Cover Image: Strong, Silent Cowboy

Strong, Silent Cowboy

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First off, this book is filled with super hot, smexy scenes. If that is not your bag, you will not enjoy this book. The blurb makes it sound much sweeter than it is. In actuality, Jacob is much more of a dominant alpha male, but never quite pushes the story towards a more erotic read. I had no problem with that part of the book. Jacob and Sallie aware engaging characters for me, although I will say I don’t care for her name. It would occasionally throw me off, to be totally honest.
There are a lot of secrets and a very good suspense plot and most of the reveal wasn’t something I saw coming. The twists and turns kept it interesting, but after the mystery was over, the ending just fell flat. This reader is missing closure and not very happy about it, hence the starred rating.
I enjoyed the characters and hope to see at least a few of them who are directly related to this story in a subsequent Moving Violations book. Not having read the first in the series, I don’t know if the books share characters or just location.
While I’ve read Ms. Leigh’s books in the past, I haven’t had the same pleasure to read anything by Ms. Chadwick and I was sorry to read of her passing in the dedication. I wish I could give this book a higher rating, because even though I liked it, it had a few too many issues boost it above a 3.5.

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I will say after reading book one and really liking Jacob, I was excited to read his story. However I was not a fan of him in this book he was annoying to me and everything about him and this book was sex driven. Just like in the first book I had a hard time getting in this book there was not much of a storyline unless the authors were going for a book about sex then they hit it out of the park with this book for sure. I will say I liked Sally, Lily and Tara they are super stubborn and strong headed women. I really loved Gram she was a pistol I think was hands down my favorite and I wish there was more of her in the book. I did feel in the end I did have some questions but I am guessing the authors left it up to you. Overall this was not for me.

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Jacob and Sallie have history but he has an accident that causes him to forget her. She is on the run but doesn't know why or from whom then ends up living in his same town. She doesn't know he lost his memory so is upset with him. That finally is rectified but she is still in danger. There are cool twists to finding who is behind her problems with a surprise ending. I enjoyed the story overall but have a problem with the typos, incorrect word usage,/punctuation and run-on sentences followed by odd phrases. I realize this was just an early uncorrected copy so hopefully the issues will be rectified for the actual printing.

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sally Hamblin has been living and working in a small town for 3 years, happy and somewhat content. Sally is always looking over shoulder, however. She has been running from an invisible stalker for quite a few years. So far, so good until she runs into the one man able to make her feel things she never had and has never felt since.
Jacob Donovan has been back at home for the last few years, living at and working the ranch he loves. He meets Sally and, immediately feels things he has never felt, or has he?
This is a fast-paced story about a man who has memory loss of the last year he spent in Switzerland, due to an explosion, and a woman who cannot believe that Jacob has no memory of her.
Great Romantic Mystery!

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WOW! what a love story. A complicated, involved love story that last through the unimaginable. You'll have to read this to see how much this couple, but especially Sallie, has gone through. I didn't realize this was a series but you better believe I'll go back and read book one and then continue to read each as they come out.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Not as advertised. This book is billed in the blurb as romantic suspense. Yes, there is that element in the plot, but essentially this is erotic romance. The first 15% of the book is a graphic, explicit sex scene. Now I like some good hot sex, but this book had lots of very explicit sex wrapped around a few pages of suspenseful plot. When we got to read it, the suspense thread of the story was great—well-crafted, nicely complex, with a number or twists and turns to keep me wanting more. Then the story was interrupted with pages and pages and pages of another graphic, explicit sex scene, which often felt overdone and inappropriate to plot of the story just visited. It was clear these two main characters had a GREAT deal of chemistry between them. It just felt really overdone for the story. The suspense plot line was great, hence the three star rating. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my freely given, honest review.

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Wow! This is an action packed read that has mystery, suspense and intense chemistry. Strong, determined characters work to solve a mystery and stay alive as well. Really enjoyed this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book; all opinions expressed are my own.

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Wow, talk about your alpha male. Jacob is every woman’s wet dream. He is a super hot alpha cowboy. Sallie is in hiding from people who want to hurt her. The story is fast moving as the action ramps up. The steam level is off the charts as Jacob and Sallie set the pages on fire. The setting is small town which comes with the wonderful addition of fun characters. This is a wonderful story that would be worth reading more than once.

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It's been three years since I last read a novel by Lora Leigh. That novel was the first book in this this series, One Tough Cowboy, and I had to go back and check my review, because I've read and reviewed hundreds of books since then, and surprisingly, I had given that novel a 1-star review, which, shocked me because I've been a fan of this author's books for a very long time. Even more surprisingly, this novel didn't rock my world for a number of reasons, and the best I can do is give this second book in the Moving Violations series the same 1-star rating.

First, there is one thing you can say about Lora Leigh's novels, there are always a lot of graphic, steamy sex scenes and this novel has more than its share of them--too many in this novel and in this reader's opinion, when used as an alternative to character and plot development, and from the prologue on, that seems to be all the relationship between Jacob and Kyra/Sallie is based upon.

Six years earlier, 18-year-old Kyra, stepdaughter of an American diplomat in Sweden (in the prologue) or Switzerland (in the rest of the novel), lost her virginity and spent 3 days having wild sex in bed with Jacob, a virtual stranger, although that period of time is later referred to as one night, and also one weekend. When he left, Jacob told her he'd be back, but he never showed up, and soon after that, heartbroken Kyra, married John, her stepfather's aide, whom she didn't love, and with whom she never had sex, and after a year of marriage, John informed her he was having their marriage annulled, which didn't seem to bother Kyra at all.

After that, Kyra, now known as Sallie, is on the run from some terrorist group based in Switzerland, and has been running and hiding for 2 years when she finds her latest identity and job managing a feed & supply store in a small town, and comes face-to-face with her former lover, Jacob Donovan, who was originally introduced to her as Jacob Rossiter, and who doesn't appear to recognize her at all. Does she tell him who she is? Does she ask him why he doesn't remember her? Of course not, because that would make too much sense. Apparently, we're told, his assignment in Sweden/Switzerland ended with him being caught in a warehouse explosion, and he has no memory of the entire week before the explosion, but what he does have are sexy dreams of a mystery woman, and when he meets Sallie, the mystery woman in his dreams starts to look a lot like Sallie. Does he mention it to her? No, not when he meets her, and not for the next three years.

When Sallie's few friends ask her to join them at a local bar one night, she finally agrees, and she ends up leaving with Jacob, with whom she barely speaks, and then ends up in bed with him for another wild night, but she's been in love with him for 6 years, and she's never had sex with anyone else. She calls it love, and I call it downright ridiculous. Suddenly Jacob becomes very protective of Sallie, and suddenly it seems that whoever was after her managed to track her down, and the attacks begin. She has no idea why or who is after her, and neither did this reader. What should have moved the plot of this romantic suspense novel forward, simply didn't, because it became an afterthought when these two characters could barely have a conversation without ending up in bed, where Jacob finally recognizes Sallie as Kyra, admitting that he fell in love with her during their weekend of hot sex 6 years earlier. Really? They didn't even know each other's real names or anything about each other, but fell in love? To this reader it seemed that what really happened was that they fell in lust. As their renewed relationship leads to more sex scenes, which become rather redundant, Jacob becomes more dominant, but it's hinted at rather than developed, as is their entire relationship.

When the people Sallie was hiding from find her, and also Jacob, who we learn was former CIA, we finally get some action outside the bedroom, and the suspense finally ratchets up, but it was too little and too late for this reader. Of course, there's a long explanation of the plot near the end of this confusing and underdeveloped story when it would have benefited the reader to have some clue of what was happening and why long before needing to have it explained near the end of the novel. Additionally, what was desperately needed in this novel was a reason why these two characters mistook sex for love, and a plot that carried the reader along so that we actually understood these characters and their motivations, and some verbal communication between these two that might have given them a reason to love one another outside of the bedroom.

If you find this review confusing, you're going to find this novel even more confusing. I couldn't help but wonder about the lack of editing and why there were so many inconsistencies in Strong Silent Cowboy. And, by the way, at no point in this novel was Jacob actually on his ranch doing anything cowboy-related, so even the title was confusing. Lora Leigh is a far better writer than is evidenced in this novel, and if you're new to her novels, start reading some of her earlier ones, which at least made sense. Sorry, but I can't recommend this one.

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

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Strong, Silent Cowboy by Lora Leigh is the second of the Moving Violations series. This story is a fun, steamy romp between Sallie and Jacob. Jacob is the strong, silent cowboy that would do anything to protect Sallie, who is in grave danger. These two have crazy chemistry and keep this story moving right along. I do feel the ending did not wrap up everything and would have liked a bit more to the story.

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This is a steamy one. Sallie is in hiding from someone who threatened her life and of all places to end up, she's in the same town as Jacob. They had a three night stand several years ago and then he left, never to be seen or heard from again. He was working for CIA at the time but he's a rancher now. While he doesn't recognize her at first, there's a serious spark between them and well, you know what happens. This has some significant plot holes and is best read for the romance and not for the logic (especially vis a vis CIA). That's not to say that it's not perfectly enjoyable, just that parts of it didn't hang together for me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

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Wow! This was one hot and steamy read with plenty of drama and mystery to hold it all together.

While I enjoyed Sallie and appreciated her ability to endure the ordeal she’s been through, this book really got me with Jacob. He’s a super alpha hero that’s fiercely protective, extremely possessive and exhibits a streak of jealousy when the situation calls for it. And oh man, things between him and Sallie were explosive. Yeah, you can totally go there. They literally set the pages of this book on fire.

This has several surprises and along with all the steam, it’s actually got a great storyline running through it. The inclusion of a trio of brothers has me hoping we’ll be seeing them in the future as they all carry great potential to be just as amazing as Jacob.

Highly recommended if you like a strong alpha and a lot of heat.

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Strong, Silent Cowboy by Lora Leigh & Veronica Chadwick, book two in their Moving Violations series, is a suspenseful second chance romance, filled with magnetic attraction, sizzling chemistry, hidden identities, and international intrigue. Sallie Hamblen and Jacob Donovan, a sexy, undercover CIA agent, fell in love after three incredibly hot nights together in Switzerland. Disappearing afterward, Sallie was broken hearted, hurting and wishing for the man she loved and lost. Years later, Sallie unexpectedly relocates to Jacob’s home town, not understanding why he doesn’t recognize or remember her. For three years, she keeps quiet, not reminding him who she is, and then Jacob takes her home from their small town bar. Spending time together, burning up the sheets, bring dreams Jacob thought he had dreamt, to life. Jacob wanted a simple life, never expecting to want one woman in his bed, every night. When Jacob discovers the truth about Sallie and the danger she is in, he vows to guard, protect, and keep her safe until he can neutralize the enemy.

Ms. Leigh and Ms. Chadwick wrote an enjoyable, sizzling romance that should definitely not be missed. They provided a story with off the chart chemistry, magnetic attraction, a caring community, and charming secondary characters helping Sallie and Jacob finally get their happily ever after. I enjoyed and highly recommend Strong, Silent Cowboy to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

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I'm always hesitant to read stories with cowboys, but it was Lora Leigh and the cowboy was actually a CIA agent so I figured what could go wrong?
Sadly, for me, a lot. I was able to get through this story no problem although I did skim the sex scenes after number five. I think my issue was that the story felt bogged down by the sexy scenes. It was all either character thought about and then when they were together it was all they were doing together. I felt like the plot kept getting stopped by these never-ending scenes.

Now the scenes were super sexy, although I didn't feel like they were advertised correctly by any of the characters. How do I mean? Well okay, the story painted Jacob as this Dominant alpha male who is into super kinky sex and who gets super rough. I didn't get that anywhere in this story. Like at all. It was just straight vanilla sex with some edging. Now don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with vanilla sex, but I just didn't like the whole painting the character as this one thing and I just kept getting the same sexy time scenes over and over and over again.

Now since I received an ARC I can't speak to the ending style a whole lot, but if the ending stays the same in the final edition I have to say it was crap. Sallie drops this huge bomb, she and Jacob have sex, and then it's I love you then end. They don't discuss the issue at all. It's ridiculous. Like I just read nearly 300 pages of book and you're just going to end the book in a nonreal way?

I know it probably seems like I'm ragging on this book and that's not my intention at all. I did enjoy the mystery around the story even though I would have enjoyed being included in it a lot more. That being said I was constantly guessing as to what would happen next and that was very enjoyable.

The writing style was pretty fun and the pacing was decent. I think if we hadn't kept taking detours to penis and vagina island I would have been happier, but there were never parts I was just flipping through because I was bored, outside of the sexy scenes after a while.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this story, but I wouldn't not recommend this story either. I think for me it was just a big neutral blah. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it.

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I feel the same way about this one as I did with the first book. The books are not connected by characters, just location. This should probably be considered an erotic novel, there’s probably about five chapters of Jacob and Sallie. There’s plenty of questions about these characters like why does he not remember her? Why does she not approach him? By the time we are about 2/3 through the book answers are quickly given and reasons explained. Any kind of suspense or action does not happen until the last few chapters, it felt really rushed. If you need a book to dig into for a twisty mysterious suspense this is not that book, if you need a romance that reads like a how to manual then continue. I received an early copy through Netgalley.

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This was just an ok read for me. There was a lot of sex and not a lot of actual story in my opinion. I didn't read the first book in the series but I believe this book can stand on it's own. I like my romance without bad guys and I probably would not have read if I had known.

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Strong, Silent Cowboy is the first book I've read by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. I was saddened to learn that Ms. Chadwick passed at the end of 2019. This romantic suspense was just what I needed after being in a bit of a reading rut.

Sallie Hamblen has been through quite a bit over the last several years and Deer Haven is the first place that she has felt somewhat at home even though she stays mostly to herself. When she encounters the man she spent three amazing days with in Switzerland and who broke her heart when he up and disappeared, she can't believe it. But does he remember her?

Jacob Donovan likes things simple. After leaving the CIA and becoming a rancher, he has the life he hoped for. When he runs into a beautiful woman at the bar one night, he can't seem to get the feeling of deja vu out of his head after spending one night with her. Why is that?!

As Sallie and Jacob begin to spend time together, their relationship grows, but Sallie ends up in danger due to events in her past. Jacob is the first one to come to her aid, but it forces them to deal with their relationship from the past and how it plays a part in what Sallie is dealing with in the present.

This was an enjoyable romantic suspense with plenty of heat along with a great cast of characters. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

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This was the first book I've read by Lora Leigh and Veronica Chadwick. The dedication at the beginning had me in tears to start.

I really enjoyed this read and had trouble putting it down to live life. I will be looking for more books by these two authors. The writing was a bit repetitive at times, but the storyline was intense and the characters were likable. I hope that Lora Leigh will continue this series and write a more about the secondary characters in this book! I'm intrigued!

The beginning has us in the dark other than Jacob and Sallie possibly having a past. All kinds of situations were running around in my head regarding those two and the possibilities. Neither of them were forthcoming and they really needed to communicate with each other. Their chemistry is off the chart and there is several long, detailed sex scenes. Those almost over power the rest of the book. Sallie was a favorite character. She was lonely, but smart, strong willed, and compassionate. She loved deeply although she didn't want to do so. Gran was my other favorite character. She was funny and brought lightness to the intense read. Not quite enough of that in the book. But truly, the suspense is what kept me interested. I couldn't wait to get answers. I did feel like there were situations/people that were not tied up neatly, so it felt like we were left hanging a bit. I certainly wasn't ready for the book to end!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of the book. This is my voluntary and honest review.

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This book is so hot you can practically see the steam coming off the pages. Sallie & Jacob are quite the pair. I had a hard time following some of the story at the beginning of the book but by the middle I couldn’t put it down. It was nonstop action with some serious sexy scenes in between. If you’re looking for a romance novel that’s erotic in descriptions & also leaves you on the edge of your seat, this book is for you.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

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The premise of the story is good, but it feels underdeveloped. The multiple explicit sex scenes overshadow the core of the story. It's as though the sex determines the extent of their romance, which doesn't have a romantic feel. The danger, mystery and suspense are plausible. I am not a prude, but somehow I feel that the story is more about the sex than the actual plot. It has so much potential, but there is no balance.

Jacob is a good main character. Sallie is fairly lovable, but quite contrary. She claims that her ex husband is not attracted to her and then she goes on to say that nothing happened between them because she wasn't in love with him. She has this tendency of looking on the negative side when it comes to her personal life.

Like I have already mentioned, the story has good potential, but it's repetitive and there are some loose ends. It ends a little too abruptly. If you are looking for a steamy story with little backbone, then this book is for you.

I received a complimentary eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

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