Former rodeo star June Grayson has hit rock bottom, so she heads home to Last Stand, Texas, and lands a job at the Three Sisters Ranch until she gets back on her feet. Restless and searching for her new normal, June’s determined not to get hurt again, but a sexy cowboy both calls to her wild side and soothes her need to run.

To Esteban Lopez, the Three Sisters Ranch is more than a job. He’s worked hard to help the ranch thrive and in return, it has helped him support his family. But when his brother is passed over for a job in favor of a rodeo hotshot—who is also a lifelong crush of his—Esteban struggles with mixed emotions. His attraction makes him feel like a traitor, but he’s never mixed work and play.

One unforgettable night, June and Esteban blur the boundaries, and they’re not sure how to redraw them. She’s only in town temporarily, but he can’t shake the feeling that when she leaves, she’ll take a chunk of his heart with her.

Titles in the Three Sisters Ranch series include – The Cowboy’s Daughter  —♥— The Cowboy’s Hunt —♥— The Cowboy’s Heart —♥— A Cowboy for April —♥— A Cowboy for June —♥— A Cowboy for Merry —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

(This series is part of the Last Stand, Texas group of connecting series. Think Marietta, Montana– Tule Publishing’s other large set of somewhat connecting series set in a fictional town. Our Last Stand, Texas page can be found here.)

Title:  A Cowboy for June
Series:  Three Sisters Ranch #5
Author:  Jamie K. Schmidt
Genre:  Modern Western Romance
Published:  September 9, 2021
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

A Cowboy for June is the fifth title in the Three Sisters Ranch series, and perhaps June is my favorite of the “wild Grayson sisters” – we haven’t had Merry’s story yet, but for now, June takes top billing for her story, the depth of the issues surrounding her, and of course, the sizzling chemistry she shares with Esteban.  With a beginning that was guaranteed to draw me in and keep me hooked throughout, Esteban and June are a powerful couple with a lot to deal with going on around them as they work their way to their own happy ending future.

June is a wild child, there’s not a doubt about that in my mind.  Yet, over the course of her story, I began to wonder just how much was the real June and how much was manufactured to fit an image that she’d gained on the rodeo.  I’ll let you decide that for yourself.  But I liked her and enjoyed watching her deal with those who would discredit her, her growing love for Esteban, and the ways that her experience has changed her.  She’ll never pick up a drink again (or so she tells herself) after blacking out, ending up in rehab, and being ousted from the sport she loves beyond anything else in her life.  There are too many questions about that night that simply don’t add up, and going along with June on that discovery will lead to some twists and turns that will blindside you at times.

I adored Esteban.  He’s a sexy, hard-working cowboy who has enough on his plate to start with, loves his family, and finds a chance to connect with a woman he’s crushed on for years.  June isn’t what her reputation paints her as, at least in his opinion.  But when she gets the job his brother was promised, well, that complicates his life for he’s starting to have deep, forever kind of feelings for this fireball of a woman.

I enjoyed A Cowboy for June so much.  Two people who are in some ways as opposite as you can get in personalities find a way to connect on a deeper, lifelong commitment… eventually.  The villains in this story are vile in a different way and I so want to see them get what they deserve for their actions. Esteban and June work, even when it seems they are far too different.  I loved their bantering, the bringing out something in each other that surprises them, and finding a love that fits them perfectly.  Now the wait for Merry’s story.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

**This review first appeared on my Keeper Bookshelf website and has been slightly updated from its original September 2021 posting.**

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