A brewing political scandal in her South Dakota hometown could make TV reporter Bella Primeaux's career and save her from the human interest beat. Then she uncovers a possible connection between her breaking story and Ethan Wolf Track. The rugged rebel with a cause she remembers has matured into a man with desires that match her own—a passion primed and ready to ignite.
In high school Ethan was Bella's unrequited crush. Now he's reformed his wild ways and is ready to take control of his life, starting with winning the big mustang competition she's been sent to cover. If only she could keep her mind on work when the sexy cowboy's around! But Ethan's guarding some secrets of his own. Will digging up the past send Bella's career into overdrive but cost her a future with the man she loves?
Kathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published more than 40 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list.
Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Ms Eagle earned degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Northern State University. She taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota for 17 years.
Eagle's work is often singled out by book reviewers for its exceptional quality and appeal. THE NIGHT REMEMBERS was a Chicago Tribune Notable Book. SUNRISE SONG, THE NIGHT REMEMBERS, THE LAST TRUE COWBOY, and WHAT THE HEART KNOWS made the Library Journal "Five Best Romances of the Year" list. BookPage listed WHAT THE HEART KNOWS among its "Top Six Romance Picks" for 1999. THE LAST GOOD MAN was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction--the only Romance so honored thus far. YOU NEVER CAN TELL was named to RWA's "Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year" list. She is an RWA RITA award winner.
Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three children and three grandchildren.
Ethan Wolf Tracks is just out of a two-year stretch in jail and trying to begin a new life. A job at Square One Ranch, a "program for kids in trouble" is right up his alley. As his boss explains it, "You get to be around wild things. Wild kids, wild horses and what's left of wild country. Wild hearts attract each other."
Bella Primeaux has never forgotten the boy she had a crush on in high school -- and as a reporter, she has a strong suspicion he was unfairly convicted. Ethan also has a connection to a story she's working on about the Double D Wild Horse Sanctuary… and Bella may be the key to helping Ethan solve a decades old nightmare.
It was cool to encounter a rare romance with two American Indian protagonists, though Ethan is half-white and knows nothing about his Indian ancestry, not even what tribe his father was from. Even his last name came from his stepfather Logan. Bella has more of a sense of Indian identity, blogging under the name "Warrior Woman" in an effort to reach others, and trying to make her fluffy television job more significant by seeking out stories concerning Indian issues. I liked these characters: Ethan has some emotional baggage, but is cautious rather than closed off, and Bella is strong and determined. They share a lot of banter and some passionate moments.
Unfortunately, since I only recently discovered Eagle, I haven't read the previous books in this series. I found it a little hard to follow, with so many characters from previous books involved, and there were loose ends that seem likely to be cleared up in future books. It all ended on an anti-climactic note. I think readers who've been following the series will probably enjoy it more than I did.
3 ½ Stars ~ This is book #7 in Ms. Eagle's Wild Horse Sanctuary series. While this book works as a stand-alone, I think some readers may appreciate this one more if they are read as a series.
Ethan Wolf Track is Logan's adopted son (from book 4) and he's got a lot of catching up to do. He's recently released from a two year stint in prison for a crime he did not commit. Working as a hired cowboy at the Square One ranch is just the work he needs. It's a work program for troubled youth, and Ethan finds he is rather good at mentoring these teens. He's also good with horses and the Wild Horse competition set up by the Double D Ranch, is just the challenge he needs. He knows he can connect with one of those wild mustangs and take away the prize.
Bella is a reporter for the local tv station, and she's surprised to find herself running into Ethan. In highs school she was a freshmen with a big brain sitting in on senior classes. She'd sat in front of Ethan in the American History class, and she'd had a huge crush on him. And Ethan knew it but never abused it. For Ethan meeting up with Bella again is the best thing to ever happen to him. These two are magic.
Bella's background work on a historical scandal of a Senator finds it's way to the Double D's Sanctuary and the Tribal leased land and public leases that have been promised to them. The senator has a long past with the Double D's neighbour Dan Tutan who is mighty upset that they've snatched those leases from him. When Sally's (owner of the Double D) husband Hank tells her about his father's murder on Tutan's land 21 years before, Ethan feels a cold chill. Suddenly the nightmares of his childhood are making sense. While this mystery's solution is pretty clear to us the reader, Ms. Eagle leaves it with the FBI reopening the murder case.
The Wild Horse Sanctuary's training competition work as a reunion of sorts for the characters from past books in the series. While I understand that page counts did not allow, I would have liked a bit more time spent reminiscing, as these are all great characters. And of course a winner is declared!
I'm so glad a read this series from start to finish. Though it took awhile for me to catch on to Ms. Eagles' Dakotas dialogue, once I got into the rhythm the charm of her characters made for some marvelous reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I was excited to receive this title. Normally I read stories where the boys are English lords, CEO's, military men, or athletic superstars. Every now and then I get a cowboy, but it's rare. I wanted a good cowboy book and this looked like it'd give me just that. I really wish it had. I was bored and genuinely uninterested. It wasn't a horrible book, I just couldn't get interested. Bella is a reporter that sees a conspiracy, but has to find information for proof. While trying to uncover the facts she meets Ethan, her former high school crush. The romance ensues. Ethan and she aren't unlikable, but I failed to fall in love with either of them either. The conspiracy seemed like it could lead to some massive drama, but it all sort of unravels without any action or pomp. If the characters were stronger, I could have overlooked a weaker plot, or vice versa. I found myself skipping through pages, which I almost never do. I just didn't care enough to keep focused on the story. I was hoping for the conspiracy to serve as the stories saving grace, but as i mentioned previously, it just didn't happen. On the plus side, if you're looking for a book that actually includes Native American characters, you're in luck.
Very good book. Bella had stumbled on a possible political scandal and was checking that out at the same time she was doing a story on the Wild Horse Sanctuary. She also encountered her old high school crush Ethan Wolf Track, who has grown up to be a really sexy guy. Ethan is training a horse for the big mustang competition that the Wild Horse is running. As they spend time together their attraction grows stronger. Ethan is also there for Bella as she works on her stories and Bella is there for him as Ethan confronts some of the demons from his own past. I really liked both Ethan and Bella. Bella had taken her opportunities and went after the career in journalism that she wanted. Now she wants a chance to do something other than the human interest stories she's been stuck with, and the rumors of political misconduct are just what she needs. When she meets Ethan again the attraction burns hot right away. Ethan came to her rescue at the beginning and then again on a story he accompanied her on. He was dismayed at the danger she had been in. He also wanted to spend more time with her. He liked her attitudes and the way she went after what she wanted. He also found that she was a restful person to be around in their downtime. When the story that she was working on turned up a connection to him it helped him put a nightmare to rest. I liked the ending with the results of the contest, and seeing characters from past books. I've enjoyed the Wild Horse books and hope there will be more of them.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. From the description I thought it would have a bossy, career-obsessed heroine out to destroy the hero's life or friends in the name of journalism - not a formula I like much. But I've read a couple of good books by the author and this was the only one available on OverDrive at the time, so I gave it a try. It turned out to be very different from what I expected. To begin with, Bella is a journalist on assignment, but she's also from the same small town town as Ethan. In fact they went to high school together. Ethan was the wild and crazy jock and Bella was the shy studious younger girl. Still, they didn't hate each other - they were kind of awkward friends from the beginning of the story. And rather than resent Bella for her work, Ethan worried about her getting in too deep and being hurt.
Two of the features I like best about Eagle's romances are that she handles Native Americans in a balanced way, and her stories always have more to them than just the romance. In this case, Ethan is an ex-con who's trying to make smarter choices and Bella is the shy kid all grown up and following her passion. The writing, as always, was solid and I enjoyed every minute of this story.
I need to add that this is part of a long running series. I haven't read any of the earlier books and that didn't seem to matter. What did matter is that the story Bella is researching, obviously part of the longer plot arc, wasn't resolved in any way and apparently this is the last book in the series. I suspect the author died before she could write more. It was only a small part of this story so I just took off one star. But if you plan on reading the series in order, be warned there doesn't appear to be any resolution to the mystery. If you can live with a few unanswered questions as long as the main story is complete you'll be fine with this book.
Not a bad read really. It was actually rather smart writing. The pacing was very well done, the characters were interesting and engaging and I read it from start to finish without too much of a problem.
Where it went wrong for me was that I wasn't familiar with the series, had no idea it was a series and just requested it because the summary piqued my interest. Love a good cowboy, yo.
And this cowboy had such redeeming and admirable qualities that I smiled a lot while reading his parts. He was a really great hero. I also feel that she displayed the native american ethnicity of the characters very well. It was all very interesting to read and it didn't come off as stereotypical in any way.
Overall, a pretty decent read and would have probably been a bit better if I was informed beforehand that this was a series and not a standalone. Still, an enjoyable read.
Also, this author can write really well. I like her style. Looking forward to reading more of her future work.
My biggest issue with this book is the cover, however. That does not look like Ethan Wolf Track or at least how he was described in the book - seriously love the surname - Ethan is mixed race. Why do they have a caucasian model on the cover? Not cool. Misrepresentation, people. I do not appreciate that at all.
Sweet story well-told. The lead characters had a nice chemistry and I liked the dialogue since it tended toward witty banter. This book is clearly part of a series and other couples appear as minor characters, but it wasn't too distracting and I was able to follow everything even though I hadn't read the previous books. I wanted a stronger ending, but I think further resolution will likely come through future books so I'm ok with how things were left. Recommended for romance fans of cowboys, bad-turned-good boys, smart women, and small towns.
Sweet romance. Bella is a TV reporter for who looking for that "big" story. She runs into a class mate that she has had a crush on since high school, bad boy, Ethan Wolf Track. He has just gotten out of prison for a stupid stunt with a Senator's daughter. Their romance has quite a few bumps along the way but they get their HEA. Really enjoyed this book.
The Prodigal Cowboy is part of the Double D Wild Horse Sanctuary series. They are having wild horses that trainers take in short time train the horses for different things, then have a big show where the trainers and horses compete and the trainer wins a money prize and the horses are adopted out providing money for the sanctuary. I have not read all of the series but I have read a few of them and have enjoyed watching the different trainers following what they do as they fall in love with the horses and smart women in thier lives. Bella Primeaux works for a small t.v. station and takes the assignments she is given. Bella wants to do more so she writes a blog called Warrior Women. She is always looking for more in depth stories. She is at a bar and two cowboys won't leave her alone when Ethan Wolf Track steps in pretending he was late. Ethan was captain of a lot of things in thier high school his senior year. Bella was a freshman and they had one class together. They both remember each other but its been years. Ethan had spent two years in jail for car theft courtsy of a Senator's daughter who gave him the keys after a party when she went home with a different guy. She did not stand up for Ethan and tell the truth. Now Ethan is training a horse and working at a boy's home for troubled teens. He likes the freedom of the job and teaching the boys different things. Bella is looking for different stories that are surrounding Ethan,the boys home,wild horse sanctuary auction and winner of trainer,indian tribal property that the Double D Wild Horse is going to get they won the lease, but the last lease owner is a friend with a senator and things are looking fishy. The more Bella and Ethan get to know about each other the more they fall in love. I liked the story but I want some of the questions they raised answered. Thier were a couple of love scenes I skipped over. Had lots of characters back that were in previous Double D Wild Horse Sanctuary books. Plus a lot of new characters. Had some action but mostly character driven relationships. I like how Bella was not just satisfied to be a t.v. reporter doing what she is given but going out to find different stories to make a difference. She was brave about some things and scared of others. I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley. 09/03/2012 PUB Harlequin Imprint Harlequin Special Edition 218 pages
The Prodigal Cowboy by Kathleen Eagle ISBN: 9780373656912 Bella Primeaux was the one interviewing Ethan, first they caught up on what was going on in their lives. Since they shared history class he ended up in prison but was now breaking mustangs for a prize. He takes after his father. She is a news reporter and good at what she does. They are both of the South Dakota Indian tribes. His dad Logan filled Bella in on how he was in the Army upon graduating from school and the way he went to prison as the Senator's daughter was the one who stole the car. Love hearing and touring of the Square One program and the Wild Horse Sanctuary, autumn fall festival with all the handicrafts, love the lessons on how to approach and ride a horse, etc Bella is all over the county collecting news about the program and the art festival. She's even agreed to look up Ethan for a horse riding lesson. She is trying to get news from both sides of the conflict, one is human interest, the other is political. They work together and do find out of the illegal activity and a murder from years ago and why the government now doesn't want to turn over the land to the Native Americans. With hot steamy sex this is a really good read.
This wasn't bad but it wasn't great... I liked both main characters but for some reason it just sort of sat middle of the road for me.
Ethan was a good character who was just getting his life figured out when he runs in to Bella. He isn't looking for a relationship but is more just trying to get his own life in order. He's a good guy who made mistakes but paid for them and is moving on.
Bella is a reporter who used to go to school with Ethan and like most females had a crush on him. She isn't looking for a relationship either but between learning more about Ethan and his past she falls for the man he has become.
This was not a bad read but it just felt off for some reason. I can't even explain why but it just never gelled for me... Oh well that happens. If you are looking for a quick read this isn't a bad one but I don't think I'll read it again..
Thanks to NetGalley.com and Harlequin for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. 2.5 stars but rounded to 2 for Goodreads.
First and foremost, i dont really know what my rating should be...2 star or worst? I did not really enjoyed the story a little bit and i find it rather mixed up. I could not really follow the direction of the story going to bring me to and most of the time, i m left without any idea of what it is all about. I was almost at the verge of giving up reading this book but i hold onto it till the end and imagine how glad i am that i finally reach the last page.
Love Kathleen Eagle, but I'm getting really tired of getting this story in little tiny snippets. I just wish I had some sense of when she's going to finish it. If it was anyone else it would get two stars.