I fall somewhere between three and four stars in my feelings about this novel, but perhaps closer to three than four. When Laramie Bowman’s older brother is injured in a rodeo, she takes up a position to set up and run a ranch for a wealthy Russian John Wayne fan. It seems a good way to help pay the medical bills even though it means being in a country where homosexuality is illegal. Anastasia Petrova takes the job as the translator for the foreign ranchers because she’s been fired from most of her jobs for insisting on being out and proud and desperately needs the money.

The setting is very appealing and I think this is the first romance I’ve read set in Russia, which has loads of tension inherent by virtue of the laws. Unfortunately though, it wasn’t much of a romance until quite late in the story. There is a stronger emphasis on Laramie having to deal with the existing foreman and farm hands in relation to the cultural divide than there is on the attraction Laramie and Anastasia feel for each other.

The focus on farming also meant that there wasn’t enough exchanging of personal information between Laramie and Anastasia to have a full understanding of them and their pasts. Anastasia’s past could have been an incredibly powerful theme but it was glossed over in generalisations. So while I enjoyed the writing and the setting, I felt let down by the lack of tension and romance.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.