Review of Falling For A Smart Cowboy by Karen Baney

 

 

Book Details:

Book Title: Falling for a Smart Cowboy (Vargas Ranch Book 4) by Karen Baney
Category:  Adult Fiction 18+, 208 pages
Genre: Christian Western Romance
Publisher:  Desert Life Media
Release date:  June 25, 2024
Content Rating:  G. Brief mention of kissing. No bad language. No sex of any kind.

Book Description:

She’s on a mission to bring orphaned children hope. He wants off his family’s ranch for good. Will they survive his shocking family secrets?

Devon Vargas longs to be more than just a cowboy. After finishing his teaching degree, he plans to leave his family’s guest ranch for good. Between his growing affection for the new children’s program director and a huge family secret revealed, he second guesses everything about his life.

Raina Crawford lost her parents at a young age. Through the grace of God, she survived life in the foster system. She desperately wants to bring children the life-changing faith that gave her hope. The job at Vargas Ranch was supposed to be a steppingstone. Except she’s losing her heart to the smart, ambitious cowboy bent on leaving his family’s ranch—and her—behind.

Will Raina finally find the family she’s always wanted? Will family secrets unravel his new dreams? Will those same secrets tear them apart?

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Meet the Author:

Karen Baney is passionate about writing stories full of flawed characters. She enjoys weaving together stories of second chances, redemption, and overcoming personal trials. As a transplant to Arizona, she loves researching the state’s history and finding ways to seamlessly incorporate real history and real settings into her novels. In addition to writing and speaking, Karen works as a Software Development Manager for a Christian ministry.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband, Jim, make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs, Bella and Daisy. Both Jim and Karen are active at Rock Point Church in Queen Creek, Arizona.

Visit Karen on the web at: www.karenbaney.com

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Author Interview with Karen Baney

Thanks so much for hosting me and my new release.

There are many books out there featuring cowboys and ranches. What makes yours different?

I love writing stories about large families. My extended family is huge since my mom was the youngest of eight children. That’s why most of my series include large families. Plus large families bring a lot of personal drama to a story. Also, all my novels (to date) are set in Arizona, my home state and an often-overlooked setting for western cowboy novels. I’ve lived here for twenty-seven years now and love including snippets of real Arizona living and settings in my novels, from monsoon storms to the oppressive summer heat. 😊

In your book you make a reference to a mission trip in Guatemala. How did you come up with this idea?

The idea for a mission trip was inspired by one of my co-workers at the Christian ministry I work for. He was telling me about his mission trip to Ecuador a few years ago. That idea morphed when I modeled Devon’s mission trip after a ministry dear to me, KidzAtHeart. They train missionaries how to reach children all over the world for Christ. I also watched several YouTube videos of actual missionaries to South America which inspired Devon’s health issue in the novel.

 

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

Funny you asked. Not on paper, but on my ReMarkable 2 which is an e-ink handwritten notebook. I hand wrote the outline for the entire Vargas Ranch Series on it before buying a keyboard attachment. Lately, I’ve been editing and sometimes typing new scenes on it. My favorite part of working on the ReMarkable, is that it has no browser or email or social media. I am able to concentrate on the story instead of getting distracted by notifications.

 

What is your next project?

A Christmas novel! I’m busy writing Drake Vargas’s story in Falling for a Humbug Cowboy, Book 5 in the Vargas Ranch Series. I’ve paired my humbug cowboy up with “a Christmas sprite elf” full of holiday cheer. It’s a lot of fun writing this sequel, but also challenging to write a Christmas story when it’s 108 outside in Arizona.

What is something you like to do for fun?

Painting. When I first graduated from high school, I attended art school for a year before deciding not to make fine arts my career. I’ve always loved drawing and painting. Though I go through long periods of time without painting, I enjoy it when I can. For our 24^th anniversary, my husband took me to one of those drink wine and painting places. It was the best!

 

My Review

The storyline is an exciting one and one of forgiveness and inspiration. I immediately connected with the main characters with compassion for Raina and Devon. They each had past hurts to recover from. The budding love between them was sweet but not without its troubles. They would have to learn to lean on God for healing.

The descriptions of the ranch and other areas made me feel like I was there. The ending wrapped up everything nicely. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy from the author, but a positive review is not required. All opinions are my own.

Enter the Giveaway:

FALLING FOR A SMART COWBOY by Karen Baney Book Tour Giveaway