Review: Winter Cowboy by RJ Scott

Title: Winter Cowboy

Series: Whisper Ridge, Wyoming: Book One

Author: RJ Scott

Publisher: Self-Published

Length: 274 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: This book put me through the emotional wringer with its angsty plot and characters, without giving me any real comfort afterwards.

Reviewed By: Jenn

Blurb: Micah Lennox left Whisper Ridge after promising the man he loved that he would never return. But the only way he knows to keep his pregnant sister and nephew safe is to go home. Spending winter in Wyoming opens too many old wounds, but he’s on the run from justice which can’t be far behind, and this is his last chance at redemption.

After a hostage situation leaves Doctor Daniel Sheridan struggling with PTSD, he returns to Whisper Ridge. Joining his dad in family practice is a balm to soothe his exhausted soul, and somehow, he finds a peace he can live with. That is until he meets Micah in a frozen graveyard, and the years of anger and feelings of betrayal boiling inside him, erupt.

Two broken men fight and scratch for their lives and that of their families, and somehow, in the middle of it all, they find each other.

Is it possible that love can be rekindled and become a forever to believe in?

Review: While Winter Cowboy is well written with the plot and characters fully fleshed out, which is standard with this author, I didn’t really enjoy it. There was a lot to the backstory that was drawn out and left hidden until near the end of the story. I found it hard to get to know the characters, and their motivations and reactions felt foreign and put me off. It made the reconciliation—that was key to the plot—hard to accept as there seemed to be too much lingering guilt and blame surrounding everybody.

The book starts with the first private interaction between ex-lovers Micah and Daniel, after Micah was the driver in a deadly car accident that left Daniel’s brother an amputee and ruined his burgeoning baseball career. This incident haunted the book like the smell of microwaved fish, always present without knowing the exact circumstances of the incident. What actually happened that soul-destroying night isn’t told to the reader until the second half, leaving me unsure if I was sympathetic to Micah or Daniel for a lot of the book.

Micah is the main protagonist, and yet, the relationship he has with his only remaining family—except his rescued sister and nephew—is vague and never really explained. His aunt and uncle clearly hate him, yet this is never really explained to the reader; you’re left to infer that it’s based on Micah’s accident years before, or on his leaving the farm.

Daniel, on the other hand, mostly thinks of himself as broken and does not really talk much to his family, not even his brother who was involved in the accident. Seemingly they never really dealt with or discussed this, leaving a pretty big elephant in the room for a man who is implied to be all about family. It seemed to be one of the signs of his trauma after the shooting in the ER. He eventually talks about it and walks through that horrible day, but I think by the time it was mentioned it was just a block of text to me rather than something I was emotionally involved in.

The real star of this novel for me was Micah’s nephew, Laurie, who was the sweetest child. I loved watching Micah’s interaction with him and helping Laurie overcome the abuse he witnesses from birth. It added to my empathy for Micah and left me rooting for whichever outcome left Laurie the happiest.

I felt this book put me through the emotional wringer with its angsty plot and characters, without giving me any real comfort afterwards. Micah does seem to get his happily ever after, but I didn’t feel connected to how the issues were resolved.

You can buy Winter Cowboy here:
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