Feisty reporter vs. gruff cowboy—buckle up for a hard ride…
Come back to the rodeo with Mia Hopkins and the newest release in the
Cowboy Cocktail series,
COWBOY RISING!
Rating: 5 Stars
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received
this book for review from Barclay Publicity and the author. I was not
compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have
expressed are my own. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements
and Testimonials in Advertising".
About COWBOY RISING:
Journalist Georgia Meyers is writing an article about MacKinnon Ranch in a last-ditch effort to save her job at a failing newspaper. At first, the hot-as-hell rancher wants nothing to do with her. But butting heads leads to knocking boots, and soon she’s getting the real story—in bed and off the record.
Cattleman’s son and petroleum engineer Daniel MacKinnon turned down a lucrative oil career to take over the family farm. Frustrated about giving up his dreams and worried about money, Daniel buries himself in ranch work—that is, until gorgeous Georgia shows up and rocks him to the core. A blazing one-night stand leads to something deeper. Despite their feelings for each other, he’s tied to the land and she’s a rolling stone. When the time comes to part ways, will the lovers choose duty over desire? Or will they face their fears and rise to the challenge of love?
Warning: Get ready for sassy banter, sizzling sex, orgasms galore, and a nerdy dirty-talkin’ cowboy who can go all night long.
On Sale in Digital: November 22, 2016
Add COWBOY RISING to your TBR pile on Goodreads!
CELEBRATE THE RELEASE WITH A GIVEAWAY!
Grand Prize: Digital copies of Books 1-4 in the Cowboy Cocktail series plus a delicate gold and quartz crystal necklace from FeminaHandmade.
5 Runner-Ups: Digital copies of Cowboy Resurrection (Book #2 in the series)
Excerpt:
His cheeks red from working outside, the new brother removed his gloves and tucked them under his arm. He took off his hat and shook her hand. His rough fingers were warm.
“Daniel MacKinnon.” He didn’t smile.
Georgia couldn’t explain it. With a heavy jaw and dirty blond hair styled high and tight, he was as clean cut as a cadet—she usually preferred tattooed, bearded types. He looked to be in his mid-twenties—she usually liked seasoned men who were older than her, not younger. But this guy’s hotness seared her eyeballs, nailing her feet where she stood.
“Georgia Meyers, L.A. Chronicle,” she said automatically, all other words escaping her. She was too old, too experienced, and far too smart to react this way—and yet, here she was. Staring slack-jawed at a pretty-faced cowboy like some blue-stockinged virgin at a rodeo dance.
“I know you’re here to see my father,” he said, the low rumble in his voice stroking a sweet spot inside her chest, “but he isn’t available today. You need to reschedule, Miss Meyers.”
His bright green eyes were so distracting, she almost didn’t register his words. “Reschedule?”
“Yeah. You need to come back. Do the interview another day.”
“What?” Snap out of it, Gigi. The story. She yanked her professional persona back in place. “Mr. MacKinnon, I’ve just driven an hour and a half from Fresno to be here. Two days ago, your father said he’d give me a tour of the ranch and walk me through the organic certification process. Isn’t there anyone else I can talk to?”
Daniel’s stoic expression was both infuriating and unspeakably hot. “No.”
Hot or not, who does this guy think he is? She stood up straight. “Okay, let me lay it all out for you. If there’s no one here who will speak with me today, just to make sure my time isn’t wasted, I’ll be more than happy to find another rancher. There are plenty of spreads in your neck of the woods, aren’t there? I’m sure my readers wouldn’t mind learning about conventional ranching operations. Maybe someone at the Hughes Ranch will make time for me. What do you think?”
He narrowed his eyes at her and took a deep but silent breath. His broad chest rose and fell as he looked her over. At last he said, “Can you ride?”
“A little.” Which was completely true, depending on one’s definition of “a little.”
Fresh impatience lit up Daniel MacKinnon’s eyes. “All right. Let’s go.”
My Thoughts:
Georgia Meyers is a woman who writes stories of
interest. Daniel MacKinnon is a man with
attitude. But he’s also hurting. Georgia finds him at a sad point in his
life. This scene is where things change
for both of them. It’s also where I told
myself I wasn’t going to put this book down until I finished. Our author writes a very realistic tale where
you want these two people to find happiness.
There are just some differences that shouldn’t matter.
There’s supposed to be an age difference but you
just don’t see it. It’s not a big deal
anymore. Plus the double standard has
been busted. You find that this is a
series that doesn’t have to be read in order.
Especially when you come in contact with Dean MacKinnon. For those not familiar with him, his story
was in book two. Clark MacKinnon’s story
is book three. Hopefully this book will
be incentive enough for you to go back and read their stories. There are also two prequels available as
well.
My disappointment came when I realized how quickly
the pages were going by. But I look
forward to reading this series over again from the beginning. Even though this appears to be a Christmas
story, it’s one that can be read any time of year. It’s a story that’s both
sexy and sweet at the same time. The
ending will have you saying “aw”. Now
where do we go from here?
See what people are saying about the Cowboy Cocktail series:
"Mia Hopkins knows how to put characters on a page." -
HEROES AND HEARTBREAKERS
"Mia Hopkins is an imaginative author who doesn’t take the easy road to a formulaic book."
-
USA TODAY
"Sweet and filthy at the same time, just the way I like it. This book made me so happy."
-
READ ALL THE ROMANCE
"The writing is excellent, the emotions leap off the page, and the sex is downright earthy."
-
JILL SORENSON, AUTHOR
"Beautifully descriptive...hot, sexy and full of yearning!" -
DELILAH DEVLIN, AUTHOR
“Off the charts hot.” -
THE ROMANCE STUDIO
“A tantalizing slow seduction of the senses.” -
STRANGE CANDY REVIEWS
"Hopkins packs a lot of heat and romance on the pages...Caution: hot, sexy times ahead!"
-
READER GIRLS BLOG
“Filled with sizzling chemistry, hot sex, and just enough sweetness to leave me wanting more…And those sex scenes…Holy hotness!” -
CRYSTAL BLOGS BOOKS
Check out the other books in The Cowboy Cocktail series!
Forget chocolate and flowers. This homegrown honey is all the sweetness he craves.
Small-town life is nothing but a waiting room for eighteen-year-old honor student Corazón Gomez. Work and school leave little time for love, but with a full-ride Ivy League scholarship and a one-way ticket out of the boondocks, who needs it?
The answer appears on Valentine’s Day when her old cowboy crush ambles into the ice cream parlor where she works, inviting her to go on a late-night ride in his truck. For the first time she wavers between staying on the straight and narrow, and going off-road with the handsome heartbreaker.
After four years working on ranches all over the country, Caleb MacKinnon is back on the family farm helping out his mom and brothers while his father fights cancer. The one bright spot: smart, funny, and wickedly sexy Cora.
From the start, they both know this blazing-hot love affair can’t last. But when autumn comes and Cora has to leave for the East Coast, Caleb must find a solution to keep himself—and his heart—from falling apart.
Warning: Contains hard, cherry-poppin’ sex in a pickup truck and a cowboy charmer who talks dirty in two languages.
Ball-busting business woman meets no-holds-barred cowboy. He’s gonna need a longer rope…
Marketing hotshot Monica Kaur has put her big-city life on hold to help bail out her brother’s failing business. Now she’s got three months to plan and promote a rodeo, the first her tiny hometown has ever seen.
To ensure the rodeo’s success, Monica enlists a local hero, a rancher’s son who’s made a name for himself on the bull-riding circuit. Problem? She can’t stop daydreaming about the cocky bastard—and all the things she longs to do to him out behind the chutes.
Professional bullfighter Dean MacKinnon is home helping his family while his father fights cancer. Haunted by bad memories, jaded by love, Dean finds escape in a no-strings-attached go-round with brainy, sexy Monica, whose close-knit Sikh-American family would sooner run him out of town than see her with a notorious rodeo Romeo.
In private, Monica and Dean play as hard as they work. But as the rodeo draws near, that clean break they promised each other is getting more and more hung up in the rigging.
For eight years, Melody Santos played the game of love and lost—big time. Now she’s back in her tiny hometown looking after her younger sister, making ends meet with an assortment of odd jobs. When her childhood best friend hires her to help him sell his family’s grass-fed beef, the last thing she anticipates is falling in lust with the legendary, brown-eyed player.
To put his family’s cattle ranch back in the black, Clark MacKinnon has his sights set on big contracts—gourmet chefs and restaurateurs. If that means long hours traveling from farmer’s market to farmer’s market, Clark doesn’t mind. Particularly since his new assistant is his childhood crush, all grown up and sexy as hell.
One night in bed leaves them breathless and hungry for more. But when his love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation collides with her trust issues, Clark and Melody must face the truth about what they’ve become: not friends, not lovers, but players in a game that’s impossible to win.
Warning: Contains filthy banter, raunchy sex, excessive Johnny Cash references, and hundreds of pounds of raw beef.
When Harmony Santos’s boyfriend dumps her on her birthday, she doesn’t get mad. She gets lucky…with a mysterious cowboy whose bedroom eyes and rough edges bring out her inner bad girl. But when their one-night rodeo turns into more than a rebound, Harmony worries her heart hasn’t healed enough to take on someone new—even if that someone is as sweet as he is sexy.
Tie-down roper Lucky Garcia can’t believe his good fortune. A shot at national finals and now this—his longtime crush, in his arms at last. The more time he spends with Harmony, the harder he falls for her. But financial demands and family responsibilities take him further and further away from her—as does his secret fear she hasn’t quite gotten over her dickhead ex.
Behind closed doors, Lucky and Harmony are filthy perfection. But when reality comes knocking, the star-crossed lovers must decide: walk away intact, or risk it all for a chance at happiness.
Warning: Get ready for rope tricks, spanking, self-pleasure, and a smoking-hot cowboy who puts the big D in Dominant.
Author Bio:
Mia Hopkins writes lush romances starring fun, sexy characters who love to get down and dirty. She's a sucker for working class heroes, brainy heroines and wisecracking best friends.
When she's not lost in a story, Mia spends her time cooking, gardening, traveling, volunteering and looking for her keys. In a past life, she was a classroom teacher and still has a pretty good "teacher voice" and "teacher stare."
She lives in the heart of Los Angeles with her roguish husband and two waggish dogs.
You can also visit her online at the following places:
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