Unbroken Cowboy

Yates’s superb latest Gold Valley contemporary (after A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas) entices with a charged, intense romance between a veterinary assistant and a former rodeo bull rider. Bea Leighton loves caring for animals at her home as well as at her job at the Gold Valley Veterinary Clinic in Gold Valley, Ore. For much of her life, Bea has been in love with Dane Parker, whose sister, Lindy, is divorced from Bea’s brother, Damien. Bea lives in a cabin on the property of the Grassroots Winery and Dane lives in the main house recuperating from bull-riding injuries sustained eight months prior; Lindy helps run the winery but lives with her new husband, Wyatt Dodge, at his dude ranch. As Bea helps care for Dane and bluntly tells him to look toward the future, he starts to see her in a new light and is surprised that he no longer views her as a little sister. Dane assists and supports Bea’s efforts to start an animal sanctuary on the property as he realizes that he is attracted to both her striking beauty and her caring nature. Multidimensional and genuine characters are the highlight of this alluring novel, and sensual love scenes complete it. Yates’s fans and anyone who enjoys contemporary western romances will savor this delectable story. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Apr.)