Review: 5 blue ribbons from Romance Junkies
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2011
Leesa Santiago works as a stripper in a disreputable Las Vegas club.  The owner keeps shorting her checks and the only way to make ends meet is to agree to provide a very private lap dance in the back room.  The young cowboy she cuts her teeth on, so to speak, is very sweet and attractive.  Leesa can't deny he turns her on in a huge way but realistically there's no hope for a future between them.  She's just a stripper giving a birthday boy a little something extra to celebrate - but that isn't how Chase sees it.Pro bull rider Chase Reese is looking forward to a break following the finals in Vegas.  He's won the national championship and fully intends to enjoy his free time while in Vegas.  That means drinking, gambling and women - plenty of overindulgence before he'll have to worry about working out and taking care of his body.  The highlight of his evening is meeting a stripper whom he hopes to get to know much better - he even asks her on a date, but she turns him down.Since Leesa refused to even consider a date Chase is surprised when she shows up at the meet-and-greet event the following evening.  Of course he's thrilled to see her especially when she agrees to come to the party being thrown by Chase's cronies.  What neither of them anticipates is spending the night together and waking up married - yet neither of them remembers leaving the room.  Of course they can't remain married considering they essentially know practically nothing about each other.  Still, neither of them regrets this marriage.  Chase takes Leesa to his family ranch in Oklahoma where he has every intention of convincing her to give him a chance.  For Leesa, this unplanned marriage means she'll be able to escape Las Vegas and the hit men who are after her.  G-strings and spurs don't seem like a very likely combination but this is Vegas baby... anything's possible.RIDE is a brilliant addition to Cat Johnson's STUDS IN SPRURS series.  Chase has a boyish innocence and trusting nature which makes the reader alternately sigh and smile at his youthful exuberance.  If you've read the first two titles in this series, UNRIDDEN and BUCKED, I'm sure you'll remember Chase and understand why he's a character you just want to get to know better.  While Leesa's job as a stripper is surprising because she doesn't exactly fit the stereotype it also gives you reason to consider what would cause a young woman to take up such a `demeaning' job.  After all, I've never heard a girl say "I wanna be a stripper when I grow up."  Leesa hasn't been stripping long enough to get that hard attitude you'd expect her to have and she's really very likeable.  While Chase and Leesa seem like an unlikely pair they seem to mesh perfectly.  Ms. Johnson instills the perfect amount of sexual tension, surprising twists, uncertainty and longing throughout RIDE so the plot flows beautifully and leaves the reader with a sense of hopefulness and joy and at times even sadness.If you're looking for more STUDS IN SPURS then be sure to pick up copies of the other titles in this exhilarating series:UNRIDDEN - available in print and e-book formatBUCKED - available in print and e-book formatTHE ROOKIE - a free read8 SECOND RIDE - a free readAnd yet another title coming in 2011 - HOOKEDChrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)