an emotional read. For Sam his past causes him to keep women at arms length but Mia has gotten beyond the barricades he’s placed around his heart. For Mia it’s about finding someone she can trust to love her for herself & not what’s in her bank account or what her father can do for someone. They work to a common goal & along the way a relationship starts without realizing it & when three little words are spoken Sam runs & Mia is crushed. Beautifully written. Definitely recommend.

Fantastic read! I really enjoyed this one. I found the writing and character developed excellent and there was a nice easy flow to the story. Overall a very well done book.

Mia Ford may be an heiress but she's a hardworking horsewoman and doesn't need any man trying to tell her what to do with a horse. Sam Mendez may have a special way with horses but handling women is beyond him. Especially Mia Ford. She drives him crazy in a kinds of ways and he's trying his best to resist the temptation. He's only at her ranch to help with a horse but the draw of Mia may be too much for him to handle.

I highly recommend this one.

Cowboy Stole My Heart by Soraya Lane
River Ranch #1

Loved the premise for the story – horse whisperer helping a damaged horse that has been saved by the woman the horse whisperer will fall for. So, we should see what makes the H/h and the horse tick, learn a few things about horses and whisperers and perhaps show jumping riders of the professional sort and have a bit of romance, right? And that is what happened but I had trouble relating to the reasons that Sam the horse whisperer pulled out to avoid commitment. I also found that the way Mia fell for Sam and was so forthright and strong in some ways didn’t mesh with her times of not listening and then kind of making Sam “pay”…though he did deserve to suffer a bit for his dumb moves and statements. And…the preppy geek…not sure what purpose he really had in the story. I think maybe I felt this was a bit formulaic in format and predictable and I would have preferred the two to actually communicate and get to know one another on a deeper level than they actually did. All in all not a bad read and not a great one but an okay one…and I am curious about who will be starring in book two of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

Cowboy Stole My Heart is a great concept. A horse whisperer and an heiress.

Sam didn't have a happy upbringing, but his affinity with horses has turned him into a celebrity horse whisperer. After being burnt badly in his relationship, he is content with his job and his dog, Blue, a faithful companion. He has the occasional flings and as far as he is concerned, he is a confirmed batchelor.

Mia is the daughter of a wealthy Texan, but instead of relying on her trust fund and her father's wealth, she has chosen to make her own way.

Sam is hired by Mia's father to train a traumatised and dangerous horse. He jumps to his own conclusion when he meets Mia and she isn’t impressed by his attitude. They come to a truce and agree to work together, the horse being their priority. There has been an underlying attraction between them from the start and as they get to know each other, they realise that their first impressions were wrong. Sam's experience with his ex has left him with no confidence in women, but eventually gives in to the now obvious connection. He has rules though! No strings attached, but the heart knows what it wants. He runs scared. Can he put the past behind and start to trust Mia?

Sam is a gentle giant, but his fear of commitments is offputting. Mia is independent and even though she is strong, she is vulnerable in certain areas. A misunderstanding causes terrible heartache and then Mia finds herself in yet another difficult predicament. This is slow in places, but once it picks up, it becomes a compulsive read. It's a heartfelt story and despite all the uncertainties, it ends with the perfect note.

I was was kindly issued with an eARC via NetGalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

COWBOY STOLE MY HEART is the first book in the River Ranch Book Series written by Soraya Lane and is a cowboy romance novel. Lane has created phenomenal characters including a sexy cowboy in this steamy fast-paced read. A story that is packed with drama, humor, action, and hot spicy romance. I was easily lost in the story from the first chapter reading page after page of this steamy read to see what happens next. COWBOY STOLE MY HEART can easily be read as a standalone novel and does not end on a cliff-hanger. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the River Ranch Book Series and recommend this book to anyone who loves a steamy romantic read.

Great, strong story with just a few confusing bits!

Sam is a horse-whispering you-tube star. He makes a living doing what he loves. But he wants to get back to his ranch and leave all the razzmatazz behind. When he gets a call from the father of his friend about a stallion that needs help, he stops by to see what he can do. He was not ready to meet Mia. Younger sister of his friend, stallions owner and pushy princess if appearance is anything!

Mia may have grown up in a very rich family, enabling her love of horses, but she owns and operates her own team, using winnings to fund them. She can't believe her father went behind her back and brought in Sam to help. He just wants her to write the horse off as a failure and a danger and move on. But this horse holds a special place in Mia's heart and she will do everything she can to save him.

They both love horses, both are used to working on their own and neither seems ready to back down. There are going to be some explosions!

Sam is down to earth and unaffected by all the fame he has been receiving. Mia is used to people wanting to be her friend for all the wrong reasons. They make a great couple but I'm confused as to why they don't know each other better. Sam is a friend of Nate's and surely they would have met at Nate's wedding or at other times during their childhood. I was just a wee bit stumped on that. Other than that it was a great story, using a love of animals to tie them together.

I’m usually a huge fan of Soraya Lane but found myself pushing to finish Cowboy Stole My Heart.

While the storyline was good and kept me interested, I found it was too drawn out and the sexual tension became annoying and overdone. I got to a point where I kept hoping that something would happen, but it was closer to the end before my frustration was alleviated. Then POW, like a shot from a gun the climax was there and gone, and I was left feeling that it was all extremely rushed.

The saving grace for this book is Mia; her fiery, independent nature and her ability to never give up, made her a wonderful character to read and easy to love. Faith, Sam’s sister was also a breath of fresh air and helped make the story readable. Sam for me was hard to gel with, until a scene late in the book where he melts your heart.

I’ll definitely read the next in the series, but I hope that the author moves it along a bit faster.

keeping with the cowboy theme, soraya lane's cowboy stole my heart stays in the same world as her texas king series, but expands the world to a new family of ranchers who will likely find love by the time the series comes to a close.

youngest daughter, mia ford is up first. when her father calls in sam mendes (not the film director even though that's who i thought of every time i saw his full name) to help with a stallion he feels is unmanageable she's livid. the horses are hers, and her father should have nothing to do with the decision-making on them. but there's a backstory there. she needs the horse to heal. it's personal for her. and even though she doesn't agree with her father's tactics, sam is good at when he does.

he's become a celebrity horse trainer for a reason. and he does work miracles with mia's horse. mia and sam have a rougher start, given the attitude they throw around at each other. but the attitude hides the sparks. but it's not long before they are giving into the chemistry between them.

sam has baggage too. and that baggage lies at the root of their commitment problems. and when he inevitably freaks out and goes into hiding he's got to do some major groveling before mia will take him back.

here's the thing. i don't always enjoy these dustups between couples because i think they are overdramatic and unnecessarily unrealistic. but i could have lived with the initial distancing that they go through. but when he comes back to talk to her and she barely listens and sends him away, i didn't like that. the fact that she then only listened to him when he did this crazy public display makes me want to die of embarrassment for the characters. even if it's fictional those kinds of moments in stories pull me out of the groove and make me cringe.

all's well that end's well, but just be aware that public groveling happens in this book. just in case it's not your thing.

**cowboy stole my heart will publish on january 2, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press in exchange for my honest review.

Cowboy Stole My Heart by Soraya Lane is the first book in the new contemporary romance River Ranch series. This is a story of two people who clash upon first meeting but have an obvious attraction to one another all the while working on a ranch trying to save a horse from being put down.

Sam is a top notch horse trainer who has been called in by Mia to see if he can tame a horse that she is determined to save. The two clash but Sam sees something in the animal that he can’t walk away from putting him in contact daily with Mia where the two finally give in to their attraction.

I will say I’m a sucker for animals so as soon as I learned the backstory in this one I don’t think I could put it down until I found out what would happen to the horse in the story. The book seemed to slow down a lot in the middle but I half question if that was because it wasn’t focusing enough on the horse instead of the angst between Mia and Sam. I didn’t mind them but I also didn’t fall in love with them either.

The ending on this one did actually surprise me a bit though and I actually did rather enjoy it. To me the way this wrapped up was a bit more on the realistic side that the normal romance story and I couldn’t help but applaud Mia at that moment. So in the end I did find this one a nice enough start to the series and would see what comes next.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Cowboy Stole My Heart was a very interesting read for me. Author Soraya Lane did a good job developing the two main characters, Mia Ford, horsewoman and competetive horse-jumper, and Sam Mendes, horse trainer described as an excellent horse whisperer. I found both of these characters to be quite fascinating. Mia grew up living the lifestyle of the wealthy and privledged but wasn't spoiled by it. She is determined to pay her own way and demonstrate strong independence. Sam grew up with an alcoholic father after his mother abandoned him and his sister, He found his way and his passion around horses. At first I didn't feel the chemistry between these two, mostly because Sam was so determined to never fall in love again following a disaster in his past.

The storyline here was a little slow at first but as I read further I became more and more involved in Mia and Sam. The author spelled out the conflict and resolution in this story quite well. She wrote a good story of two people overcoming things in their pasts to find love and a HEA.

it just wasn't my cup of tea, unfortunately! My main issue with this book was the lack of connection I felt with the hero and heroine. While the story outline sounded intriguing, neither character was one I wanted to get to know better. Both were pretty childish in their interactions, and I got tired of their personal insecurities. Instead of making them seem genuine and relatable, it came across as whiny and annoying. Sam had a fascinating job and normally he would have been a hero I could get behind. But the way he interacted with Mia came across as arrogant and snobbish. And Mia, while seemingly independent, lived on her father's land and benefited greatly from his connections. Instead of being humble about it, she appeared overly defensive and stuck up. Not someone I really wanted to root for. Overall, I think the author writes very well, but the characters were not appealing to me.

Soraya Lane's Cowboy Stole My Heart is for the reader who wanted to grow up to be a cowgirl, fall in love with a cowboy and spend everyday riding horses. If your dream didn't come true at least you can live vicariously through Mia Ford!

Mia's dad enlists the help of horse whisperer, Sam Mendes, to help tame an out of control stallion. While Mia is in charge of the horses on her home ranch, she doesn't like Sam strolling in and taking charge of Tex. The two clash over unfavorable first impressions, but soon find a way to work together. This is yet another cowboy romance where our hero and heroine aren't madly in love with each other from the get-go and I am absolutely enjoying it. I start reading and wait in suspense for that moment when it all changes. In some books, it's pretty quick but in others, it takes a while for them to see the light and decide it's better to stop fighting and start kissing.

The connection that Mia and Sam have with horses is genuine and makes me want to find the nearest horse farm. I love stories with characters who have deep bonds with animals because that kindness extends to other characters. They seem more real and down to earth and Sam and Mia exceed those expectations. If you loved Kate Pearce's The Bad Boy Cowboy you'll enjoy Cowboy Stole My Heart!
*ARC provided in consideration for review*

This was a huge DNF for me. I couldn't get past Sam's attitude and Mia's willingness to let him trample on over her. She's a feisty thing but when it comes to him it's like she feels she needs to be put in her place?

Absolutely nothing wrong with the writing I just don't like the characters. I was trying to see how far I could go hoping they'd grow but I don't see it happening.

These two started with bad impressions with each other and didn’t get along. It kept the story going and was interesting. This book started good but less than halfway through it slowly gets boring. The sexual tension and romance between them was obvious but it just simmers and I craved for more. Well written, interesting characters (I especially liked Sam’s sister Faith). I just longed for something special to happen. I never really got into Sam though near the end with the scene in his own barn he melted my heart a bit. Mia, I thought was awesome. She’s strong, fiery, independent and takes chances. You get the happily ever after but I thought it was abrupt and wished there was more to it. Overall a good read. Fans of cowboy romances will enjoy this.

Reminded me a lot of the book The Horse Whisper. Easy read.

Sigh. If you're a fan of the cowboy romance- horses and ranches and, well, ranch hands- this is for you. Mia is a hard working woman, not a spoiled brat despite the size of her family's holdings but she's got one rotten horse that needs help. Her dad hires Sam as a trainer. You just know what's going to happen next! There's some good back and forth dialogue, some sizzle, and a nice sense of humor. This is well plotted and Sam and Mia are terrific characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a quick and happy read.

Very enjoyable book. I laughed,cried and got really mad at times! Enjoyed the story of all the animals. Sam and Mia are strong people who learn to share more then their love of horses.

Contemporary romance set in Texas with dogs, horses and big money.

This was my first read by Soraya Lane. The author of romance and World War II historical fiction lives in New Zealand. The book was provided by NetGalley for an honest review. I have issues with the book.

1) Location. The story revolves around Mia, the daughter of a rich family who loves horses and Sam, a guy from a broken home who makes good by becoming a horse whisperer. Sam lives about an hour away from Mia’s family ranch. And there is my problem. In Texas, one hour away is practically next door. Disclaimer -- I grew up in Texas. I have difficulty believing that these two didn’t know of each other, or hadn’t previously met.

2) Mia’s friends. Mia has two friends, Kit and Kimberley (hurray for female friendships). One of these friends was killed in an accident. The accident is the reason the horse whisperer was needed. I had difficulty keeping these friends straight in my head. It would have been better if the friends had completely opposite names, instead of both beginning with K.

3) Sam and Mia. Until I hit 80%, I didn’t really like either Sam or Mia. I felt Sam was an a-hole. Mia wasn’t much better. Were they were written this way to demonstrate how they both protected themselves? I just didn’t like them. There was a brief reference to Sam’s military service in Iraq, but it was never fully explained. At 80% Mia finally tugged at my heart and I felt her pain. Pardon me while I wipe the tears from my eyes.

4) The Grand Gesture. Chapter 23, 96% into the book Sam stages a grand gesture for Mia. And she says no. In front of a large crowd. I was shocked. If you are going to all this trouble, at least have it turn out positively. No was not the answer I was looking for.

5) Epilogue. The HEA is explained in the epilogue. It was good up until the very last paragraph. I had to re-read that paragraph three times to try to understand what Sam was thinking. I think I understand, but I am not sure. Not being sure is the problem.

2 & ½ stars, rounded up to 3 Stars.