Tougher in Texas

I read this book a couple of weeks ago and I've been struggling ever since to find the words to express just how UTTERLY FANTASTIC it is.
I'll start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about rodeo. Fortunately, Kari Lynn Dell knows LOTS about rodeo (her bio says she is 'a third generation ranch-raised cowgirl, horse trainer, and rodeo competitor-as well as the 2013 Canadian Senior Pro Rodeo Association Breakaway Roping Champion') and she breaks everything down gently and simply for those of us who are completely ignorant about the sport.
At its heart, though, this is a book about two seriously amazing people. I wasn't too sure about Cole at the start of the book - his desire for a wife to basically feed him and look after him bothered me - but when I realized that he was autistic and struggling to express his emotions, the light dawned and I fell quite thoroughly in love with him.
Not quite as much as I fell in love with Shawnee, though, who we first meet getting out of the bed of a Brazilian rodeo rider 12 years her junior after a night of unashamed, no-strings sex - hardly the standard introduction for the heroine of a romance novel!
Shawnee's got her issues, not least of which is her inability to have children after a childhood struggle with cancer, and her knowledge that you don't really survive cancer. You just wait for it to come back and get you. The former issue leads to absolutely the most romantic line I've read in the last few years, when Cole, after coming to terms with his dreams of a family with Shawnee being dashed, tells her
"That's okay. If I can't have both, I choose you."
SWOON.
Everything about this book is perfect. Everything. Both hero and heroine are strong and flawed, dealing with mental issues and difficult situations, somehow finding a way to each other without diminishing the other in the process. One of my BIGGEST pet hates in romances is one person giving up their dream for the other; the EXACT OPPOSITE of that happened in this book (without further spoilers). It genuinely made me so happy I'm still thinking about it two weeks later. Go read it. You really, seriously won't regret it.
Five stars, and I'd give it more if I could.

COWBOY UP
Third generation rancher and rodeo competitor Kari Lynn Dell returns readers to the world of professional rodeo in Tougher In Texas, the third book in her Texas Rodeo series. Independent, sassy and tough, beautiful rodeo competitor Shawnee Pickett is the opposite of tall, dark and intense rodeo producer Cole Jacobs. He has his hands full keeping Jacobs Livestock horses and bulls performing at top level for contracted rodeos. The last thing Cole wanted was to deal with Shawnee as his pickup rider. Shawnee has known Cole and his family for years, and has always enjoyed teasing the stoic cowboy. Now that they’re working closely on a daily basis, however, she learns there’s much more to him than a hard body and a handsome face. Should she give in to the lure of temptation and sleep with Cole? They both have trust issues from traumatic events in their pasts, and given how close their family ties are, hooking up could damage those relationships if it ended badly. But despite both of their efforts to keep the other at arms’-length, they’re irresistibly drawn together. When Cole learns the truth about the big secret she’s been keeping, however, will he still want her?

The rodeo setting rings with authenticity and vibrant color, and the hero and heroine are layered and well-developed, their relationship romantic and realistic with lots of sexual tension. This latest in a unique, stellar series is sure to send readers racing to download the other novels in the series, Reckless in Texas and Tangled in Texas.

Kari Lynn Dell has done it again with Tougher In Texas. Shawnee Picket is prickly, sassy, and determined to live life on her own terms. She keeps her heart locked up tighter then a drum determined to never open her heart to anyone. Never pitting down roots, not making lasting friendships are falling in love. Cole Jacobs likes his routine, things done a certain way every single time. Predictable and safe. He would like to have a wife and family but is not really sure now to do it. Shawnee Picket is going to rock his world when Violet send her to be a "pickup" man for the summer. If these two can let go and open themselves up, they could both end up with everything they both ever wanted. Love. This was Me. Dell's most emotional book in this series. Not just once, but more then once I was reading through tears. The raw emotions in certain parts of this book made my heart just ache. If you haven't read this series you really need to. This is one of the best cowboy, rodeo romances I have read in a long time. I will be added the print copy to my library even through i received a e-copy through net-galley.