"This time he was going to be there for her, whether she knew him or not."
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I'll start by admitting that I tend to not choose cowboy romances and books with amnesiac MCs bec I grew up watching a lot of Pinoy and Mexican telenovelas with rancheros and forgetfulness as a lazy plot devices, so I ~thought I wouldn't enjoy those themes anymore, BUT ho ho, this book is making me think maybe I'm missing out on these tropes. 🤔

Okay, maybe comparing this to telenovelas is a bit unfair bec while there was a lot going on around Evie and Zach's second chance to be in each other's lives again, the plot isn't convoluted and is actually solid and compelling. It did remind me of those afternoon shows but the bit of nostalgia I got was surprisingly pleasant which was probably why I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.

Evie had such strong character that even when she wasn't her Power Woman self, she refused to be helpless, and did and made decisions for herself. Zach was also really charming, and while it was clear that he was holding back on something, it as more out of respect for Evie and her situation, rather than his guilt (which later on implodes into delicious conflict).

The romance is hot, as I absolutely want it to be, without rushing things; and it was also tender, which I also absolutely loved! 💕
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"We eat with all our senses."
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Evie has had to relearn to be herself and I loved that food and cooking was one of the things that she needed to re-experience to maybe help jog her memory. I also loved that part about the nutmeg. It seemed so random and yet it totally made sense.

Aside from Zach and 'Evie 2.0' 's squee-worthy romantic development, I also loved the supporting characters, from Evie's found family back in NYC, to this other, older family in Charming, to the newest in-house nurse, Vega. They all had Evie's back and they loved and trusted her even when she wasn't quite so sure of herself.

Highlights for me are the inclusion of Tilde's whole narrative (a bullseye at NWLs, LOL), the whole thing with the chewing gum (😉), and the entire last act bec wow, the resolution of all the conflicts were super satisfying, Melanie Burns' especially. Oh, and that part where Miss Leona and Evie talks about their shortcomings throughout the years and reconciles, agh, I cried!

I will say I want a little more grovelling on Zach's part, but that's just my personal desire to make men work for it even harder, LOL.

I can't wait for the next book in this series and I'm definitely gonna read more from Rebekah Weatherspoon bec I liked this a lot. :)
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"I wasn't ready back then, but I'm ready now. I want to be your man. I want to be wherever you are. I want to be there for you in every way."
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*The eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. It doesn't affect my opinion of the book. Thank you. ⁣

DNF at around 25%. At first, I really loved Evie and her friends. I liked reading about how her girlfriends and coworkers swoop in to help her after the traumatic brain injury. I liked the introduction of Zach and his brothers. The book sort of starts to drag a little and I just didn't want to pick it up. It seemed a little weird that she moves across the country with no memory to live with ranchers who are now estranged to her.

I'm a big Rebekah Weatherspoon fan and this did not disappoint. This has a similar tone to her two most recent books, Rafe and Xeni -- contemporary, smart, and fun. Similar to those books, at its heart, it is a story of good people finding their way to each other.

I am NOT a big fan of amnesia plots, but I decided to trust Weatherspoon and I'm glad I did--this was done excellently. We get a sense of who Evie is before the amnesia happens, but we are not attached enough to Evie to resent the amnesia. She is appropriately confused and agitated, and I think the medical / mental health parts were handled really well.

I loved how the issues of consent were dealt with, and how Weatherspoon wrote in friendship & sexiness & growth while still staying true to the reality of amnesia and medical difficulty. The romance was wonderful, with a mix of second-chance/friends-to-lovers/enemies-to-lovers.

This was a lovely book to spend an afternoon with. It made me smile, laugh, and swoon; it made me think, and it made the time pass. It's not a fluff read, but it's not angsty either. I'm looking forward to more Cowboys from California books!

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced ecopy in exchange for an honest review.**

When Evie is injured and loses her memory she reconnects with her childhood sweetheart Zack...if she had her memory it would have been worlds colliding.. I found this sweet and endearing. I so enjoy Rebekah Weatherspoons work.

I had such high hopes for this book. I love Rebekah Weatherspoon and I love cowboy romances. Unfortunately, it just wasn't up to par with her other books. (I highly recommend Rafe.)
What I liked:
Zach. Loved him.
His brothers, especially Jesse.
Miss Leona
What I didn't care for:
The amnesia story line - mostly how it played out. I have experience with TBI and it just didn't jive with me.
Starting a sexual relationship when Evie still has no memories.
What happens when she gets her memories back.
I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of the amnesia trope. I've only read a handful of books that worked for me.
If this is a trope you like, definitely give this book a go.

Rebekah Weatherspoon’s latest—about a celebrity chef getting a second chance with her first love/the titular cowboy after a tumble down the stairs leads to amnesia—is unapologetically trope-tastic. What kind of amnesia? Is this a thing that is scientifically plausible, & is that how you’d treat it? Who cares!
Sometimes you read a lot of intense books in a row and then just need a book with some kissing. I can see some of my dudes out there thinking this doesn’t apply them but Gents, IT DOES. Free your minds. Kiss kiss.

I won’t be shoving this one in people’s faces like I did Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny. But Weatherspoon knows what she’s about, and what she’s about is fiercely feminist joy-giving. I’m so glad someone is paying her to write books.

Thanks to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for giving me access to an early dARC of A Cowboy to Remember in exchange for my honest review!

Evie’s living the dream; a successful celebrity chef, star of a popular TV show, she literally has the world at her feet. And then, in the blink of an eye, a shocking accident snatches away her very identity as she wakes up in hospital not even knowing her own name. Fortunately, she has an entire team of awesome and supportive friends around her who are determined to help her get her memory and her career back.

It’s hard to say whether I loved the romance at the core of this book or Evie’s relationship with her ‘girl gang’ of friends better; there was a huge and fabulous supporting cast of almost entirely Black women who gave me a serious case of Friend Envy. I also had Boyfriend Envy too, though, because cowboy Zach Pleasant was absolutely delicious. This is a second-chance romance; Zach and Evie grew up together but were never romantically involved because of family disapproval and… well I won’t spoil the rest, but Stuff happened that made Evie walk away without looking back, and Zach’s desperate to make the most of his second chance.

The only thing I didn’t really buy into here was the villain, who was a bit of a cardboard cut-out, right down to literally gloating about her villainous deeds in public. Honestly she seemed a bit unnecessary. There were also maybe a few too many supporting characters - having a nasty nurse replaced by a nice one was another slightly pointless plot point as nothing ever came of the nasty nurse storyline. It was a Chekov’s Gun which failed to go off.

All in all I really enjoyed this, but I do think the cast could have been pruned back a bit. I’m very much looking forward to the next in the series about this sexy trio of brothers! Five stars.

With an appropriate number of dogs and loads of quality food porn this book is an excellent start to Weatherspoon's newest series. A celebrity chef loses her memory and has to go to the ranch and first love she purposefully left behind 10 years ago. A wonderful take on second chance romances with a cowboy spin. Cannot wait for the next book fingers crossed its about Jesse!!!!!

I have been eyeing this book for months. The cover is great and it has amnesia as a plot point and is a loose Sleeping Beauty retelling.

Evie is a chef on a TV show that sounded similar to The Chew or an extended hour of Good Morning America. It was descriptive enough for me to imagine Evie on the TV. Evie was a great character. She is injured at a party and wakes up and can’t remember anything. Her assistant calls her emergency contact and Zach and Jesse Pleasant drop everything to go to New York and help Evie. They decide to take Evie back to their ranch in California for her to recuperate out of the public eye.

Present day Evie feels drawn to Zach but she doesn’t really know why. In the past, they were childhood friends and she had a massive crush on him. He liked her, but never acted on his crush. She told him, he was so awful to her and they haven’t talked in ten years. Zach sees this as his second chance with Evie. Zach is kind and gentle. Although there are at least two missed opportunities for Zach to give Evie a great big comforting hug to help her feel safe. I was disappointed in Zach over this. Zach and Evie spend a lot of time together and rediscovering each other as adults.

Weatherspoon does a good job of depicting solid female friendships between Evie and multiple other women in the book. I always love seeing this.

My big issue with this story was I was not convinced that Zach had spent the last ten years pining for Evie. He doesn’t really express it well. Evie calls him on it too, but by then it was a little too late for me. It made it hard for me to truly believe in their relationship when I didn’t believe that he’d spent the last ten years being miserable and being remorseful for doing her wrong.

The side characters are great. It was clear that Weatherspoon is setting up other love stories, including that of Jesse, Zach’s brother, and Leona, Zach’s grandmother. Maybe others but those are the ones I am most interested in.

Overall this was a good but not great story. I liked the ranch and family life that surrounded Evie and Zach. But I was unconvinced by Zach and his intentions. I will read more in this series though.

Heat Factor: Definitely not closed door, but I wouldn't say explicit either
Character Chemistry: I'm going to have to quit reading second chance romance because the "I'm so sexually attracted to you but I really can't get over my emotional baggage" just does not work for me.
Plot: see above but toss in a healthy dose of amnesia
Overall: I’m not sure emotional maturity is a good fit for a second chance romance

Okay, so, unfortunately it has taken me this long to realize that second chance romance just isn’t my jam. In this case, the amnesia situation added a nice changeroo to the usual emotional baggage angst, but when it came to the point, the struggle is the same: We were too emotionally immature or something to deal with our problem approximately 6-12 years ago, and now we want to bang because we’ve still got the hots for each other, but we just can’t get over our emotional baggage.

I’ll move beyond the trope as-is for purposes of this review. As I said, the amnesia aspect was nice, because the entire time we were getting to know Evie and Zach we weren’t really dealing with the baggage aspect of their relationship, so the emotional drama didn’t come until much later.

That said, the drama didn’t come until much later. Evie has amnesia because she was pushed down the stairs by a rival (the rivalry is pretty one-sided) chef with anger management issues. Since we’re dealing with a second-chance romance, there’s also going to be drama surrounding the original breakup. But we didn’t get to any of that until the 70% mark. Until that point, while Evie was trying to figure herself out (she had complete and total amnesia - none of that hint of a memory in the back of her mind stuff when she interacted with new people), everything moved along with a fantastically un-dramatic level of emotional maturity. Zach kept apologizing for not managing their relationship better when they had their falling out, and Evie told him it was in the past and they needed to look forward. We didn’t even get a hint of what the problem was so we could stress out about what the reaction would be once Evie got her memory back. If I had known what the problem was--other than an ambiguous fight when they were basically teenagers (so, like, duh)--I could have been wrapped up in worrying about Evie feeling she’d been duped by Zach or something. But the first 70% of the book was so low key, I honestly thought that Evie would get her memory back and stick to her initial statement that they needed to look forward not back. I thought maybe the drama would be with the rival chef situation. The CRIME!

But even the rival chef shoving situation was low key drama. With crimes committed and restraining orders requested and (off-page) police involvement, there was room for teeth-clenching stress, but...nope. And these are chefs who work in the same sphere, so there could be workplace drama. Some drama. Any drama. It was not played up at all.

And since Evie and Zach have been pining for each other but denying it for a decade, they immediately wanted to have some smooching times, so I didn’t even get a lot of satisfaction from the development of their relationship.

If you’re looking for an even-keeled romance with light angst and an emotionally mature cast of characters, this is probably a good bet for you. Unfortunately, it just didn’t click with me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Cowboys of California #1

Chef Yvonne Buchannan and Zachariah Pleasant are given a second chance to find their HEA in this book that begins a new series by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Evie is a well known chef on a television cooking show who suffers a traumatic brain injury that sees her agent calling the emergency contact she has listed. When Jesse and Zach Pleasant show up in New York to see her through the hospital stay then take her home to their ranch in California it provides time for Evie to, hopefully, regain her memories and get to know people that meant a lot to her in the past. Whether or not Evie and Zach will find their HEA is up in the air for awhile but thankfully they to eventually work things out to achieve that happy ending.

What I liked:
* Evie: willing to do what it took to get her memory back and in that time tackle learning pretty much everything from scratch.
* Zachariah: a good guy that only at the end really did the soul searching to determine what he truly wanted in life and then made the moves necessary to achieve it.
* Jesse: a gentle giant that I hope gets his own book because he so deserves a partner that appreciates him.
* Sam: youngest of the Pleasant brothers and an actor, someone that I believe will prove to be not only charming but deep and interesting when his story is told.
* The cooking sessions/lessons
* The supporting characters: Lilah, Nicole, Miss Leona, Blair, Raquelle...and the rest
* The trigger that returned Evie’s memories
* The Pleasant family and their dude ranch…
* The animals
* The idea that there are MORE Pleasant family members in the extended family that might be story-worth for the series

What I did not like:
* Melanie- what a horrible person she was!
* Tilde – the first home health nurse – what a pill
* Having to wait to find out who will have their story told next

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more books in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Was disappointed. Sorry. Could have been a good story if you took all the color out of it. I found it distracting and I really didn’t care about the color of their skin (what is that song you learn as a child...red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in his sight), it was supposed to be about who they were as human beings. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Full Review on channel here

Really enjoyed this! Great set up and great delivery overall. I'm not a big cowboy romacne fan, but I can get behind this kind of set up for one!

Evie is delightful and this book really packs in the female friendships in the best way. I think Rebekah works so well for me because of those friendships!

Had this cowboy amnesia romance been by any other author I'm not sure I would have given it a second look, but at this point I'll pretty much read anything Rebecca Weatherspoon puts out. I found the vibe of A Cowboy to Remember quite different from what I've come to expect from the author. The pacing is much slower and the heat level is turned way down - especially in comparison to recent favorites Rafe and Xeni. I do love the small town California dude ranch setting that Weatherspoon has created (can't help but imagine it as a tv series!), I'm already deeply attached to the Pleasant family (I need a Jesse book!), and we are introduced to great secondary characters (good POC and queer representation!). While it's not quite what I expected, I am glad I read it and found it to be a sweet second chance romance between two childhood friends and look forward to reading more in the series!

I have never been a huge fan of cowboy romances, but I will read anything that Rebekah Weatherspoon puts out. And I loved it? Who even am I?

Evie Buchanan is a famous TV chef living in New York City. She has won a couple TV cooking competition shows, and now she is the host of a daytime cooking talk show (I’m guessing it’s supposed to be kind of like a mash between the cooking segments on The Today Show and something like The Chew), so she has her life pretty well together. That is, until she gets a massive head injury at a Christmas party and loses all her memories.

Enter the hero, Zach Pleasant, who along with his older brother Jesse owns a ranch/resort in California and who was the one to break Evie’s heart 10 years earlier. Turns out that Jesse is Evie’s emergency contact, and they take her back to their ranch to take care of her until she heals and her memories return. IF they return at all.

I was a little iffy on the amnesia plot at first. There’s something a little…squicky about starting any kind of relationship with someone who is struggling with knowing who they are. I was very pleased with how Weatherspoon navigated the relationship between Evie and Zach. The supporting characters around the MCs really kept their heads straight when they were starting up their romance. In particular, Zach and Jesse’s grandmother Miss Leona was a very well-rounded and supportive character, and I loved that the book focused some on the relationships between not just between the MCs. Zach comes to terms with Jesse being Evie’s emergency contact in a very mature way, and his realization that Jesse was one of Evie’s best friends when they were kids was a high point.

I went into this book unsure I would like it, but I think it is one of the best books Rebekah Weatherspoon has written. Everything from the writing to the plot to the handling of potentially squicky situations was excellently executed.

RECEIVED FREE FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC!

I’m going to be honest, I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book but I’m so glad it was chosen as part of a buddy read cos...wow!

In a story about two people falling in love all over again, it really sparked the ‘what if we could all chose one person to start over again with’ thought.

There were steamy scenes, but as someone who has a low tolerance, they were written in a way that wasn’t completely inconceivable and felt natural. The process felt a little bit on a fast forward timeline, but it didn’t seem wildly out of place.

The background characters really added to the story and I love how they all interacted and had well developed storylines themselves.

Overall, definitely enjoyed this book, probably won’t be reading more of the series but that’s a personal thing.

Recommend to anyone who likes cowboys with a bit of class, cooks with a bit of sass and a well developed plot.

A sweet second chance romance, with a vulnerable heroine at the centre of the story.

Evie Buchanan is a successful tv chef, just about to start the new season of a hit cookery show, The Dish, when she is pushed down some stairs at a party, and when she is discovered unconscious with a bad head injury her assistant Rachelle, her roommate Blaire and her agent Nicole, are all worried about her. When she comes round she can’t remember anything, and Nicole suspects it wasn’t an accident. In order to protect Evie, They call her family friends the Pleasants, in California, where she grew up. They want her to be hidden away to recover and stay safe.

Ten years ago after her mother, father and grandmother had all died, Evie left California, pushed out by Zach Pleasant, childhood friend and longtime crush who decided that he needed to stay on the ranch and Evie needed to go and make a success of her ambition to become a chef, despite the attraction they felt to each other.

When Evie comes back to Zach’s grandmothers house, Miss Leona takes Evie under her wing, and she starts to learn how to cook again. She also can’t stop having a myriad of dreams featuring Zach. She knows that he did something he needs to apologise for, but she can’t fight her attraction to him.

Zach on his part is shocked to find out that his toe brother, Jesse and Sam have kept in touch with Evie without his knowledge for the past 10 years. As Evie starts to heal, and relearn her cooking skills, Zach continues to be the face of the ranch and keeps working hard to maintain and grow the success of the business, and as he grows closer to Evie he realises that his work is not the all consuming thing it used to be to him.

When Evie finally remembers, she feels destroyed by her memories, and she has to walk away, because she realises that Zach deliberately drove her away from her friends and connections when she needed them the most, after the death of her Nana.. Can Zach make amends for deciding what was best for her, and can she forgive him, and what about her dazzling tv career....?

This was a really enjoyable read, Evie was a great character, and the friendships and connections between the characters felt warm and believable. I struggled with Zach, who felt a little too arrogant to me, and there was definitely not enough grovelling from him.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

This was my first cowboy romance and my first book by Rebekah Weatherspoon. It was a delight and I've been recommending it to patrons, friends, and coworkers for the last month. I loved the side characters and the women's friendships. I've bought other Rebekah Weatherspoon since reading this and this feels like it will be a new favorite series. Thank you!

I already adore Weatherspoon but this book cemented the love. It's a sweet romance that uses the amnesia trope in a considered, realistic way. There's a whole cast of characters surrounding our main couple and they're all fully characterized, no matter how little page time they may get. All of the details fell into place for me - how new info casts past events in a new light, the way the plot comes together, how the medical side of amnesia isn't ignored.

My favorite Weatherspoon so far, which is saying a lot. I can't wait for more books in this series!

I, unfortunately, couldn't get into this book which surprised me. I am a huge fan of the author and have liked all of her previous work. Zach and Evie haven't seen in each other years after a break up (well, I don't know if it was an actual breakup but a matter of miscommunication on whether they would be more or not). These two haven't stopped thinking of each other and still have feelings, despite the distance. Evie is injured and Zach and his brother are called as they are believed to be the only family her friends she has.

I couldn't connect to these two, and to be honest, I didn't really think they were in love. We're told so, and we hear the characters say so but I didn't believe it. I actually thought the brother would've been a better match.