"The Cowboy Next Door" by Brenda Minton

About the Book

Never again would he be burned by a city girl! No matter how sweet and loveable they seem, Lacey Gould and her niece won't win over Jay Blackhorse. Still, they clearly need his help. Lacey needs a place to stay…he has a house to rent. She's clueless about caring for the infant her sister abandoned. Jay has a talent for stopping the baby's tears. But when a dark secret from Lacey's past blows into town, will Jay's help be enough? And who will help Jay when he realizes he's falling for the city girl next door?

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This book was released in May 2009

This is my own personal book that was reviewed

My Review

“The Cowboy Next Door” by Brenda Minton is a lovely rescued book that I really enjoyed. 

The biggest disappointment about the book really is nothing more than the geographical issues with the two major cities/towns mentioned. I have to say that I live close to one of the cities/towns and the other one is not that close for there is actually a four hour difference, not a half an hour difference. I just kept shaking my head and figured that it is just an author’s prerogative to change little things like that, but for me it is annoying because it is so close to home and it is wrong. Well unless there is a second city/town in Missouri that goes by the same name which I don't think so for I looked. 

Now besides that everything was beautiful, and there was one statement in the book that erased all that frustration about the cities/towns. I have only quoted a handful of books in my reviews, if that many, but this statement was truly powerful. The quote can be found on page 126, regular print, “Stop stoning yourself,...” I found this to be truly powerful in describing someone who just refuses to forgive themselves. I think I will keep this quote in mind and use it when it is needed. 

There are secrets from the past for both Lacey and Jay, secrets they are not ready share. One has a secret that they don't want to get out for fear of how others in the community will react to them after they are learned. These secrets are slowly leaked throughout the story which leaves the reader trying to figure out what is going on, or what happened. As the secrets are revealed they are not a complete surprise but yet at the same time they are a bit surprising. The secrets are not something that really changes the character themselves, but gives a deeper understand to each of the characters. 

Changes are not easy to handle no matter who is going through the changes, especially when they are major changes, but one of the characters seems to have things constantly thrown at them. It is how this character dealt with the curve balls that were thrown their way one right after another until most people would break down completely, whereas this character just kept going. I am not saying that this character didn't break down for a few moments but they just kept moving forward like always. 

I would give my thoughts about Jay and Lacey but if I do that then I would be giving a few too many details about the story that might take away from the story. Both of them change throughout the story, so really to explain them I would be giving away too much. They are wonderful characters who have been hurt in one way or another, just trying to move on now. They learn different lessons as well along the way. 

I hope that all who get to read this story, enjoy it as much as I did.