Odd things are things happening in Hunter's town, including the seemingly random deaths of 3 people, one of which is his uncle, and another is the aunt of his childhood friend, Sam.
Sam returned to the town of her youth after hearing of her aunt's death. She had a childhood crush on Hunter and after seeing him again, is surprised to realize her feelings are as strong as ever....and that Hunter shares them.

As the investigation and danger escalates, Hunter and Sam are drawn closer together....and deeper into threes mystery. Will they be able to figure things out before it's too late?

I thought this was an interesting start to a new series. It's full of danger, intrigue, interesting characters, and lots of smexy-times (so many that I found myself skipping pages). Beware of a possible trigger moment. Overall, I give this book a scorching 3 3/4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias.

ARC for honest review with no compensation received from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley

One Tough Cowboy is book 1 in the Moving Violations by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick while this is my first book by these authors rest assured I will be reading more from them!

Loved the back story of Sam and Hunter as kids growing up...her trying to scare his girlfriends away because of her crush and him not recognizing the attraction til much later. When they reconnect again after Sam’s aunt dies and she comes back to Deerhaven and sees Hunter again things start happening between them, their chemistry is off the charts, trying to figure out 3 close friends die under mysterious circumstances and how it ties back to her hometown of Detroit...

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat with hot sexy times, laughter, suspense, intrigue, conspiracy and sexual violence which could be a trigger for some people.

One tough cowboy is the first book in a brand new series by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick and I can say that the series started with a bang! The story was mostly good. Somewhere in the middle of the book, I realized, that I had forgotten one major part of the plot and the reason why Sam returned to her home town. That reason was sort of pushed aside to make room for Sam and Hunter's relationship. They needed to have something solid before everything else happened. The last chapters were page turners and I couldn't put the book down. Some staff were very shocking and I almost stopped reading. Thankfully, a new arrival saved the day and my sanity. I wonder if that person will be a main character in the second book of the series. I will have to wait for that book to come out and find out myself. I will definitely continue with the series because the authors managed to write a good plotline that can be extended to many books and the secondary characters were interesting enough for me to want to read their stories. Sam and Hunter have a good relationship and from the first moment, sparks flew. I would recommend the book and I can't wait to see what the authors will come up with for the next story.

This is the first time I have read this author and I liked the way this was written, the story was interesting and kept my pages turning, I liked the characters.

I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest opinion

I haven't read western romance in a while, so when I was given the opportunity to read One Though Cowboy I was very excited. The story follows Sheriff Hunter Steele a war veteran & Samantha Jolene Ryder a Detroit cop. Both have had their share of heartbreaks and they haven't seen each other since they were very young. But after tragedy hits Sam's family, she had to make her way back to Deerhaven and seeing Hunter again did all kinds of things to her heart. Hunter has been a Sheriff in the town of Deerhaven since he returned from Iraq. He returned home to find a broken marriage full of deceit, and lies that left him with a broken heart.

But as these two old friends meet again, neither of them is the same person they once were, Sam now a cop in Detroit has worked hard to earn the praise & respect of her team. She is strong, intelligent and a very good cop, she is quite capable of taking the bad guys down. And while time in Detroit has left its mark, nothing had prepared Sam for what it was to come after her return to Deerhaven.

Sam's aunt was found dead, and Sam was left with the job to handle her aunt's finances and belongings. And after learning of the circumstances in which her aunt died, she knew there was something amiss and to her surprise, Hunter supported her suspicion of foul play.

In a town as small as Deerhaven there shouldn't be any room for anything other than gossip, but that is not all that is happening in the small quaint and cute town. A series of murders have brought the town to a halt and Hunter & Sam will have to find out who is behind it. Trust becomes a commodity in Deerheaven and Hunter no longer can trust those who he works closest with. With very few options Hunter reluctantly asks Sam for her help, knowing that Sam is the only person he can trust. It isn't long after Sam & Hunter start working together when they find themselves confronting a dangerous & corrupted enemy that will stop at nothing to make sure their business is executed. What follows is an engaging fight between Sam, Hunter & other allies against a greedy politician, corrupted police and money hungry criminals that will stop at nothing.

One Though Cowboy has a great combination of action and sensuality. The scenes between Hunter and Sam are explosive and extremely hot, their attraction has always been there but it took time and working together for them to realize that what started as friendship would soon turn into a flat out hot and sexy romance. I enjoyed this story quite a lot, I found the story & characters engaging and the plot probable. The action was very entertaining and well played out, the scenes and the description put the reader in the front row of an action-packed, sexually charged story that will keep you turning the pages nonstop. I am looking forward to book #2 of the series.

**3.5 Stars**

Anyone who reads a Lora Leigh novel and is surprised by gratuitous and smokin’ hot sex scenes, has obviously never read one of her books before. ONE TOUGH COWBOY might have been co-written by Veronica Chadwick, but this was a classic Lora Leigh novel.

The story follows Samantha, a Detroit police officer who has come back to her small California hometown after the death of her aunt, and Hunter Steele (best cowboy/sheriff name EVER), the man she has always had a crush on and the current town sheriff. There is corruption in their town and people are dying, so it is up to Sam and Hunter to figure it out.

While the corruption plot was interesting, this book was mostly about Sam and Hunter. Their immediate connection and sizzling chemistry leaped off the pages. I loved that Samantha was a police officer. I didn’t expect that and it added a nice element to the story. Some of Hunter’s one-liners made me roll my eyes, but for the most part, he was a sweet, if slightly domineering, alpha hero. There are some pretty brutal parts of this novel so I would caution people who are sensitive to tough subjects.

Were there too many sex scenes? Probably. But I didn’t really mind. They were all well written and HOT. What I didn’t enjoy was the abrupt ending. I felt like the authors just hit their word limit and needed the book to end right that second. There were a lot of dangling plotlines and I would have liked more of a lead into the next book. I also thought the plot bordered on the absurd at some points. I completely understand that this is fiction, but you might just have to suspend your disbelief while reading to really enjoy the story,

Overall, I thought this was a solid start to a new series. If you’re looking for a borderline erotic romantic suspense novel, this is the book for you. I think that Ms. Leigh and Ms. Chadwick make for a great writing duo and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

All I can say with this book is hot, hot, hot! With it being the first book in this new series I can only imagine things getting hotter. Hunter just jumps right off the page and Samantha, you sweet thing.
As always with these authors, the writing and the storyline are perfect. It draws you in from page one and you don’t look up until you have no more left. I can’t wait too see where this series ends up!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I didn't expect the storyline to be what it was, but it was super interesting and pulled me in right away. I love hunter and sam relationship. They connect and understand each other so easily and deeply. Hunter says the sweetest things to sam.
Full Review: https://shahlas-world.blogspot.com/2019/01/great-characters-suspense-and-smoking.html

Warning there are possible triggers in this book for some readers.
I wanted to love this story but I couldn't. It started really good and then it just kind of stalled.I was 50% into the story before it even began to get somewhere and then only really got good the last 15% of the story, although I was really let down that the author decided to take the story in the direction that she did at the very end. It just felt it was not appropriate. JMO

Hot and suspenseful…

This author duo has created a sizzling story full of tension, suspense and passion. Samantha and Hunter are not strangers though I wouldn’t say this was second chance. What may have been was cut short early but Sam is back and though they both were mourning, they were also united in finding justice…

Sam and Hunter were the stars of this sexy, small town romance. Full of quirky characters, a dangerous mystery and chemistry galore, it was a fast-paced yet at times gentle read. Hunter was rightfully cranky as he dealt with resentful staff, suspicious deaths and a blast from the past. Sam was strong and capable with warmth bubbling through her calm exterior. The sparks flew high and the passion sizzled through one after the other blush-worthy scenes. Whew, the fan was on high but the emotional thermometer was just as red hot. They had liked each other – a lot – so while things moved quickly now it was building on all that had come before. And that felt oh so right…

There will be more from this town and I’m looking forward to it all!

This was a really good book. From the twist to the heat of each moment. I love it! The clues, the way each of those deaths were link was really something, Yes, there was the feeling, but, it goes without saying that you need hard evidence with the magnitude of crimes the mayor has committed. I look forward to the next book of the series.

I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

@LoraLeigh_1
@RoniChadwick

4.25 stars
There is always a feeling of nostalgia when one returns home but when there is something fishy going on, the only thing to do is get to the bottom of it. Samantha has returned to her hometown of Deerhaven to deal with handling the estate of her beloved relative that passed away. The one person she never forgot was Hunter, her young girl crush. Hunter is the town sheriff who was put in the position to figure out the mystery surrounding his little place of the world. When Samantha and Hunter run into each other, they seem to fall into their old pattern of poking at one another. However, the more time they spend together, their feelings change and a relationship starts to bloom. Although Samantha is strong in her own right, will Hunter let her join in the investigation to find the culprits? This is a new series from one of my favorite authors and it is a mixed bag. It started out slowly and picked up steam a little more than half way through. The storyline is engaging but there are places where more depth could help with the development to hold the reader’s attention better.
I volunteered to read an advance copy of this book provided by Netgalley.

Samantha and Hunter take a wild ride hunting the bad guys. Sam is feisty and saucy. She has always loved Hunter but is still unsure of his feelings for her. Hunter is busy trying to figure out what is happening in his little town. Once Sam walks back into his life he knows he is never going to let her go. The story is fast paced with plenty of action. The sparks sizzle between Sam and Hunter and their conversations are filled with teasing banter and joviality. It all wraps up with a sweet happy ending.

This book was amazing! it had everything, a super hot and sweet cowboy, a really strong and beautiful woman and a strange and dangerous mystery to be solved.

I think Sam and Hunter's story was really cute, the fact that they've known each other since forever and their feelings for each other had been growing since childhood gave their love story more essence.

No love at first sight for them, they grew up together and Sam was always this messy kid for Hunter. But not anymore, now he can see her for the strong woman that she is and he can't stop himself from falling hard.

They team up in order to solve the mystery deaths of their love ones, but they can't help themselves and things get hotter by the second.

Sam's character has been through a lot and even though she knows Hunter, it's hard for her to trust him and put everything in his hands.

Hunter is used to saving her, and he is finding hard to let her help him. She is not a little girl anymore, and he needs all the help he can get.

If they survive the corruption and violence of their enemies they might have a chance at true love.

Sam came back home when her aunt died. Sam was a police officer and all of her instincts were telling her that her aunts death wasn't an accident. Hunter was the sheriff and he knew something bad was going on in his town but, he hadn't figured out what it was yet. When he saw Sam he knew that she was going to be trouble. When she was little he got her out of trouble many times but, this time he didn't know if he could keep her safe and guard his heart. This is a romantic suspense with plenty of heat and I would recommend it.

Samantha Ryder returns back to the town she grew up in when her Aunt Dottie dies. When she was younger, Samantha’s family left Deerhaven, California and moved to Detroit where she later became a cop. During her return she runs into her crush and protector, Hunter Steele who is now sheriff. Hunter has many problems besides his feelings for Samantha. He doesn’t like the Mayor, his two deputies are insubordinate and he has a series of “accidental deaths” that he doesn’t believe are so accidental. Soon Samantha also comes to the same conclusion about her Aunt’s death and stays, accepting a job as Hunter’s deputy to help solve the crime. There is also something else going on in Deerhaven and Hunter and Samantha are determined to find out what it is.
This is the first book in a new series. I was excited to read it because I have read Lora Leigh’s books for years. I was very disappointed with this story for several reasons. It had potential to be a good suspense, but I found the story stunted by the amount of sex scenes throughout the book. Instead of the characters developing a relationship as adults, they just jumped right into the sex. There were also many inconstancies within the story as well. I found myself flipping back to see if I had misread certain parts. I would give the next book in the series a try if I got it off of Netgalley or the library. I would be hard pressed to purchase it.

Hunter was the older guy that Samantha had a crush on. She is back in town because of her aunt's death. Hunter is the town's sheriff and is aware of the corruption. Samantha is a cop from a big city. These two set the pages on fire. This is more like a romantic suspense story. I enjoyed reading this book.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.

Once upon a time Samantha worshipped the ground Hunter walked on and followed him around every where. Then her family moved and that was that. Now, Samantha is back but the shoe's on the other foot. Samantha is definitely not following Hunter's lead blindly anymore.
There's something very wrong in the town where they grew up in and where Hunter now serves as the Police Chief. Three back to back accidental deaths can't be a coincidence. There's something foul at play in the town and according to Hunter the mayor and his cronies are in the thick of it. Why is the mayor so anxious to hire Sam as a deputy on the police force and keep her in town?
Sam and Hunter have each other's back as they launch their investigation. While there's a lot of mundane small town police stuff there's also a lot of steamy encounters a la Ms. Leigh style. It's not until we get almost to the last quarter of the book that the pace picks up to a spine tingling adrenaline fueled race bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion but leaving a lot of threads dangling for a series of books in the future.

Okay, disclaimer here, I will read pretty much anything Lora Leigh puts to paper but I think there were just way too many gratuitous sex scenes and some where I just said "huh, why?" Other than that, this was a smokin' hot, suspenseful and thrilling read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sam grew up in this small town in California and at age 11 had to move away. Until then she and Hunter were close and she was sure she was deeply in love. Well, fast forward many years and she is now a police officer in the City of Detroit and she is now coming back to town after the death of her aunt to settle her affairs. What she finds is Hunter is now the Sheriff and he is dealing with a mystery and intrigue of his own. There has been several unsolved murders in his county, and it seems her Aunt may be one of them. Lots of push and pull between these two and when Hunter tries to protect Sam, she is having none of that, she can protect herself and is quite capable of fending off danger and helping him solve the mystery and she means to do just that. I really enjoyed the beginning of this series and I'm really looking forward to seeing where it takes us next. I definitely recommend this one.

**Received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley**

As an absolute fan of Lora Leigh and her fantasy books, I now come across a contemporary novel as hot as hell.

Sam and Hunter.
They know each other for years. Hunter always helped Sam when she got into trouble or when she was bullied, and with that, she developed a platonic passion for him. But her family leaves town, and they lose contact.

Many years ahead, Sam returns to the city because of the death of her aunt.
She is a police officer, and what a surprise to discover that her hero has become the sheriff.
Their meeting is pure explosion, while Hunter needs to investigate a series of murders masquerading as accidents.
4 stars