Cover Image: Hard-Riding Cowboy

Hard-Riding Cowboy

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Member Reviews

The finale of the series that has left us all a little breathless and wondering about these sexy Blackshaw cowboys has finally found an ending. We all saw a bit of this coming, but I certainly was surprised by all the emotional upheaval in this story and enjoyed seeing the softer side of the Hard-Riding cowboy and his sexy bar-owner. I have enjoyed several of Ms. Kennedy's series in the past, and while some have been hit or miss, Kinky Spurs definitely hit the mark with me in a lot of ways and I was sad to see it in, but hope for something similar or related in the future. Nate and Megan have been circling each other for years, picking and pushing at one another in different ways, but keeping their distance mainly because of Nate’s intense hatred for Megan’s father and his unwillingness to let go of the feud between their fathers. Megan has lived with the knowledge that the one man she has always wanted, that has always had a piece of her heart, can never be hers because of the divide between their families and that burning rage. Nate has burned for Megan for years, but he has no desire to really settle down and while he wants her, he never imagines that their lives are going to change so much after the single night they give in to their passions for one another. Now they are forced to decide if that long-standing feud is strong enough to keep them both from the love and passion they both want so badly in their lives and to build on, or if they can find a way to let go of the past and move on together to a healthy and fulfilling future relationship between their families. I loved seeing Megan slowly letting go of her hang-up and longstanding beliefs in men in general and Nate in specific, learning to lean on someone else when she needed to and letting go of some of the things she couldn’t change. Nate had a log of growing up to do in this story in order to be man enough for Megan and their new family, but I enjoyed getting to experience that growth with him. He managed to find a way to prove himself not only to his family, the town, and Megan, but to himself as well, his greatest critic, and become the kind of man that would have made his father produce to call him son. The passion and fire between Megan and Nate is off the charts in every moment they are interacting, but I also enjoyed watching them find their softer emotions as they fell so deeply in love that they couldn’t separate one from the other. I loved this conclusion to the Kinky Spurs series, even though I am sad to see it end, but I kind of got the impression we might see some of these characters sometimes in the future and will hold on to that hope. Another series I can call a great work and one I can see myself rereading in the not to distant future for sure.

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I loved this story. It is the kind that you can identify with the characters and immerse yourself in the story. Very well written and characters to win the heart make this book a must read.

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3 stars
Forbidden love on a ranch. Megan and Nash's romance isn't an easy one especially because of the family rivalry.

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I really enjoyed this book because of the sexual chemistry between Megan and Nash that starts building from the first chapter and rages hotter than a five alarm fire. I think It really enhances the book and gives both characters someone to hold on to when acts of sabotage make it look like the vendetta between their families isn’t over by a long shot. This is a complex family drama and I really liked the way Nash’s siblings support him and each other because they desperately need this venture to work for them to be successful. I was really impressed with cool, calm and collected Megan who is a sexy and strong character not prone to hysterics so she’s a great female role model during the day but she loves being bossed around when the sun goes down. Great characters, plenty of sex to spice things up and lots of suspense are a dynamite combination and this book is a winner. I can’t wait to read the first two books in this series. I read a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

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Nash and Megan were amazing in this story. Megan tries and fails to get Nash out of her system. This book was hands down the best in the series. Definitely a keep you on the edge of your seat book.

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Ever since I started reading the kinky spurs novel, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Megan and Nash's story. They had a bit of problems seeing as Megan's dad can't stand Nash but I loved the ending.
** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

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I loved Nash and Megan! They have so many obstacles in their way, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to make a life together. From the beginning, it seems that their stubborness will keep them apart, but it just makes them stronger. Nash must come to terms with the fact that things in his life are different and accept that they can never be the same. Megan must learn to trust her feelings where Nash is concerned, and stop avoiding the inevitable.

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One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

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Hard-riding cowboy is a western contemporary romance. We have Nash Blackshaw the hot cowboy, Megan Harisson the sassy female and their heated relationship. The storyline is divided into two parts, the emotional part of their lives and the sexual encounters. The prologue starts with a bang since it describes the first time they get intimate. Most of the chapters contain sex scenes so this book is only for the adult audience. About the characters: Nash is a stubborn hard working man who would do anything for his family. Megan is an independent woman who had a sassy mouth and she was hiding her soft side. What I liked in this book (besides the whole plot) is the writing skills of the author. The descriptions are so vivid that you feel that you are living everything alongside the characters. It was very enjoyable for me and I will rate it with 4,5 stars.

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*this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review*
3.5-4 stars!
I’m a huge fan of Stacey Kennedy; her writing is always on point. Although this is the 3rd book in the Kinky Spurs series, it’s easily a stand-alone book. It’s been a while since I’ve read the first two, and this was very easy to follow.
Nash Blackshaw is the ‘tougher’ of the Blackshaw boys. He’s a former professional bull rider, as his injury has sidelined that career. His currently working on the family land, assisting his brothers getting the business up and running as a working ranch. As guests come out and “live as a cowboy,” Nash and his brothers all play their role. One thing that has nagged the family for years is their hatred for the Harrison Family. Their land butts up to Blackshaw land, and their daddy’s have always hated each other. That hatred is what has kept Nash and Megan at arm’s distance.
Megan Harrison runs the local bar, Kinky Spurs. She’s always had her heart set on Nash Blackshaw, but the family hatred was too strong to get past. For years, she and Nash has the banter when he’d come into the bar. Everyone could feel their list, but neither would act upon it. One night as his brother’s wedding, they let lose, and sleep with one another-after all, it’s just that one time! Well, that night is the tipping point in their relationship. They attempt to build from their, but their family hatred is always there.
Megan and Nash have always had a strong connection-even in the other books. It’s great to finally see them come together, and also solve the family issues.
Greta read, and HEA for these two!

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Hard Riding Cowboy ends the Blackshaw series well. It's a sexy, smart, romp of a book. The Romeo/Juliet, Hatfields/Mccoys aspect of the story add necessary tension. The primary couple are easy to root for, and their happily ever after journey is entertaining. I appreciate that Stacey Kennedy's secondary characters are are complex as her primary. This book can stand alone, but the series is first rate.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

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This title was a low rating, and as it was under a 3 star review it was not featured on the blog.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to read and review and I am certain the next title by this author will be one that I love, as I generally enjoy this author.

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This book was a rather quick read. It kept my interest and made me want to keep on reading it. Megan and Nash find themselves giving into the attraction that they have for each other despite the history of family rivalry. Nash has to figure out how to put his hatred for Megan’s Dad aside if he wants to keep her happy.

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Hard-Riding Cowboy is the third book in the Kinky Spurs series by Stacey Kennedy. While each book can stand up on its own, the series is more fun and entertaining when read in order.

Megan Harrison is the owner of Kinky Spurs. She’s mortgaged up to her eyeballs and works long days and nights, but she’s living life on her terms, not on her wealthy father’s. She’s done being in the cattle rancher’s shadow. She’s got it all figured out, except for the part that involves Nash Blackshaw. He’s a sexy as hell cowboy whose smile can easily charm her out of her tight jeans. The only problem is—their fathers were business rivals, and Megan and Nash have been taught to hate each other since birth. Nash Blackshaw, a retired professional bull rider, has responsibilities on top of responsibilities. With his PBR career over due to back injury, and his focus narrowed on heading up the Blackshaw Cattle Company’s Guest Ranch, he shouldn’t have time to think about all the ways he wants Megan. But small towns have a way of spreading gossip like wildfire, and not everyone is happy about their relationship. Especially when Megan drops a bombshell on Nash after one heated night between them. As much as Megan and Nash want to forget the old feud between their fathers and lose each other in explosive passion, they can’t escape reality. They are meant to be enemies, and Nash’s sizzling, dominant touch might not be enough to keep them together.

Hard-Riding Cowboy is exactly what I was hoping for from this book. I loved the give and take between Megan and Nash, and how they had to both come clean and be honest with each other about the hard things- emotions and family. The attraction and connection has always been there. It is the honesty, and compromise that they each need to put into the equation. Watching the inner realizations and conversations as they find their way to a happy future, knowing that there could be bumps in the road, that really gives this book its heart. I loved the soft spots and vulnerability Megan and Nash had, and how hard they were each willing to work to make the future as loving as they could. I also thought that the hard moments- the crises that struck and the family conflicts, were perfectly balanced. They did not make this easy, but neither could they destroy a relationship that people are committed to make work. Watching these two characters that have danced around each other in the previous books in the series finally get their moment was very enjoyable and satisfying.

Hard-Riding Cowboy is another great read from Kennedy. I loved this series, and expect to see more about the sisters that run the local brewery in upcoming books, at least I hope so based on the hints I have seen this far.

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Hard-Riding Cowboy is the third and final title in the Kinky Spurs series, and I've read and enjoyed the previous two novels in this series, which feature the Blackshaw brothers, but this one is definitely my favorite, and it gets 4.5 stars from this reader.

Nash is the youngest of the Blackshaw brothers, and a world champion professional bull rider, but his last ride was really his last ride, leaving him with severe spinal injuries and ending his career with the PBR that he so loved. After their father died, his 3 sons realized that their cattle ranch was in the red due to losing accounts to the neighboring ranch and its land hungry owner, Clint Harrison, and that they just might lose it. The feud between the Blackshaws and Hamiltons has been an ongoing thread that ties these novels together. The feud goes way back, and the death of the Blackshaw family patriarch did nothing to stop the feud--the sons picked up where their father left off. In order to save the Blackshaw ranch, they turned it into a guest ranch, and are struggling to make it a success, all while Nash tries to figure out what to do with his life when all he cared about was bull-riding--and one more thing, his neighbors' daughter, Megan Harrison.

Independent, strong-willed, hard-working Megan, owns and operates the local watering hole, Kinky Spurs, and is making a success of it. Megan has had a serious crush on Nash since grade school, but having watched the handsome and sexy cowboy flirt with all the ladies for years, she's treated his flirting pursuit of her as a game--she doesn't mind being chased by him, and he doesn't mind doing the chasing, but since she doesn't want to end up like all of this short-term girlfriends/bed partners, and she has avoided falling prey to his charms for years. That all changes when Megan and Nash are at the wedding of his brother and Megan's best friend. After the obligatory wedding party dance, the two finally give in to their long-time attraction, sneak away and have sex, but Megan is quick to inform Nash that this lapse of her better judgment is a one and done. Ha! Nash wasn't buying it, and neither was I.

Two months after the wedding, Nash notices that Megan is different somehow, cooler, and that she hasn't been engaging in their flirting game the way she once did. When he presses her for answers, she finally admits to being pregnant with his child, and Nash is stunned speechless. He's wanted Megan for as long as she's wanted him, and once he gets past the shock, he mans-up and is actually happy about becoming a father, but there's one huge problem--Megan's father, who's always hated Nash, and who Nash knows is not going to be thrilled to hear that Nash knocked-up his daughter, and so they wait several weeks before telling any of their parents, but they can't hide it forever.

It's bad enough that the family feud is ongoing, but when Nash and his brothers discover that their cattle are missing and that someone cut the fence between the two ranches, they assume it's just another way that Megan's father is trying to get their land. That incident is soon followed by even more dangerous incidents, all of them highly suspicious, and all of them leading to the person who will benefit most from these evil deeds, Clint Hamilton. All Megan wants is a safe, happy environment for their child to grow up in, but Nash has a hot temper, and after breaking the news about her pregnancy to her parents, outraging her father that she's pregnant by one of the Blackshaw brothers, the arguments become more frequent and much more nasty.

What I absolutely loved about this novel is the relationship between Nash and Megan, who are both hesitant to reveal their deep feelings for one another. There is so much sweetness and caring between these two fully-fleshed out characters, and the rest of the Blackshaw family as well. I'm so used to secret-pregnancy romances where the father of the secret-baby at first denies being the father, and assumes the baby was fathered by someone else. Not so in this novel. It was heartwarming to see how pleased Nash was to learn that he was going to be a father, the care and concern he shows to Megan, opening up about himself, his dreams and his feeling that the loss of his career left him confused and adrift with what to do now. I loved the way these two characters took it slow, something Megan insisted upon, and their many conversations, many ending up in some seriously steamy sex scenes, all made the reader feel that these were real people, trying to deal with real problems, real doubts, and with their own feelings for each other.

As incidents at the Blackshaw guest ranch escalate, Nash is nearly killed trying to rescue 3 foundling kittens from inside their burning barn, and when the fire is ruled as arson, and the next disaster follows on its heels--all the guests at the ranch come down with food poisoning, and Nash is beyond livid, and confronts Clint yet again, and the fighting and arguing continue, all in front of Megan.

Will these two men ever comes to terms with their love of Megan and the baby she's carrying? Will they ever settle their differences? Megan doesn't really believe it, and the decisions she makes thereafter add some twists and turns to the plot. Putting her baby's future first, Megan has her priorities straight, makes her own decisions about what to do, and if her father and the Blackshaws can't settle this feud, they'll both lose her and her baby.

The only negative in this novel, in my opinion, are a few loose ends, and there are several of them, but to explain them here would would mean giving spoilers, and I won't do that. It also took me quite a few chapters before I fully understood Megan and her need to earn her own living, make her own decisions, and take charge of her life, and I came to love and respect her midway through the novel, and in one of the sweetest HEA endings it's been my pleasure to read.

This well-written and well-plotted novel is loaded with the warmth and love of family, two charming main characters, a good amount of spice, lots of tension, and I read it all in one sitting, which ended at 5:00 a.m. this morning. Who needs sleep when you've got an un-put-downable novel in your hands? Certainly not this reader. I'm only sorry that the series is at an end, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I'm happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

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Considering that Nash has been such a hard headed dumba$$ in the last 2 books, he really turned over a new leaf and stood up to do what was right for Meghan. Admitting their feelings to each was a long time coming but in the end it was worth it. I would have liked to knock her dad down for him though. He's so petty. Boundaries man! But all's well that ends well so I'm rooting for these two.

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I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love all books by Stacey Kennedy. This series was terrific. The Blackshaw brother in this book is Nash, the youngest. He and Megan Harrison have been interested in each other since high school. But their fathers had an ongoing feud that ccontined even after the Blackshaw dad passed away. Megan owns the bar and nightspot in their town and Nash and his brothers salvaged their cattle ranch after their dads death. Megan’s dad Clint tried to buy it but they came up with a plan to save it. Nash has struggled to find something to do after he suffered a career ending injury in the PBR circuit. His brother Shep operates a survival company, his brother Chase now has a construction company and he built cabins to set up a guest ranch to be run by Nash. Megan and Nash hook up at Chase’s wedding as a one time thing and she ends up pregnant. The two decide to try a relationship in spite of her father and Nash’s extreme dislike of each other. Then things start happening to the Blackshaws. There is a new inspector who is super nitpicky about all the guest cabins and comfort facilities being a half centimeter off to code and demands they be fixed. It turned out to be a competitor trying to sabotage Chase. Then their fence is cut and their cattle escapes prior to an activity at the guest ranch which causes them to get some negative reviews. Then a fire was set and their barn burns down and Nash was almost killed in the blaze. Then, at a dinner, their beef turns up tainted and people get sick. This again the ratings posted are low. Each time something happens, Nash goes over to Megan’s dad and blames hi. It gets ugly and she always seems to be at her parents house visiting. This makes her upset and she doesn’t want to bring her child up with all the anger. Megan and Nash fall in love but things are difficult between the families. There’s a lot of angst, steamy romance and the mystery of who is doing the things to the Blackshaws. This is a terrific book. I gave it like the rest of the series 5 stars.

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I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book and it was awesome!

This is the best book in the series. I really connected with Nash and Megan. Megan was the perfect woman for Nash because she was not afraid to look him in the eyes and tell him how she felt. Nash was great because when it mattered the most he was willing to go above and beyond for Megan.

Overall this book pulled at my heart strings and made me fall in love with this series!

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Megan and Nash were born to be enemies as their father's were rivals, but their fathers' animosity couldn't prevent them from being friends and liking each other for years. Their relationship has always been complicated, but one night, complicated is the last thing they think of.

Nash has been adrift since his bullriding accident. Once a champion, he now helps keep his family's ranch going. Megan is Kinky Spurs' owner and the daughter of the enemy. She and Nash have been playing a game of cat and mouse since high school. They both know that getting involved is the last thing they should do.

Fate, on the other hand, has other plans. Now, they have to face all their obstacles head-on, but will Megan be caught in the middle of the hatred between her father and Nash?

I read the first and last Blackshaw brothers' stories (sorry to have missed Chase's story) and I would definitely read another story by Ms Kennedy. Her characters are real and flawed, but will always try to do the best they can in whatever life throws their way.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance

Nash is the hard-headed, somewhat off-kilter brother. However, he would die before letting his family down and knows that his ranch is the only thing that's keeping his family land in their hands. He knows that he has to make it work, but his hatred runs deep. When things start to go wrong at the ranch, he knows exactly who is responsible – proving it may be the end of his relationship though.

Megan has always had a thing for Nash. He was the bad boy of the group and she loved him despite his hatred for her family. When she has a hot and heavy encounter with Nash, what she doesn't expect is to fall even more for him. Megan knows that her father would have a fit if he knew that she had fallen for Nash, but she can't help what her heart feels.

Megan and Nash have to figure out a way to love and have their own family, all while juggling the issues that surround their love.

I like that Nash and Megan complement each other personality wise. I wished that more was resolved when it came to Megan and her dad. I thought that it was somewhat left undone, especially given the animosity between the families. Otherwise, it was a sweet ending to this series. I loved all of the characters and am sad to see this series end.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series and I would definitely recommend that you read these in order, so that you understand the background to the feud. You will also get to meet the Blackshaw family and enjoy the development of the previous relationships.

Nash is lost, no longer a World champion, invalided out and with no goals in life – but he never stopped having a thing for Megan Harrison, daughter of the family nemesis, Clint. At Chase's wedding, the two of them agree to one night of passion, which has an unintended consequence. Slowly we see Nash learn what is truly important, and how his future finally has some shape.

The journey is not smooth, with some pretty difficult events affecting the Blackshaw ranch, but Megan is offering Nash a life which suddenly has meaning, so he will do all he can to make her happy.

There are also some wonderfully humorous and happy moments. I loved Megan training Gus, and the food table moment. The kittens added both fun and cuteness, and the horses gave Nash a view to his possible working purpose. All in all, a lovely read, and I was really sad when I reached the end.

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