Blog Tour/Review ♥ Cowboy Up by Harper Sloan ♥

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Harper Sloan returns with a passionate and breathless romance about the sparks that ignite when a cautious cowboy and a once-scorned woman open up to each other in the third installment of the Coming Home series.

As the eldest Davis, Clayton has always tried to lead by example. He takes his job as head of the family businesses seriously, making sure the farm and auto shop are running smoothly—along with keeping an eye on his brother and sister. For him, there’s a time and place to let go of the control he holds with an iron grip. And with the way he grew up, coupled with a disastrous end to his last relationship, he’s just fine with his quiet, solitary life.

Most of the time.

What he hadn't counted on was the cute, quirky, shy bookstore owner, Caroline Michaels. She's the proverbial woman next door—well, the next town over, that is. Caroline hasn't lived an easy life, but after escaping a verbally abusive ex, she's finally living it for herself. The last thing she ever expected was a one-night stand with Clay Davis she can’t stop thinking about.

So when she falls on hard times and Clay comes out of nowhere to her rescue, she realizes just how impossible it’ll be to stay away from him. Now all she has to do is convince him to live a little…. Will Clay be able to give up the reins and finally settle down? And, more importantly, will Caroline muster enough courage to lasso him up?

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A Review by Wendy

3.5 Being Bad is Oh, So Good Stars
* * * 1/2

Spoiler Free

Those who know me, know I love my Cowboys, Small Towns, Western reads. I will go for awhile and read all the Alpha Male Billionaires, all the Cute Meets with then the characters end up being in the He's My Boss thing or the Best Friend's Sister is Off Limits and then Bam a romance blooms. Love all of them...

But for some reason, I have a special place for all those Cowboys and the women who love them....
Which caused me to pick up Harper Sloan's Cowboy Up, (Coming Home, #3). Now I had not read the first two books. From my experience with this entry, I understand Clayton Davis, our main focus, was the eldest sibling. All of the other siblings had their own tales. I was able to follow along without any troubles.

Clayton Davis fits the mold of brooding, dark and closed off...works the land, looks out for his siblings and does the no long term relationship thing. He recently had a seriously bad scrap off with his last encounter and she is not playing by any of the agreed upon rules he had set out. He has since just been out there working the ranch, emotionally closed off for months and it has gotten a bit old. He is happy his siblings have found their women... but it also highlights how alone he is...

Caroline Michaels has had to fight her way out of a small town with a horrific mother, only to land in an abusive marriage. She survived that and with determination and support of close friends, she has come out the other end. She has built her life all over again with owning her bookstore. Things are turning around for her...

But her Ex still tracks down every new phone number and tonight he called her. This making Caroline needing something... but not knowing what...She goes to her friend's bar to settle her nerves. As she sits at the end, where the owner can look out for her, she sees a profile of the Mythical Man...

You know the one...that vision of Cowboy, black hat hiding most of the face.... chiseled jaw and lips just so...With her friend's warning to "Be Good" and the nod that this cowboy is "Ok" to look out for her, Caroline comments she doesn't know how to anything but...wouldn't know how to be bad even if she wanted to....

Which leads to our cowboy saying he could show her how....To Be Bad....

Caroling shocked yet feels this is just what she should do after being good has gotten her no where...
A few shots later, Caroline and this man Davis...are in the motel across the way from the bar doing the bad...real good.

He asked and she said no lights...and so in the still of the night, cloaked in darkness...this Davis showed this woman what being bad was all about...The experience hit like a ton of bricks...left a huge  imprint on the both of them equally. The cowboy is gone in the morning leaving Caroline thinking it was better that way.

Months pass and neither one of them try to figure out how to reconnect. Both thinking to just let it go. Then an event has them confronting each other as who they are...Clayton Davis... 5 years older than Caroline... her secret crush from high school....

This time... the desire and chemistry is too much... even stoic Clayton decides he is going to explore
this pull he has for Caroline... and primarily that is the main focus of this tale.

There is the added layer of dealing with small town issues, her crappy mother and ugly ex's on both sides. There is also happy times for both of Clayton siblings.

All of this was well and good but the interesting and more gritty introduction at the bar and what followed....trailed off into a more emotional, continual mentioning of feelings and declarations- especially from Clayton...

Now the good was this couple didn't play games or pretend. They communicated - which was great. I just had a hard time relating how Clayton expressed his devotion to the stoic, dark cowboy presented in the beginning ...His emotions would go over the top when it came to Caroline... but he would be able to be more realistic when counseling his brothers.

Caroline was a winner in this. She pulled herself through her own personal fire and rose up to be strong and able to take on anything. With the support of her friends and Clayton, she became the woman she always wanted to be... and with Clayton everything fell into place.

For those who have enjoyed the first to books of this series, I am sure you will fall hard for Clayton and Caroline. If you love an emotional journey with a Cowboy and his true love...then this is for you.

A gifted copy was provided  for an honest review. 

I push my hands from his shoulders and palm his jaw as his stubble prickles against my fingers while my hands wander up to his hair. His hat falls to the ground with a thud and I know he’s just as lost in me as I am in him, because he doesn’t even make a move to pick it up. He lets out a deep grunt when I mold myself against his body, seeking some sort of friction. The next thing I know, my back is against the door and he’s gripping my bottom. His mouth hits my jaw with a bite of his teeth, making a squeak of pleasure shoot up my throat, and his deep rumble of laughter reaches my ears as he presses me harder into the door with his hips. The heavy bulge of his erection against that spot makes me so desperate for him that I whimper in relief when his mouth finally closes over mine in a wet tangle of tongues.

I’ve never been kissed so thoroughly.

This is the kind of kiss that sets the bar for any that might follow.

The kind that shows you everything you’ve been missing and everything you never knew you wanted. I’m going to be comparing every kiss I ever have to my dark cowboy’s, even though I know there’s a good chance no one will ever compare. The sounds coming from my mouth, the ones being swallowed by his, are nothing short of needy. My hips move in tandem with the thrusts of his, and even though we’re both fully clothed, I know it won’t take much more of this for me to go off like the town’s fireworks on the Fourth of July.

“Fuck, you taste just like apple pie,” he whispers against my lips, breaking away with a gasp.

“Huh?”

“Goddamn, I love apple pie,” he says before his mouth is back on mine, this time with a whole new kind of hunger deepening his kisses.

I’m held captive, enraptured. Then his hands move from my bottom to glide up my torso. He lifts his hard chest off mine and suddenly those delicious fingers are at my breasts. Even if I had big boobs his hands would dwarf them, I’m sure, but as it is he covers both with a firm grasp before adjusting his hold with a deft twist of the wrists. His mouth continues to feast on mine while his huge hands learn my body with slow movements. I tear my mouth from his with a breathy moan when he pushes my shirt up and slips his fingers into the cups of my bra to tweak my nipples.

“Oh, God,” I moan when he does it again.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he rumbles.

“Please,” I beg, not with the slightest clue as to what I’m begging for.

His hips dig even harder into mine as he leans back, supporting me against the door with that connection alone as he pulls my shirt off. The darkness makes me feel more confident than I normally would be, almost half naked with a man—no, a stranger.

“Yours too,” I tell him as his fingers move to unclasp my bra. “I want to feel your skin on mine,” I breathe, taking over the task so he’ll hopefully give me what I want.

I fumble in my haste to feel more of this dangerous arousal he’s creating in my body, but the second my bra is free and dangling toward the floor, his naked chest collides against mine, pushing me into the door with a force that sends the air rushing out of my lungs.

His mouth hits my collarbone at the same time his hands grasp my bottom, sliding me up the door until I feel the wet heat of his breath against my breast.

Then he stops.







Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn't writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand.

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