Title: All Night With the Cowboy by Soraya Lane
River Ranch Series Book Two
Publisher: St Martin’s Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Billionaires, cowboys, and second chance romance collide in All Night with the Cowboy by Soraya Lane.
BACK IN THE SADDLE. STRAIGHT TO THE HEART. . .
At the Ford family ranch, getting thrown from a horse is a part of growing up. But one cowboy is still learning the ropes when it comes to falling in love.
Tanner Ford has been riding bulls and busting broncos his entire life. So when he takes a hard spill—and sustains serious injuries—he refuses to believe his rodeo days are behind him. He’s determined to restore his body and revive his career. There’s just one problem: the finest physical therapist in town just happens to be the only woman he’s ever loved.
Lauren Lewis knows she made a huge mistake when she walked away from Tanner. But she was young, ambitious, and focused on her medical career. Now, after all these years, Tanner’s back—and, in spite of his injuries, looking better than she allows herself to admit. She agrees to work on Tanner’s big bruised muscles until he’s back in bull-riding shape again. But how can Lauren resist the smoldering attraction between her and her old flame. . .and will she be able to live without him?
Review:
All Night With the Cowboy by Soraya Lane is a second chance at love romance between former high school sweethearts. This latest addition to the River Ranch series can easily be read as a standalone.
Billionaire bull rider Tanner Ford is seriously injured in the arena and he is going to need intense physical therapy to help him recover in order to resume his career. He has resisted all efforts from his family to hang up his spurs so he will do just about anything to continue participating in the sport he loves. However, Tanner is not at all happy to discover that his sister has just hired his former high school girlfriend as his physical therapist.
Lauren Lewis gave up the only man she ever loved to ensure she received the best college education her parents could buy. She has worked hard to make sure her reputation as physical therapist for the Texas Rangers is impeccable so she makes it clear to Tanner there will be no hanky-panky between them. The two soon jet off to Fiji for a working vacation where the romantic island soon has Lauren rethinking her stance on maintaining a professional distance from the only man she ever has ever loved.
Neither Lauren nor Tanner ever really recovered from their broken hearts so their initial encounters are prickly with lots of animosity especially from Tanner. He never quite understood why she broke things off with him and he has never been involved in another serious relationship. Although Lauren knows she made the right choice, she does have a few regrets about how she handled the end of their romance. Like Tanner, she has steered clear of emotional entanglements since their split and she has intention of doing anything to jeopardize her carefully cultivated reputation in sports medicine.
However, Lauren quickly changes her mind about not acting on the still sizzling hot attraction between her and Tanner. Their no strings fling has a short shelf life since their new mantra is “what happens in Fiji stays in Fiji” but will they be able to forget about one another again after they return to their regular lives? Will the memories of their painful breakup continue to serve as a cautionary tale for a real reunion between them?
All Night With the Cowboy by Soraya Lane is a well-written but somewhat insipid romance that has few surprises. Tanner is ridiculously stubborn and his continued resentment towards Lauren becomes tiresome. Lauren’s reasons for their initial break up are a bit weak and once they are on Fiji, she abandons her principles at an astonishing speed. Their renewed relationship feels superficial and it stretches the bonds of credibility to believe they are still in love given the passage of time and Tanner’s simmering anger towards Lauren for breaking his heart. Readers might feel hard-pressed to feel much sympathy for Lauren’s claim she is heartbroken over their break up since it was her decision to end things with him. All of their lingering issues are wrapped up fairly quickly and this second installment in the River Ranch series comes to a sweetly romantic conclusion.
