Review: Gone Country by Lorelei James

This is the 14th book in the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James.  I have one thing to say about Ms. James, She KNOWS Cowboys!  Oh my, even when they aren't cowboys, but instead are ranchers or cops or - for heavens sake - businessmen, she KNOWS Cowboys.  This series tells the story of the McKays.  It spans all the children of 4 brothers, and by this book -  is getting ready to get started on the grandchildren of those 4 original McKay brothers.  I think that eventually I wouldn't mind seeing Ms. James go back and write the brothers stories as well.

As with all the other Rough Rider books, this story is set in Wyoming and many of the characters from the other novels make an cameo appearance somewhere in the story.  I would NOT start with this book.  With just the shear number of McKays, especially the ones whose first name begins with a C, will have you so confused you will want to give up.  So do yourself a favor, go back and start with book 1, Long Hard Ride. Be warned, these books are erotic romance.  They can get down right raunchy.  But, they also have a romance and an HEA and tell a story full of real grit, sweat and muscle. If you don't want to immediately move to Wyoming and stake a claim on one of these cowboys, you might just want to check for a pulse.  

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.  It is a solid story, but just didn't speak to me as much as some of the others have.  Maybe it was his teenage daughter being a real pain in the ass, or her grown daughter being a jealous twit.  Or maybe it was the fact that they just both seemed to move at a snail's pace around each other.  I am still looking forward to the next book and can't wait to get my hands on it!

Goodreads:

She’s a little bit country, and he’s…not.

Arizona businessman and long-lost McKay love child Gavin Daniels has been awarded sole custody of his teenage daughter Sierra for one year. In order to steer Sierra back on track after a brush with the law, he pulls up stakes and heads to Wyoming, looking for support from his ranching family...even if he isn’t sure where they fit in the McKay dynamic. He’s prepared for every contingency with the move: the less-than-enthusiastic response from his daughter, learning to run his corporation remotely, but he’s thrown for a loop when his new housemate, Rielle, is a whole lot sexier, funnier and sassier than he remembered.

Rielle Wetzler has finally overcome the stigma of having hippie parents and being a young single mother. In the two years since she sold her ailing B&B to Gavin Daniels, she’s become financially stable running the homespun businesses she loves. But now Gavin is in Sundance to claim the house that’s rightfully his. Although Rielle knew this day would come, she isn’t prepared to leave the home she built for herself and her now-grown daughter. And to further complicate matters, her long-dormant libido is definitely not ready to live with this newly buff Gavin—who isn’t a cowboy, but has the take-charge attitude to prove he’s all McKay.

Sharing a roof, their troubles and their triumphs is too much temptation, and before long, Gavin and Rielle are sharing a bed. But sharing their hearts and lives forever? That’s a whole ’nother ball of wax.

Warning: Contains a feisty, independent heroine who doesn’t need a man to take care of her needs outside the bedroom and a sweet, sexy and bossy hero who’s up to the challenge of proving her wrong