Sandy M’s review of One Real Cowboy by Janette Kenny
Historical Western Romance published by Zebra 1 Mar 07

It’s such a treat to find a book that has the true flavor, the real feel of cowboys, their lives and surroundings. Cordell Tanner, the hero of this book, walks, talks, and acts just like a man of the west should, as do all the other characters he deals with throughout the story.

Of course, the exception to that is Trixie, an English transplant who has fallen in love with her home in Kansas and resorts to a little deceit to make sure she keeps it, and a few of her relatives who figure significantly in the storyline later in the book. You’d think they’d be like fish out of water, but they actually take to the ranching life quite easily.

Trixie, Cord’s name for her since she doesn’t act or look like a Beatrix to him, is determined to make her grandfather see she can continue to take care of the homestead as she’s done even before her father’s death. She refuses to return to England and be a good little girl. She especially won’t sell out to the local men who want her land and who think a woman’s place is taking care of a husband. So, to outsmart them all, including her grandfather, she hires Cord to be her make-believe husband — she gets to keep her home and he gets a nice tidy sum to make himself scarce from the one place he vowed never to return to. Sounds easy enough.

Cord is a man’s man. He’s lived a rough life from childhood on. He’s a drifter, but he’s stayed on the right path, is an honorable man, trustworthy and good, all despite growing up with a mother who paid him no mind. He does overdo the drinkin’ once in a while, and that’s what gets him in trouble when he meets Trixie. Finally being talked into becoming her husband, Cord is also drawn into the mystery of unusual and dangerous happenings on the ranch. In the midst of it all, his feelings for Trixie grow, something he’s always avoided before, but she’s a strong, independent woman who deserves better than the likes of him, so the only thing to do is hightail it out of town when their time is up and before she finds out the truth about him. Not once was Cord ever out of character. The wording, the action, the feelings of the man were those of a cowboy through and through. And I had to laugh each time his little rustler decided to act up.

This is one of the best westerns I’ve read since I finished Lorraine Heath’s Texas Trilogy a year or so ago. There have been a few good ones along the way, but none of this caliber. None that reminded me of my grandmother’s chocolate gravy at breakfast and chicken and dumplins at dinner. None that brought home the sounds and smells this country girl remembers from her childhood. So I reckon I’m gonna love Ms. Kenny’s new book, One Real Man, and I’ll be headin’ into town directly to get me a copy.

Grade: A+

From the back cover: 

     Straight From The Heart

     Cord Tanner has a very simple plan: get paid to be Beatrix Northroupe’s husband for a month so the prim, but sexy, Englishwoman can gain rightful ownership of her family’s stud farm. Money in hand, he’s going to get as far away from Revolt, Kansas, as a fast horse can take him.

     But Cord soon finds that he admires his Trixie’s reckless courage–not to mention she’s one great kisser. Maybe he’s crazy to hope for a real future with her instead of heading for the hills, but now that someone’s staking a dangerous claim to her farm, Cord’s decided to stick around as long as the lady needs protecting. That wedding ring he put on her finger means her reputation is safe–and he’s determined to win her heart. Cord Tanner may not be the most refined man on the frontier, but he sure is the lovingest…

     Read an excerpt.