Review: Sweet, romantic read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
The perfect combination of sweetness and sexiness was brought to the page in Reforming the Cowboy by Marisa Cleveland.Lacey wants her café to succeed. She wants to make it stand-out among the other business in South Beach and comes up with the idea to hire former country-singer star Billy Hardy. It just so happens that Billy was Lacey's college celebrity star, but she's assured herself that this all business since she can't risk to take her attention from building a successful business.Billy has been in a rut for the past ten years. His love of music is still there, but the inspiration for his writing lyrics it's just not there. He doesn't mind NOT being in the spotlight, but would love another chance to express himself through his music. His manager, however, has plans for huge comeback and the first step in that plan is to schedule Billy for a week-long engagement singing at Lacey's Café.I enjoyed the how the chemistry between Lacey and Billy jumped off the page, but mostly I enjoyed the moments when they opened up about their past. They were both weary of starting anything with each other, but their attractive was undeniable so of course they ended up giving into each other. And give in they did. Phew, that some kind of chemistry!The secondary characters that were introduced added to the story in their own right, although Billy's manager, Chip, got on my nerves enough to make me question his loyalty. And don't even get me started on Billy's ex. That woman...Anyway, although I'm not a fan of the "insta-love" scenario I think that having Billy and Lacey be older and with more life experience, helped convince me that their relationship had a chance.This story had all the elements I expect to find in a great read. Marisa Cleveland introduced interesting characters and built their connection and chemistry over the course of the story, then she went ahead and paired it up with music. A great combination!All in all, Reforming the Cowboy was a great romantic read about new beginnings, second chances and letting go.I received this title from the publisher in exchange of my honest opinion.