Wind River Wrangler by Lindsay McKenna: Review

Posted October 25, 2016 in review Tags: ex military

Wind River Wrangler by Lindsay McKenna
Pages: 384

Series: Wind River Valley #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance

WIND RIVER VALLEY First in a new series by the author of Night Hawk and Out Rider Still waters run deep . . . From the moment Roan Taggart picked up the pretty redhead at the Jackson Hole airport, his training and experience told him she was spooked. She’s left New York City to visit the Wind River Ranch, where Roan is a wrangler, and just as he can pick up a horse’s mood, he can feel the tension coming off her body. And that vulnerability is triggering all his protective instincts... Shiloh Gallagher likes the gray-eyed cowboy’s dry humor—and the Special Forces background that lends him a stoic, powerful presence. But she’s been scarred by trauma and her mother’s murder . . . and knows a strong man can be dangerous. She came to wide-open Wyoming to flee a threat that’s left her unable to write her novels. Now, as she rides horses with Roan and helps him build an isolated cabin, she’s slowly letting down her guard. But danger has followed her west, and they won’t have a future together unless they defeat a killer from her past…

Wind River Wrangler is my first Lindsay McKenna book! I was drawn right away to the premise. First, the heroine, Shiloh, is a romance author. LOVE IT! She is leaving NYC because of a stalker. The police there have not taken her seriously and she has become a recluse and unable to write. She is hoping a trip to visit a friend of her mothers might help her. Enter our hero, Roan, a wrangler at the ranch.

Wind River Wrangler is part good, ole contemporary romance and part romantic suspense. The added tension with the stalker is what really drew my attention to this book. I love a good romantic suspense! I also enjoyed the slow burn between Roan and Shiloh. Both are likable characters that you feel for instantly.

It was pretty obvious to me who the stalker might be, and I was a little surprised it wasn’t more obvious to Shiloh. Since the story is told in 3rd person, you do get a little view from this persons POV which is always interesting to me. I love to get in the head of the bad guys!

So, what didn’t work? Even with the stalker and such, the book felt slow. And sometimes the wording was choppy and kind of awkward. Now, maybe others won’t find it awkward. But, when an author describes a woman’s clit as her ‘pearl’ I start to get weirded out. If you are going to write sex scenes, write them. If you aren’t comfortable using those words, I would rather it be a fade to black scene. But, maybe thats just me.

If you are a fan of contemporary romance with some suspense, this is a great pick. Its got that slow burn feel to it as well! Wind River Wrangler is perfect for fans of RC Ryan’s Malloys series.

POV: 3rd
Tears: no
Trope: on the run, mortal peril
Triggers: View Spoiler »spoiler « Hide Spoiler
Series/Standalone: standalone
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »no « Hide Spoiler
HEA: View Spoiler »yes; no epilogue « Hide Spoiler

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Matt by RC Ryan, Her Renegade Rancher by Jennifer Ryan, Ultimate Courage by Piper J Drake…then you will probably like Wind River Wrangler!

Wind River Wrangler

Books 2 and 3 will release in late 2016 and early 2017!

About Lindsay McKenna

From Lindsay McKenna:

I've lived six lives in one and it all shows up in the books I write, one way or another.

I was always a risk taker and broke mustangs at thirteen years old in Oregon. I learn to break them with love, not threat or pain.

At 17 years old, I picked night-crawlers (worms) out in our Oregon orchards from 9pm to midnight, every night. I earned enough money to buy my school clothes and book. I also plunked down $600 to a flight company at the Medford, Oregon airport and asked them to teach me...a girl...to fly. I soloed in 12 hours, which is average. From that time until I left for the US Navy at 18, I had accrued 39 hours of flight time in my Cessna 150 single engine airplane.

I was in the US military and was an AG3 (weather forecaster). There was no airplane club, so I couldn't fly when I was in the Navy. But I could look at the clouds in the sky ;-).

Later, I flew in a B-52 bomber for a day and night mission (18 hours total), a T-38 Talon jet, USAF, where I was riding in a "chase plane" on a test flight in a Dragonfly jet.

I was one of the first AFLA (American Fencing League of America) women fencers to fence with epee and sabre. These weapons were closed to women because they were too 'heavy' for a female to handle. I said baloney and fought the males and won half my bouts. I was part of a surge of women fencers on the East Coast in the 1970's to push for equality in the sport. Together, we changed the sport and changed the mind of the men. Today? In the Olympics? Women now fence in foil, epee and sabre, thanks to what we did as a vanguard showing the world it could be done.

I then became a volunteer firefighter when I was a civilian once more, the first woman in an all - male fire department in West Point, Ohio for three years. I became a local expert not only in firefighting, driving the engine and tanker trunks, but also had training in hazardous material (Reynoldsburg Fire Academy, Columbus, OH).

My books always reflect what I experienced. If you like edgy, gritty, deeply and emotionally intense love stories with sympathetic heroes and heroines, check out my newest series that will be available mid-Oct. 2015, and it incorporates much of what I have lived.

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Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

I’ve never read anything by Lindsay McKenna but I know she’s been writing for ages and has a huge back list. Honestly, I’m not particularly drawn to books with a western/ranch setting. But the synopsis is interesting. And even with the slower pace, I like the sound of Roan and Shiloh. The euphemisms, though… yeah, some are okay but a “pearl?” *Groan* I agree that if you’re not comfortable just calling it what it is, do the fade to black and be done with it. Do you think you’ll continue with this series?

October 25, 2016, 10:16 am

Leona

Ah! I so get you when you’re talking about the sex scenes! There has been many a book where the sex scene or love scene felt super awkward because words were being used or things were being done that didn’t fit the characters in the least. Just off the awkwardness that you found within the story I’ll have to pass on this one, which sucks because I’ve been on the lookout for some good cowboy stories.

October 27, 2016, 12:16 am