Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves (Rainbow Valley #1)
Contemporary Romance
April 30, 2013
Forever

Reviewed by Helyce

Shannon North is the new Director of the Rainbow Valley Animal Shelter. She loves the animals and makes it her priority to keep them happy, healthy and to find them good homes. But like all non-profits, it’s a continuous fight for donations to keep the animals fed and to stay in the black. She’s a bit overworked and she’s thinking that maybe she wasn’t the best person for this job after all. She needs help, but she certainly didn’t expect that help to come in the form of Luke Dawson.

Luke Dawson never intended to return to Rainbow Valley, but when his father dies, he makes the trip home if only to confirm the man’s death. Luke was quite the delinquent in his teenage years and when he left town he knows he was not missed at all. His plan is to be there for just long enough to bury his father, sell off the land, and get back on the road to the next rodeo where he is a bull rider in line for a world championship title.

When circumstances keep Luke in Rainbow Valley, he applies for the caretaker position at the animal shelter. Shannon and Luke have some history and she doesn’t want to hire Luke, but seeing as no one else has applied for the job, and he really needs a place to stay, she gives in. It’s not long before those old teenage desires resurface, but no matter how much time has passed, they still have to deal with small town prejudices.

This is my first novel by Jane Graves. I liked the premise of second chance love for Shannon and Luke, even though the trope of rich girl and bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks is a bit over done in my opinion. It ended up working for me because of Luke-his character’s strength after his horrific childhood was simply front and center and carried me through this book.

The book started off a bit slow for me as we meet characters and get the set up. Luke comes home for his father’s funeral and while it’s very clear that Luke would like to be anywhere else but in Rainbow Valley, it’s the first hint we see of the man he became in spite of the fact that his father was really no father at all. Abuse is hinted at but no details are given. Also hinted at is that there was some prior relationship or issue between Luke and Shannon as teenagers; something unfinished for them both and full of misconceptions and misunderstandings.

Once Luke is settled into the caretaker position at the shelter, things start to move a little as the attraction begins to rekindle. Shannon starts to see a totally different side of Luke. She remembers the boy he was and she can see parts of him there, but as time goes on those parts start to fall way and she sees the man he became. For Luke, there is definitely an attraction there, but his goal of making it to the bull rider championship is never far from his thoughts and he makes it clear that his time in Rainbow Valley is short and he will be moving on.

I loved how the author portrayed Luke as an adult by showing a various sides of him in such a positive way even before we learn how horrific his childhood actually was. Some of the scenes are emotional and brought me to tears; the writing real and heartfelt in every way. I loved how he slowly began to win over one of the townspeople, Myrna, whose store he had shoplifted from and painted graffiti on as a teenager. I loved the moments where Shannon secretly watched Luke with the animals and we see another side of him, a softer, vulnerable Luke and not the hardened cowboy persona he wanted people to see.

I didn’t quite warm up to Shannon as I didn’t feel she had changed much from the teenaged Shannon to adult Shannon. She still worried too much about what people thought and was still trying to live up to her mother’s expectation at age 29. In fact, we don’t see her take charge of her life till it’s almost too late to make a difference.

Just as I was getting used to the slow buildup and was engaged and invested in the characters, though, the author changed gears and blew through the conflict, resolution and HEA in a matter of pages. What I really missed was experiencing in more detail the whole bull rider championship part from Luke’s perspective. Time is spent explaining what Luke did after he left Rainbow Valley and the years he was on the rodeo circuit, moving up the ranks, getting into position to qualify for the championship. I felt this was a huge part of Luke’s life and an important aspect of the story, but we get a page and a half and then the book ends. After everything that happened, all the buildup, this was a very unsatisfying end.

Once I fell into the rhythm of this story, I did enjoy the author’s writing style. For those of you who are curious, the smexy factor is very low-a couple of smexy scenes very short and non-descriptive. While the ending was much too abrupt and rushed for me, I liked everything up to that point. I enjoyed some of the secondary characters as well, especially Eve, Shannon’s very colorful sister. And of course, there was Luke, who totally made the book for me.

Rating: C+

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