Is he an enemy?

Dillon Young is proud that she inherited her aunt’s ranch. The problem: someone is trying to run her off and is willing to do whatever it takes. Strange, dangerous things keep happening. Dillion suspects her no-good neighbor and fellow wealthy rancher, Hank Stephens. Never a man to get his hands dirty, he sends others to get the job done. So, when the irresistible Cal Bennett is found passed out drunk on her property, Dillion is on high alert. Until someone takes a shot at her and Cal springs to her rescue. When the hard-bodied, no-nonsense-talking cowboy points out that she may need some help, Dillion is inclined to reluctantly agree.

Or a lover?

Waking up on a stranger’s property with a shotgun in his face is not Cal Bennett’s idea of a good time. Never mind that the person on the other end of the barrel is one of the most fiercely beautiful women he has ever seen. Things get more interesting when he finds himself shielding her from flying bullets. It’s clear that this smart, savvy woman could use a hand and Cal is all too happy to lend any part of his body she requires. His proposal: pose as lovers until they find out who is after her ranch. As the danger rises and secrets are revealed, the passion explodes between them and there is no turning back.

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  That Cowboy of Mine
Series:  Standalone
Author:  Donna Grant
Genre:  Modern Western Romance/Romantic Suspense
Published:  April 26, 2022
Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press
My Rating:  4.5 stars

If you love Romantic Suspense that will grip you from the opening pages right through to the final word without setting the book down for more than quick breaks for coffee and such… then you will devour That Cowboy of Mine.

While the cover description tells you most of what you’d want to know before picking up Cal and Dillion’s story, what it doesn’t tell you about are the conflicting emotions that fly across the pages as Dillion tries to figure out why on one hand she trusts this stranger who appeared on her property the morning after her prized stallion was stolen even though logically she shouldn’t… but he did save her from a bullet even as she held a shotgun on him.  So begins the strange and compelling complexity of what Cal and Dillion face in That Cowboy of Mine.

There are some nasty people in this story, men who have no issue with taking what isn’t lawfully theirs, men who could have someone killed moments after taking afternoon tea together.  Yeah, that soulless kind of villain.  There are also surprises along the way, so much so that you’ll constantly be on edge as even more clues and more frustrations are revealed.  All the while watching a couple fall for each other when there is absolutely no reason for trust between them.  I hurt for Cal, who has no clue as to why he was on Dillion’s property, as well as for Dillion as she finds herself drawn to a man she knows she should not trust.  As their emotional connection grows so do the tensions, and the danger facing Dillion.

This was a story that I could not put down.  I know, that’s said a lot, yet every time I was needed elsewhere I found a reason to keep on reading until I knew what happens to this couple, to the ranch, to the stallion, and who was it that remained in the shadows undetected.  I’ve enjoyed Donna Grant’s work for a while now, but I think this is her best in this genre… and I wish it was the beginning of a series instead of a standalone for I would have loved to return to this world again.  If you want a compelling, addicting story for your next Romantic Suspense/Modern Western Romance story?  Then pick up That Cowboy of Mine… right now, you won’t be disappointed.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Available in print, audio, or e-book formats