This book is a good fit for readers who enjoy stories about childhood friends reconnecting as adults and discovering a deeper romantic connection, set against the backdrop of small-town life and the pursuit of justice.

I absolutely adore Lora Leigh and everything she writes. But this book just wasn't for me. Two big aspects just didn't mesh together and it made it very hard to complete.

This story had a promising start and I was intrigued but unfortunately, it didn't hold my interest. After several attempts of stopping and starting and pushing myself to read it in hopes I would connect, I called it quits. I'm sorry to say this one didn't do it for me.

I didn’t really like this one. The original setup was good and could have made a great story. But the graphic scenes just needed something more to be able to carry the book.

One Tough Cowboy features a romance between a woman returning to her hometown and falling for her first crush all over again.

Samantha Ryder never planned to return to her hometown of Deerhaven, California but after her beloved Aunt Dottie dies under mysterious circumstances, Sam is determined to find out what happened. After Sam arrives in Deerhaven she begins working with Hunter Steele, the town sheriff and Sam's first crush, to find out what happened to Dottie. As the attraction between Sam and Hunter grows, the two dig into Dottie's death discovering a conspiracy that runs deeper than either of them ever imagined.

Sam had a penchant for trouble growing up but now she is a Detroit police officer. Sam is distrustful by nature and as such she is immediately suspicious about her aunt's death. I liked how Sam refused to back down when it came to investigating Dottie's death. Hunter knows illegal activity is going on in Deerhaven and is doing what he can to stem to flood. I liked that Hunter had morals and stuck to them despite the fact everyone around him doesn't make that easy.

Sam and Hunter's relationship is in large part based on their physical attraction to one another. This book is high steam with a lot of sex scenes throughout. Personally I enjoy my romances to be more explicit, so I enjoyed this fact. Unfortunately outside of their attraction to each other, there didn't seem to be a lot to Sam and Hunter's relationship. There were a couple things I didn't enjoy about their romance. First, Hunter is roughly ten years older than Sam and he admits to wanting to sleep with her while she was only seventeen which is a little gross. Second, Hunter has a tendency to override what Sam wants and uses her attraction for him to get his way. So overall their romance didn't completely work for me.

The investigation into Dottie's death proved to be quite interesting and ended up being part of something much bigger. I thought the direction everything went was interesting and overall really enjoyed the suspense plotline. Unfortunately there is a scene towards the end of the book as this plot is being wrapped up that I really didn't like. Sam and Hunter are caught by the bad guys and Sam is sexually assaulted while Hunter is forced to watch. I found this scene to be unnecessary and it was quite disturbing to read. Had this scene not been included, I would have rated this book higher.

Ultimately One Tough Cowboy wasn't for me although I do usually enjoy Lora Leigh's books so I wouldn't judge her work based on this book alone.

This story wasn't everything I was expecting, but the plot was interesting enough that I read the book in one sitting. Unfortunately, the romance element didn't really worked out so well for me. Samantha and Hunter have a past history that I wanted to know more of, but didn't get a chance to experience first-hand. There were some mentions of incidents between Hunter and Samantha in the past and how they related to each other back in the day, but it really didn't showcase any deep connection whatsoever. With that element not fully explored, I wasn't nearly as convinced of their romance as I thought I'd be. Now in terms of chemistry, yes they did have that. And even though I enjoy sex scenes as much as the next gal, I thought they were a tad too many in this story, especially for a pair of individuals who were in the middle of an investigation. I did enjoy some of the lighter moments between Samantha and Hunter, I think with a little more candid moments and a little less time getting each other off, I would have been able to convince myself of their connection. I did enjoy the small-town aspect of the story and the secondary characters that were introduced as well as the twists and turn that kept me engaged in the plot and its resolution.

All in all, an okay read.

Fantastic story! Characters that will steal your heart. A storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat and glued to your kindle! For me it was a love- hate deal as the characters face their demons. You will feel their emotions and struggles. A definite must read.

I have always loved Lora Leigh. I love that she created a whole new universe with the story. Completely amazing and so much heat.

This was my first book that I’ve read from Lora Leigh. So with that I was looking forward to discovering a new author that I could dive into their amazing works. But unfortunately, it was not the case here. I felt that the book fell short of expectations.

The set up for the plot was fantastic and there was huge potential for it to be grand. Samantha and Hunter, both characters were strong and likeable and were thrown into a murder mystery in a small town. The overall story wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either. I expected something more. Happy reading!

Quick read about two people meeting again as adults and finally realizing what they mean to each other.

This book is H O T!! Love it! I love the chemistry between Samantha and Hunter. I love Hunters feelings of wanting to protect Samantha. I love Hunters personality. I will read more from Leigh!

Hunter knew something was going on when three people in his small county were killed. Each made to look accidental unless you truly knew the victim. He was on guard and knew who to trust and who not to trust. When Samantha returns to attend her Aunt’s funeral she had the same doubts. Encountering this blast from his past again he couldn’t help but remember the child who followed him around and caused him endless amounts of trouble. They embark together to solve the crimes that took a treasured loved one from them both. Finding the answers is all that matters when they uncover something bigger than both of them.

If you love a story with lots of sex this is the book you want to read. Frankly, it was a bit overdone for my taste, but still entertaining. Great characters, well developed plot.

There were so many f*cking things wrong with this holy sh*t

Rape just to further a nonexistent plot - the plot that existed didn't seem to have any real place in the story. Just take out the weird sex trafficking / terrorist "plot" and call it what it should have been: erotica. Then to make it 500% worse than it already was, at the climax of the story the MC is tied up and brutally raped by terrorists in front of the love interest who she proceeds to have sex with a couple pages after the assault happens. First of all, what the F*CK were the authors thinking writing a scene like that? Not only is it completely unnecessary but they are completely insensitive to the way rape victims actually behave after being assaulted. I'm so sick of authors not doing their research when it comes to trauma, and I'm equally as sick of them using sexual assault as a plot device.

a domineering Male love interest who at every chance inappropriate or not wanted to stick his d*ck in her - see point above about having sex with the main character pages after being assaulted.

he pretty much coerced her into transferring her job to their city so he's her boss - let's just start with the complete LACK OF RESPECT I have for the main character for allowing herself to be convinced to do this in a way that wasn't completely her own terms. Not to mention (it's been a while since I read this so I might be off here) I'm pretty sure the love interest actually calls her boss for her or something equally as shitty and makes the decision for her, after she explicitly stated she wouldn't do it, using his position of power over her to control her and make her decisions for her.

gross foot fetish sh*t NO F*CKIN THANKS - this is a personal preference, you do you, but I CANT with foot fetishes. Seriously grossed me out.

the sex scenes were written so cringey just UGH - DO NOT USE THE WORD SOPPING. JUST DON'T. ITS NOT CUTE. It's not hot. That word should never be used in a romance novel unless the goal is to make someone vom in their mouth. Outside of this the writing just felt stilted and awkward which is crazy to me since these are apparently very well known romance authors? I know this one was written by a duo but in that case maybe they should have spent more time editing and reworking scenes until it flowed better.

These authors needs to do their research and be trauma informed if they're going to write about it. I think I honestly will never choose to read anything by these authors after reading this.

I enjoyed the story enough but there were definitely things that bothered me.
Samantha and Hunter knew each other when they were kids bit lost touch after her family abruptly moved away. Tragedy has brought them back together to get to the bottom of their small town murders. I did not feel the connection between these two. Yes, there is an age gap and Samantha had a crush on him when she was younger but there were no examples or reminiscing of any sort. Some of the love scenes made me cringe. There were some real odd descriptors used. I would have really liked to see more focus on the murders and the investigation. While this wasn’t what I expected I am going to give the next book in the series a shot when it comes out.

I was really excited about this book! Lora Leigh has been one of my favorite go-tos when I'm in the mood for a dirty talking uber alpha. Make him a cowboy, and I'm chomping at the bit! Unfortunately, this book was better in theory than it turned out in practice.

I loved the set up and potential of the story. Samantha has always loved Hunter from afar. He was ten years her senior while she was a troublemaking child and her crush was ultimately water under the bridge of their years apart. But then then a murder mystery brings these two together again when Hunter's uncle and her grandmother both die a suspicious death that's set to look like a suicide when they both know it isn't. Hunter is now the sheriff of the small town they grew up in. And Samantha is no longer the pixie pest he ones knew, but a hardened Detroit cop. When their pasts bring them together in the future, sparks obviously fly.

Sounds great, right? It could have been. Had the story, suspense, and their relationship been fleshed out more. As it was, the entire story was overrun but sex. All of the sex. So. Much. Sex.

Now look, I'm the last person to complain about a hot love scene. But when that's the only thing that's essentially driving the story, I get bored. I need more. I wanted so badly to connect to Hunter and Sam's relationship, but I felt nothing. Their build up was so good, but then when they do get together....meh. Not even a spark for me. I felt no chemistry between them after they have sex. It was lackluster at best and continued to fizzle the more they did it. It became ridiculous. Stakeout? They have sex. Bad guys may be watching? Sex! A bit of story? Sex sex sex and all of the sex! Anti-climactic ending with a predictable baddy that ends with a horrible assault on Sam? Sex right after! The story had such great potential, but unfortunately just fizzled out for me right around 20%.

I will say that there's a secondary character that was introduced here that immediately caught my attention and I'm invested enough to read his book which will be the next in the series.

Did not care for this book. There was no connection between the characters, sex at weird times (doing a stakeout for their lives), the ex-boyfriend so mad he wants to rape his ex-girlfriend in front of Hunter to hurt him and then kill him. The scenes were just raunchy just to be raunchy, no love no redeeming anything.

The storyline was engaging, and separately, I think the characters were well flushed out, but if it were not for the suspense, I'm not sure that I would have kept reading. There was far too much focus on the sex scenes than the build up between the two characters, so the romance wasn't what I had expected. Still, it made for an engaging read even if it wasn't quite as satsifactory as I'd hoped

3.5 stars

Sometimes knowing what to expect from author can be a detriment for a reviewer. With Lora Leigh, most of her books carry us along on a tide of suspense, erotic love-making, and plot twists and turns that keep us guessing. Then there’s One Tough Cowboy, which is part of the Moving Violations series. If it were by an unknown author, I’d have said it was a pretty good book, with a couple of minor issues. But because it IS Lora Leigh, its something of a yawner.

Samantha had a crush on Hunter when he protected her from bullies as they were growing up. When she comes back to the town of Deerhaven, California, to settle the estate of her aunt Dottie, she finds he’s just as protective as ever-and hotter. But she’s now a cop in Detroit and she smells something fishy about her aunt’s death-and so does Hunter. Can they find a way to work together to solve the series of mysterious deaths in the little town without giving in to the attraction between them?

I had several logistic problems with the story. The coincidence of having Sam’s abusive former boyfriend from Detroit involved in the crimes going on in the California town is not really believable, especially when other police officials have heard he’s shady. Why would a cop in California know anything about an information officer in Detroit?

I also question why Sam would start a relationship with Hunter, then start working for him. That one just screams sexual harassment, but Hunter just walks out when that accusation is made.
There is some hot action on the pages -and between the sheets- along with a yummy hero, a smart, determined heroine, and an interesting cast of characters. It just isn’t up to Lora Leigh’s usual standards, which is a bit disappointing.

Hunter and Samantha are working together to solve a case, however based on how they can't keep their hands off of each other, I am surprised they got anything done. They were a bit unprofessional at times but it was a good read.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**