Review: Not the Best Cowboy Story I've Read. Disappointed. :(
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2014
Actual Rating: 1.5 STARSMuch to my dismay, I too often fall for the allures of beautiful book covers (most specifically to those that feature gorgeous men!), and while there have been numerous times where the intended book has been amazing outside and in, there have been just as many – if not more – times where I have been majorly disappointed. Olivia Jaymes’ Cowboy Command, unfortunately, falls in the latter category.The one thing I try very hard to not do while reading any book, is skip pages. It’s something I do to keep an open mind no matter how distressing the read. With this book, I had no choice. We are given a promising enough blurb; with a not so overly complicated plot, two very different but interesting characters, and the hint of a hot romance. What should have made this a memorable read when combining these three elements, instead, proved to be a hinderance to the storyline. The beginning-to-end flow of narrative is present, but with no depth. Every action scene, character development (mostly on Presley’s side), and even sex scene felt empty, making for a very dull read and the main reason for my constant page-skipping.Seth’s character is probably the only compensatory (and my most favourite) part of this entire story. His character portrays the image of the bad boy mixed with the gentle and sometimes overprotective man – my kind of hero (and he’s a cowboy!!). That being said, we are introduced to Seth’s weakness in the story, and while this is a large part of Seth’s character development, it is not referenced upon again after the initial mention nor is it resolved by the end. And yet, somehow, we end up with a HEA with both characters happy. Every aspect of this story is centered on Katie/Presley, and how she grows as a character and overcomes her weaknesses and insecurities. Seth’s character is eclipsed by Presley’s to the point of being quite annoying. I wanted more of Seth, more of his fun, quirky family, and even his circle of lawmen friends – heck, I wanted anything but more of Presley, which did not happen in this case.Presley’s character is a source of frustration throughout the story. Perhaps, I would have invested more in her had the focus of the entire story not been solely on her, despite her being one of the protagonists. As for the romance, meh (not the best word, but it describes my feelings perfectly) comes to mind. There is a little bit of kink thrown into the smexy scenes, and emotional attachment is forenamed, yet the romance left a more “whatever” kind of feeling rather than in girly giddiness. In fact, most of the pages I skipped were the love scenes. As a romance junkie, this is perhaps why I couldn’t get much into the story as well.Overall, where Cowboy Command might be the perfect read for many readers, regrettably, it was not for me. I haven’t dismissed the series altogether, but I am not jumping to get Justice Healed in my hands anytime soon. Maybe when I’m in one of my “I-want-to-read-a-cowboy-story-but-can’t-find-one-because-I’m-too-lazy-to-browse-Goodreads” moods.