Dinca’s review of Ride (Studs in Spurs, Book 3) by Cat Johnson
Contemporary Western Romance published by Samhain 28 Dec 10

I found reading this tale very entertaining.  Chase is quite an interesting and charming character. He is not only rookie of the year in bull riding, but it appears to be the same in the bedroom too. Until he meets Leesa, a stripper who is a rookie too.

Leesa thinks Chase is a godsend when she hears her boss put a hit out on her life. When she is trying to escape the bad guys, she runs into Chase at an autograph signing and goes up to his room with him for his birthday party.

Chase and Leesa wake up to find a marriage license with their names on it and matching wedding rings. Trying to do the right thing, they take off together and start getting to know each other.  They arrive at his parents’ farm and stay in separate rooms, since they plan on getting a divorce when his uncle, who is a lawyer, gets back into town.

Lessa never confesses anything to Chase about the hit men after her, and I would have liked to have had the hero’s take on this aspect of their relationship. It would also have increased the word count and made the book longer and more interesting. I feel a lot is left unsaid the way the book ends.

I also would have liked to see more in the book on Chase’s little town and how his parents respond to Leesa. Oh, and why even bother mentioning a little sister if all she does is run down the hall and watch television. I feel she needs to be more a part of the story if she’s mentioned.

In the beginning, I felt there are too many rodeo characters by name to keep track of, but once past this the storyline is great. I like the story enough to look up the other books in the series and read them. Because of the fast and, I feel, unfinished ending and the loose characters, I am going to give this one a B.

Grade: B

Summary:

What happens in Vegas…sometimes follows you home.Pro bull rider Chase Reese knew things move faster than an eight-second ride in Las Vegas. He just never expected to be driving home with a national championship under his belt and a wedding band on his left hand with no clue how it got there.

Yet he can’t complain about the stripper bride beside him. From the moment his buddies bought him a lap dance from her, her trembles told him there was more to her than stiletto heels.

Leesa Santiago has met the perfect guy. Her timing couldn’t be worse though. If it was just their explosive sex, she could walk away. But from the moment her lap dance brought her this close to his baby blues, she was hooked. She can’t lie that she couldn’t be happier to bear his name—or guiltier that she’s using it and his Oklahoma farm to hide out from mob hit men.

That’s before Chase’s family gets involved. And his determination to do the right thing pushes her to do the one thing that will keep him safe. Break his heart.

Do cowboy boots mix with stripper heels? And can a love that started out on the wrong foot end up on the right one? That’s the risk you take waking up in Vegas.

Read an excerpt. (Click Excerpt tab)

Other books in this series:

Hooked – 2011

Sandy M’s review of UnRidden by Cat Johnson
Contemporary Erotic Romance ebook released by Linden Bay 26 May 09

Cat Johnson is an author I discovered a few months back, liked the sound of her books, so I’ve been wanting to see if I like what she has to offer. I admit that most of the time I’m not bowled over when I finally get to experience authors out of the blue like this, but sometimes you find a gem or two.

I’m happy to say that Ms. Johnson may be one of those gems. This is my first book by her and I’m already looking at her backlist to find others to try. I like her writing a lot. And her characters. Well, hell, they’re cowboys! How can you not love cowboys? Especially when they’re as sexy as Mustang and Slade. Ms. Johnson even got me to like an older woman/younger man (men) story. Those usually aren’t my thing, but this one is done in a way that just seamlessly flows and I found myself liking everything about it.

Jenna is a romance writer and her editor has just rejected her latest manuscript, her work needs something more and a review even called her sex scenes boring. Cowboys are the trend, so, her editor tells her, write about cowboys. Well, being a city-bred girl, Jenna doesn’t know a heck of a lot about things western. At a writers’ convention in Tulsa she begins to do some research and hits the jackpot when she learns that the Championship Bull Riding competition is in town for the week. She hightails it down to all the goings-on to get some firsthand experience.

Best friends Slade Bower and Mustang Jackson ride the circuit together and share their women a good portion of the time, but that part of his life has become tedious for Slade. A different woman every night, not knowing a woman’s name, even looking her in the eye when he’s going to town inside her just doesn’t have what is used to for him. He wants something more, though he has no idea what that is. Mustang, on the other hand, is still going strong, picking just the right women with his southern charm and killer smile. Trying to perk Slade up some, Mustang picks a woman that isn’t anywhere near their usual, and damned if that doesn’t put the spark by in Slade’s eyes when he checks out their fun for the night. He’s not sure, however, she’s going to be quite as eager to join in as Mustang thinks she will be.

Before they can make their move, Jenna has searched them out to ask her questions and do her research. There’s definitely some attraction on her part, but these two are just boys. Handsome, sexy, and built boys. She gets her information but graciously declines their further offers, which she regrets later when back in her hotel room alone. Determined to rectify that mistake, she goes back the next night and the resulting heaven, rapture, bliss in their arms and their bed is the best time of her life. They spend a lovemaking-filled week together, but all things must come to an end. Jenna tearfully goes home to New York, Mustang and Slade head for Texas. Will they ever see each other again?

Well, yeah, of course they do, but I’m not going there. That’s the really emotional part of the book and you have to get your own copy to find out about that.  I had a great time with these characters. When Jenna makes her decision to be with both Mustang and Slade, she doesn’t pussyfoot around, vacillating yea or nay like you read in some books. Her decision made, she goes for it. She still has her vulnerabilities along the way, but she knows her mind and acts accordingly with little fuss. Mustang and Slade are real cowboys, flat out charming and sensitive when they find someone worthy. They have their moments from the hilarious to the unfamiliar emotional. There are some great secondary characters from Barb, Jenna’s author friend, to Chase, the even younger circuit rookie, who is a hoot all on his own.

So now I’m hooked and I want to read more of Ms. Johnson. She’s a gem that’s definitely turned bright and shiny for me.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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Slade Bower and Mustang Jackson are living the high life on the professional bull-riding circuit. The prize money is big, the bulls are rank, and the women are willing. But something is missing.
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For Slade, waking up in a different city with a different woman each morning is holding less and less appeal. Even Mustang’s creative attempts to shake things up don’t help. Then along comes a big-city author who’s like nothing they’ve ever encountered. Something about her makes Slade sit up and take notice—and Mustang is always up for anything.
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Romance writer Jenna Block has a problem: her agent thinks a cowboy book will jump start her career. A born New Yorker, Jenna doesn’t do cowboys, not on paper, and definitely not in real life. Luckily for her there are two cowboys ready, willing and able to take her out of her comfort zone in every way that counts…and some ways she hadn’t counted on.
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Read an excerpt here.