Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: My Cowboy Promises
SERIES: The Cowboys #4
AUTHOR: Z.A. Maxfield
PUBLISHER: Intermix
LENGTH: 282 pages
BLURB:
A real man needs a real love…
To become the man he’s meant to be, one cowboy will have to be the man he never wanted anyone to know he was…
Ryder Dent is a true-blue cowboy. A devoted son, husband and father, but one who is living a costly lie. When they were both young, Ryder and his closest female friend Andy thought they’d found the perfect solution to both their problems—she was single and pregnant, and he was secretly gay—so they got married and raised Jonas together.
When Ryder gets hurt at a party, his son’s new pediatrician comes to the rescue. The connection between Ryder and Dr. Declan Winters is sudden, powerful, and undeniable. Ryder loves Andy and the family they’ve created together—but they both need more. Can they pursue their hearts’ desire without destroying the life they’ve built and losing the son they love?
REVIEW:
Wow. What a bumpy ride this story is!
Ryder Dent has grown up in a small town in Texas, he’s known he was gay but also knew it wasn’t acceptable. When his best friend, Andi, tells him she is pregnant by a much older rodeo star, Ryder figures this is the best chance he’ll have to get a family, he can help out his friend, and maybe be happy. So they get married, and have Jonas at 17. Ryder had hopes of college and escaping his small town life, but he gives it all up, to be a good husband and father. And he is, for the most part. Andi has known for years that Ryder is gay and is fine with it. They settle in to a life together. Ryder works for his dad, eventually running the family feed store as his dad gets sick. Andi is a wild child, clashing with her father, a local ranch owner and rich asshole. Andi likes to party, and would love a career as a singer, but she also loves her son and husband. They live in a small house Andi’s dad gave them, unfortunately continuing to keep them under daddy’s thumb.
In to town moves Declan Winters, the new town pediatrician. He takes over from the old town doctor, moving in to his house and taking over his business. Declan meets and flirts with Ryder at a party at the Rocking C, Andi’s dads ranch, but realizes he’s barking up the wrong tree when he meets Ryder’s wife and child. But for the first time ever, Ryder makes a connection to a man, and trouble is on the horizon for all of them.
Ryder drove me bat-shit crazy. I alternated between loving him and hating him. He’s so young, has never been free with his feelings, or his sexuality, never kissed a boy, and never had sex with Andi. He’s sweet and pathetic. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he means well. He doesn’t think things through, makes a snap decision, that bring his world crashing down around him. In slow motion. One step at a time. Every time I thought we’d seen the end of the drama, one more thing happens! Declan is an interesting man. He’s older and much more experienced than Ryder, but he’s a bit pushy with the younger man. Then he gets pissy and runs, then he’s sweet and caring. He confused me as well! I wish we had seen some of this from Declan’s perspective, I wanted to know what was going on in his head at times.
I liked this story quite a bit, even with all of the up and down. It definitely kept me on my toes, and kept me interested. I liked who I was supposed to like, and hated who I was supposed to hate. I liked the life Ryder and Andi have built, and their “fuck you” attitude in regards to the town and their families. I wish Andi had kept to her plan though, she would be strong and firm, then totally cave in to her dad. That bugged me! But overall I liked the story.
My issue with the book is that it had nothing to do with the other books in the series. Two characters from a previous book have a couple of walk on appearances, but they added nothing to the story. They could have been named Bob and Joe and it wouldn’t have made any difference. And Ryder is not a cowboy. He works at a feed store, and lives in a little bitty house. His family home is empty, no animals in the barn. He had a horse as a child, but not now. He occasionally goes out to the Rocking C and rides, but none of that makes him a cowboy. So the title didn’t make sense to me at all. This was a very good story, a stand alone story, and not related to the other books in the series that I could see.
But I did like this book. I liked the drama, I liked the characters most of the time, and I liked the relationship that built between Ryder and Declan, and Andi as well. I liked the small town drama and the introduction of the big city doctor. It was a bit slow at times, it could have been tightened up in the middle and a bit more added to the end. A couple more sex scenes would have been nice as well. Overall it worked very well. I will say that if you have read the other three books and are looking for a similar book, you won’t find that with this one. It is a good on its own, just ignore it’s part of a series.
RATING: 
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