The Trouble with Cowboys by Melissa Cutler

When I first read the description on the back of the book and I read the first part of the book when Amy & Kellan hook up almost immediately, I thought this book would be simply a fun, flirty, sexy bit of brain candy - lots of fun but not much substance. However, the story turned out to be heavy on substance. The three Sorentino sisters – Amy, Rachel, and Jenna – have not had an easy time for most of their lives. Their father was perhaps not a totally black hearted villain, but a man who played fast and loose with his family’s money and was careless with the safety and security of his wife and daughters. Their mother has a myriad of health issues, both mental and physical. Rachel stayed close to home and tried to work the land and take care of her family that way. Jenna had a somewhat wild youth, having a baby boy early in life, but changing her wild ways after embracing motherhood. Amy chose to run away as soon as she could. She honed her skills as a chef and eventually was cast, and became a finalist on the cooking reality show Ultimate Chef Showdown. Amy’s one vice is cowboys. She sees a good looking cowboy and she gets all hot and bothered. While on the show, she fell for the machinations of fellow contestant & all around jerk Cowboy Brock McKenna. Unfortunately for Amy, it was in the midst of the pressure of the reality show and her relationship with Brock that she found out about her father’s sudden death and her mother’s ill health. These things created the perfect storm and she went on a hysterical tirade and was humiliated on national television. She has come back to the family home at Catcher Creek to help take care of their mother, lick her wounds, and earn money turning the old homestead into a successful inn and café.  For me, this story is all about the characters and the layered relationships that they all have. It’s the characters that make this story so powerful. Kellan is more than just a sexy guy Amy sees in a cowboy hat. He’s not even a real cowboy. He comes from a severely damaged home life. His father was a criminal and a druggie always in and out of jail. His mother is also a drug user. At a young age he and his younger brother Jake were put into foster care. When Jake got out & grew up he was bitter about how things worked out with his family but became a good cop. Kellan went looking for the rich part of his family with a chip on his shoulder. What he found was a very shady uncle. Eventually Kellan made it on his own and has a successful ranch and helps out his community. A lot of the conflict in this book comes from Kellan’s family associations and how that is connected to the problems going on with Amy’s family. I liked Amy & Kellan and thought they were both two very good people. I was happy with how Amy’s family troubles resolved at the end. I look forward to reading more stories about Amy’s sisters and Jake. I’m kinda hoping that somehow Jake & Jenna hook up.