Samantha returns to small-town Deerhaven after the death of her Aunt Dottie. Hunter is the sheriff of Deerhaven and he’s worried about this latest death. It’s the third death and Hunter is suspicious, despite the credible explanations. Cop, Samantha doesn’t believe her aunt’s death is a natural one either, and she decides to investigate. This puts her head-to-head with Hunter, her childhood champion.

The title of the book led me to believe there would be a cowboy. Not true. The hero is the sheriff of a small town, and that is the extent of the cowboy angle. The main characters in this series are great. Both Sam and Hunter strike sparks off each other, and I liked them as they investigate the three suspicious deaths. The suspense part of the plot takes a back seat to the love scenes, and given the world building and suspense, the balance between this and the sex scenes feels off. There is one particular scene where the hero and heroine are watching for the villains, but they have a steamy encounter instead.

The conclusion of the story left me with a meh feeling. The story wasn’t bad, but the skewed balance between the plot and the love scenes took away from my overall enjoyment of One Tough Cowboy.

Well, I couldn't really get into this book so it's only fear to admit that I quit around the 30% mark of the story.
Samantha is back in town after her aunt has died. She was told it was from her taking too much medication, but she believes she was killed. She believes this to be true even more after learning she is the third person to die. All three were close. Hunter is now the town sheriff. The same Hunter that Samantha used to follow and was in love with until he acted like he didn't remember her when she was back one summer.

Great plot so far.
But then the book lost my attention. The writing was well - just didn't hold my attention.
Might be a good read for someone else though.

I enjoyed this book. One Tough Cowboy is a suspense romance. The author did a great job keeping you guessing. I love the two main characters Samantha and Hunter. There was a lot of sexy steamy scenes throughout the story. This book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. I would recommend this book. I received an advance copy from Net Galley for my honest opinion.

When Samantha witnesses a murder, she is being guarded by a handsome, hard to get to know man, Hunter, and his beautiful daughter. As danger draws closer and closer to Sam, Hunter, and his daughter, Sam wants to flee to protect the new family she has come to love. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, captivating and thrilling, riveting the reader to the story line, and a must read love story.
I reviewed an ARC through NetGalley.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book when Sheriff Hunter was working with an old friend Samantha to find out who killed their relatives in the small town they grew up in. Unfortunately, it turned into a tangled storyline with corrupt politicians, human trafficking, and terrorists. With such serious crime going on I found it irritating that Hunter and Sam couldn't keep it professional even on a stake-out. I'm all for some red hot romance but this seemed out of control. So -so.

First book in the series and it was an ok read for me. It left me on the fence. Could have gone either way. I thought the plot was good but had trouble with the characters both Hunter and Sam. There are a few secondary threads through the story and suspense of course and some serious sheet burning between Sam and Hunter. Simply, I didn't feel connected or invested in the story. Still it was a good book to read, easy and simple.

arc from NetGalley and publisher for an honest review

It's been a while since I've read a book by Lora Leigh and this will be my last. There were multiple scenes in this book that I have read in past books by Ms. Leigh. Also, very little story and a lot of sex, this book lacks substance in many areas.

One Tough Cowboy is an amazing read. I love the hot cowboy sheriff and the suspense that follows through out this read. You are in for a treat with this one. Hunter and Samantha couldn't be more perfect for each other. They will burn your pages as they work together to solve what is going down in their town. Samantha is one little firecracker. Not only is she a cop but she doesn't take crap from the other men. Hunter what can I say I love his alpha side. I love how just does everything he can to make Samantha his. I for one can't wait for more to come in this series. This is an amazing read that I couldn't put down.

I was looking forward to a new series from Lora Leigh. This was a pretty decent start. I did like both Samantha and Hunter. I liked that they had history, not romantic, though. The one problem that I had was that there seemed to be more emphasis on having a ton of sex during parts of the story that it really wasn’t appropriate (ex. during a stake out). It’s kind of hard to see the characters as professional and committed law enforcement when all they seemed to think about was sex. Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s not a problem with things that I read but I like it in context. I understand that the physical closeness between Sam and Hunter helps foster their relationship and is used to show how it helps build an emotional connection that has always been there. I did like that the bad guys and that their situation weren’t just some foggy distant danger like in some previous writings. I am looking forward to Jacob’s story and to see a resolution to the investigation.

I don't know how to review this book. This book had great potential. The plot of the tracking down the murders in the town really had me engaged. The romance between Samantha and Hunter had me engaged. But....somehow the two together didn't work, and the book got bogged down with sex. Either this book needs to be an erotic romance (which by the way this has a LOT of sex in it, so much so I started to skip the sex parts) or a more contemporary romance with more story and less sex.

When I was reading this book, I personally wanted more of the story, not pages upon pages (not exaggerating) of descriptive sex. Don't get me wrong, I love a good erotic story, but not mixed in with my suspense. The suspense could of been good, it was almost there....until it wasn't. I mean, Hunter and Sam are about to do a stakeout on a rest stop and they have time for hours of endless sex in a cave? This is Sheriff and his subordinate police officer. This isn't smart, professional, or anything. How about a conversation, discussing the future, talking about your plan when the bad guys get there, anything besides your private parts.

At that point I just couldn't anymore. There were things I let slide but that was the last straw. I love strong hero's and heroine's and these two were almost there, but I need them to be smart and I didn't feel that the MCs in this book were smart, even for a erotic novel. They just continued to make terrible choices and think with their private parts and not their heads. This book wasn't for me. I needed something more.

Crikey moses this was a lot sexier than i had anticipated. The sex scenes are scorching and the story was really good.

Never really read anything by this author before but after reading this i will be keeping an eye out for other titles.

2* Well, there are no tough cowboys in this, and Lora Leigh is still writing this kind of tired tale? Really?

I used to devour this author's books when she was leaving Ellora's Cave to set up as a more respectable, mainstream author, with her early Breeds tales being some of her best. Yes, they're all sex-heavy/plot lite, but somehow I'd hoped that she'd gone for a more intelligent read with this one. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

This tale has very little plot, too many characters who make an appearance, get bigged up as baddies and then fade away. It seems that when this author isn't writing about Breeds, she's writing about small town USA and their bad guys: militia types, drug smugglers, bad cops, bad mayor, etc.; her formula doesn't change, unfortunately, which makes the non-Breeds tales entirely interchangeable. And it has far too much sex. There's no real plot to this, other than some filler around some really, really, really unrealistic and repetitive sex. And there's not even one tough cowboy, not even if you count Jacob, who was clearly being bigged up for a book of his own.

I kind of feel that this author comes across as a bit disrespectful to women these days - pack a book full of sex because women will read it, because that's what they want/need in their tales, right? Wrong! At least with this woman who respects her eyes and brain and values her time. And, the tale feels really, really dated, because it's essentially an update, with a new title, of an Ellora's Cave book from 10+ years back. It's tired and it's boring and it makes me think I don't want to read this author any more.

There's a totally WTF??? scene in this, with a character called Tom Novak, the mayor and the lead of this book. I mean, it was utterly, utterly ridiculous and totally debunkable by at least 2 different sources, even if you discount mobile phone records, and I wonder why the authors and the publishers didn't consider rewriting this scene. It was basically a load of tosh and didn't wash at all. And you know, a supposedly kickbutt, cop female dropping panties whilst in a place of work, doors unlocked, sexy does not make. An airhead controlled by her constantly gushing girl parts is what it makes. Really, did the new publishers even look at this book?

We need strong males, strong females in MF contemp tales, not ones who think with their nether regions and who seem to constantly be gushing fluids. It was sort of OK in erotica/romantica when LL cornered the market with her EC books, but come on, things have moved on and women need and want more. Except, I don't think that LL has moved on, or can do much more than cut and paste.

ARC courtesy of St Martin's Press and NetGalley, for my reading (dis)pleasure.

If you are looking for or in the mood for a totally racy book, this is the one for you! I think there are more sexy scenes than actual time devoted to the story and the sizzling chemistry between Sheriff Hunter Steele and Samantha Ryder is off the charts. Personally, I did not anticipate all the lusty scenes when I started the book and was thrown by almost every chapter containing a heady scene. If this is what floats your boat, get this book!

The story of Samantha and Hunter. She knew him when she was a child, before she left town. Now she is back and all grown up. Although I liked the story between the two main characters, the end of the book was disappointing to me.

**I received a copy of One Tough Cowboy from St. Matin's Press and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. The opinions below are mine and mine alone or solicited in any way.**

One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. I've read Ms. Leigh"s Elite Ops series and decided to give this a try. I have to say I tried to like this book more than 4 stars worth but I couldn't with this story and am disappointed in saying I didn't. But I do give it 3.6 stars for trying to make the second chance at love somewhat believable.

Hunter Steele now Sheriff has suspicions that those close to him are being killed because of what they know about the Mayor of Deerhaven, California has something to do with their deaths. Especially since one of them was his Uncle Zachariah. But its Dottie Coulter and he knows that Samantha Ryder won't let it rest until she finds out why her beloved Aunt Dottie has dies unexpectedly. Since Hunter know that she'll return he wonders if he'll be hard pressed to keep his hands off the woman who was known as "Pixie Pest" as a child. He knows that there is a dark underside to Deerhaven with drugs and now perhaps a terrorist cell?

Samantha Jolene Ryder loved her Aunt Dottie and knows that something isn't right as she knows her aunt hated pain pills. But while at the wake she runs into Hunter and decides that he may know something and did I mention that she's has a crush on him since childhood? While dodging sniper bullets and doing what she does best being a detective in Detroit she'll have wild monkey sex with Hunter in very interesting ways. Because of this I feel that what could've been a wonderful story it just fell flat for me. I still want to know did the bad guys get what was they was due to them? We know her former boyfriend she as heck did what about the others?

It’s been years since I read this story! I found it to be a pretty fast paced book that throws a lot of information at you in a short amount of time. You really need to pay attention or you will miss some info. Did I mention that the sex scenes were hot and plentiful? Oh, yeah. Throw everything together and you’ve got a pretty good erotic suspense.
Happy reading

Small town romance with a hot sheriff is a favorite of mine these days and getting the steam factor that you get from Lora Leigh, I knew it was going to be good. Hunter Steele is the sheriff of Deerhaven, who is in the middle of three mysterious deaths and not many people he trusts. One of those mysterious deaths was the aunt of Samantha Ryder. Sam had left Deerhaven when she was a child. There is some history between Hunter and Sam, he was her champion as a child, protected her from bullies while she idealized him, followed him around and sabotaged his dates. She is now back to take care of her Aunt Dottie’s effects. While she is in town, she is determined to find out what happened. She is actually a police officer in Detroit so she can be an asset to Hunter. What ensues is a whole lot of suspense, drama, and some hot sexy scenes. Their story is intense and definitely kept me on pins and needles. There was one particular scene that was almost too difficult to read. But overall I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading on in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary copy of One Tough Cowboy. All opinions are my own.

The story was good. A bit too much sex, I wanted more of a storyline.
Thanks netgalley for the arc

Samantha had a crush on Hunter since she was a kid. He was always her protector. Now that her grandmother has died, she has to come back home. Not only to deal with the house, property, will, she has to see what she can do to find out who killed her grandmother! Hunter is now the town Sheriff and, he is trying to find out who killed his grandfather. Since Sam is also a detective, she and Hunter decide to work together to find out exactly what's going on in this very small town. Four unexplained deaths of people who were all lifelong friends give Sam and Hunter quite the case to solve but, they are determined to find out what happened, who did it and, WHY?????
The crush that Sam had has turned into full blown, OMG he's hot!!! Hunter is having the same problem!
Now, they not only have to work together to solve these cases, they have to have each others backs, while trying to keep their attraction from bubbling over into a fire that just might burn them both!!!

I received for an honest review from netgalley

I love a great cowboy read but this one really dpoke to me I loved it I just couldn’t put it down I wanted to climb in my book and just ride out the story fantastically well written a must read