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Cowboys of California #1
A Cowboy to Remember
An Oprah Magazine Best Romance Novel of 2020
In this brand-new series from award-winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon, a charming cowboy and his sleeping beauty find their modern-day happily ever after . . .
With a headline spot on a hit morning show and truly mouth-watering culinary skills, chef Evie Buchanan is perched on the edge of stardom. But at an industry party, a fall lands Evie in the hospital—with no memory of who she is. Scrambling to help, Evie’s assistant contacts the only “family” Evie has left, close friends who run the luxury dude ranch in California where Evie grew up. Evie has no recollection of them—until former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant walks into her hospital room, and she realizes his handsome face has been haunting her dreams . . .
Zach hasn’t seen Evie in years—not since their families conducted a campaign to make sure their childhood friendship never turned into anything more. When the young cowboy refused to admit the feelings between them were real, Evie left California, making it clear she never wanted to see Zach again. Now he refuses to make the same mistake twice. Starting fresh is a risk when they have a history she can’t recall, but Zach can’t bear to let go of her now. Can he awaken the sleeping beauty inside her who might still love him?
In this brand-new series from award-winning author Rebekah Weatherspoon, a charming cowboy and his sleeping beauty find their modern-day happily ever after . . .
With a headline spot on a hit morning show and truly mouth-watering culinary skills, chef Evie Buchanan is perched on the edge of stardom. But at an industry party, a fall lands Evie in the hospital—with no memory of who she is. Scrambling to help, Evie’s assistant contacts the only “family” Evie has left, close friends who run the luxury dude ranch in California where Evie grew up. Evie has no recollection of them—until former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant walks into her hospital room, and she realizes his handsome face has been haunting her dreams . . .
Zach hasn’t seen Evie in years—not since their families conducted a campaign to make sure their childhood friendship never turned into anything more. When the young cowboy refused to admit the feelings between them were real, Evie left California, making it clear she never wanted to see Zach again. Now he refuses to make the same mistake twice. Starting fresh is a risk when they have a history she can’t recall, but Zach can’t bear to let go of her now. Can he awaken the sleeping beauty inside her who might still love him?
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2020
220 people are currently reading
3130 people want to read
About the author
Rebekah Weatherspoon
33 books2,987 followersAfter years of meddling in her friends’ love lives, Rebekah Weatherspoon turned to writing romance to get her fix. Raised in Southern New Hampshire, Rebekah Weatherspoon now lives in Southern California where she will remain forever because she hates moving.
Her BDSM romance At Her Feet won the Golden Crown Literary Award for erotic lesbian fiction. Her novella FIT (#1 in the FIT Trilogy) won the Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Erotica Novella, SATED (#3 in the FIT Trilogy) was nominated for the the Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Digital Erotic Romance and most recently SOUL TO KEEP VSS#3 won the 2017 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Erotica.
Her 2018 romantic comedy RAFE: A Buff Male Nanny received praise from both Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times. You can look for her most recent romantic comedy XENI : A Marriage of Inconvenience now, and a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, A COWBOY TO REMEMBER, late February 2020 from Kensington Books. In the meant time, you can find Rebekah and her books on twitter at @rdotspoon and her website www.rebekahweatherspoon.com,
Her BDSM romance At Her Feet won the Golden Crown Literary Award for erotic lesbian fiction. Her novella FIT (#1 in the FIT Trilogy) won the Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Erotica Novella, SATED (#3 in the FIT Trilogy) was nominated for the the Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Digital Erotic Romance and most recently SOUL TO KEEP VSS#3 won the 2017 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Erotica.
Her 2018 romantic comedy RAFE: A Buff Male Nanny received praise from both Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times. You can look for her most recent romantic comedy XENI : A Marriage of Inconvenience now, and a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, A COWBOY TO REMEMBER, late February 2020 from Kensington Books. In the meant time, you can find Rebekah and her books on twitter at @rdotspoon and her website www.rebekahweatherspoon.com,
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 480 reviews
September 19, 2020
This will be a hallmark movie someday, i feel it in my bones
January 29, 2021
This was a really cute romance, but I did feel like I was missing something from the history of the romance. This is a second chance amnesia romance, and Evie and Zach haven't spoken in 10 years. Evie is pushed down the stairs and completely forgets her life, so she returns to the ranch she grew up on and reconnects with old friends and an old flame. I just didn't understand how Evie would know she and Zach had a bad past, but she didn't know why. Yet she didn't ask specifics and they got back together anyways? I was just waiting and waiting for her to remember and that to blow up the growth they made (no surprise, it did). Not a whole lot actually happened in the plot and the relationship didn't really go through that much development. Evie was intrigued by Zach and wanted to start something, so she did. I didn't really feel a connection between them or any angst from when they broke up. I did enjoy the whole family that helped take care of Evie and how she was learning to cook again. But the romance definitely left me wanting more.
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April 26, 2025A Cowboy to Remember is a contemporary romance centered on the trope of amnesia, where Evie, a Black woman and famous chef is injured and loses her memory before reconnecting with her childhood crush (a handsome Black cowboy named Zach) who she hasn't spoken to in 10 years.
January 17, 2020
This was my first cowboy romance book and also the first book I have read by Rebekah Weatherspoon. I thought it was a charming romance and I devoured it in one day. The main characters Evie and Zach are so cute and likable, so are the rest of the Pleasant gang. We all need a second family like them to swoop in and lift us up at times of hardship and trouble. Zach’s grandma Leona, the matriarch of the family was another great character, it was so sweet how much she loved and genuinely cared for Evie. Very touching. Overall, this was a delightful second chances romance that kept me reading all day and I can’t wait for the rest of the trilogy to come out.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Kensington books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Kensington books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
June 22, 2020
✧ rebekah weatherspoon blessing us this year with not one but TWO COWBOY ROMANCES INSPIRED BY FAIRYTALES ✧
A Cowboy to Remember captured me instantly. Rebekah's writing is superb as always and it gave a story that has so much passion and love. Not only between the couple but also family and friends. Reconnecting after ten years... sometimes between family, it feels like time didn't pass and you get back to the dynamic pretty quickly. It also shows you that even though you aren't /there/ for someone, physically, in front of them, even if they live miles apart, you're only one phonecall away.
I never thought I would enjoy the amnesia trope. That was something I was very cautious when I first heard about this book. Of course I wanted to read it because it's Rebekah and I love everything she writes. But I never really /crave/ an amnesia trope romance, you know? It felt too intense for me, and if you know me, I run from angst. But reading this... it was spectacular and I tell you, it's Rebekah's writing!!! She makes everything a perfect little gift that you will open and find all the things that you love inside.
I wanted a small town, second chance romance and I got that. I've been reading second chance a lot lately (Reese Ryan, D. Rose and now this one). Couple who were together years before, sometimes as teenagers, but then broke it off. But still they had the memory and the love they had for each other and when they meet again, they see that this love for one another is still there. Evie and Zach's relationship was that. Getting to know each other again and seeing that that something special was still there. Even though there were regrets, apologies, and stuff to deal with, if you love someone, you got to do everything you can. This is what I saw when reading this romance book.
I'm excited about this series. I obviously want Jesse's book ASAP, but I know Sam's next. Which I'm also pretty happy to read soon.
A Cowboy to Remember captured me instantly. Rebekah's writing is superb as always and it gave a story that has so much passion and love. Not only between the couple but also family and friends. Reconnecting after ten years... sometimes between family, it feels like time didn't pass and you get back to the dynamic pretty quickly. It also shows you that even though you aren't /there/ for someone, physically, in front of them, even if they live miles apart, you're only one phonecall away.
I never thought I would enjoy the amnesia trope. That was something I was very cautious when I first heard about this book. Of course I wanted to read it because it's Rebekah and I love everything she writes. But I never really /crave/ an amnesia trope romance, you know? It felt too intense for me, and if you know me, I run from angst. But reading this... it was spectacular and I tell you, it's Rebekah's writing!!! She makes everything a perfect little gift that you will open and find all the things that you love inside.
I wanted a small town, second chance romance and I got that. I've been reading second chance a lot lately (Reese Ryan, D. Rose and now this one). Couple who were together years before, sometimes as teenagers, but then broke it off. But still they had the memory and the love they had for each other and when they meet again, they see that this love for one another is still there. Evie and Zach's relationship was that. Getting to know each other again and seeing that that something special was still there. Even though there were regrets, apologies, and stuff to deal with, if you love someone, you got to do everything you can. This is what I saw when reading this romance book.
I'm excited about this series. I obviously want Jesse's book ASAP, but I know Sam's next. Which I'm also pretty happy to read soon.
September 3, 2020
Feelin’ a lot of yeehaw in my heart rn. Rebekah can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. I loved the story more than the actual romance, though I loved that too. Found family fucks me up Every. Single. Time. I love how everyone banned together to take care of Evie, even after she got her memory back. Can’t wait for the next book in the series!
October 18, 2024
Sweet second chance cowboy romance!! And the memory loss subplot, my heart 😭😭
I liked Miss Leona, hope she's in the next two books
Content warning: sexism, racism, sexual content, past familial deaths
I liked Miss Leona, hope she's in the next two books
Content warning: sexism, racism, sexual content, past familial deaths
October 13, 2020
2.5 stars
i only started to get invested towards the very end
i only started to get invested towards the very end
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July 24, 2020CW: physical assault, near death experience, hospital, amnesia, mention of loss of loved ones and grief, on page sex.
I FINALLY FINISHED A BOOK!!!
I really liked this one, especially the audiobook. The narrator, Lynette L. Freeman, is so good and conveys emotions so effortlessly that I found myself choking up at some parts that got really emotional. This book was good all around, I liked the career aspect of it, the found family aspect, the second chance as well as reconnecting bits, as well as how difficult and different amnesia makes the dynamics. I also liked the romance, but for some reason I can't quite pinpoint, it left me wanting more? I feel like it didn't deliver all that it could have. I wanted more interactions and more time spent together between Evie and Zach. I wanted more of their interactions to fully foot for them, especially from Evie's perspectibe since Zach was for her pretty much a stranger. That being said I still enjoyed my time A LOT reading this and I found myself invested in everything happening.
I FINALLY FINISHED A BOOK!!!
I really liked this one, especially the audiobook. The narrator, Lynette L. Freeman, is so good and conveys emotions so effortlessly that I found myself choking up at some parts that got really emotional. This book was good all around, I liked the career aspect of it, the found family aspect, the second chance as well as reconnecting bits, as well as how difficult and different amnesia makes the dynamics. I also liked the romance, but for some reason I can't quite pinpoint, it left me wanting more? I feel like it didn't deliver all that it could have. I wanted more interactions and more time spent together between Evie and Zach. I wanted more of their interactions to fully foot for them, especially from Evie's perspectibe since Zach was for her pretty much a stranger. That being said I still enjoyed my time A LOT reading this and I found myself invested in everything happening.
December 15, 2020
It’s been a while since I read a good cowboy romance, and I was starting to miss them. When I saw A Cowboy to Remember getting buzz on Twitter, it caught my fancy. Friends-to-lovers and second chance at love are my two favorite tropes, and this book has some of both going on in it along with the main amnesia plot. While I occasionally had trouble with the pacing, this novel turned out to be a delightful, lively read.
Amnesia plots are difficult to pull off, but Weatherspoon does an excellent job here. The book opens with a glimpse of Evie Buchanan prior to her memory loss. She’s on top of the world, a successful celebrity chef with her own show and a devoted following. While at an industry party, she takes a dramatic tumble down the stairs and awakens with no memory of her past. Her only known family, her parents and grandmother, are all dead and the man listed in her emergency contacts is someone from her childhood whom her assistant knows to contact only if things truly are dire.
Evie’s agent, assistant and closest friend decide things really have reached that point, so they call. And Evie’s childhood friends, Jesse and Zach Pleasant, drop everything on Christmas and fly out to the rescue. Since Evie is both recognizable and lacking her memory, her friends realise her vulnerability at once. They want her to recover, but she needs to be away from New York in order to preserve her privacy and keep her amnesia from becoming known.
So the Pleasant brothers fly Evie out to the family guest ranch in California. We learn over the course of the story that not only was Evie raised by her beloved grandmother, but that she grew up at the ranch alongside the Pleasant brothers and their family. In addition, Evie’s dreams and intuition tell her that she has some kind of history with Zach in particular.
This part of the story works quite well. Not only has Evie lost her memory of events, but also her memory of skills, so we see her relearning how to cook and figuring out what to make of life. In the midst of all this, we also see her interacting with people with whom she has a shared history. That’s the part of the story that actually convinced me that the hero would be a decent guy. Evie has no memory, but Zach doesn’t take unfair advantage nor does he lie to Evie about her past.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text here: https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
Amnesia plots are difficult to pull off, but Weatherspoon does an excellent job here. The book opens with a glimpse of Evie Buchanan prior to her memory loss. She’s on top of the world, a successful celebrity chef with her own show and a devoted following. While at an industry party, she takes a dramatic tumble down the stairs and awakens with no memory of her past. Her only known family, her parents and grandmother, are all dead and the man listed in her emergency contacts is someone from her childhood whom her assistant knows to contact only if things truly are dire.
Evie’s agent, assistant and closest friend decide things really have reached that point, so they call. And Evie’s childhood friends, Jesse and Zach Pleasant, drop everything on Christmas and fly out to the rescue. Since Evie is both recognizable and lacking her memory, her friends realise her vulnerability at once. They want her to recover, but she needs to be away from New York in order to preserve her privacy and keep her amnesia from becoming known.
So the Pleasant brothers fly Evie out to the family guest ranch in California. We learn over the course of the story that not only was Evie raised by her beloved grandmother, but that she grew up at the ranch alongside the Pleasant brothers and their family. In addition, Evie’s dreams and intuition tell her that she has some kind of history with Zach in particular.
This part of the story works quite well. Not only has Evie lost her memory of events, but also her memory of skills, so we see her relearning how to cook and figuring out what to make of life. In the midst of all this, we also see her interacting with people with whom she has a shared history. That’s the part of the story that actually convinced me that the hero would be a decent guy. Evie has no memory, but Zach doesn’t take unfair advantage nor does he lie to Evie about her past.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text here: https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
March 31, 2020
I first got a teaser of this book before I got the full story. The teaser had me dying to read this story to see exactly where it was headed. I was pleasantly surprised with all the twists and turns it took and the outcome of all the drama.
So much happened during the course of this second-chance love story that had me smiling. It was extremely interesting watching Zach earn Evie’s trust along with every other member of his family. Everyone in the family, except Evie, knows what happened 10 years ago. He’s apologized but didn’t tell her everything that really went on. She doesn’t recognize anyone but grows to love them all again. Including Zach. As she is learning about her past, she’s also realizing that she may have been in a place that she doesn’t want to go back to. But, when her memory suddenly comes back and she remembers everything and everyone, she has some really hard decisions to make. The first one … does she really forgive Zach for what he did.
I adored all the characters in this story. Miss Leona was a blast. I loved every scene she was in. She was smart, fun, extravagant and looked out for everyone in the family. Jesse was, I guess, interesting … quiet, moody and was grating on my nerves about Zach and Evie. He had his reasons but, boy did he push my buttons the wrong way. I think I know what he needed but … Then there were Evie’s friends that really rallied around her. They were exactly what she needed when she needed it most.
As I said, I was pleasantly surprised throughout this story. I love how it ended and look forward to the next book in this series. It wasn’t a fast-paced story and, at times, I felt like it dragged and the same things were being rehashed. But, that was the only drawback in the story. It was original, interesting and fun.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
So much happened during the course of this second-chance love story that had me smiling. It was extremely interesting watching Zach earn Evie’s trust along with every other member of his family. Everyone in the family, except Evie, knows what happened 10 years ago. He’s apologized but didn’t tell her everything that really went on. She doesn’t recognize anyone but grows to love them all again. Including Zach. As she is learning about her past, she’s also realizing that she may have been in a place that she doesn’t want to go back to. But, when her memory suddenly comes back and she remembers everything and everyone, she has some really hard decisions to make. The first one … does she really forgive Zach for what he did.
I adored all the characters in this story. Miss Leona was a blast. I loved every scene she was in. She was smart, fun, extravagant and looked out for everyone in the family. Jesse was, I guess, interesting … quiet, moody and was grating on my nerves about Zach and Evie. He had his reasons but, boy did he push my buttons the wrong way. I think I know what he needed but … Then there were Evie’s friends that really rallied around her. They were exactly what she needed when she needed it most.
As I said, I was pleasantly surprised throughout this story. I love how it ended and look forward to the next book in this series. It wasn’t a fast-paced story and, at times, I felt like it dragged and the same things were being rehashed. But, that was the only drawback in the story. It was original, interesting and fun.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
January 18, 2021
Initially, I was apprehensive that a story surrounding a character having temporary amnesia/memory loss would come across as cliché. However, I actually really liked how it was incorporated in this story and thought that it was done well.
As much as this novel is a romance, it was more of a journey of discovery for the two main characters individually. Throughout the story, both of the characters found out what they were missing and what they wanted out of life.
There were a couple of steamy scenes but overall, I would categorize this romance as being much more sweet than steamy. It was an enjoyable read especially for those that like the second chance romance trope.
As much as this novel is a romance, it was more of a journey of discovery for the two main characters individually. Throughout the story, both of the characters found out what they were missing and what they wanted out of life.
There were a couple of steamy scenes but overall, I would categorize this romance as being much more sweet than steamy. It was an enjoyable read especially for those that like the second chance romance trope.
December 24, 2020
3.75 stars!
I really liked everything about this book, especially the fact that it was a black family ranch and cowboys. I have found that I am not a huge fan of the amnesia trope though. It just doesn’t do it for me. Rebekah Is a stellar writer though and I love her!
I really liked everything about this book, especially the fact that it was a black family ranch and cowboys. I have found that I am not a huge fan of the amnesia trope though. It just doesn’t do it for me. Rebekah Is a stellar writer though and I love her!
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October 16, 2022DNF
July 14, 2020
What a delight this book was! I don't usually read books about cowboys, but Jenica at Fire Whiskey Reader convinced me to check A Cowboy to Remember out from the library with all her praise and I'm so glad I listened to her. While the romance was charming, it was the family dynamics, the characters, and the friendships that made this book a memorable experience for me.
For those of you who may not be aware, this series is a fresh take on fairytales. A Cowboy to Remember is pitched as a take on The Sleeping Beauty. I thought it was a very unique and enjoyable spin. Evie is a renowned NYC chef who finds herself without her memory after a fall at a party. Evie's agent, assistant, and close friend decide to contact her only emergency contact, her childhood friend, Jesse. When Jesse and his brother and Evie's childhood crush, Zach, arrive at the scene, they make a collective decision to whisk her away to their ranch in California to allow Evie to rest peacefully without alerting the media of her memory loss. I loved Evie's character. Before the incident, she was this powerful and amazing chef truly living her dreams. While recovering from her memory loss, she has a lot to learn about herself and in the process, also discovers new desires about herself. It was admirable how she handled her memory loss with a lot of grace. Being back in California, where she grew up wasn't always the easiest, especially because there were parts of her past she didn't remember, but she took everything in like the complete boss that she is.
Zach, who Evie shared a past with, was a sweetheart. His relationship with Evie ended on a sour note before she left California, so he has a lot of work to do to gain back Evie's trust. Ten years had passed since that incident, and while Zach had his reasons for pushing away Evie, he was a bit of a knobhead for not realizing his true feelings for her at the time and for rejecting her the way he did. In my books, he managed to mature and I especially appreciated that he took the time to apologize profusely to her. As you can imagine, they had emotional obstacles to overcome throughout A Cowboy to Remember besides Evie's memory loss, but it was done beautifully. The two had an undeniable connection and their chemistry was palpable throughout the entire book. There were so many moments that were soft, sweet, and swoony. It was a treat watching their love story slowly unfold.
The ranch setting in A Cowboy to Remember was also to die for. It was so picturesque and luxurious, 100% a ranch I would want to visit for myself. I also loved the secondary cast in this book so much. From Evie's friends to Zach's family, they were all such interesting personalities. My personal favorite was Jesse, Zach's big, stoic, and intense older brother. You guys know what a sucker I am for the quiet on the outside but a big softie on the inside heroes, so I was basically reading this book to read all his scenes. I barely know him, but I already love him and can't wait for his book. His friendship with Evie was one of my favorite parts of A Cowboy to Remember. Miss Leona, Zach's grandmother, was another wonderful addition to this cast. With her vivid history and her vibrant personality, she basically stole the show numerous times.
A Cowboy to Remember is my first book from Rebekah Weatherspoon and it certainly won't be my last. It was very easy for me to sink into her writing and fall for her characters. If you want to read a book that handles the amnesia trope with thought and care and a cast that will steal your heart, make sure to pick up a copy of A Cowboy to Remember.
Read more of my reviews @ The Infinite Limits of Love.
May 3, 2020
4 Stars / 4 Steam Fans
A Cowboy to Remember is an introduction to a large black family that owns a ranch in a small California town. It also provides the reader with a look into a medical trauma that feels like it happens all the time; however, Rebekah Weatherspoon has taken the amnesia trope and changed it into something new. I enjoyed the journey of these characters, even though there is a lot of information to follow. I am looking forward to more stories and books about the secondary characters.
Video review available in Week 18: Apr 26 – May 2 weekly book reviews.
For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
A Cowboy to Remember is an introduction to a large black family that owns a ranch in a small California town. It also provides the reader with a look into a medical trauma that feels like it happens all the time; however, Rebekah Weatherspoon has taken the amnesia trope and changed it into something new. I enjoyed the journey of these characters, even though there is a lot of information to follow. I am looking forward to more stories and books about the secondary characters.
Video review available in Week 18: Apr 26 – May 2 weekly book reviews.
For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
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February 23, 2020Review to come!
March 5, 2020
Living in New York City, Evie is a television cooking star on her way up in the world. But the evening of the show’s Christmas party, Evie suffers a terrible accident and wakes with no memory. Desperate to help her, Evie’s friends reach out to her “in case of death” contact to see if he can assist in the recovery.
Once close friends, Zach and Evie haven’t talked in ten years. But when his brother Jesse receives a call that Evie is injured and needs help, he and Jesse jump on the redeye from California to be by her side. Although she doesn’t remember the Pleasant brothers, she recognizes they care for her, and she goes to California to their ranch and resort for some R and R, where she reconnects with so many folks from her youth.
A Cowboy to Remember is a slow-burn, second chance romance with the added twist of memory loss. While I’m not usually a fan of amnesia-romances, Ms. Weatherspoon successfully uses the trope to give Evie a fresh look on her crazy life. While recovering, Evie rediscovers her passion for cooking and realizes that she may not have enjoyed the life she was living in NYC. The secondary characters add a lot of value to the story. I love both the NY friends as well as the family and friends in California and hope we continue to see them in the upcoming titles.
The pace of the story is lovely; like a meandering cowboy riding into the sunset. It’s perfect for Evie and Zach’s budding, and rekindling of sorts, romance. They are a “second chance” romance, but with her memory loss, it’s also a new romance. Evie and Zach experience dynamic chemistry and passion, which has the potential to combust depending on what happens once she regains her memories. I appreciate how up front Zach is about his past mistakes, even though Evie doesn’t remember the fight that drove them apart. I also love the Evie is on her own timeline - and if she wants to kiss Zach, she will. She won’t be told what to do. I love her drive to relearn to cook and get used to doing it in front of others.
Overall, A Cowboy to Remember is a delightful slow-burn romance, kicking off what promises to be a wonderful new series from Ms. Weatherspoon.
My Rating: B, Liked It
Review copy provided by Netgalley
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Once close friends, Zach and Evie haven’t talked in ten years. But when his brother Jesse receives a call that Evie is injured and needs help, he and Jesse jump on the redeye from California to be by her side. Although she doesn’t remember the Pleasant brothers, she recognizes they care for her, and she goes to California to their ranch and resort for some R and R, where she reconnects with so many folks from her youth.
A Cowboy to Remember is a slow-burn, second chance romance with the added twist of memory loss. While I’m not usually a fan of amnesia-romances, Ms. Weatherspoon successfully uses the trope to give Evie a fresh look on her crazy life. While recovering, Evie rediscovers her passion for cooking and realizes that she may not have enjoyed the life she was living in NYC. The secondary characters add a lot of value to the story. I love both the NY friends as well as the family and friends in California and hope we continue to see them in the upcoming titles.
The pace of the story is lovely; like a meandering cowboy riding into the sunset. It’s perfect for Evie and Zach’s budding, and rekindling of sorts, romance. They are a “second chance” romance, but with her memory loss, it’s also a new romance. Evie and Zach experience dynamic chemistry and passion, which has the potential to combust depending on what happens once she regains her memories. I appreciate how up front Zach is about his past mistakes, even though Evie doesn’t remember the fight that drove them apart. I also love the Evie is on her own timeline - and if she wants to kiss Zach, she will. She won’t be told what to do. I love her drive to relearn to cook and get used to doing it in front of others.
Overall, A Cowboy to Remember is a delightful slow-burn romance, kicking off what promises to be a wonderful new series from Ms. Weatherspoon.
My Rating: B, Liked It
Review copy provided by Netgalley
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
February 4, 2021
Evie is a well known chef, and has her own cooking show. She gets pushed down the stairs, and loses her memory. She has no family left, so her friends call her emergency contact. He comes and takes her back to their ranch where she grew up so that she can recover out of the public eye.
Zach and Evie almost had a thing back in the day, but he messed up after her grandmother passes away. Now that she has no memory, she is still very drawn to him and wants to give him another chance. So they do, but then when she gets her memory back she is upset with him all over again. I loved the rest of the book, but it wasn't ever super clear why she was so mad at him that she would hold this grudge for years.
I really loved the way this book ended, and I am excited to see some of the other characters' stories in the series.
4 stars
Zach and Evie almost had a thing back in the day, but he messed up after her grandmother passes away. Now that she has no memory, she is still very drawn to him and wants to give him another chance. So they do, but then when she gets her memory back she is upset with him all over again. I loved the rest of the book, but it wasn't ever super clear why she was so mad at him that she would hold this grudge for years.
I really loved the way this book ended, and I am excited to see some of the other characters' stories in the series.
4 stars
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April 5, 2024unfortunately it only started getting interesting 80% in... it took me a whole month to finish. I am so sad.
August 14, 2020
Rebekah Weatherspoon kicks off her new Black cowboy series with an inventive new take on the Sleeping beauty myth. A Cowboy to Remember blends small town romance, modern fairy tale, and second chance romance. The beauty in this case is Evie, a famous reality TV princess, her prince is a Black rancher from Charming, California, and of course, the witch is a ruthless and resentful reality show competitor. That all tracks. When Evie loses her memory after a terrible fall that is far from accidential, she returns to her chldhood home to recover, and childhood lovers fall for each other all over again.
I liked these characters, their family and friends, and their relationship a lot. The connection is honest and open, and I love the way these two people communicate with each other. The one issue I have is with the way Evie’s memory or lack of memory gets used as a wedge in her relationship with Zach. I’m generally a big fan of second chance romance when the circumstances that separated the lovers are beyond their control. In this case, though, it’s complicated. There is a lot of external interference and pressure, but Prince Charming also commits a whole host of errors.. Because Evie doesn’t remember anything from her past for the vast majority of the book, they don’t really get time to grapple with those past differences. So the relationship they forge is lovely and open and honest, but then it gets discounted and blown apart towards the end.
To me that structure was frustrating. It’s not the amnesia storyline that is the problem. It’s the execution of it— the almost completely all or nothing nature of the memory loss until a switch is flipped—that prevents them from working through what went wrong. Evie’s memory ultimately becomes a a device for delivering this one really dark moment when she finally has to reckon with the past
That issue aside, consider me thoroughly charmed. The bench of chararcter is deep, and this 21st century, media-savvy sleeping beauty retelling is a great foundation for a series. I’m really looking forward to the next one.
3.5 to 4 stars.
I liked these characters, their family and friends, and their relationship a lot. The connection is honest and open, and I love the way these two people communicate with each other. The one issue I have is with the way Evie’s memory or lack of memory gets used as a wedge in her relationship with Zach. I’m generally a big fan of second chance romance when the circumstances that separated the lovers are beyond their control. In this case, though, it’s complicated. There is a lot of external interference and pressure, but Prince Charming also commits a whole host of errors.. Because Evie doesn’t remember anything from her past for the vast majority of the book, they don’t really get time to grapple with those past differences. So the relationship they forge is lovely and open and honest, but then it gets discounted and blown apart towards the end.
To me that structure was frustrating. It’s not the amnesia storyline that is the problem. It’s the execution of it— the almost completely all or nothing nature of the memory loss until a switch is flipped—that prevents them from working through what went wrong. Evie’s memory ultimately becomes a a device for delivering this one really dark moment when she finally has to reckon with the past
That issue aside, consider me thoroughly charmed. The bench of chararcter is deep, and this 21st century, media-savvy sleeping beauty retelling is a great foundation for a series. I’m really looking forward to the next one.
3.5 to 4 stars.
January 28, 2020
(free review copy) Okay, let's just state for the record that the cover model does NOT have a big enough mustache to do Zach's justice as described in the book. Besides that, this was a super cute romance with some really unique twists. I'm bumping up from a 3 due to the strong potential for a great series with all of the characters who I LOVED here, and a super strong sense of place.
Why originally a 3? Basically because of something another reviewer here stated too - because of E's memory loss, we didn't really *know* her for the majority of the book. She read fairly flat, which I get because of the situation, but it felt hard to really get invested in her. She was amazing at the beginning though, so I know Weatherspoon CAN write like crazy :-)
Bottom line? I don't really like cowboy romance and I usually don't love memory loss stories, but I devoured this one and am excited for more in the series.
Why originally a 3? Basically because of something another reviewer here stated too - because of E's memory loss, we didn't really *know* her for the majority of the book. She read fairly flat, which I get because of the situation, but it felt hard to really get invested in her. She was amazing at the beginning though, so I know Weatherspoon CAN write like crazy :-)
Bottom line? I don't really like cowboy romance and I usually don't love memory loss stories, but I devoured this one and am excited for more in the series.
May 17, 2021
The writing in A Cowboy to Remember swept me away but I just didn't feel invested in the romance between Evie and Zach. One element of this may be due to the amnesia trope since Evie felt distant from the reader for a decent chunk of the story. This makes complete sense because Evie herself doesn't remember who she is and what matters to her as a result of her amnesia. The setting was great and there were a lot of secondary characters that I'd love to see more of so I may end up trying at least one more Cowboys of California book.
C/W:
C/W:
May 3, 2020
This book has been sitting on my bedside table for two months. It was supposed to be my cruise book but when the cruise got canceled, I was too sad to pick it up. However, I finally did and I’m so mad at myself for waiting this long!! I loved Evie, who is beautiful and kind and a brilliant chef. When she loses her memory and goes back home, she connects with her old flame Zach. There were times I was a little frustrated with his density (boys!) but he was sweet and so in love. This book was amazing and I can’t wait to read more by the author!!
February 25, 2020
4.5 stars
Oh, how I love this book. The characters are wonderful, the plot has a ton of moving parts that come together perfectly, and don't forget the romance! Listen to me swoon over A Cowboy to Remember in this full video review:
https://youtu.be/Z2RrDWBwRJ8
Thanks to Kensington Books for providing a review copy.
Oh, how I love this book. The characters are wonderful, the plot has a ton of moving parts that come together perfectly, and don't forget the romance! Listen to me swoon over A Cowboy to Remember in this full video review:
https://youtu.be/Z2RrDWBwRJ8
Thanks to Kensington Books for providing a review copy.
July 8, 2020
A SLEEPING BEAUTY RIFF THAT'S...A LITTLE TOO SLEEPY
This cowboy-meets-Sleeping-Beauty romance is slow to start—like really slow to start—but once it finally gets going, it's wonderful. It's just too bad the point where the plot comes into its own is already two-thirds into the text. As a practical matter, having to slog through the majority of a novel to reach any sort of payoff is...not a great time.
Things begin when aspiring restauranteur and famous TV chef Evie, gets pushed down a flight of stairs at an industry holiday party. Too bad she can't remember a thing! Enter the three Pleasant brothers, who take Evie back to their ranch in Charming, California while she recuperates and tries to figure out her life. Also, apparently Evie and Zach Pleasant had a thing at some point? Maybe? Honestly, Evie has a lot more important things to figure out than her former self's dating history...
A Cowboy to Remember is a novel that focuses primarily on the female main character and her personal growth/journey. The male lead, Zach, operates mostly as set dressing for his love interest's larger arc. This is primarily because Evie has amnesia for 80% of the book. Whatever romance there is is largely subsumed by the overall narrative of her recovery and developing self-knowledge. I understand why this had to be; it's difficult to have a meaningful romance when once person is, more or less, a completely empty canvas. But still. The first meaningful interaction between Zach and Evie doesn't occur until 30 or 40% into the book—by which time many a reader might have set things aside to find a book where the promised love story is more central.
To put it bluntly: well over half of A Cowboy to Remember was massively boring. The supporting cast is huge (unnecessarily so), and most of the clunky and awkward first half of the text was spent sorting through everyone and their myriad relationships to the protagonists. I love that Weatherspoon wrote such a strong support network and community for her characters, but I wonder if there was a more graceful way to work them into the story, rather than massive info dumps that span for several chapters.
The most upsetting thing about all of this is that I know Rebekah Weatherspoon can do better. I've loved her writing in other books; I loved her writing in this book, once the ball finally got rolling. Who doesn't love a second chance cowboy amnesia romance with an all-Black cast? It's tropey and delicious, and it really could have gone somewhere.
Beyond that, I also wish that Evie's success as one of the very few visible Black celebrity chefs in the industry had more of a chance to be part of the story. Towards the end of the story, she regains her memories and tries to step back into her former career—I thought that the drama resulting from that was far more interesting than anything that had come before. I would have read a whole book on that bit even without a love story involved (at that point in the story, Zach is still in California after a misunderstanding). Except the career-focused narrative only lasted for a single chapter, quickly read then gone. I understand why the story had to be the way it was, but honestly I just found that everything that happened while Evie had lost her memory was so dull, and reading about anything was a breath of fresh air.
All told, I'm mostly "meh" about A Cowboy to Remember. I think the amnesia plot-line put some heavy restrains on Weatherspoon's ability to tell an engaging love story, and the story felt uneven and clunky as a result. I felt that all the pieces for an excellent romance were there, but somehow the execution was off. I wouldn't read this a second time, but I might pick up the sequel.
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This cowboy-meets-Sleeping-Beauty romance is slow to start—like really slow to start—but once it finally gets going, it's wonderful. It's just too bad the point where the plot comes into its own is already two-thirds into the text. As a practical matter, having to slog through the majority of a novel to reach any sort of payoff is...not a great time.
Things begin when aspiring restauranteur and famous TV chef Evie, gets pushed down a flight of stairs at an industry holiday party. Too bad she can't remember a thing! Enter the three Pleasant brothers, who take Evie back to their ranch in Charming, California while she recuperates and tries to figure out her life. Also, apparently Evie and Zach Pleasant had a thing at some point? Maybe? Honestly, Evie has a lot more important things to figure out than her former self's dating history...
A Cowboy to Remember is a novel that focuses primarily on the female main character and her personal growth/journey. The male lead, Zach, operates mostly as set dressing for his love interest's larger arc. This is primarily because Evie has amnesia for 80% of the book. Whatever romance there is is largely subsumed by the overall narrative of her recovery and developing self-knowledge. I understand why this had to be; it's difficult to have a meaningful romance when once person is, more or less, a completely empty canvas. But still. The first meaningful interaction between Zach and Evie doesn't occur until 30 or 40% into the book—by which time many a reader might have set things aside to find a book where the promised love story is more central.
To put it bluntly: well over half of A Cowboy to Remember was massively boring. The supporting cast is huge (unnecessarily so), and most of the clunky and awkward first half of the text was spent sorting through everyone and their myriad relationships to the protagonists. I love that Weatherspoon wrote such a strong support network and community for her characters, but I wonder if there was a more graceful way to work them into the story, rather than massive info dumps that span for several chapters.
The most upsetting thing about all of this is that I know Rebekah Weatherspoon can do better. I've loved her writing in other books; I loved her writing in this book, once the ball finally got rolling. Who doesn't love a second chance cowboy amnesia romance with an all-Black cast? It's tropey and delicious, and it really could have gone somewhere.
Beyond that, I also wish that Evie's success as one of the very few visible Black celebrity chefs in the industry had more of a chance to be part of the story. Towards the end of the story, she regains her memories and tries to step back into her former career—I thought that the drama resulting from that was far more interesting than anything that had come before. I would have read a whole book on that bit even without a love story involved (at that point in the story, Zach is still in California after a misunderstanding). Except the career-focused narrative only lasted for a single chapter, quickly read then gone. I understand why the story had to be the way it was, but honestly I just found that everything that happened while Evie had lost her memory was so dull, and reading about anything was a breath of fresh air.
All told, I'm mostly "meh" about A Cowboy to Remember. I think the amnesia plot-line put some heavy restrains on Weatherspoon's ability to tell an engaging love story, and the story felt uneven and clunky as a result. I felt that all the pieces for an excellent romance were there, but somehow the execution was off. I wouldn't read this a second time, but I might pick up the sequel.
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August 11, 2020
I looked forward to a new-to-me author, Weatherspoon, and the lure of an amnesia narrative. I love them. It’s residual from my many years of day-time soap-opera watching. Weatherspoon’s premise attracted me; sadly, her execution didn’t hold my love, or attention.
Premise first: Chef Evie Buchanan, tv-cooking-show-darling, is pushed down the stairs during a pre-Christmas cast-party and left in the stairwell for two days. (The believability-metre for Weatherspoon requires a wide reader berth.) Her agent, Nicole Pruitt, finds her and takes her to the hospital, where she’s declared fit, except for the teensy problem of brain trauma and total amnesia. Best-friend Blaire and assistant Raquelle enter the picture to care for her while she’s in hospital. We soon learn, however, that Evie is without family, though her emergency contact is one Jesse Pleasant, co-owner of a California dude ranch. (Again, why would Evie name him her emergency contact when she lives with her Blaire?) Jesse and his brother, Zach, come to NYC to take Evie home with them for recuperation. In the meanwhile, Nicole and Raquelle will hold the SM fort and keep Evie’s memory-loss out of the spotlight. In California, Evie will have a chance to heal, reunite with her found-family (parents and beloved grandmother died ten years ago), as well as the man who broke her heart, Zachariah Pleasant, cowboy, entrepreneur, and heart-breaker.
I wanted to like Cowboy to Remember and, indeed, I thought the first few chapters were promising. It devolved into a narrative that could never make up its mind on a direction. As a result, it went in too many and none at all, often feeling stalled and stagnant.
A Cowboy to Remember had as much potential as it did problems. To start, romance depends on either a liking for, or fascination with, the protagonists. I think the opening chapters were the strongest because we got to know Evie. I liked her: her aspiration and energy. This ended with her amnesia and she then became a blank. Sadly, Zach didn’t fare any better. He remained the smirky, charming cowboy Evie knew from her teen years. The lack of three-dimensionality was made worse by the joining of the amnesia narrative to the reunited-HS-sweethearts trope. Zach behaved badly and Evie doesn’t remember it. He was an ass … when Evie finally remembers, it doesn’t seem so important. At the same time, abandoning Evie when she lost her only family, her nana, is such a dick-move that it’s hard to see how she could ever forgive him. Weatherspoon could have made it work, but the card-board quality of her main couple augmented the problematic nature of her double-trope narrative. A man who has much to atone for and a woman who doesn’t remember what he did.
I also found the writing style flat: so much telling, devoid of showing. This was compounded by the chef-villain narrative, strange forays into Evie’s agent’s, Nicole’s, POV, and so so many secondary characters. Weatherspoon was aiming for a sense of a found family, an ensemble cast, à la Sosa’s Worst Best Man (which succeeded where Weatherspoon failed), but she didn’t have the necessary control over her material.
In the end, the few sparks in the narrative: Evie’s dream sequences and her relationship with the Pleasant matriarch, Leona, couldn’t make up for a dull romance. Evie and Zach are rarely together. When they are, because Evie is a blank and Zach remembers his past betrayal, they don’t get to know one another, hash it out, fight, make up. Their convos are stilted and that is sadly true of all the dialogue. I wanted to like it, I couldn’t. I think Weatherspoon shows promise and I hope to see it in her next romances. With Miss Austen, we found A Cowboy To Remember, “had a high claim to forebearance,” Emma.
Rebekah Weatherspoon’s A Cowboy To Remember is published by Dafina Books. It was released on February and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Dafina Books, via Netgalley.
Premise first: Chef Evie Buchanan, tv-cooking-show-darling, is pushed down the stairs during a pre-Christmas cast-party and left in the stairwell for two days. (The believability-metre for Weatherspoon requires a wide reader berth.) Her agent, Nicole Pruitt, finds her and takes her to the hospital, where she’s declared fit, except for the teensy problem of brain trauma and total amnesia. Best-friend Blaire and assistant Raquelle enter the picture to care for her while she’s in hospital. We soon learn, however, that Evie is without family, though her emergency contact is one Jesse Pleasant, co-owner of a California dude ranch. (Again, why would Evie name him her emergency contact when she lives with her Blaire?) Jesse and his brother, Zach, come to NYC to take Evie home with them for recuperation. In the meanwhile, Nicole and Raquelle will hold the SM fort and keep Evie’s memory-loss out of the spotlight. In California, Evie will have a chance to heal, reunite with her found-family (parents and beloved grandmother died ten years ago), as well as the man who broke her heart, Zachariah Pleasant, cowboy, entrepreneur, and heart-breaker.
I wanted to like Cowboy to Remember and, indeed, I thought the first few chapters were promising. It devolved into a narrative that could never make up its mind on a direction. As a result, it went in too many and none at all, often feeling stalled and stagnant.
A Cowboy to Remember had as much potential as it did problems. To start, romance depends on either a liking for, or fascination with, the protagonists. I think the opening chapters were the strongest because we got to know Evie. I liked her: her aspiration and energy. This ended with her amnesia and she then became a blank. Sadly, Zach didn’t fare any better. He remained the smirky, charming cowboy Evie knew from her teen years. The lack of three-dimensionality was made worse by the joining of the amnesia narrative to the reunited-HS-sweethearts trope. Zach behaved badly and Evie doesn’t remember it. He was an ass … when Evie finally remembers, it doesn’t seem so important. At the same time, abandoning Evie when she lost her only family, her nana, is such a dick-move that it’s hard to see how she could ever forgive him. Weatherspoon could have made it work, but the card-board quality of her main couple augmented the problematic nature of her double-trope narrative. A man who has much to atone for and a woman who doesn’t remember what he did.
I also found the writing style flat: so much telling, devoid of showing. This was compounded by the chef-villain narrative, strange forays into Evie’s agent’s, Nicole’s, POV, and so so many secondary characters. Weatherspoon was aiming for a sense of a found family, an ensemble cast, à la Sosa’s Worst Best Man (which succeeded where Weatherspoon failed), but she didn’t have the necessary control over her material.
In the end, the few sparks in the narrative: Evie’s dream sequences and her relationship with the Pleasant matriarch, Leona, couldn’t make up for a dull romance. Evie and Zach are rarely together. When they are, because Evie is a blank and Zach remembers his past betrayal, they don’t get to know one another, hash it out, fight, make up. Their convos are stilted and that is sadly true of all the dialogue. I wanted to like it, I couldn’t. I think Weatherspoon shows promise and I hope to see it in her next romances. With Miss Austen, we found A Cowboy To Remember, “had a high claim to forebearance,” Emma.
Rebekah Weatherspoon’s A Cowboy To Remember is published by Dafina Books. It was released on February and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Dafina Books, via Netgalley.
January 31, 2020
A great start to a new series. Amnesia plots can be super-tricky to pull off, I believe, but this one definitely fell in the "it works" column for me. Evie's character has so many friends (sometimes a little hard for me to keep track of at first, but that's a me problem and not a book problem) that we can easily see how her personality changes while her memories are gone, even though we only spend a very short period of time with her before her accident. It's easy to see why so many people care so deeply about her, to the point of whisking her to the other side of the country to rest and recuperate.
And who wouldn't want to spend time on the Pleasant family ranch, head injury or no head injury? Gorgeous vistas, horses, dogs, and even more gorgeous men. Also strong familial bonds, loving female friends, and a veeery slow burn of a sort-of-second-chance romance between Evie and Zach.
I'm looking forward to more from this series.
I was given an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.
And who wouldn't want to spend time on the Pleasant family ranch, head injury or no head injury? Gorgeous vistas, horses, dogs, and even more gorgeous men. Also strong familial bonds, loving female friends, and a veeery slow burn of a sort-of-second-chance romance between Evie and Zach.
I'm looking forward to more from this series.
I was given an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 24, 2020
My review is here:
http://www.loveinpanels.com/prose/a-c...
http://www.loveinpanels.com/prose/a-c...
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