Big Chance Cowboy by Teri Anne Stanley
Publisher & Release: Sourcebooks, August 27, 2019
Time and setting: Present Day, Texas
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 Pages
Heat Level: 1 Flame
Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns
Book Description:
At Big Chance Dog Rescue,
Even humans get a second chance
After a disastrous mistake disbanded his Army unit, Adam Collins has returned home to Big Chance, Texas. He just wants to sell the family ranch, set up his sister and grandfather with the funds, and then ride off into the sunset.
Lizzie Vanhook has landed back in her hometown, heartbroken and jobless. Adding to her troubles is the unruly stray who's claimed her as his own. Lizzie knows she's in over her head. Enter Adam—not only does he work with dogs, he's also tall, dark, handsome, and the one who got away...
Adam wants nothing to do with other people, much less dogs. But when his old flame asks him to help her train her scruffy dog, he can't say no. As his reluctant heart opens up, the impossible seems possible: a second chance with the woman he's always loved in a place where he, his friends, and the other strays who show up can heal and call home, Big Chance, Texas.
More praise for Big Chance Cowboy:
"Love...and puppies... Be prepared to fall in love with this cast of characters and this book." —JENNIE MARTS, USA Today bestselling author of the Cowboys of Creedence series
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Vikki’s Musings
Big Chance Cowboy is the first book in Teri Anne Stanley’s new series, Big Chance Dog Rescue. I adore dogs, so when I read the book description, I eagerly accepted the invitation from the publisher, via Net-Galley, to read and review. My opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.
This is the first book I have read by Teri Anne Stanley, and I thoroughly enjoyed this emotionally-charged romance. The premise for this book is excellent and very believable. The secondary characters are intriguing, and I can’t wait to read their stories. The pacing is perfect and kept me turning the pages.
Lizzie Vanhook’s character is immediately appealing. Her sassy, yet vulnerable personality, is endearing, and I fell in love with her right away. No wonder she has a poor body image! Not only did her ex-boyfriend constantly harp on her weight, he also made light of her career goals as well. While his character is not actually in this book, Ms. Stanley gave me enough in Lizzie’s backstory to make me detest the jerk. The heroine deserved much better, so I truly wanted her to find her happy ending.
Adam Collins is my favorite kind of hero. He’s tortured and has shouldered a ton of guilt when his k-9 didn’t sense the explosives that killed and injured several of his team. My heart ached for him. He’s such a great guy and was not responsible for the explosion. I also wanted him to get the girl!
Lizzie and Adam knew each other in high school and even shared an intimate moment, but he left for the army, leaving a heartbroken Lizzie behind. When they meet again, the sparks fly immediately. The chemistry between them is combustible, and I loved the banter between the pair. They are perfect for each other.
Big Chance Cowboy sets up the rest of the books in this series. His teammates who show up at his ranch are as broken as Adam, with not only emotional scars, but physical ones as well. Each one of the guys will make great heroes!
I must mention the amazing dogs. D-Day, the rescue Lizzie can’t resist when he hops in her car uninvited and won’t leave, Loretta and her adorable newborn puppies that Adam and Lizzie save when they find her torn up, clearly used and abused by a dog fighting ring, and last but by no means least, Patton, the rescue who ends up tied to the mailbox, all will make outstanding service animals. I can’t wait to see the guys train these remarkable dogs.
If you enjoy contemporary romance with plenty of heart and characters you’ll want to love, then you’ll be as delighted as I with Big Chance Cowboy. I can’t wait to see which of these great guys will be the next hero. Happy reading!
EXCERPT:
Houston was three hours and a couple of broken dreams behind her when Lizzie Vanhook crossed the Chance County line, right about the same time the Check Tire Pressure light in her dashboard blinked on.
Crap.She’d been in the homestretch. There was something symbolic about an uninterrupted beeline home, to the place she planned to find her center of gravity. Maybe start doing yoga. Eat all organic. Drink herbal tea and learn to play the pan flute.
Flipping the turn signal, she pulled into Big America Fuel and stopped near the sign for Free Air. She stepped out onto the cracked gray asphalt and bent to search for the pressure gauge her dad always insisted she keep in the pocket of the door but came up empty.
She abandoned the driver’s side and went to the passenger door, hesitating when she noticed the dog leaning against the nearby air pump. The bigdog. It was missing some significant patches of hair, and the rest was black and matted. Its big, shiny teeth were bared in what she hoped was a friendly smile. Its football-player-forearm-sized tail thumped the ground, raising a cloud of sunbaked, Central Texas dust. Lizzie sneezed. The dog stopped wagging and raised an ear in her direction.
“Good boy,” she told it, hoping that was the right thing to say. It was one thing to misunderstand the intentions of a tiny fuzzball of a dog and need a few stitches. Ignoring a warning from something this size could be lethal. It had to weigh at least a hundred pounds.
She kept the beast in her peripheral vision while she bent to search for the tire gauge. Ah ha!
“Y’all need some help?”
“No!” Lizzie straightened and turned, the pressure gauge clenched in her raised fist.
“Whoa there!” A sun-bronzed elderly man, about half Lizzie’s size, held his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace.
“I’m sorry,” she said, relaxing slightly. “The dog—” She gestured but the thing was gone.
“Didn’t mean to scare you, darlin’,” the old man said, tilting hisBig Americaball cap back. “We’re a little slow today, so I thought I’d check on you.” He indicated the vacant parking lot.
“It’s fine,” she said. She should remember she was back on her own turf, where it was way more likely that a stranger at a gas station really didwant to help you out rather than distract you and rob you blind. “It’s been a long drive, and I’m a little overcaffeinated.”
“No problem. You local?”
“Yes,” Lizzie said. Even though she’d been gone for years, it was about to be true again.
The attendant squinted at the tool she carried. “You got a leaky tire?”
“I don’t know.” She stooped to unscrew the cap of the first valve. “The little light went on while I was driving.” Nope.That one wasn’t low. She put the cap back on and continued her way around the car while her new friend followed, chatting about Big Chance. He wondered about the likelihood the Chance County High School quarterback would get a scholarship offer. Lizzie had no idea; she hadn’t been keeping up. He speculated on the probability that the Feed and Seed might close, now that there was a new Home Depot over in Fredericksburg. She expected she’d hear about it from her mom and dad if the local place was closing and wondered if her friend Emma still worked there.
It had been ages since Lizzie had spoken to Emma, and a wave of guilt washed over her. Finally, the last valve was checked, and she screwed the cap back on. She reached through the open window and dropped the tire gauge on the passenger seat while she said “Everybody’s full. Must be a false alarm.” She wrinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of the interior of her car. Sheesh.The service station probably sold air fresheners; maybe she should invest in one. Compared to the breezy, wide open spaces of home, her car smelled like an inside-out dead deer. She wanted to get home, though, so she decided to deal with it later.
It wasn’t until she was backing out onto the main road that she realized the awful smell inside her vehicle wasn’t just long-drive funk. There was something—something big and black and furry—sitting in the middle of her back seat, panting and grinning in her rearview mirror.
***
Excerpted from Big Chance Cowboy by Teri Anne Stanley. © 2019 by Teri Anne Stanley. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
When Teri Anne Stanley isn’t writing sassy, sexy, love stories from her home, she’s probably doing some sort of arsty-crafsty thing and hanging with Mr. Stanley, her three favorite children, and the dogs. Sometimes she’s masquerading as a day job science geek. She’s definitely not cooking or cleaning. Visit her online at
www.teriannestanley.com. Teri Ann lives near Sugartit, Kentucky (which is between Beaver Lick and Rabbit Hash. Seriously).
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