cover image Cowboy Take Me Away

Cowboy Take Me Away

Soraya Lane. St. Martin’s, $7.99 mass market (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-06009-9

Lane’s unsatisfying second Texas Kings contemporary (after The Devil Wears Spurs) plays out on the vast King Ranch, run by the three King brothers. Hope Walker and Chase King were best friends in college, mostly because they were both filthy rich: neither had to worry about the other being a gold digger. Their final night in college turned into a good-bye night of hot sex, and he yearns for her as the one who got away. Five years later, Hope is the divorced single mom of a four-year-old son, and she’s lost her family ranch and fortune. She winds up working as a veterinarian for Chase, who wants organic purebred cattle and needs to inseminate his heifers with expensive New Zealand sperm. As much as Chase still desires Hope, he feels wary when he learns she’s broke, and when he discovers her secret, his reaction turns him into an unsympathetic character. A subplot involving the mysterious destruction of the cattle sperm further explores the theme of trust, but feels tacked on. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Jan.)