I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, but I don’t think it was necessary to. I was expecting a basic romance, but this story is so much more. Marlee is a former cop turned PI who works hunting stolen babies. Her twin sister was murdered 10 years ago and her unborn baby was taken. She’s tracked another baby who was stolen the same way to Clearview, a small town in Texas. There she meets Cooper and his friends. They decide to help Marlee find the people who are responsible for the kidnappings and murders.

No spoilers from me, but I thought this was a great book. Now I want to go back and read the earlier books in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free through netgalley for an honest review. I haven't read any books in this series before but it didn't take away from the story. I loved both Cooper and Marlee and I thought they were perfect for each other. The crime of killing pregnant women and stealing their babies was a little intense to read about, but it still was good. I loved that there was mystery, romance, and friendship included in this book.

Another great one from Mrs. Grant even though the subject is gruesome. A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the USA. We follow a PI, Marlee, who investigates some of those cases. She ends up in Clearview where a couple, Brice and Naomi, have adopted a baby. As she search for the truth, she meets Cooper who decides to help her. We follow them and Cooper’s friends in their quest to stop an illegal adoption network.

A good mix of suspense and relationship. Even though this book can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in order to meet the other characters as they are present in all the books.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

This is my first book from this author, and I really enjoyed it. The storyline is definitely a difficult subject matter, children abduction and pregnant woman being killed for their babies. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve not read the first four books in this series, but I didn’t have any problems filling in the blanks with all of the characters in this book. I definitely developed a crush on Cooper, mighty fine, and Jace is one I would love to read in his own story hopefully coming in the future. This book was definitely filled with lots of mystery, suspense and twists and turns that keep you fully involved in the story. Marlee’s situation was heartbreaking, but damn she and cooper definitely had some chemistry. Loved how Cooper and his friends are always there for each other, ending was a nail biter! Definitely worth the read.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

A personal mission leads a former cop to a cowboy…

This is the fifth book in the Heart of Texas series that can be read as a stand-alone.

This book opens with a shocking and heartbreaking prologue, a police officer learns of her pregnant twin sister’s death, her eight-month-old niece ripped from her mother’s womb and taken. The devastating grief becomes outrage and the remaining twin has a new mission in life, to find those responsible.

Ten years later and Marlee Frampton’s a private investigator focusing on missing children. With a lead on an adoption agency whose legitimacy is in question, she heads to Texas where an adoption of a male infant is taking place involving the Harpers. She researches and does surveillance on the couple as well as their family and friends and when a chance meeting with Cooper Owens occurs she ponders using him for intelligence as she notes that he’s even more attractive than in the photos she’d taken of him.

Cooper Owens, a former military man is intrigued by the stunning sexy redhead he meets at the gas station and then later on but he’s not pleased to learn what she’s in town for or being used. She could possibly ruin the happiness his friends have just been given, a child of their own. But he is, like the Harpers, good people who will do the right thing even if it’s hurtful to them.

No one in the town of Clearview likes the idea that someone in their area is responsible for killing women and stealing children to sell for profit and so Cooper and his friends offer to provide assistance to Marlee. The attraction between them might or might not be a complication but it is a distraction.

This book revolves around a dark, disturbing topic that overshadows the romance and was difficult to read about. It has fast-paced action and suspense with likable protagonists and supporting characters. There are multiple points of view including that of the villain and the plot holds one’s attention. There are a lot of people to keep track of whose stories were told in the prior books.

As for the romance, The main protagonists were too quick to declare their love, yes they got to know each other under dangerous intense circumstances which heightens emotions but the declarations felt as if they came too soon. Insta-love is never a favorite of this reader but it can sometimes work just not here. This reader appreciates strong heroines and for the work that she does, Marlee is a psychologically strong intelligent woman which is why this reader was surprised at the stupid move that she made near the ending and though it all worked out I cannot forgive it. There are times when you really want to smack a character for actions that they know better than to do, and she was a former cop.

The epilogue was appreciated but I would have liked final closure for Marlee.

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5 stars

Marlee is on patrol in California. I like the name Marlee. It's tradition for Marlee to dress up for Halloween with her twin sister Macey. Marlee is going to help Macey raise her child. Cooper lives in Texas and his mom is always fussing at him for being single. Marlee is looking for a missing newborn in Texas. I like the name Cooper. Cooper is very close with Jace. Marlees dad still has health problems from a stroke and she has pnumonia

In this segment we get Cooper's love story. He meet Marlie and she captures his attention, except that Marlie just wants to get information on his friends. Marlie knows that she did wrong but she couldn't take the chance that he wouldn't warn them. You really need to read the previous books to know the dynamics and who is who since they are all in this books. I liked Marlie and respected the work that she did because it couldn't have been easy for her...Loved Cooper and can't for Jace's story..Enjoyed catching up with the crew.

"Looking for a Cowboy" (Heart of Texas Book 5) by Donna Grant is a terrific read. I enjoyed Marlee and Cooper's story. This is the first book in this series that I've read so far, and I will definitely be adding the others to my wishlist. This story has family, action, twists and turns, overcoming tragedy, hot cowboys, close friends, law enforcement, military, romance, passion, and more. I'm anxious to see what happens with the rest of these entertaining characters in this series. Highly recommend to fans of romance, suspense, cowboys, military, and series.

A well written book but not a satisfying romance.The investigation took over and the romance seemed shoe horned in.
The world of illegal adoptions is a compelling one and the more interesting part of the story.
The hero and heroine lacked enough chemistry to carry that plot line.

This is a Cowboy Suspense Romance, and this book is the 5th book in the Heart of Texas series. I have to warn people that this book as a lot of hard to read things into like killing, kidnapping, adoption, and cutting babies out of their moms. This book is beautifully written, fast-pace, and a must-read. I have to say that the cover of this book does do anything for the story. I think the cover makes you think it is a cute cowboy romance, but this is a high pace suspense book with a little romance throw in. I LOVED this story and could not put it down. The characters where so developed, and I loved the characters so much. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (Donna Grant) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be release on October 27-2020.

I loved the suspense in this book and the plotline. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the romance part of the book because it seemed too unrealistic. The characters didn’t really have any tension among themselves and it was like an instant spark and once that happened it seemed like they didn’t have any issues after that. The story of people killing pregnant women for their unborn children so they could sell them for adoption oddly fascinated me and kept me reading to see how the story would play out.

Donna Grant has done it again!!!!!! Another book with the Harper's, East's and friends and it is GREAT! These friends never go looking for trouble but when it shows up they do not hesitate to help each other or new friends who are in need. Donna draws you in and you feel like you are right there as one of their friends helping others in need.

Great story with a tough subject matter, stolen children. Marlee has made it her life's mission to track down stolen children after her twin sister is killed and her unborn niece is stolen. She ends up in Clearview Texas tracking a stolen baby where she meets the Owens clan. She teams up with Cooper, a former rodeo star to crack the stolen baby ring. A fast paced mix of romance and suspense.

Tough subject matter but plenty of action.
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Like I said in my intro, this book has some hard-core crime that can be disturbing to some readers. It is a tough subject matter with a story that needs to be told. However, it is a huge part of who Marlee is due to her job and history, and that has Cooper all in for this visitor to the town.

Grant tells a compelling story that just begs to be read. With many layers of deception, surprises, romance, and twists in the story, she grabs your attention for certain.

I loved the connection between Cooper and Marlee. A definite lust at first sight story but she fit in perfectly and the passion, deep feelings, and romance was a natural flow in the story, written beautifully.

I love that it is not all roses and sunshine. There is a delicate balance of romance and crime-solving. A perfect blend of family and friends. A wonderful mixture of work and playfulness. So good!

While this book is a part of a series, I for one did not have trouble following along at all. The book sees to be standalone with the main group of characters running throughout the series.

Looking for good romantic suspense for your next weekend read? Looking for a Cowboy is an engrossing choice!

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. While I will not finish this book due to a pejorative term that is used at approximately location 1065, I did enjoy the first quarter of it. I'm curious to see where Marlee and Cooper end up, but the term was sufficiently distasteful in these times that I can't proceed. The first 26% of Looking for a Cowboy is well-written and well-edited. There's a lot of descriptive text on how selfless, tired and frugal Marlee is but that's offset by her mission to stop baby trafficking, a crime that resulted in her sister's death. Cooper is an all-around good guy with a band of friends that support and protect each other. All in all, the makings of a good story are there. I hope that other readers enjoy it.

I didn't realize this was the fifth book in the series, but it reads like a stand alone. Obviously, there was some back story to some of the other characters, but it was easy to follow along.

This takes place in Clearview, Texas, where Marlee Frampton has landed following a case. Marlee is a former cop, turned P.I. She left the force to strike out on her own after her twin sister, Macey, who was murdered, and look for her missing niece. Marlee has a passion for finding missing children.

Marlee desperate to make headway in her case, decides to take an unethical approach, and use Cooper Owens to get information on a couple whom Coop has close ties with. It backfires miserably on her.

Cooper has a strong close net of friends, who have always been there for one another. They are all like more of an extended family.

Fully knowing, that the cat is out of the bag, Marlee decides to go speak to Brice & Naomi Harper. Although, the end result is not what Marlee expected; Marlee is going to find out that Cooper is what she needs.

This is the first book of Donna Grant's that I've read, and won't be my last. I was pulled in from the beginning. This book has heart! I loved the strong family connections between Cooper and his friends. Although, Marlee is used to working alone, she hit the jackpot finding Cooper and the gang. They are definitely someone you'd want in your corner. I found myself rooting for Marlee and Cooper, even though Marlee put up roadblocks because of her job. A wonderful read!

I received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

Interesting premise behind illegal adoptions and murder. It was very intriguing. Though the writing style wasn’t really my cup of tea. I had a hard time keeping my interest.

I usually really love this author. Like, I will read any and everything that she writes. However, this just didn’t cut it for me.

It started off with Marlee, a cop, who comes home to find her twin sister missing and comes to find out that she was murdered. Something that most authors write about. But the difference here was that her sister, Macey, was pregnant when she was murdered. Her baby cut out from her and stolen. This is highly realistic as we live in a world where these monsters do exist and have done just this.

I looked passed my issues with that and continued on. But the next thing I got stuck on was Cooper. He says and does all the right things and they way he “speaks” just screams to me that the author is trying to give us a sense of security with him right off the bat. I know we have had some books in this series already but I still like to see the characters work to get their happy endings.

Marlee’s main focus is to find the missing babies and it is all she can think about. Granited, it is a good life mission, but what happened with her sister is NOT her fault and she seems to punish herself about it by focusing so hard that she doesn’t think to take care of herself.

The Cooper, who was mad at Marlee for using him, decides to conduct his own investigation. He will include Marlee, the one who is qualified, but he wants to keep his friends safe. It is all fine and dandy but the way this is written is just not authentic feeling to me.

I just couldn’t go on with this. I like everything else from this author except her contemporary romance.

Looking for a Cowboy (Heart of Texas #5) by Donna Grant... Just loving this series and the people of Clearview and their close friendships. Your will enjoy the series..but this book can be read as a stand-alone. Cooper Owens all around good guy and great friend and P.I. Marlee Frampton who is searching for the killer of her twin sister and her missing baby. This story has suspense, horrific crimes, twists and turns, fast paced action and steamy stuff all leading to a climatic but very HEA. I can't wait for book six.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed Easy-to-read Entertaining Great world building Happily Ever After Page-turner Romantic Scary Steamy Tear-jerker Tragic Unpredictable Witty Wonderful characters

I loved this story – it was a heart-warming read and I loved every page

The plot was well developed and it was a lovely romantic read with some great characters.

The detail in the book was very good as were the characters and they all worked really well to make the book a really strong read that was full of romance, suspense and action.

It is 5 stars from me, I thought that it was a great story - very highly recommended – another fabulous story from Donna Grant!