Customer Reviews

Long Hard Ride: Rough Riders, Book 1

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I fell away from reading romance novels after marriage and kids took front and center. Recently I needed to remember what romance was about again and found Lorelei James Rough Rider series ("Long Hard Ride" and "Rode, Hard, Put Up Wet" currently available - "Cowgirl Up and Ride" due next week!) and discovered a world of difference in modern romance novels. For those of us who are past the vestile virgin age, these are such a refreshing change with mature topics and frank sex scenes. But beyond the racier storylines, Lorelei James weaves a heart-touching story of love and romance with real men and women we can relate to. This series centers on the McKay family and friends. In Long Hard Ride, we are taken for a tour of the rodeo circuit with drop dead sexy Colby McKay, his two equally hot friends, and how Channing Kinkaid becomes the woman Colby McKay can't just "love and leave."
Honestly these characters and story lines are so well written you will feel that twinge of sorrow when you finish the book because it feels like saying goodbye to friends. I'm so excited the series will continue and I'll once again be visitng the McKay Ranch. Don't just buy this book - buy the whole series now because you will want more - trust me!

Channing has struggled her entire life to be the person her mother and father desire. Fun loving and mischievous, she is stifled in the society where her parents are so comfortable. Always on the outside looking in, Channing just wants one summer of freedom; freedom to be what she wants, when she wants, especially when those wants include a sexy cowboy who promises to fulfill all of her fantasies. Add in his two sinfully erotic roommates and Channing's dreams just might be fulfilled.

Colby McKay has been watching and waiting for Channing Kinkaid to set her sights on him. Desiring her like none before, he sits back and allows her to come to him. And she does. With a proposition as bold as the wind, Channing promises to fulfill all of his needs, even those that include sharing her with his fellow rodeo roommates. Colby doesn't count on coming to yearn for Channing to be his alone. What happens when the rodeo season ends?

LONG HARD RIDE hogtied me and would not let me go until I read every bit of this delightfully sexy tale. I am fascinated by the rodeo circuit and I really liked how Ms. James took the reader into the workings and politics of how rodeos are run and managed. I found myself immersed and anxious when reading scenes of bull riding and calf roping. Channing's characterization could be any young woman yearning for a bit of fun before starting a new life and job. She is brassy and sassy, and I adored her independence. Colby, in turn, made me melt when he smiled. And when he smiled at Channing I knew his frisky, no holds barred kind of loving was headed her way.

Lorelei James has written a bold novel with LONG HARD RIDE. Sinfully erotic, poignant at times, and basically just plain wonderful, LONG HARD RIDE is simply delightful. Hang on to your cowboy hats because this book is scorching hot!

I purchased this book largely on the overall strength of the current reviews. I wasn't disappointed! I thought Channing perhaps fell into Colby and Co.'s bed a tad too easily (e.g. the initial "test")but didn't feel it strained anything but the very outside edge of believability. Please note there is some m/m action (in addition to m/f/m)but although it's not generally my thing, I thought it was well written and hot. All-in-all, a pleasing and erotic summer-read!

To start off with, I love erotic romances. So when I took a look at the ratings for this book on amazon and decided to read it, I did not expect to put it away where I'll never find it again after going through the first 20 pages.
Menage' is certainly all the rage in such books these days, but to make it palatable for some it needs to be handled deftly.
The first few pages, I even made a concession to overlook the daft dialog between characters but at times the descriptions seriously put me off.
In a menage scene with the two smoking-hot heroes with a beautiful woman, the description the author (from Colby's point of view) gives to paint a picture of how well pleasured she is goes like this - "The woman started to climax. Loudly. Shrieking like a wheezing donkey. Thrashing like she was having a seizure"
uh- seriously? talk about putting a damper on things.
I understand it is the first book in the series but what is wrong with people?
I suggest you go look for a better author who can give better sentences or better descriptions.
It is just not enough to write out explicit words in a an erotic romance/book. You need to have a believable structure too.

This is Book 1.
I never really fancied myself a cowboy loving romance reader but, uhm that has totally changed and James' Rough Rider series has changed my ways. I absolutely adore this series. I have now read all the books and I need to come back now and review them all.
This book is a wonderful introduction to the Wild West er Wild McKay family.
These characters you will fall in love with. The one thing that I totally love about this series is that you get introduced to Channing, Colby, Trevor and Ed but after this book is done, they still continue to make appearances in the other books. Of course not in the extreme detail of their own story but I just love how the author gets you invested into the characters and then doesn't just drop them. I love how you get the chance to keep up to date with them and see how they are progressing along in life.

Okay so the sex is hot, the menage is awesome, the erotica writing is smoking, the alpha males are mouthwatering and the romance is dreamy. Big fan of this book and this series. I would just suggest if you are gonna try out this series, start here.

HOT! While I really enjoyed reading this 'way hotter then expected' book, considering the length I thought there would be more story to it. The 'steamy' descriptions were some of the best I've read when it comes to erotica but I decided to give it a 3 star rating because the characters fell flat for me. The accent was distracting and I never fell for the relationship between the main couple. BUT I would still recommend it if you're looking for a book with great description of EVERY possible position

Cant even explain how much I loved this book. It was one of those that you could just not put down. After I read the last page of the book I downloaded the rest of the series on my kindle so I would not have to stop reading!

While this is the first book of Lorelei James' Rough Riders series, I have to say that I am glad that I did not read this book first. I read the Rough Riders series sort of out of order, and I think that is what got me so hooked on the books. In my opinion, this first book just isn't as strong as some of the later books in the series.

This book tells the story of Channing, a girl from the East Coast, letting loose for the first time in her life by following the rodeo for the summer. At the end of the summer, Channing is supposed to return to her prim and proper life that is closely managed by her parents. After a few bumps at the start of the novel, Channing ends up agreeing to travel the rest of the rodeo circuit with cowboys Colby, Trevor, and Edgard. Colby and Trevor are known for sharing ladies and wild sex, and that kicks off the minute Channing starts traveling with the men. Unlike in the other Rough Riders books, where you can really feel the love developing between the main characters, the love that develops between Colby and Channing is told more than it is shown. It just isn't the romantic love that the other Rough Riders books provide.

The other way that this book stands out from most of the other books in the series is that the setting is different. This book takes place on the rodeo circuit, where the other books take place in the tri-county area of Wyoming that the McKay ranch spreads over. You just don't get the same sense of place, or of the McKay family, in this book. Overall I love the Rough Riders series and would highly recommend them. If you're looking into starting the Rough Riders series, I might suggest starting with book #3, Cowgirl Up and Ride, as it is the first book that takes place on the McKay ranch, and it really introduces all the key players of the McKay family. You can always go back and read book #1 later. I think it is a necessary read before book #5, but isn't critical to any of the other books.

If you're curious about the Rough Riders series, I've read most of the books so you can check out my reviews for more info.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK, WHEN I FIRST STARTED READING IT I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD LIKE IT BUT I DID. THREE OF MY CO-WORKERS READ IT AND LOVED IT, ONE SAID THERE HAS TO BE A SECOND ONE.

If you like the pages of the book to smoke and the reading to be steamy and hot. The kind that keeps you up til the early morning hours reading. This is the book for you. Channing knows what she wants and she knows how to grab it with both hands when it is offered to her. After all this is her wild rodeo adventure. Her one and only adventure before she settles down to the boring life her well to do family has all planed out for her. From the first moment she saw Colby she wanted him too bad she hadn't seen him first. But now she's free and he's 'offerin' only thing is he's offerin himself and his two traveling buddies, Edgard and Trevor. Whatever they want, whenever they want it. Channing isn't even sure she can handle Colby, but she sure wants to find out, but can she handle all three of them? Well only one way to find out. If you like wild rides hold on to your hats with this one. This book should come with a warning label. "WARNING SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION POSSIBLE READ WITH EXTREME CAUTION AND LOTS OF ICE TO COOL THEM PAGES AND YOU DOWN".