4 stars – Contemporary Romance/Erotica/BDSM
I love contemporary erotic romance with sexy alpha cowboy heroes, and I was looking for a smokin’ hot read to fill the void while waiting for Lorelei James’s next Rough Riders series release, and boy howdy, Roping the Wind is definitely a hot read...YOWZA!
Jay Turner, a 30-year-old gold-buckled rodeo cowboy, is feeling broken, washed up, and sorry for himself after a career ending bull riding knee injury. The last thing he wants is help from his brother Grayson or career and life advice from his icy cold, prim and proper, orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Helen Kinsale. The chilly, stick-up-the-ass doctor annoys the heck out of him (and threatens his alpha pride), but he can’t deny the fierce attraction and explosive chemistry between them. Helen’s career is on the fast-track, but her manipulative, lying, cheating ex-husband and some past secrets threaten her hard-earned professional reputation and a potential promotion. She’s more stressed than ever and is tired of being in control of everything in her life. She needs some sexual relief, but after several disappointing and unsatisfying relationships, Helen wants a man who can take charge in the bedroom and command her body. When Jay makes her a bold, intimate, carnal offer to indulge her deepest, darkest desires in exchange for giving up all sexual control to him, she flat can’t refuse. But neither of them expected their no-holds-barred, wild affair to fulfill them emotionally or for deeper feelings to emerge.
There’s just something about hot alpha cowboys that curl my toes, and Jay is described as a young, Robert Redford look alike, which was an added delight! Roping the Wind is a very sexy read with lots and lots of wicked, mildly kinky, hot sex, including some light bondage with leather and creative, fun use of a saddle in the bedroom. I didn’t totally buy into the H/H having actual feelings for each other because it seemed like all they really had in common was a strong sexual compatibility, and they only admitted to some deeper, albeit unresolved, unsorted, and not fully declared, feelings towards the very last part of the book. That leads to my biggest complaint, which is that the ending was so abrupt that I almost thought my book might have been missing some pages. The H/H make some feeble declarations and then there are a few joking comments about being able to tie each other up at whim, and then whoosh, it’s over. I was like...wha, huh?
Overall, it’s a spicy, fun erotic read with a stubborn, sinfully sexy, stud alpha cowboy and lots of smokin’ hot sex, and although not nearly as good as Lorelei James’s Rough Riders series, which isn’t really a fair comparison because she’s the best when it comes to erotic contemporary western romance, it’s still well worth the time. 4 stars!