Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Cowboy’s Promise by Marin Thomas
Contemporary western romance released by Harlequin American 14 Apr 09
Last month I read The Cowboy And The Angel, Marin Thomas’ first book featuring the Cartwright siblings. I’m sad to say that the book was mostly a failure for me. However Thomas has a pleasing writing style, and coupled with a yummy cowboy hero, I thought I’d give her a second chance. I wish I could say A Cowboy’s Promise was a smashing success and I loved every single word of it. Yeah, not so much.
Matt Cartwright is a big success on the rodeo circuit, but he’s ready to retire. His rich Daddy wants him to go into the family oil business and when Matt says no, that he wants to breed horses, Daddy cuts him off from his trust fund. How Daddy can do this when Matt is in his 30s is anyone’s guess – but whatever. While still on the circuit, Matt roped gambling addict Ben Olsen into a poker game knowing the man owned a premium stud, Son Of Sunshine. Ben loses, big, and Matt says, “Hey, that’s OK. You can pay me off by giving me free stud service.” Matt sees his dream on the horizon, but months go by and Ben never shows up in Oklahoma with S.O.S. in tow. So Matt packs up his fillies, and drives to Idaho – only to learn that Ben is dead.
Ben left his widow, Amy Olsen, with a mountain of debt and two young daughters to raise. Her horse boarding business has dried up, she has a mortgage she can’t pay, and a mountain of credit card debt. The slick local banker is knocking on her door, and she’s this close to losing the family farm. That’s how Matt finds her, and he makes her a deal. Let him work with S.O.S., get his mares knocked up, and he’ll help her sell the stud so she can get back on her feet.
Amy might as well have “rescue fantasy” stamped on her forehead. The woman whose life is totally screwed, and it’s only the appearance of a knight in shining armor (or Stetson in this case) that allows her to get her life together. For a large portion of this story I couldn’t shake the feeling that Amy was using Matt. He starts making her mortgage payments, and she eventually even ropes him into babysitting her kids while she takes a class to land a data entry job. Amy’s life is one big struggle, and it takes a large portion of the book for her to find her big girl panties and pull herself up by her boot-straps.
Matt is a nice enough guy – but he’s one of those ubiquitous heroes who was wronged by a woman who was only after his family money, so naturally he believes the worst in Amy. Doesn’t stop him from helping her out though. Then there’s the small matter of his relationship with Amy’s dead husband, Ben. Roping a gambling addict into a poker game, especially when you know the man has a gambling problem, to further your own gains, is really odious. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. Matt feels lower than a snake for what he’s done and all I could think was “Yeah, you should. Asswipe.” So in his guilt he continues to help Amy on one hand, and on the other he’s comparing her to the Evil Other Woman who just “used him for his family money.” Sigh.
The ending does salvage some of the story for me, mostly because by this point Amy finds some gumption and stops being a victim who needs someone to fix her entire life for her. It wasn’t enough to turn the entire book around for me, but at least it ended on a high note.
Grade: C-
Summary:
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Her horse-boarding business may have gone belly-up, but Amy Olsen isn’t a quitter. Even when handsome former rodeo rider Matt Cartwright shows up with three mares in tow, claiming he’s owed a lot of money. Then he makes her an offer she can’t refuse….
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Matt has come to Amy’s Idaho farm to collect a debt and be on his way. But his horse-breeding plans are taking a backseat to helping out the widow and her two young daughters. Matt’s never been able to resist a woman in distress, especially one who’s suddenly making him yearn for hearth and home.
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All he came with was a promise and a dream. And when he starts falling for the trio of spirited females, darned if this roving cowboy doesn’t plan to make good on both!
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Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
So… I’m guessing it was the heroine who sank the book for you.
Speaking as someone currently writing a romance novel, can I ask: what makes a strong book? I’m guessing that it’s all the usual things: interesting conflict, interesting protagonist, good premise, good writing. But those generalities are SO GENERAL that it’s often hard to learn anything from them.
I know that the protagonists have to grow and change in order for the book to have any meaning, and that they should help each other grow and change (otherwise, why put them together?) But they also have to have some personal responsibility!
Is there a book you loved that did this well? Please give me a suggestion so I can read it and learn!
Kate: It was kind of both characters actually. I have a bit of an issue with contemporary heroines who are so….so….helpless, I guess is the word I’m looking for. Girlfriend finally grows a pair at the end of the book, and that’s ultimately what bumped my grade up to a C-. But I also had problems with the hero’s odious behavior towards the heroine’s dead husband. It was just really, really icky.
Let’s see – good examples? Two very good category romances from last year – The Man Behind The Cop by Janice Kay Johnson and His Secret Past by Ellen Hartman. Also, find yourself some of Karen Templeton’s recent SSEs.
The book I’m reading now would also fit the bill – but it’s a historical. Ride The Fire by Pamela Clare. Interestingly enough, this is a story where the heroine is also helpless – but given the historical time period (American frontier pre-Revolutionary War) it’s working pretty well for me. Both hero and heroine are pretty damaged, but together they begin to heal each other…..