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Cowboys of Holiday Ranch #5
Operation Cowboy Daddy
Danger and desire collide when New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy takes us back to Holiday Ranch…
When a baby is abandoned on his doorstep, cowboy Tony Nakni is blindsided. He never wanted to be a father, but his ex-girlfriend is on the run and tells Tony he's the only person she trusts to keep little Joey safe. Struggling with the infant, Tony turns to caring Mary Redwing for help.
Lovely Mary agrees to help care for the child, but a shared desire simmering between her and Tony soon intensifies the arrangement. As the search for Joey's mom brings grave danger to their doorstep, Tony's protective instincts emerge, unearthing the depth of his feelings. But can the rugged rancher save the family he's falling for…before it's too late?
When a baby is abandoned on his doorstep, cowboy Tony Nakni is blindsided. He never wanted to be a father, but his ex-girlfriend is on the run and tells Tony he's the only person she trusts to keep little Joey safe. Struggling with the infant, Tony turns to caring Mary Redwing for help.
Lovely Mary agrees to help care for the child, but a shared desire simmering between her and Tony soon intensifies the arrangement. As the search for Joey's mom brings grave danger to their doorstep, Tony's protective instincts emerge, unearthing the depth of his feelings. But can the rugged rancher save the family he's falling for…before it's too late?
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 4, 2016
37 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 17, 2021
This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the 5th book in the Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series. I have read and review the first four books in this series before picking this book up. I really love this book series for so many reason, but I really think this is my favorite book in the series that I have read so far. This book shows love is not skin deep and being pretty is not what you look like on the outside. Both of the main characters in this book as been treated badly in the pass and is really scared of love. It takes a little baby to show them both what love is really. I also love that their was Native American characters in this book. There was enough suspense/mystery in this book, but I feel this book is most family drama/romance. Great read.
October 10, 2016
What's a half-Native American cowboy to do when his casual sex ex-girlfriend shows up at Holiday Ranch, drops off the baby she says is his, tells him the baby is named Joey, pleads with him to "keep him away from evil," gets back into her car and disappears? That's the opening of this fifth novel in the Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series in a nutshell.
For those of you who haven't been following this series, you need to know that Cass, the original owner of Holiday Ranch, staffed the place with lost, homeless, abused and runaway boys 15 years ago. She took them in and turned them into more than a bunch of disparate ranch hands, she turned them into a family and gave them a safe, stable environment, something they'd never known but desperately needed. Cass has since passed on, and the ranch was passed on to her descendant, Cassie, a city girl who once planned to sell the place, but has not yet been able or willing to do so, knowing that she'd be breaking up the only real home these men have known. Additionally, since 7 skeletons were found on the property and an investigation as to who killed them is ongoing, she really can't sell until the mystery is solved and the murderer is found--a murderer who might be one of the ranch hands.
This installment deals with Tony Nakni, who we met in a previous novel as the boyfriend of Amy, a good friend of Mary Redwing, a Native American craftswoman, and her quirky mother, Halena. After Amy drops off the son Tony never knew he had, he's frantic. He hasn't a clue how to be a father or how to care for an infant, nor, with his chores on the ranch, does he have the time to care for the baby. He turns to Mary and Halena and asks them to look after the baby during his working hours, and they readily agree. Mary, the heroine of this novel, is and has been attracted to Tony, but she has secrets she's keeping, and low self-esteem as a result of those secrets, and regardless of her attraction to the handsome cowboy, those secrets prevent her from acting on the attraction, especially after the attraction becomes mutual. Mary isn't the only one with low self-esteem, Tony suffers from it too, based on his experiences as an abandoned child placed into foster care with a vile and abusive set of foster parents, from whom he ran away when he was a teenager.
When an attempt is made to break into Mary and Halena's home, and then a subsequent attempt is made to kidnap baby Joey at a craft fair, they learn that Tony may not be Joey's father--the kidnapper, Ash, a drug dealer and thug with whom Amy was living, believes that Joey is his, and he wants him back, regardless of the cost in human lives.
While I enjoyed the suspenseful parts of this novel, I did feel that Mary's secrets weren't all that horrible or unusual and I couldn't fully understand why she'd turn from the man she comes to love, and who comes to love her, without first being honest with him or giving him a chance to understand why she keeps turning away from him when it's so obvious to everyone else that she's in love with him and he with her. Her mixed messages to Tony made me less than sympathetic to her problems. However, despite that, I found this a well-written novel, and will continue to follow the series. Just a warning to readers--while this installment has an HEA ending, the mystery of the skeletons remains a mystery.
This is a fair and honest review of an ARC I received from Netgalley.
For those of you who haven't been following this series, you need to know that Cass, the original owner of Holiday Ranch, staffed the place with lost, homeless, abused and runaway boys 15 years ago. She took them in and turned them into more than a bunch of disparate ranch hands, she turned them into a family and gave them a safe, stable environment, something they'd never known but desperately needed. Cass has since passed on, and the ranch was passed on to her descendant, Cassie, a city girl who once planned to sell the place, but has not yet been able or willing to do so, knowing that she'd be breaking up the only real home these men have known. Additionally, since 7 skeletons were found on the property and an investigation as to who killed them is ongoing, she really can't sell until the mystery is solved and the murderer is found--a murderer who might be one of the ranch hands.
This installment deals with Tony Nakni, who we met in a previous novel as the boyfriend of Amy, a good friend of Mary Redwing, a Native American craftswoman, and her quirky mother, Halena. After Amy drops off the son Tony never knew he had, he's frantic. He hasn't a clue how to be a father or how to care for an infant, nor, with his chores on the ranch, does he have the time to care for the baby. He turns to Mary and Halena and asks them to look after the baby during his working hours, and they readily agree. Mary, the heroine of this novel, is and has been attracted to Tony, but she has secrets she's keeping, and low self-esteem as a result of those secrets, and regardless of her attraction to the handsome cowboy, those secrets prevent her from acting on the attraction, especially after the attraction becomes mutual. Mary isn't the only one with low self-esteem, Tony suffers from it too, based on his experiences as an abandoned child placed into foster care with a vile and abusive set of foster parents, from whom he ran away when he was a teenager.
When an attempt is made to break into Mary and Halena's home, and then a subsequent attempt is made to kidnap baby Joey at a craft fair, they learn that Tony may not be Joey's father--the kidnapper, Ash, a drug dealer and thug with whom Amy was living, believes that Joey is his, and he wants him back, regardless of the cost in human lives.
While I enjoyed the suspenseful parts of this novel, I did feel that Mary's secrets weren't all that horrible or unusual and I couldn't fully understand why she'd turn from the man she comes to love, and who comes to love her, without first being honest with him or giving him a chance to understand why she keeps turning away from him when it's so obvious to everyone else that she's in love with him and he with her. Her mixed messages to Tony made me less than sympathetic to her problems. However, despite that, I found this a well-written novel, and will continue to follow the series. Just a warning to readers--while this installment has an HEA ending, the mystery of the skeletons remains a mystery.
This is a fair and honest review of an ARC I received from Netgalley.
October 5, 2016
Be still my beating heart, I love the cover of the book, and in the story, Tony was just as hot as in the picture of the cover.
There were so many different elements in the story going on simultaneously. There are the ranch and the fifteen-year-old murders that have been unsolved through the series, there's Tony's childhood drama that still comes to his nightmares, there the brief relationship he had with Amy that brought Joye to his doorsteps, Mary and her grandmother and Mary's past, and the drug lord trying to get Joye back, thinking Joye is his child - each of these different factors gave more to the tale, and I was hooked.
I have enjoyed the series from the start, the brotherhood at the ranch, the romances, and danger well mixed together have been truly entertaining.
Joye steals everyone's hearts in the story, and to see Tony fall for him just melted my heart. What Tony went through in his own childhood in the unofficial foster family was heartbreaking. As much as we wish there wasn't any racism anymore in the world, it still raises its ugly head in our society. I am thankful that the author brought up this serious and concerning subject matter, and dealt with it respectfully. There should be more light shined upon this, so there wouldn't be any dark corners to hide in.
Tony and Mary had had a previous connection via Amy, Joye's mom. I am not a fan of love triangles, but here was made very clear, several times, that what feelings Tony had for Amy were long gone, and just a concern for her wellbeing was left in his mind. I loved how their shared inheritance brought them closer together, how the attraction grew into more, deeper feelings, and how they took their time to get to know each other, shared their secrets and helped each other heal from the wounds of the past.
As the danger, that was lurking around them, came increasingly more abrasive, and their survival came to question, everything in life had to be evaluated again, and priorities set in new order.
This story with its many layers and interesting character development mixed with danger and fear got me so absorbed into the tale, I lost the track of time. This series has, in a brilliant way, mixed important social issues, like foster care, single parenthood, and racism, with romance and jeopardy, making the stories so much more, giving them some spice of life, making the readers think and evaluate their own values, if so inclined.
There's a lot going on in the story, murder, mayhem, trouble, and drama. Yet all the stress leaves some space for a tender romance, learning about cultural inheritance, and falling in love with one smiling baby boy.
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
There were so many different elements in the story going on simultaneously. There are the ranch and the fifteen-year-old murders that have been unsolved through the series, there's Tony's childhood drama that still comes to his nightmares, there the brief relationship he had with Amy that brought Joye to his doorsteps, Mary and her grandmother and Mary's past, and the drug lord trying to get Joye back, thinking Joye is his child - each of these different factors gave more to the tale, and I was hooked.
I have enjoyed the series from the start, the brotherhood at the ranch, the romances, and danger well mixed together have been truly entertaining.
Joye steals everyone's hearts in the story, and to see Tony fall for him just melted my heart. What Tony went through in his own childhood in the unofficial foster family was heartbreaking. As much as we wish there wasn't any racism anymore in the world, it still raises its ugly head in our society. I am thankful that the author brought up this serious and concerning subject matter, and dealt with it respectfully. There should be more light shined upon this, so there wouldn't be any dark corners to hide in.
Tony and Mary had had a previous connection via Amy, Joye's mom. I am not a fan of love triangles, but here was made very clear, several times, that what feelings Tony had for Amy were long gone, and just a concern for her wellbeing was left in his mind. I loved how their shared inheritance brought them closer together, how the attraction grew into more, deeper feelings, and how they took their time to get to know each other, shared their secrets and helped each other heal from the wounds of the past.
As the danger, that was lurking around them, came increasingly more abrasive, and their survival came to question, everything in life had to be evaluated again, and priorities set in new order.
This story with its many layers and interesting character development mixed with danger and fear got me so absorbed into the tale, I lost the track of time. This series has, in a brilliant way, mixed important social issues, like foster care, single parenthood, and racism, with romance and jeopardy, making the stories so much more, giving them some spice of life, making the readers think and evaluate their own values, if so inclined.
There's a lot going on in the story, murder, mayhem, trouble, and drama. Yet all the stress leaves some space for a tender romance, learning about cultural inheritance, and falling in love with one smiling baby boy.
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
October 6, 2016
One thing I will say is that is one terrible cover. Pretty but bleh its not good for this book.The dude looks like Jesus not a rancher, so its throws its off for the contents of the book. As good as this book is I would've never even considered to even pick this book with that cover. Ok rant over.
A quick summary to this book would be Tony was pretty much dumped with a child from an ex that claimed its his and runs. Tony not sure if shes correct decides to a paternity test. In the meanwhile he gets Mary the ex's friend for help. Thing is the ex's past is comeing to get her and her baby and it puts Tony and Mary in danger.
Overall I liked this book. The backstories the characters dual pov made it hard not to like the character and want whats best for them. I liked how caring they were towards each other and the baby, what was between all of them lurks a expiration date but they make due with what they got. I liked the suspense of when something bad would happen which keeps the readers on their toes. This book has many similar qualities to many other books that I've read but there is a few points that really stood out to me to give it that bit of uniqueness to stand out. Overall this was a pretty good book and I really enjoyed it.
This was a 3.5 of 5 stars for me
A quick summary to this book would be Tony was pretty much dumped with a child from an ex that claimed its his and runs. Tony not sure if shes correct decides to a paternity test. In the meanwhile he gets Mary the ex's friend for help. Thing is the ex's past is comeing to get her and her baby and it puts Tony and Mary in danger.
Overall I liked this book. The backstories the characters dual pov made it hard not to like the character and want whats best for them. I liked how caring they were towards each other and the baby, what was between all of them lurks a expiration date but they make due with what they got. I liked the suspense of when something bad would happen which keeps the readers on their toes. This book has many similar qualities to many other books that I've read but there is a few points that really stood out to me to give it that bit of uniqueness to stand out. Overall this was a pretty good book and I really enjoyed it.
This was a 3.5 of 5 stars for me
February 11, 2017
I didn't like it .. but I also didn't hate it ...
it was just ok
it was just ok
May 31, 2020
Tony Nakni's ex-girlfriend shows up on his doorstep with a baby, tells him little Joey is his son and asks Tony to protect him, and promptly disappears. Since he's busy with his work as a cowboy on the ranch, Tony turns to Mary Redwing for help with looking after Joey. Why he picks Mary specifically is not clear. But any woman will do, I guess! Unfortunately, it would seem that Amy's current boyfriend is a drug runner called Ash Moreland. Ash believes Joey is his son, and is determined to get him back.
Yet again, a book from the Romantic Suspense line that does not have enough plot to justify its (my edition) 280 page length. Why exactly Ash wants Joey so desperately is only touched upon briefly (to run his empire or something), and to be honest, Ash's motivation didn't make a great deal of sense to me. Lack of plot in a Romantic Suspense category book can be overcome if there a decent romance at the core of it (the line is supposed to focus on the romance aspect), but what's here is just really flat.
One thing I've noticed about Carla Cassidy's books of late is an overreliance on telling and not showing. We get told what Tony and Mary talk about, but not shown what is actually said. There's lots of boring detail about preparing for dinner and other parts of daily life, but no great exploration as to what draws Tony and Mary together. I really didn't feel the chemistry. The suspense lacked because the antagonist's motivations were spotty and his attempts to get his son would mostly just get everybody killed, including Joey and himself!
Tony and Mary had interesting backgrounds that contributed to their conflict. Tony was treated awfully by racist foster parents (he's half Native American) and has denied his heritage as a result. Mary survived ovarian cancer but had a hysterectomy. Also at high risk of breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy. She thinks Tony would be repulsed by her lack of breasts (as a past boyfriend) was, and uses as a barrier between them.
I would have felt these conflicts more deeply if I had connected to the romance, but I unfortunately didn't. Mary's rock solid belief that Tony would reject her for being without boobs didn't really speak too highly of her supposed love, trust and respect of him, so how am I supposed to believe in what they could possibly have going together?
There is a subplot involving skeletons discovered at the ranch that doesn't get resolved (which I'm familiar with from the previous book in the series, which I've read), but it doesn't directly effect Tony and Mary's lives or their story, so that didn't bother me. This can easily be read as a standalone, but the weakly described romance and the thin character motivations suggest you should probably skip this one!
Yet again, a book from the Romantic Suspense line that does not have enough plot to justify its (my edition) 280 page length. Why exactly Ash wants Joey so desperately is only touched upon briefly (to run his empire or something), and to be honest, Ash's motivation didn't make a great deal of sense to me. Lack of plot in a Romantic Suspense category book can be overcome if there a decent romance at the core of it (the line is supposed to focus on the romance aspect), but what's here is just really flat.
One thing I've noticed about Carla Cassidy's books of late is an overreliance on telling and not showing. We get told what Tony and Mary talk about, but not shown what is actually said. There's lots of boring detail about preparing for dinner and other parts of daily life, but no great exploration as to what draws Tony and Mary together. I really didn't feel the chemistry. The suspense lacked because the antagonist's motivations were spotty and his attempts to get his son would mostly just get everybody killed, including Joey and himself!
Tony and Mary had interesting backgrounds that contributed to their conflict. Tony was treated awfully by racist foster parents (he's half Native American) and has denied his heritage as a result. Mary survived ovarian cancer but had a hysterectomy. Also at high risk of breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy. She thinks Tony would be repulsed by her lack of breasts (as a past boyfriend) was, and uses as a barrier between them.
I would have felt these conflicts more deeply if I had connected to the romance, but I unfortunately didn't. Mary's rock solid belief that Tony would reject her for being without boobs didn't really speak too highly of her supposed love, trust and respect of him, so how am I supposed to believe in what they could possibly have going together?
There is a subplot involving skeletons discovered at the ranch that doesn't get resolved (which I'm familiar with from the previous book in the series, which I've read), but it doesn't directly effect Tony and Mary's lives or their story, so that didn't bother me. This can easily be read as a standalone, but the weakly described romance and the thin character motivations suggest you should probably skip this one!
August 29, 2016
I barely managed to finish this book. The plot in this book was so depressing and the romance nearly non-existent. What didn't work- the storytelling was bland. It took forever for my interest to hold. Hero meets h a year ago when he was dating her best friend and doesn't even notice her because he is attracted so much to the best friend that he doesn't "see" her. Then he spends all the time in the book thinking & caring about the ex who gave birth to his son and never told him. The romance connection was tepid at best that I did not feel that the couple had a whole lot of chemistry. I also detest triangles and Hero's that impregnate other women other then the h in the story. All in all, this was a totally unforgettable story and characters and I had a hard time finishing it.
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March 25, 2022Review also available at The Smut Report.
3.5 Stars, rounded up because of low expectations.
Heat Factor: Simmering
Character Chemistry: They both feel unlovable, and therefore shut each other out – doesn’t make for awesome chemistry
Plot: Not annoying
Overall: I liked it better than I expected to
Tony is a cowboy. Though he works on a ranch with a bunch of other men who are like family to him, he doesn’t join in their fun, because he prefers watching the sunset. He plans on being alone forever. Plans have a way of changing, however, especially when your ex-girlfriend shows up, gives you a baby she claims is yours, and then disappears.
Hence: the title. Tony now has to learn how to not be alone, but to become a real Cowboy Daddy. (Did I just say that with a straight face? It was a struggle.) Because… OMG the title. Too ridiculous for words. I couldn’t just leave it there, even though I don’t really dig romantic suspense. If I want to read some suspense, I’ll read a mystery novel. Or the news.
Anyways.
Tony turns to Mary, a friend of his ex, because he needs someone to help him with the baby while he works, and women are good at babies, amirite? Luckily for him, Mary is a kind and loving soul who, along with her kooky grandmother, is only too happy to help. As long as Tony spends his free time with the baby.
This, of course, conveniently means that Mary and Tony end up spending a lot of time together. They hang out with the baby, and eat meals together, and have movie night with grandma. All of this is very sweet. They even have a night of passion! There are two problems, however.
The first is their respective hang-ups. Mary and Tony both believe that they are intrinsically unlovable. Tony was raised in foster care by terrible people who said no one would love him because he was, and I quote, “a dirty half-breed.” Mary had ovarian cancer, plus tested positive for the BRCA mutation, which puts her at higher risk for breast cancer. So, not only can she not have children, but she also had a double-mastectomy; therefore, she feels like she’s not a real woman.
The second problem is that there’s a dangerous criminal on the loose who thinks the baby is his and wants him back. Why a drug lord would want a three month old around is not entirely clear, but this dude takes what is HIS, so I guess we can go with it. His escalation of tactics as he attempts to get the baby back do build some credible tension.
Let’s tackle the love arc first. So, they fall madly in love with each other, but neither Tony nor Mary thinks they are worthy of love. Everyone around them is like, dude, you guys are in love. They see it when they stare into each others’ eyes. In an unusual turn of events for romance novels, the man is the one who gets in touch with his emotional truth sooner and puts his heart out on the line. Tony tells Mary multiple times that he wants to be with her, that he doesn’t care that she can’t have kids because they’ll have this baby and can adopt more. And Mary just shuts him down and shuts him down because she’s afraid he won’t like her silicone boobs. UGH. I have very little sympathy for Mary here – Tony overcame a much larger emotional hurdle with more aplomb. I do appreciate a man with some emotional maturity though.
Note that while the book generally stands alone, there is a larger murder mystery that presumably runs through the whole series of what I guess will be twelve or so books. Because the series is long, however, there is not a lot of change in the status of said murder mystery – a body is IDed, but that’s it. Just ignore those bits.
Now, I feel a little bit bad shitting on a Harlequin Romance for some reason (like, am I punching down if I do this? Hard to say), but to give an honest review, I should point out a few things. The writing is wooden. They spend a lot of time routinely getting bottles and chatting about their days. (But like, we don’t hear the conversation, we just hear that they chatted about their days.) The villain makes no sense, and is not scary because he’s so one dimensional. There are a few details where I was like, HAHAHAHAHAHA No. Mainly: a 3-month-old that routinely sleeps through every meal and also a game of Monopoly. Said 3-month-old also sleeps mostly through the night and doesn’t get up until 7:30. Also, cowboys, on a ranch, who, when they have a celebratory barbecue, eat PULLED PORK and not brisket. I call bullshit.
But the thing that annoyed me about this book above all else, despite it’s admittedly sweet love story, was the regressive gender nonsense about who deserves to be a mother. Amy, the ex, leaves her baby with Tony to protect the child. But other characters comment on her behavior, saying things like “a woman who abandons her child doesn’t deserve to have one,” or, after she is brutally murdered, “I always knew she would come to a bad end.” She, in the past, used drugs. She lied sometimes. She had a child out of wedlock, or even a desire for wedlock. All of these things mean that she was punished by the narrative – and conveniently gotten out of the way for Tony and Mary to make a perfect family, so that Mary can be rewarded and receive the child she couldn’t have for herself. All of her hand-wringing about not being a real woman can be waved away, because now she can find complete and utter fulfilment through motherhood – never mind her successful business making traditional Choctaw baskets and pottery. (Which she must really excel at to support herself selling at only two craft shows a year.) Mary is a saintly woman with no faults except for being way too hard on herself; this paragon of selfless virtue deserves a baby, but also true love.
Writing this I wonder: what does this say about the rest of us, who are not selfless paragons, but also not dating deranged murders?
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3.5 Stars, rounded up because of low expectations.
Heat Factor: Simmering
Character Chemistry: They both feel unlovable, and therefore shut each other out – doesn’t make for awesome chemistry
Plot: Not annoying
Overall: I liked it better than I expected to
Tony is a cowboy. Though he works on a ranch with a bunch of other men who are like family to him, he doesn’t join in their fun, because he prefers watching the sunset. He plans on being alone forever. Plans have a way of changing, however, especially when your ex-girlfriend shows up, gives you a baby she claims is yours, and then disappears.
Hence: the title. Tony now has to learn how to not be alone, but to become a real Cowboy Daddy. (Did I just say that with a straight face? It was a struggle.) Because… OMG the title. Too ridiculous for words. I couldn’t just leave it there, even though I don’t really dig romantic suspense. If I want to read some suspense, I’ll read a mystery novel. Or the news.
Anyways.
Tony turns to Mary, a friend of his ex, because he needs someone to help him with the baby while he works, and women are good at babies, amirite? Luckily for him, Mary is a kind and loving soul who, along with her kooky grandmother, is only too happy to help. As long as Tony spends his free time with the baby.
This, of course, conveniently means that Mary and Tony end up spending a lot of time together. They hang out with the baby, and eat meals together, and have movie night with grandma. All of this is very sweet. They even have a night of passion! There are two problems, however.
The first is their respective hang-ups. Mary and Tony both believe that they are intrinsically unlovable. Tony was raised in foster care by terrible people who said no one would love him because he was, and I quote, “a dirty half-breed.” Mary had ovarian cancer, plus tested positive for the BRCA mutation, which puts her at higher risk for breast cancer. So, not only can she not have children, but she also had a double-mastectomy; therefore, she feels like she’s not a real woman.
The second problem is that there’s a dangerous criminal on the loose who thinks the baby is his and wants him back. Why a drug lord would want a three month old around is not entirely clear, but this dude takes what is HIS, so I guess we can go with it. His escalation of tactics as he attempts to get the baby back do build some credible tension.
Let’s tackle the love arc first. So, they fall madly in love with each other, but neither Tony nor Mary thinks they are worthy of love. Everyone around them is like, dude, you guys are in love. They see it when they stare into each others’ eyes. In an unusual turn of events for romance novels, the man is the one who gets in touch with his emotional truth sooner and puts his heart out on the line. Tony tells Mary multiple times that he wants to be with her, that he doesn’t care that she can’t have kids because they’ll have this baby and can adopt more. And Mary just shuts him down and shuts him down because she’s afraid he won’t like her silicone boobs. UGH. I have very little sympathy for Mary here – Tony overcame a much larger emotional hurdle with more aplomb. I do appreciate a man with some emotional maturity though.
Note that while the book generally stands alone, there is a larger murder mystery that presumably runs through the whole series of what I guess will be twelve or so books. Because the series is long, however, there is not a lot of change in the status of said murder mystery – a body is IDed, but that’s it. Just ignore those bits.
Now, I feel a little bit bad shitting on a Harlequin Romance for some reason (like, am I punching down if I do this? Hard to say), but to give an honest review, I should point out a few things. The writing is wooden. They spend a lot of time routinely getting bottles and chatting about their days. (But like, we don’t hear the conversation, we just hear that they chatted about their days.) The villain makes no sense, and is not scary because he’s so one dimensional. There are a few details where I was like, HAHAHAHAHAHA No. Mainly: a 3-month-old that routinely sleeps through every meal and also a game of Monopoly. Said 3-month-old also sleeps mostly through the night and doesn’t get up until 7:30. Also, cowboys, on a ranch, who, when they have a celebratory barbecue, eat PULLED PORK and not brisket. I call bullshit.
But the thing that annoyed me about this book above all else, despite it’s admittedly sweet love story, was the regressive gender nonsense about who deserves to be a mother. Amy, the ex, leaves her baby with Tony to protect the child. But other characters comment on her behavior, saying things like “a woman who abandons her child doesn’t deserve to have one,” or, after she is brutally murdered, “I always knew she would come to a bad end.” She, in the past, used drugs. She lied sometimes. She had a child out of wedlock, or even a desire for wedlock. All of these things mean that she was punished by the narrative – and conveniently gotten out of the way for Tony and Mary to make a perfect family, so that Mary can be rewarded and receive the child she couldn’t have for herself. All of her hand-wringing about not being a real woman can be waved away, because now she can find complete and utter fulfilment through motherhood – never mind her successful business making traditional Choctaw baskets and pottery. (Which she must really excel at to support herself selling at only two craft shows a year.) Mary is a saintly woman with no faults except for being way too hard on herself; this paragon of selfless virtue deserves a baby, but also true love.
Writing this I wonder: what does this say about the rest of us, who are not selfless paragons, but also not dating deranged murders?
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March 21, 2018
Very good
Like all the other books in this series, action was always present. Tony’s story was great and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Like all the other books in this series, action was always present. Tony’s story was great and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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December 3, 2020My roommate bought me this book and it was not good but alas it passed the time on nursing 12 hour night shifts so can I really complain?
August 1, 2024
To be honest, I stole this book from a nursing home.
That being said it's pretty self-explanatory.
5/10
That being said it's pretty self-explanatory.
5/10
August 15, 2025
3.5⭐️I love the grandmother. She is amazing.
March 18, 2017
Beautiful cover and a beautiful story. I really enjoyed this book. I adored the grandmother, Halena. She was a hoot! I hadn't read any of this series before, this was my first one, so I look forward to catching up and reading the rest.
January 7, 2017
This is the fifth installment in the Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series and it was an excellent read. I loved Tony he was a great man but he didn’t think so. The amount of things that were told by the people that should have loved him and gave him what he needed never happened. He was treated not that a human being but treated as an object. Then there is Mary she is a beautiful young woman. She had her own demons that she needed to deal with in order to be happy. One night the woman that Tony had been with left him with his apparent child what in the world was he going to do. He has no idea what to do with a baby and the only person that can help him is Mary. Amy and Mary were bestfriends and she had to know if Joey was his child. They both knew that Amy was back on drugs but they didn’t know that the evil man would soon make their lives a living hell.
Operation Cowboy Daddy was a great read. I love seeing all the cowboys together and love how they interact like brothers. That is not the only thing they protect each other and they will band together when one of them is in trouble. The chemistry between Tony and Mary is sensual and passionate. I knew from the very beginning that they were going to have a hard time being together it was going to take some time for Mary to overcome what a man had done to her. That was not the only thing that was troubling her but she thought all men were the man but Tony was very different. Tony would be the one to be able to open her heart to love.
I totally recommend this read!!!
Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review
Operation Cowboy Daddy was a great read. I love seeing all the cowboys together and love how they interact like brothers. That is not the only thing they protect each other and they will band together when one of them is in trouble. The chemistry between Tony and Mary is sensual and passionate. I knew from the very beginning that they were going to have a hard time being together it was going to take some time for Mary to overcome what a man had done to her. That was not the only thing that was troubling her but she thought all men were the man but Tony was very different. Tony would be the one to be able to open her heart to love.
I totally recommend this read!!!
Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review
December 6, 2016
I am really enjoying this series by Carla Cassity. This story stays true to form with the rest of the series. There is a suspense element but this book is different in that it really does not go into the mystery of the skeletons found on the ranch. In a way it is a nice break.
The two lead characters Tony and Mary are both damaged and fragile people. They come together through a baby that is left on Tony's doorstep. Their journey to finding each other is beautifully written. Again a well written book with developed characters. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series.
The two lead characters Tony and Mary are both damaged and fragile people. They come together through a baby that is left on Tony's doorstep. Their journey to finding each other is beautifully written. Again a well written book with developed characters. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series.
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October 1, 2016Miniseries: Cowboys of Holiday Ranch
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