Prim and proper Jessica Stanbridge is a brilliant woman who hides her beauty behind a pair of thick, wire-framed spectacles. She travels to the Wild West in search of historical artifacts, but instead finds an ornery—but gorgeous—cowboy who agrees to serve as her guide. Rory Burnett hides his passion in his secret poetry, but he can’t disguise his growing desire for the determined young beauty . . . or his fear that Jessica’s quest might lead her into deadly danger. As the spark of passion between them flares into an irresistible flame beneath the sizzling kiss of the desert sun, Rory and Jessica must decide if the promises of the past are going to lead them to destruction . . . or to a future in each other’s arms .
This was a decent story with some interesting characters. The premise was a little unique to what I usually read, which helped. I’m not sure if I’ll read another from this author though.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I enjoyed this book. I liked but didn't love it.
I loved the way the author brought the scenery to life and made me feel like I was there in Colorado in the 1800's.
I enjoyed the characters, however, part way through the book the female lead makes a decision that seems very unlike her character and kind of lost me from that point in the story.

Good romantic story. I bet slow, but good plot. I enjoyed the characters.

I thought this would be a great book. I mean Cowboys has w could it be bad. It was sent bad but it wasn’t great It was slow. It was at parts not believable as the characters choices seemed not consistent.

What a great way to have a fantastic story. While reading I had pictures running through my mind like I was personally involved in the story. I absolutely adored the plot the characters and they way this author writes! At first I was very skeptical regarding putting two such diverse characters together but this author not only did the unthinkable but pulled it off where it seemed totally normal! I must say buy buy buy it is a great story! I was given this book in return for an honest review.
Anna Swedenmom

Account of a paleontologist and a cowboy is an interesting theme but just didn't hit the mark for me. Not quite adventurous enough for being a story about adventure.

I absolutely loved this book! From the very first page I was transported to the wide open mesa of southwestern Colorado and delighted by the intelligence, guts and gumption of our spirited and somewhat snobby heroine, Jessica Stanbridge. Jess has spent her whole life at her father's side studying his notes, charts and journals and cataloging his vast collection of specimens in the basement of Harvard Museum. Now she's bound and determined to honor her father while making a name for herself in a scientific field that is dominated by men. When tall, dark and handsome cattle rancher Rory Burnett agrees to provide Jess, and her elderly companion Myra, with a guide and some much needed muscle he assigns young cowhand Whitey to watch over the women hoping to keep them out of trouble and off the Ute Indian reservation. I loved all of the characters including Myra, who serves as a mother figure to Jess and the crusty bachelor cowpokes who make up Rory's unconventional family but, of course, my favorites are hero and heroine Rory and Jess. From the very beginning it was love at first sight but their hearts were hidden behind his snark and her sass. He's a man of his word and she refuses to take orders which leads to sassy and argumentative verbal jousting that simmers with sexual tension and a passion that will consume them both in its fury. The author drew me into the story with her colorful descriptions of local flora and fauna that made it easy to visualize the splendor of the mesa and the high plateau of sandstone and clay that hold the precious artifacts Jess is searching for. Her descriptions of the tools, maps and techniques of early paleontology were absolutely fascinating to me. This book is a wonderful journey filled with discovery, passion and danger that threatens everything these characters hold dear. It kept me absolutely mesmerized from beginning to end. I read a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

This was a delightful book to read as the characters were unique and well developed. The romance was only one part of the plot which had the paleontologist , a newcomer to the territory , learning about the setting and the culture of historical American West..