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Friday, February 10, 2017

Book #Review: Tomas: Cowboy Homecoming by Linda Warren


Book Title: Tomas: Cowboy Homecoming (Harts of the Rodeo)
Author:  Linda Warren |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: Harlequin American Romance
Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 6
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Cost: $5.25
Pages: 219
How I got it: BEA 2013
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: December 2012
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Synopsis:
Marine Staff Sergeant Tomas "Tuf" Hart is beginning to understand why they say "you can never go home again." Still grappling with the mental scars of battle, Tuf's just learned that Thunder Ranch is in trouble. Now, the Harts are banking everything on their stallion, Midnight, winning the National Finals Rodeo. The only easy part of Tuf's homecoming was falling for his high school crush all over again.Cheyepnne Sundell has always been drawn to Tuf. But as a single mom of twin daughters, she's wary of getting involved, especially with another military man. Cheyenne's disastrous marriage taught her that war changed men, and not always for the better. Tuf and Cheyenne have been through hell and back. But with a little hope and a lot of holiday spirit, they just might find a way to heal themselves…and each other.
This is a solid strong story about second chance romance and I'm totally here for it.  Tomas is a Marine heading for home for the first time in over 6 years, he's avoided home due to the way the war has changed him and he's not sure how everyone back home is going to treat him. On his way home he runs into a little girl walking all by herself and when he stops to help discovers her mama is none other than his high school crush Cheyenne and she's also home for the first time in a long time.

The characters were well written even though at times the story was dominated by Tomas's side it was still told by both of them.  Tomas's story was a stronger tale and he was way more detailed than Cheyenne was so I liked him more because I felt we got more from him than from her.  Cheyenne is home for the first time in years and is trying to rebuild because her life didn't quite go the way she expected.  Home with a set of twins who are determined to establish themselves and are putting her at her wits end, she doesn't have time for a marine cowboy even if being with him has always been her wish.

When they were young their parents feud kept them from establishing a good relationship no matter how much they both wanted it, and so they moved on a little bit dented but not broken .  Pride and family drama kept them apart then, but they do a terrible job of maintaining their friendship later and once again let pride and an inflated sense of protectiveness drive them apart.

I really loved the strong familial bonds they both had, & that their families were willing to help them anyway they could.  Tomas was doing everything to make himself whole again after what happened during his last mission, hes dealing with PTSD and I loved the way the author handled the discussion of therapy and  medication without over dramatizing it but neither making it some dirty secret.  It takes Tomas a while to come to terms with being the cowboy and the marine and how those would make him the man for Cheyenne.

I loved that Cheyenne knew right off the bat that they needed to work on themselves before they threw in together but was willing to do the work anyway.  Scared an Scarred by her past, she has her own level of PTSD to work trough and she's managed not to confront it because she has her daughters to worry about, but as the story progresses she starts to work on her own things as well.

The girls were a sweet and cute addition to the story and I loved how distinct they were.  I love how their casual acceptance of Tomas helped to make him closer to being whole and they didn't realize how much that meant.

I really loved the description of the Rodeo season and how that played an important part in the story. It wasn't overly glamorized the Rodeo was just another part of the story and it helped to move them further along, and that final scene is definitely one of my favorites.  Even though it's a small book Linda packed a lot in a really gave them the time needed to make this story really work. I love it.

 ★★★1/2
If you love cowboys, Marines, and second chances, then you're going to love this.  
Happy Reading my loves, 

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