First of all - warning - this story contains a scene of sexual assault. If you can't handle it just stop right now. That's not why I gave this a lower rating though. The title, technically the man lived on a ranch and had horses and some animals, but he was a sheriff. So if you're looking for a true cowboy story this isn't it. Second they kept calling it the South and referencing Yankees and up North but the story is set in Southern California., last I knew, all references of things Southern would be more like Georgia Alabama or Mississippi area not Cali. There was a fair amount of sex scenes that I was getting bored with and skimmed a few. The overall story was good there were just faults in the execution in my opinion

This was a new to me author and I loved the idea of someone moving back to a small town and a rekindling of sorts.

I liked Sam and Hunter well enough. I enjoyed their banter and the button pushing. I didn’t quite believe their “chemistry” and would have like more conversation of substance.

Plot wise, it was sort of a hot mess. I liked the idea of the mystery, but there was so much sex all over the place, the idea of an actual plot {which happened to be a sex trafficking slash terrorist ring O_o} seemed to be added as an afterthought. There wasn’t any tension or sense of urgency.

Oh and by the way, the very climax of the story has Sam tied up, stripped, and assaulted in front of Hunter and a bunch of other bad guys. Then she gets free and her and Hunter go have sex. So there’s that. And yeah, I’m not putting this under a spoiler tag because everyone needs to see this. It was quite graphic and jarring.

Overall, the story had a lot of potential, but fell flat for me. If it wasn’t for the last few pages, it would have been a 2 star read, but I can’t over look the ending. I will not be reading any other stories in this series.

**Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Paperbacks for providing the arc free of charge**

I'm usually a fan of cowboy romances but let's face it- this isn't about a cowboy, it's really about Sam, who is the sheriff in a small California town where there have been several murders. She finds herself reunited with her childhood crush Hunter. You know these two will get together so it's the journey that's important- and that's what failed for me. There's some stilted language, some steamy sex scenes, and a somewhat illogical mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

First book in a new series

Sadly One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick was just an “Ok” read for me. I liked the premise of the story, with Hunter and Samantha reconnecting, this time both adults. I just didn’t feel the chemistry though the sex scenes were plentiful but often at odd times considering the potential danger around them. I also thought the location, California and the southern drawls just didn’t make sense. Nor did the title, I don’t really see hunter as a cowboy at all.
I received an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Y'all. This Book!

I loved it, i loved everything. the way its written and the plot, the pace, the characters and the romance. Yes the romance was of the charts hotter then hell, the chemistry these two have is busting from the pages. And the suspense mystery of whats happening around them all, had me leaping of the sofa and pacing it was so good. i didn't mind the killings, the people acting weird it all was a perfect balance and i was trash for it all. i can not wait for more, i am so happy with this new series.

Entertaining story!

To sum it up:

* Good storyline that progresses nicely
* Characters descriptions is good
* No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
* A good amount of dialogues

I liked the story but it’s not a “wow” for me, that’s why I give it 4 stars.

One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh; Veronica Chadwick
One reviewer said that Lora’s Books can scorch the ink of the pages….so right. If explicit sex scenes are not your bag, then this author is not for you. Samantha when young used to follow Hunter around and some times bother his girl friends as he was older. She leaves town and when her Aunt dies, under suspicious circumstances she comes back. Hunter loses a loved one also under circumstances he isn’t falling for. The plot gets really good with so much more going on intrigue, sex trafficking, guns blazing and a showdown…. but they are all interrupted by Hunter and Samantha having sex scenes. Some times they interrupt the story line that I’m interested in and it goes to far for me. I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought it would. I found myself skimming through the sex scenes to get back to the rest of the story. That is not how I usually read a book. I wish there were more of the mystery they were trying to solve. Not so much nakedness and some of it seemed unbelievable to me. I gave this three stars…..a quick read but not really my cup of tea in totality.

I received this book through NetGalley.com and the publisher in the hopes that I would provide an honest review which I’ve done. #OneToughCowboy #LoraLeigh #VeronicaChadwick



Description as found on NetGalley.com –

First in a brand-new series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick about one man’s pursuit of justice—and unbridled desire.


LAW AND ORDER.
For as long as Samantha can remember, Hunter—a man as strong as steel, with a heart of gold—has been her hero. It came as no surprise to Samantha when she found out that the ranch-hardened cowboy who always protected her from bullies went on to become the town’s sheriff. What does surprise her is how incredibly hot he still is. And how much she still wants him…


PRIDE AND PASSION

And, lo and behold, Hunter still has feelings for Samantha. The long-smoldering heat of their innocent flirtation has grown into a full-raging fire. But when tragedy strikes, and their small-town community is shattered, Hunter vows to do everything he can to keep his childhood sweetheart safe. But can Samantha trust that Hunter has her best interests at heart…and that, after all these years, his love is true?

“Leigh’s books can scorch the ink off the page.”—RT Book Reviews (less)

One Tough Cowboy has the potential to be really good story. I was very interested in the plot at the beginning, and then in the middle the plot just died in favor of sex. What? Not only was there a lot of sex, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but each scene was repetitive, so it got boring. Not only was the sex boring after a while, it was the most ridiculous unrealistic sex I have ever read in a book. We are talking, they have sex, he finishes, and before he even pulls out he’s hard again and they have sex again, he finishes, and again doesn’t get to pull out and he’s hard again and they have sex a third time. This happens several times, no, not happening, ever. Then there is the unrealistic timing of sex, in the middle of a murder investigation, nah let’s have sex instead. Just got in a shoot out, sounds good for sexy time. Supposed to be on a steak out, let’s have sex not once, but twice, because you know the bad guys are just going to wait to do bad things until after you are done. But the most unrealistic part was something I’m not going to into detail about, but let’s just say that no woman be would be jumping into sex anytime soon, and here we have sex the same night. On top of the boring, unrealistic sex, there was Sam, she would of been a decent character but she is that girl, that girl that says “no” when she really means “yes”. Thankfully Hunter was written well enough that he stopped several times and made sure Sam wasn’t actually saying no. There is nothing sexy about rape, and having half of your sex scenes start with the woman saying no through the first half just becomes annoying, nothing sexy there.

Finally in the last couple of chapters the plot resurfaces, but then it’s a wham, bam, thank you mam, and it’s over. This story overall wasn’t bad, but it could of been so much more.

I needed to read One Tough Cowboy. I had come off a string of books that had some heavy subjects in them. I needed a book that I could read, not worry about the plotline and enjoy. I got that in this book.

The plot of One Tough Cowboy was pretty simple. Samantha has come back to the town she grew up in for her beloved Aunt’s funeral. She is also there to investigate her aunt’s death. See, her aunt overdosed on pain medication. The only thing, she didn’t like to take it and that was a well-known fact. Which made her death very suspicious not only to Samantha but to Hunter, the sheriff for her hometown. The deeper Samantha and Hunter dig into her death, the more danger they both are in. Who killed Samantha’s aunt? And why?

I liked Samantha. She was going to back down when it came to investigating her aunt’s death. As a detective in the Detroit police force, she was tough. She wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way. I was chanting, in my head, “You go girl” every time she did something that empowered herself. Loved it!!

I wasn’t as big of a fan of Hunter. I liked him at the beginning of the book. He knew something shady was going on. There was a string of suspicious deaths which included his uncle. But he lost his mind as soon as Samantha arrived. Strike that. As soon as he had sex with her. Then it went all downhill from there. He spent all his free time (which seemed to be a lot) in bed with her. People were starting to comment on it. I kinda wanted to shake him and say “Dude, it can’t be that good.” But since it is a book, I had to be satisfied with muttering to myself.

I will say that the sex scenes were scorching hot. The sparks between Hunter and Samantha were hard to ignore. I figured that they would have sex early in the book. But, they had hot sex every single time. Every single time. It was amazing that the author could keep that sexual attraction and tension up the entire book. I mean, with most books, they usually lost it after the first encounter. I also liked that there was a bit of voyeurism in this book. Hunter got caught watching his friend nail a chick outside his house. People kept walking in on Samantha and Hunter as they were messing around. That made the sex spicier and, dare I say, hotter?

The suspense angle was wonderfully written too. You knew who the major players were early in the book. But, what they were doing was kept under wraps until almost the end of the book. I was taken by surprise at what was going on. But, at the same time, I had no problem imagining what was going on actually happening in real life.

There are a few disturbing scenes that are later on in the book. There is an attempted rape (well, there was penetration with fingers. Is that considered rape?). It was graphic and disturbed me.

I didn’t like how the book ended. Not getting into it but I would be pissed if I was woken up and told that. Talk about rushing into something. Jeeze.

I would give One Tough Cowboy an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is violence. There is language. There are trigger warnings. They would be attempted rape, human trafficking, and domestic violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread One Tough Cowboy. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

When Sam returns home to attend her grandmothers funeral, she finds Hunter, she’s had a crush on him forever. He’s now the sheriff and wants her as his deputy and so much more. Soon they are chasing human traffickers and their attraction just keeps growing. Two thumbs way up!!!!!!!

One Tough Cowboy was a nice quick read. I didn't really get much of a cowboy vibe from the setting or the characters. It had more of a southern feel to me. The romance was the usual older man younger woman. She followed around pestering him and then she grew up to be a gorgeous woman he couldn't resist. The story was a mystery which was really interesting. only problem was that there wasn't enough of it because there was so many bedroom scenes. So many it interrupted the story. I am intrigued about Hunter's friend Jacob and will read the next book in the series. If you love a quick romance with lots of nakedness then this is your book

The pages are action-packed, with characters that make you want to move to a small town to feel the love and others that make you glad you didn't. There is also one character, Jacob, that I really would like to see more of as he is an intriguing, secretive, good guy.

If I gave stars for reviews I would have to give this five plus because when I did manage to put it down I was wondering what was going on in the town, would Sam give in to the emotional and physical pull and would they manage to work together when she tended to make everything a contest, and she hated to lose. ONE TOUGH COWBOY will stay with you, make you think, make you sigh and make you want more.

Annetta Sweetko, Reviewer for Fresh fiction

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=67490

One Tough Cowboy is my first read by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. Hunter finds himself dealing with 3 seemingly unrelated deaths within his county. Hunter is former Special Forces who is ruggedly handsome and totally swoonworthy. Hunter begins to put clues together detecting a pattern of corruption within his county starting within his own department all the way to the mayor and beyond. When Samantha comes back into his life Hunter finds himself in a new mode of operation, protector. Samantha returns to Deerhaven for the funeral of her Aunt Dottie. Samantha realizes she can not return to Detroit without knowing who killed her aunt. Samantha was known as Pixie Pest to Hunter. She was always sabotaging Hunter’s dates and needing him to bail her out of trouble as a young girl. Hunter and Samantha begin a steamy love affair. But will their quest to bring justice to their loved ones end in tragedy or will love prevail? Read One Tough Cowboy to find out. This hot, steamy romance is a thriller too. If you like your romance with a bit of suspense then you will enjoy this read. The bedroom scenes (not all in the bedroom either) are very hot. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sizzling hot read. I jumped right in and was hooked immediately. I loved Hunter. He was sexy and smart and the perfect alpha for head strong Sam. They complimented each other perfectly. The first part of the book was great with a good mystery. The second part however became very distracting. I cant believe im saying this but the sex scenes were to long and far to many that it took away from the actual mystery and romance. It became boring. Then everything was rushed and tied up with a nice little bow with no understanding of how we got there. So j would give the first half of the book a 4 star and the last half maybe 2.

The story started well with an intrigue of healthy older people dying of what looked like natural causes. This was the premise to reunite two people who are both now in the police force in their respective city. They join their efforts to try figuring out the deaths as the older people were healthy, but a lot of the story is more about the relationship between the two main characters. There is lots of sex which at some point, becomes too much. The main intrigue is relegated to the back and questions are answered very quickly, without too many explanations. I skipped many passages. I also wonder about the title of the book as the main male character is a sheriff, not a cowboy. There is not much about the cowboy world in this book. Quite disappointing as I like Mrs. Leigh series usually. There will be a second volume with another character, Jacob, who seems very intriguing. I will give it a chance.

3.5 stars
I love sexy cowboys and this one hit the spot! This was a first for me from Veronica but totally did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more of her work.
One Tough Cowboy had everything, romance, suspense, sweet times, sexy times and relatable characters you wish were totally real. I could do without so much sex, I actually skim over a lot of these pages. I am not a prude but sometimes less is more and I read because of the story not because of the sexy times. There is a situation that could be noted as a trigger warning just in case anyone has issues with (attempted) sexual assault. All in all this is a great introduction to both authors if they are new to you and if you enjoy a good romantic suspense with a great plot and well developed characters.

Good story. Great plot. In my opinion, there was too much sex; unrealistic. Sex should be used to enhance the story not take it over. A good rule of thumb is that if it doesn't make the story better, you don't need it. This one had strong characters and a good storyline so it wasn't needed.

This book was gifted to me by the authors and the publisher in return for an honest review.

This is the first book in a new series and i liked the blurb and cover so i wanted to give it a try. It started out interesting with backstory and Samantha coming back to town for her aunts funeral. It's just slowly started falling apart from there. There's all this stuff going on in the area, drugs, trafficking and terrorists and yet these two are having sex every other page. Hunter is supposed to be the law and he's screwing around in the police station with Sam. To many people in the story and we don't know who they are. Lots of loose ends and after what happens to Samantha at the end of the story she's suddenly hunky dory the next day? No way.



Find out more about Lora Leigh and this series here www.loraleigh.com

I have read Lora Leigh in the past but it has been several years since I've read her so I was excited to see what new stories she has written and stumbled upon One Tough Cowboy co-written with Veronica Chadwick. The premise of this book sounded really interesting. There was a mystery and murder to be solved with some romance between childhood friends. Sounded like a great story. However I am saddened to say that this story was just not for me. I never thought I would ever say this but there was just too much sex in this story. Lots and lots of explicit sex and not that much detecting or crime solving for my liking, especially considering the hero is the sheriff and the heroine is a cop. I expected more action and I don't mean in the bedroom because there was enough of that to last me a lifetime. And here's a bit of a spoiler so stop reading if you don't want to read this but the one thing that pushed it over the edge for me was the explicit attempted rape scene, on the heroine no less. It was just too much for me. My heart couldn't handle it.

*I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book*

Normally an author I would read in a heartbeat but I could not find any interest in this book. I'm sure other will find it delightful..

Thank you.