Cook County Cowboys (Cook County)

by Crystal-Rain Love

[Cocktails and Books]

This is a set of two shorter novels about the Masters brothers, Chance and Lucky, who had a horrible childhood and work to overcome those issues to be with the women they love.

Second Chance Cowboy is the story of Chance and Kenzie. They have known each other since she was a little girl and he was a teenager/early 20 something bull rider/hand on her father’s ranch. She has been in love with him since high school and he’s been fighting his attraction to her just as long. After not seeing each other for 10 years, he’s back and they discover that their feelings haven’t really changed.

I really wish this story had been a little longer. The author does an excellent job of letting us catch glimpses of the history between these two and letting us know why Chance feels the way he does, but there were several places that felt rushed. We also went from Chance staking his claim and explaining his childhood to Kenzie to them instantly being engaged. It seemed that we missed out on several key relationship steps that would have really added to the story.

Lucky in Love is a companion to Second Chance Cowboy and really wouldn’t work as a stand-alone. It is the story of Chance’s younger brother, Lucky, and Kenzie’s best friend, Cammie. Again, we have a younger woman who has loved “her” Masters brother since high school, but he really didn’t pay too much attention to her.

Where Second Chance Cowboy was too short, Lucky in Love was just right in length. Neither Lucky nor Cammie really struck me as characters that I could spend a lot of time with and not want to crack their heads together. I enjoyed Lucky’s story, but it could have become repetitive if it had continued too much longer.

Overall, Cook County Cowboys was a sweet anthology and I wouldn’t mind coming back to meet some of the neighbors.

Reviewed by Elizabeth for Cocktails and Books