Book: Falling for a Smart Cowboy (Vargas Ranch Book 4)
Author: Karen Baney
Genre: Contemporary Christian Cowboy Romance
Release date: June 25, 2024
About the Book:
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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Review:
A heartwarming romance, with likable and compelling characters.
Devon Vargas is looking at a future beyond the Vargas Ranch, when he discovers a secret that rocks his foundation. He enjoys working with kids and is pursuing a job in teaching. Raina grew up in foster care, and is passionate about advocating for children. I liked how Devon and Raina bonded over their passion for helping children, and shared faith. Devon and Raina both struggled through things, but were there for each other throughout. I really liked Devon's parents and how they supported him in trying a new career.
I liked that Raina was passionate about helping children, she and Devon were a good team. This was a great addition to the series, and I liked learning more about the fabric of the Vargas family and their history.
Overall, a wonderful addition to the series with strong faith, great interaction, and compelling characters. A highly enjoyable read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
About 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.
More from Karen
Big Family Drama
I love writing big family drama in my novels! It provides such great material for the relationship between characters.
Part of this comes from my family’s drama. My mom was the youngest of eight kids, making my extended family huge. I remember going to the Independence Day family reunions as a kid. It was both fun and a little intimidating. Most of my cousins were adults by the time I was a tweener. So, my siblings and I tended to hangout with my “oops!” cousin since we were only a few years apart.
And boy, did we have drama! There was the aunt who seemed to be offended and left early year. Someone always ended up injured, but only once do I remember an ambulance showing up. There were cliques and turf wars and so much more.
As an adult, though I’ve rarely been able to fly clear across the country to see my extended family, the drama of my husband’s big family serves as inspiration too. He is the oldest of five kids. My first introduction to his large family was at his sister’s wedding. I had no idea what I was getting into. We’d only been dating for about six weeks. Everyone kept pushing me to join the family photos, and I kept trying to gracefully get out of the pictures. I didn’t want him to regret having me in the pictures if we broke up. In the end, my hubby and I outlasted that marriage.
In Falling for a Smart Cowboy, I introduce a new character to the series, Raina Crawford. She was orphaned as a young girl and has longed for a forever family, even into adulthood. Devon Vargas, the fourth out of five sons, learns a family secret that makes him want to avoid his large family. I loved writing this juxtaposition between Raina and Devon over family relationships. It helps each of them see a new perspective. It was also fun writing new friendships for Raina—even if all the friendships tied to Devon’s family. My experience with both my family and being a newbie to my husband’s family provided inspiration for both Raina’s and Devon’s characters.
If you like big family drama, the Vargas Ranch Series provides it in spades. Enjoy!
Blog Stops
Stories By Gina, November 20 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, November 21
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 22
Guild Master, November 23 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, November 23
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 24
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 25
Denise L. Barela, November 26 (Author Interview)
Devoted To Hope, November 27
Artistic Nobody, November 28 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Simple Harvest Reads, November 29
For Him and My Family, November 30
Fiction Book Lover, December 1 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 1
Labor Not in Vain, December 2
Back Porch Reads, December 3 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54103
