If you are looking for a good read, read this. It was well written, with great characters. I can't wait to see what's next!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔
Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Not really

Should I read in order?
I did not read book 1 and do think this one stands fine on its own. There’s some brief appearances of the couple from book 1 in the series, nothing major.

Basic plot
Tate and Liz have been friends since childhood. Liz wanted more, but Tate was clueless so she finally moved on. Tate doesn’t understand why he hasn’t seen Liz – he hunts her down and realizes she has a boyfriend. Jealousy ensues, which soon morphs into feelings of protection when Liz’s boyfriend shows his true colors.

Give this a try if you want:
- Medium steam – a handful of open door scenes, average length
- a thriller disguised as a romance
- lots of time spent with the villain, talking about the villain, in the villains head
- childhood friends to lovers romance trope

My thoughts:
Oof. Well.

I found this book to not be a romance. Really. Nope. It’s a book about a woman who is abused by her ex-boyfriend and the entire book is spent focused on him and his behavior.

I could not get into this book. So little of the time spent was actually focused on the couple. I felt like I had the same amount of time in the villain’s head as I did the main characters. I feel like I know the villain better than the hero or heroine. I kept waiting for it to take a break from how awful he was and focus on some relationship development but it never happened :(

Lots of content warnings here for the things the villain does. It was just over the top with the never ending drama. Sadly, this book didn’t work for me at all.

Tate McGrath and Liz Scott grew up together and were each others best friend. Although they were best friends Liz always felt something more. It is many years later and she has decided that Tate is never going to see her as his girlfriend or even more so she is going to put herself out there. She met Clint and they started dating. Liz thought maybe this could turn into something serious. Clint was kind and loving and always doing little things to show he cared.

Clint was all of that until they met up with Tate and his brother Declan in a bar one night. Liz and Tate were talking and Clint interrupted them and made clear to Tate that Liz was with him. As the night progressed she saw a side of Clint she had never seen before. She chalked it up to him being jealous. This was just the beginning of things to come.

This is an emotional filled story that will keep you wondering what will happen next. You just can't turn the pages fast enough until you reach the end. You will have a smile on your face but you will have shed more than a few tears to get there. I loved every minute of this story and look forward to Tate's brother Declan's story next.

Another Great book by Jennifer Ryan! I love how she makes you part of the book by getting me emotionally involved with her characters. Reason why she is one of my favorite authors! This series rocks!!!

Waiting on a Cowboy (McGrath #1). By Jennifer Ryan. 2020. Avon (ARC eBook).

Best friends Tate McGrath and Liz Scott are in a bit of a rough patch. Liz has been avoiding Tate and when he tracks her down he finds her on a date with a guy that she has apparently been seeing for weeks. Hurt and confused, Tate knows that Liz has wanted out of the friend zone with him, but he is scared of changing the dynamics of their relationship. But when Liz’s boyfriend, Clint, turns obsessive and abusive, she ends the new relationship, and Tate finally takes a chance and admits his feelings to her. Recognizing that Liz will not come back to him as long as Tate is in the picture, Clint descends into .

Waiting on a Cowboy puts best friends turned lovers, Tate and Liz, through harrowing circumstances as Clint turns dangerous. This first book in the McGrath series picks up from the Wild Rose Ranch series, but can be read as a stand alone. Overall, a very entertaining, suspenseful and romantic read.

Great story and the first in a series. The two main characters have known each other since they were in Kindergarten. Liz (Lizard) has always loved Tate and knew that they would one day marry. Tate, like most men, is too dumb to see what is right in front of him until it's almost too late. Tate does not understand why Liz as not been hanging out with him since his brother's wedding. Liz informs Tate that she can not wait around for him anymore - that she needs to find someone to love her the way she needs. This wakes Tate up to the fact that his best friend / confident may not be available anymore and makes him look at his true feeling for Liz.

Liz has been dating a man for the past month - who is controlling her every move. Clint (the new guy) wants his girlfriend to be his everything - to worship his every move, whim and wants. Liz has never wanted to be controlled and tell Clint she does not want to date him anymore. Clint decides to stalk Liz and attempt to get her back. With the old saying " If I can't have her then no one can have her".

Tate wakes up to his hidden feelings and informs Liz that he is in love with her.

I don't want to give the story away - It is a must read for action adventure readers.

A NOTE: not for persons who are victims of Domestic Violence. It hits a little too close to home..

Excellent suspense-filled dramatic stalker/action-packed/protective friends-to-lovers/cowboy romantic love story! This is the first book in the McGrath series and it really packs a punch, that's for sure! I really liked both of the MC a great deal even if Tate was basically clueless as to his real feelings for Liz until it was almost too late! The villain in this book was Clint and he was a truly nasty piece of work! Men like him should come with a neon blinking warning sign hung around their necks. A really good way to start off what appears to be another great series by Jennifer Ryan.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley.

Waiting on a Cowboy is the first book in the McGrath series and the first I have read by this author. I fell in love with the characters from the beginning! Liz Scott had loved Tate McGrath since Kindergarten and had finally realized that she needed to move on. She was ready for a marriage and a future family. Tate knew Liz had feelings for him, but he was too scared to lose her as a friend to have a closer relationship with her. When Tate finally realizes that she wasn’t hanging around as much, he finally realized what he might be giving up with his fears. Liz thought she had found someone she could have a future with, only to realize that Clint was not all that he seemed. As Tate slowly starts to see Liz in a different light, Liz is being stalked by Clint and fears for her life. This was a fast-paced book and had a wonderful storyline. I really enjoyed being introduced to the McGrath family and look forward to future books by this author.

Great title and the the start of a new series! I really liked the main characters, Tate and Liz. They story seemed genuine and heartfelt. I'm excited to read more from this author.

This was a cute story. A little girl and little boy. grow from sweet kids to best friends as adults. The girl hanging on for the guy to see the light.

Waiting on a Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan is the first book in the McGrath series. I mostly enjoyed the story but found the pace very slow at times. Tate and Liz have been best friends since they were in kindergarten and Liz said then that she was going to marry him. Tate has put Liz in the best friend zone all their lives. Liz wants more as an adult and she gets tired waiting. She begins dating and hooks up with what she thinks is a good guy. Tate finally figures out that he is in love with Liz and wants to take it up to the next level. But the boyfriend turns out to be very dangerous when Liz breaks off with to be with Tate. This story was written well and had twists and turns that I found interesting. The pace went up and down so much that I found myself uninterested at times. I love Jennifer Ryan novels, so hopefully the next on in the series will be better for me.
I received an advanced readers copy of this novel from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Jennifer Ryan did it again. Another good book that you will enjoy. If you enjoy her other ones. Just keep them coming

This is a voluntary review of an advance copy.

Not sure where I should start with this book, while I loved the drama and suspense of the ex that was stalking Liz, I really had an issue with her foolishly loving Tate since kindergarten and letting him go to her for relationship advice when he didn't know how to handle something with his girlfriend. It also seemed like Tate was really selfish in their friendship and went 6 weeks without talking to her and ignoring her and then would not leave her alone when he saw her on a date.

When Tate finally wakes up and realizes that he loves Liz, it is almost like he changes into a nicer, thoughtful guy. Once he decides to go "all in" then it gets much better. Unfortunately, the ex from hell does not take rejection well and causes lots and lots of problems.

It did kind of annoy me that everyone just shrugged off Tate being blind to his feelings for Liz as he really needed to get out there and enjoy life so it was ok to hurt Liz by flaunting all his girlfriends and talking to her about them???

For the most part, I enjoyed the book and at the end really liked that Tate and Liz took the advice from the detective to be proactive about the stalker. And their HEA was pretty good and I loved the wedding at the end.

Such a fantastic book! I enjoyed reading this latest installment by Jennifer Ryan. I loved the storyline and the plot. They both flowed seamlessly! I also enjoyed the love scenes. They were so sizzling hot and passionate. Such a fantastic book!

This is a sweetly sexy, fun and action packed lifetime friends to so much more journey filled with interesting and engaging charters, witty and fun dialog, heart racing twists, a hard headed cowboy and emotionally thrilling passion that will no longer be ignored. Great reading from beginning to end.

Waiting on a Cowboy is the first book in a new series by Jennifer Ryan. Tate and Liz have been best friends for all their lives and tell each other everything. So, why is Liz all of a sudden keeping secrets? Everyone knows that she has loved Tate for almost as long as they have known each other. He, though, thinks that life is his for the taking and takes Liz for granted.

Liz has decided that enough is enough. She wants a man that puts her first. The man she meets seems perfect, but he is hiding who he really is. He becomes dangerous to Liz and everyone she cares about.

Will Tate be her cowboy knight? Will he see Liz for all she means to him? He makes the decision that will give Liz strength to continue.

We also get to catch up with several characters from the last trilogy, which is nice.

I really liked this book for the humanity Jennifer Ryan gave her characters, even though it was a very quick turn-around from "only friends" to "I can't live without you." She describes the struggle both Tate and Liz have to go through in order to make their relationship work differently, but better.

It is always a pleasure to read a book by Jennifer Ryan. They’re always layered, smart, tackle real world issues in mostly realistic ways, interesting and have a little humor sprinkled in. Tate and Liz have been best friends since kindergarten. They rely on each other for almost everything, though it skews about 90/10 in Tates favor. Tate is a good guy, but not a smart aware man and has completely taken advantage of their relationship. You almost can’t blame him for Liz sat back quietly while he did his thing and waited for him to have some sort of revelation, get his head out of his behind and realize she is the only one for him. Sadly, he is not that self evolved because really isn’t is all about him always and forever! Even talking to him leaves him clueless and confused again, because if it isn’t about him does it really an issue? Reminded me too the old age old question :if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there is hear it does it make any noise?” YES IT DOES!!! He doesn’t even recall their last conversation except for the part about his needs. I started thinking of him as BDG (big dopey guy). We’ve all known some of them and they come in both genders so don’t think I mean all guys, just this one in particular. There is a big difference between a guy and a man. All men can be guys, but not all guys ever become men. When Tate basically ghosts her for 6 weeks because he’s got other things to do Liz decides she is done. Done waiting, done having expectations, done feeling badly and done being treated like an after thought. It is time to cut her losses, go after what she wants and move forward with her own dreams even if it means leaving Tate behind. When he bumps into her at the local hangout he is shocked to see her with man after having successfully avoided his calls. I applaud her for standing up for herself, though not so much for her new guy. He isn’t who she thinks he is and so begins the journey of figuring out what we will truly do for the people we love, defining that love and finding their way back to each other. I really enjoyed this book. Though a romance and of course HEA, it is a wonderful read that will leave you awaiting this authors next book.

I’ve purchased and read everything that Jennifer Ryan has written and this is another winner, it’s part of a continuing story about the McGrath family though it can be read as a stand alone. It’s a great romance with a frightening true to life backstory. Her writing makes real people out of her characters making for a fast read that I couldn’t put down.

ARC for honest review with no compensation Received from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers

Waiting on a Cowboy is book 1 in the McGrath series by Jennifer Ryan is well written, emotional read.

Tate and Liz have been best friends since they were 5 years old and as they grew up Liz’s feelings turned into love but Tate never saw it..as he never crossed the line from friendship. Finally Liz has had enough and distances herself, starts dating and it took Tate 6 weeks to realize she wasn’t around...he doesn’t understand why...until he has a heart to heart talk with his brother and realizes that maybe Liz is what he has been searching for but is it to late? Liz is dating someone else but unbeknownst to them both he may not be on the up and up...

What happens next will keep you turning the pages, suspenseful, romantic and hoping Tate and Liz find what has always been there...

<i> I was provided an Advanced Reader Copy from Netgalley and the Publisher for an honest review. </i>

<i> Waiting on a Cowboy </i> was an amazing, intense, romantic ride. It is the first book in a new series by Jennifer Ryan but contains characters from a previous series. You do not need to read that series to understand this storyline but I would recommend them.

Ryan tells the story of Tate McGrath and Liz Scott who have been best friends since before they could walk. Liz has always know that she was in love with Tate but Tate remained clueless until Liz shut him out. Seeing her in a new relationship, no longer available to him, stirs something to life in Tate. Liz’s new boyfriend isn’t what he seems to be on the surface.

As the story developed there were several intense scenes. They drove the story along, engaging me with a need to know the ultimate outcome. It was easy to get to know these characters. Both Tate and Liz were very like able and since their relationship was already established it didn’t take long to become interested in them and their story. I can’t wait for the next installment.