Cowboy Fever

February 7, 2011
Kennedy taps into the timeless, rugged appeal of cowboys with this moderately engaging romance. Former rodeo queen Jodi Brand returns home to Purvis, Wyo., to start a therapy riding clinic. One of the first people she runs into in town is Teague Treadwell, the "roughstock" boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who's now a very successful—and very sexy—rancher. Their mutual feelings quickly spark to life as Jodi tries to leave her glitzy rodeo queen persona behind and get people to take her seriously while Teague worries about controlling his temper and not turning into his abusive father. A drawn-out suspense subplot and annoying secondary character seriously undercut the main story, but western fans will enjoy Kennedy's take on the Wyoming landscape, beloved horses, and one tough cowboy.

April 1, 2011
In Kennedys third cowboy romance, Jodi Brand, who left her Podunk hometown in Wyoming to become a rodeo beauty queen, is back and trying to mend her relationship with her estranged mother. Jodis mother puts her to work in her glitzy, urban cowboystyle boutique, and makes Jodi promise to stay away from former bad boy Teague Treadwell, whos now a successful rodeo horse breeder. Jodi has never gotten over her youthful attraction to Teague, and much to her consternation, she finds that all this time later, the chemistry between them is still there, stronger than ever. Jodis torn between rebuilding a good relationship with her mother and disobeying her to spend time with Teague. To add to Jodis dilemma, she needs Teagues help to open a riding-therapy program for disabled youth. This steamy, emotion-filled story features fully dimensional characters, including personable horses and a goat rightly named Beelzebub. Perhaps the best part of this book is an excellent, sharply realistic, respectful depiction of a Down syndrome adult, in this case Teagues brother, Troy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)