Review ‘A Cowboy And A Promise’ by Pam Crooks

Author: Pam Crooks

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ISBN: B07K7MC4LK

Goodreads Rating: 4.29

Her determination fuels his desire When her dying friend pleads for help to finish a renovation project, Ava Howell can’t refuse, even though her promise means leaving her new career and familiar life in New York to travel to a remote ranch in Texas. She’s good at what she does, and the ghost town vacation resort would look great on her resume, but it means tangling with the ex-military cowboy who is determined to stop her as soon as she arrives. Beau Paxton needs to sell the land and ghost town to save his family’s struggling ranch. He’s a formidable enemy to Ava’s determination, but the harder she works, the more his attraction for her grows. He doesn’t want to set aside his plans so she can succeed at hers, yet he finds himself doing just that... Will a promise bring a city girl and a sexy cowboy together? Or will a broken one drive them apart?

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If you are a regular visitor on Maureen’s Books you might know that I love a good Cowboy story. So when I saw this cover on Netgalley and read the book description I definitely was interested in reading this book. Luckily for me a got approved and received an ARC to read soon after.

On her best friends deathbed, Ava Howell makes a promise to go to Texas for the summer and finish her best friends latest project. But coming from New York is a big change and the last thing Ava expects is to get this warm welcome in Beau’s family. Although Beau isn’t exactly happy with the job Ava is set to do, he can’t seem to stay away from her. But there lives couldn’t be more different and when they slowly grow closer and closer things get complicated real soon.

What I really loved about this book was Ava’s character. Not only was she a hardworking woman, who had a rough childhood but she really made something great for herself. Ava works in construction and wears this tool belt. And I just loved how this strong character had a job mostly done by man. How awesomely emancipated!

I had some issues with the romance part though. For one I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Ava and Beau. And secondly Beau declares his love for Ava rather abruptly and I didn’t see that one coming at all. It felt really rushed, and I was just really surprised by it. I also really missed the romance in this book. It definitely could have been a little more romantic if you ask me.

But apart from that, there was just something about this book and the characters that made me want to keep on reading. And overall I enjoyed this book. It also made me hope for more books. There are several characters I would like to read more about.

While expecting her first child (more years back than she cares to count), Pam Crooks read her very first romance novel, and she’s been in love with them ever since. She grew up in the ranch country of western Nebraska, and it was inevitable she’d eventually write lots of books about cowboys. Pam still lives in Nebraska with her husband (who is not a cowboy), four married daughters and nine perfect grandchildren. She’s a long-time member of RWA and RAH, her local chapter. Pam is also one of the founders of Petticoats & Pistols, a popular blogsite for western romance. She loves to cook, hang out at her lake cabin, and decorate birthday cakes for anyone who will let her. For more information about Pam Crooks please visit her website. Or visit her on Facebook and Twitter.

* I received an ARC of this book in exhange for my honest review *

Maureen Bakker

Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always!  Facebook | Instagram