I recently read the first two books in the “Moose ‘N Spruce Ranch Series by Mora Ash Wildes. These are small-town stories. The first book, Bringing Home the Cowboy, is about two single parents who have similar stories that led to their raising their kids on their own. The second book, Bringing Back the Cowboy, is about high school sweethearts who argued years ago and had a falling out. Both books came out earlier this year, and the third book in the series, Bringing ‘Round the Cowboy, comes out in November, so you won’t have to wait long to continue the series.
Intro to Bringing Home the Cowboy
This is a really cute small-town romance. While a good portion of the story does take place on a ranch, the feel of the book is more small-town than ranch or cowboy fiction. That’s not a critique. It’s just how I felt about the book’s tone.
The two main characters, Jonah and Clara, are both single parents. At first, I didn’t like Jonah a lot. He came off as a bit of a womanizer. If you feel the same way, just read a bit longer. He definitely grew on me. He’s been living in the big city for a while, and I think he needed some small-town influence to remind him to really be himself.
Additional Thoughts
This is a clean, funny, romance. There will be moments where you’ll be laughing at the characters, or at least smiling a little alongside them. There is no swearing or violence. There is some kissing, and it does get a bit passionate in one scene, but it stops short of being too much. I would give this book 5 stars.
Intro to Bringing Back the Cowboy
This is a fun small-town second chance romance. Kent and Dana were high school sweethearts, but after an argument, he’s been mad at her for close to 20 years. She comes back into his life, and his resolve to remain mad at her is tested.
I found the characters to be relatable. I love that Kent is so determined to protect his family that he doesn’t realize that sometimes he really just needs to back away and allow them to live their lives. He was portrayed perfectly and realistically.
Additional Thoughts
While this was a cute book, I wouldn’t consider it lighthearted. It does hit on some potentially sensitive subjects, including child abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, raising a child with a disability, and infertility issues. I felt like all of these were handled in a sensitive way, but they might be difficult for someone who has experienced any of these issues.
This is a clean novel. You won’t find any sexual content or graphic violence. While you do hear about characters who have been abused, that is behind-the-scenes violence. There are some “replacement swear words,” and at least one time where the “d” word is used in the sense of “d-med if you do,” which some people may consider swearing. I didn’t think that it was quite as good as the first book, so I’d give it 4.5 stars.
