Customer Reviews

One Real Cowboy (Zebra Debut)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Set in the 1890s in Kansas, Janette Kenny's amazing debut historical makes the reader sense the time period in vivid detail. The mismatch romance sizzles with suspenseful action that makes One Real Cowboy a fast-paced page turner. Jannette Kenny is a master storyteller.

Beatrix Northrope hires cowpoke Cord Tanner to marry her in order to abide by her grandfather's demands that she be married before he turns over the deed to Prairie Rose where she breeds thoroughbred horses. Her neighbor wants to add this land to his growing cattle ranch and has already made an offer for the land. Cord wants to leave Revolt, Kansas and his past, but first, he needs some money and the horse that comes at the completion of the contract. When her upper-class grandfather decides to come to America all the way from England to check on this marriage, everything goes wrong. Beatrix must prove that their marriage is stable and to a suitable husband with a suitable background, temperment, and a business acumen to manage the ranch. Upon his arrival, Beatrix discovers that her miserable ex-fiance and her aunt show up alongside her grandfather to pass judgement and stir discord. In addition, her father's death years ago looks less and less like an accident. Today, the incidents of sabotage and near accidents surrounding Prairie Rose escalate the closer she gets to obtaining the deed. Is Cord's unknown past more of a threat than their marriage of convenience is an asset? Beatrix must carefully balance all those who want her land, all those questioning her marriage, and this strange man she now calls her husband.

Cord's developing relationship to the wild stallion Zephyr parallels his relationship to Beatrix. Although a secondary character, Zephyr's past and future intrigue and provide subtle psychological depth to the main characters. A wonderful addition to this delightful romance!

The author's attention to sensuous detail allows the reader to imagine the time and the characters with all the senses. The heroine is bold, impulsive, intelligent and sometimes humorously naive. No wonder Cord has such a hard time abiding by the terms of their contract! As the Cord's character unfolds though Kenny's skillful dialogues and interior monologues, the reader finds herself drawn to him just like the heroine. The chemistry is electric. The romance is hotter than a summer day in Kansas --- but much more enjoyable. I eagerly await Kenny's next novel.

I whole-heartedly agree with D. Crawford's review and rating of 5 stars. I especially loved the author's humor, often reflected in the thoughts of both the hero and heroine. Cord, for example, finding himself more and more inconveniently aroused by his convenient-marriage wife, vows to himself to "aim to keep the little rustler [in his pants] corraled." I thought this was a wonderful read and I sure hope that Ms Kenny writes many more!

I like to read Westerns, and this was a good addition to my usual type of books. I couldn't put it down, it was humorous and described the settings and characters very well.

This novel is a well written Western with interesting characters. The plot however was pedictable and i knew the ending long before we got there. the sex scenes contained some purple prose which I do not like. But all in all it is worth the current price.

Cord is broke and horseless so when he is offered a job as temporary husband to the English owner of a stud farm in Kansas he accepts. Beatrice needs a husband to ensure that she will get the ranch after her father dies and her grandfather is considering selling the property. She is willing to do almost anything to keep the ranch anything from bootlegging to entering into a temporary alliance with a stranger. When the Grandfather shows up bringing her widowed aunt and her former fiance the sham newlyweds find themselves forced to share a bed. Cord and Trixie soon find themselves fighting their attraction to each other, the bad guys, and their pasts to find the love they move want and need. It is a good story, a little improbable on some points but that is okay. I look forward to reading Gil's story in the next book.

This was a good story. Cord is a down on his luck cowboy who agrees to marry Beatrix for one month in order to help her keep her prospering ranch. She is afraid her English grandfather will sell it and make her return to England, because Beatrix's father was killed in a freak horse accident. Once Cord arrives, everyone takes to him and finds him to be kind and knowledgable. He discovers that there are secrets afoot and sets out to find the answers and to right wrongs that Beatrix is unaware of. When her grandfather and aunt arrive from England, Beatrix is afraid they'll see through her and Cord's ploy of man and wife, but Cord is good at portraying the loving husband, and eventually of course they no longer want to pretend, but want to become man and wife in fact and deed. Throughout all this Cord learns secrets of his own past while ferreting out the trouble surround Beatrix's ranch. In end, everything comes together in a satisfying way, and when you close the book, it is with a "that was a good story".

This book adds a flair of romance and mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Great read and great story line. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Throughout the book, Ms. Kenney refers to the Irish stablehand as "The Mick". This is a very derogatory term used to describe the Irish. I found it very offensive. The book itself book was so boring and predictable, I finally reached the point of no return and threw it away.