To Tame a Cowboy - Review

To Tame a Cowboy (Colorado Cowboys, # 3)

By: Jody Hedlund

Publication: May 3rd 2022 by Bethany House Publishers

368 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Brody McQuaid is a broken man, and he knows it. While his body survived the war, his soul did not. Besides loving his little niece, his only other sense of purpose comes from saving the wild horses that roam South Park. Ranchers in the area have taken to killing the horses, which are competing with their cattle to feed on the open grass.

Savannah Marshall is a veterinarian on her family's Colorado ranch. She longs to keep her father happy following the tragic death of her older brother, including marrying a man of his choosing. But days before her wedding, she gets cold feet and disappears to South Park. As she learns more about the destruction of the horses, she joins Brody in an attempt to save the wild creatures. But when Savannah's family and the resentments of the area cattlemen catch up with them both, Brody and Savannah will have to tame their fears if they've any hope to let love run free.

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy Brody's story or not. His character isn't in a good place when The Heart of a Cowboy ends. But a few years have passed and while Brody still isn't in the best place, things are better than they were at the end of the previous book. Jody Hedlund's choice to begin the book where she does help a ton because I was nearly immediately sucked into this story.

Savannah fled her home days before her wedding was to take place to a man she doesn't love. When Brody stops a fellow rancher from beating a wild mustang, Savannah jumps in to help the horse. She talks Brady and Flinn into taking her on as a temporary veterinarian on their ranch. Flynn agrees because he sees Brody's reaction to Savannah.

Brody has an almost instant connection and attraction to Savannah. I like how Jody Hedlund writes Christian stories, but she doesn't ignore the fact that very real physical things, desires, temptations, etc happen between couples that are attracted to one another. Savannah, Flora (Flynn and Linnea's daughter), and the wild mustangs are the only things that seem to bring Brody to life after the war.

I loved that Ivy was an active character in To Tame a Cowboy because she's so brash. She's young and has a lot to learn. I can't wait to read her story next.

I have to say that I was a little frustrated with how long it took Savannah to decide how to address her father's wishes for her. Regardless, I loved these two and their story.

Favorite quotes:

-"You're fighting demons with your fists, but from what I've seen, no one ever wins a battle with fists or strong drink or even ignoring the hurts."

-"This week, watching you tame that stallion, I couldn't help but notice that you have the most patience for the wildest of creatures. Maybe God has the most patience with the wildest of us too."

She’d grown to admire Hades’s resilience, strength, and perseverance. He cared about his band, his mares and foals, and led them with dignity. And now he glanced in their direction. He nodded, as though communicating with them. Did he know they’d chased him only because they wanted to save his life? Did he realize the fear of the past couple of days would lead to his freedom? Maybe he’d never understand what they’d done, but she liked to think he was thanking them for their efforts anyway. Was that the way God was with His children? Did He drive them through difficulties, up steep mountains, because He cared and was leading them to better pastures? Even when they didn’t understand what He was doing, maybe He was asking them to thank Him regardless.

-"...wounds might shape us, but they can't determine who we are."

-...sometimes loving people meant letting them go through their difficulties instead of providing a way for them to escape.

I particularly liked the messages about Brody's struggles and what it took to bring him back to a relationship with God. I also loved Brody and Savannah's relationship growth. I'm looking forward to Ivy's story to come next. And honestly, there wasn't much I didn't enjoy about To Tame a Cowboy which means it gets 4 Stars. Have you read To Tame a Cowboy? What did you think? Let me know!