Loving the Rodeo Queen by Rebecca Reed

This is a pure Christian romance. And I use pure in both senses. Pure as in it fits into the Christian romance genre. And pure in that it’s clean. Redemption features prominently in this book for more than one character. And yes, it’s an odd book for me to read. Not quite the justice-seeking, vengeance-squashing crime novels I usually read. But I have to admit, it’s a well-written, touching story.

As the title implies, it’s also a cowboy romance. Modern cowboys. The two main characters, Tiago Vargas (the man), and Quinn Mulroney (the woman) are ex college rodeo riders. And that’s where they “met”. I put “met” in quotes because except for one brief encounter, which I won’t describe – read the book – their meeting is via eye-contact from across a rodeo arena. Can you say, “love at first sight”? And like any true romance, they’ve been separated, and in this case, God brings them back together.

Maybe this is the case with most romances, but these two individuals have some serious baggage, hang ups, and frankly, mental issues they need to work out. As with reading most romances, I wanted to scream at both of them, “Oh, come on, just talk to each other. Get over yourself.” But scream as I might, they didn’t listen to me.

As mentioned in the beginning, it’s a clean read. No profanity, no on page sex, and no on page violence. Other than Quinn being thrown from a horse. There are some trauma triggers. Again, they’ll go unmentioned. I don’t want to spoil the story. And there are some touchy topics discussed, as well as tough decisions characters had to make.

If you like romances, you’ll love this book. It kept me reading, even though it’s not a preferred genre of mine. I’ll rank this one number nine for the year so far.

1. Love’s True Calling by Lori DeJong
2. Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt
3. Book of Days by James L. Rubart
4. The Seven Day Resurrection by Chevron Ross
5. With Mercy’s Eyes by D.T. Powell
6. Justice by Jeff Hill
7. Already in the Kudzu by Hannah Hood Lucero
8. The Last Wife by Matt McGregor
9. Loving the Rodeo Queen by Rebecca Reed
10. The Misadventures of Itchy Izzy by N.Y. Dunlap
11. Ranch Showdown by Tina Wheeler
12. The Unhired Hand by R.O. Lane
13. The Shocking Truth by Steve Rush
14. Daughter of Darkness by Ed Gorman
15. Burning Angel by James Lee Burke
16. Death in the Kremlin by E.J. Simon
17. Irresistible Impulse by Robert K. Tanenbaum
18. Line of Fire by Taylor S. Newport
19. The Longest Day by Terry Toler
20. Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

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