Sharp Shootin' Cowboy by Victoria Vane

TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT, COWBOY...

 

Weary warrior... After eight years as a Marine sniper, war-scarred Reid Everett is back in his native Wyoming. He knows and loves this rugged land, so working for wildlife services to reduce the booming wolf population suits him to a T.

 

Caring crusader... Wildlife biologist Haley Cooper is desperate to make a difference. Leaving the world of academia behind, she accepts a position as a wolf advocate to protect the animals she loves.

 

Raw attraction... Their jobs set them on a collision course, but chemistry sparks like wildfire between Reid and Haley. They'll have to brave some rough territory if they hope to reconcile their polarizing views with a passion that won't be denied.

 

Title: Sharp Shootin' Cowboy | Author: Victoria Vane | Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca | Release Date: June 2, 2015 | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: DNF

I’ve really enjoyed Victoria Vane’s Hot Cowboy Nights series up until now. Sharp Shootin’ Cowboy just did not work for me and I ended up stopping at 29%.

 

I really liked the hero. Reid was a sturdy sort and, honesty, he was the only reason this book wasn’t dropped from the very start. I thought if I would focus on Reid, I’d be able to finish the book, but that wasn’t the case.

 

The heroine was just too much for me. Really, if I wasn’t reading this on my Kindle, I so would have chucked the book against the wall. I just could not stand her. She was the type of heroine that if Reid said it was raining outside, Haley (although she was dripping wet) would say it was a dry, sunny day.

 

I truly loathed Haley from the start and she got worse as the book went on. I really should have stopped reading when Haley learned of a military assault where Reid was stationed then told Yolanda, her friend, ‘They knew what they were getting into, Yo.”… “It is war, and they volunteered for it.”

 

That just made me ill because I know what it feels like to have someone you care about stationed in a warzone.  I know what it feels like to see it on the news then wait frantically for an email or phone call to see if your loved one survived. So nothing turns me off of a novel faster than a person like Haley.

 

You know, I normally like a chalk and cheese relationship between the hero and heroine it adds to the chemistry but I think that Vane was trying way too hard to make conflict between Haley and Reid and in the end, Haley just came off as an annoying cow.

 

Overall, Haley just did not work for me. I’m not overly fond of characters that are antimilitary or hyped up activists. They just rub me the wrong way. The novel had potential but the heroine ruined it.

So, lovelies, what rubs you the wrong way in a book?