This single chapter excerpt is chapter one in the book, and to be honest, it's hard to get a good feel for the characters with so little to go on. I will say that what I read is well written and the chapter does leave the reader hanging. I'm just not sure I would say it left me curious enough about these characters to continue. Yes, if I had the whole book in my hands, I would continue on, but what I read in this excerpt really wasn't enough for me to search out the book for purchase.

So things did not go according to plan because instead of reading 100 pages and moving on to another book, I couldn't put this one down! Between everything going on with Evie (the loss, the assault, the amnesia, oh my), Zach taking the utmost advantage (in the best way possible) of his second chance, and getting to know the Pleasant family - I was utterly engrossed and captivated. Plus, the scandal of Evie's accident, getting to know this family that is rife with Hollywood AND cowboy royalty, following the life of a chef, and all the fun, witty, and real banter between all of the characters, AND Leona... I can not wait to read the rest of this series! I need HEAs for EVERYONE: big brother Jesse, little brother Sam, cousin Lilah (I so need more tea about what went down with her parents), goddaughter Corie, and even nurse Vega - I need Rebekah Weatherspoon to give me all the stories! This was a delicious slow burn with the perfect amount of tension and emotion to keep me gripped. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.

I’ve been salivating over A Cowboy to Remember for months. The actual story was quieter than I expected, but it also had feminist cowboys in Southern California, so I can’t be mad. As a regular fan of Weatherspoon, the tone of A Cowboy to Remember felt flatter than the cheeky dialogue of her recent books (Rafe, Xeni). I wanted more angst and laughs, but the book left me with the warm glow of having just finished a smart but not stellar romance.

Full review at: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/a-cowboy-to-remember-by-rebekah-weatherspoon/

Sorry this one I did not finish - I was not impressed when she lost her memory how the story went from there - sorry

I absolutely loved this book. It is a fantastic read that I just didn't want to put down at all.

I don't think I have ever read anything by Rebekah Weatherspoon before but this book will not be the last by this author that I will be reading.

I received a "preview" of this book (the first chapter) via Netgalley; subsequently purchased the full book.

2.5 It was great to see a Black cowboy on the cover, and featured as a protagonist, in Rebekah Weatherspoon's new series. Years ago, Zach Pleasant and Yvonne (Evie) Buchanan (along with Zach's older brother Jesse) grew up together on the Pleasant family's California ranch. Evie (who, like Zach
and his family, is Black) long had a crush on extravert flirt Zach, but Evie's grandmother warned Zach to steer clear, and so Zach never admitted he shared her feelings. The two had a major argument over it (the details of which we aren't privy to) and Evie left, angry, to attend cooking school in Paris.

Flash forward ten years, and Evie is a successful NYC television chef, launched by her win on <i>Supreme Chef</i> (the first Black woman to do so). Evie hasn't seen, or even talked, to Zach in all this time. The novel opens at a party for the show, where a competitor female white chef pushes Evie down the back stairs, which results in a case of romance novel amnesia for Evie. Since Evie's family is all dead, she's listed Jesse as the one to contact in case of emergency; once Jesse hears of her accident (Evie doeesn't remember being pushed), he and Zach rush to NYC, where Zach starts flirting with Evie almost immediately. And since Evie doesn't recall their big fight (or even her past romantic feelings) for Zach, she's open to flirting back, especially once all three return to Big Rock Ranch so that Evie has some time to rest and recuperate.

There's very little tension in the relationship between Evie and Zach, which made for a not-all-that-compelling romance. Fairly early in the book, Evie (even though she has amnesia) says she's interested in sleeping with him, and is just waiting for the doctor to give her an all-clear for sex before she does. And Zach is more than willing too, despite making no effort to fix his previous relationship with Evie. And then they do, and life at the ranch goes on. Nothing really changes or grows in their relationship until Evie's memory returns late in the story, and she remembers the substance of their final argument. Only after this does Zach (with some help from his female cousin) realize what he did wrong before, and learns how not to "fuck up" his relationship with Evie all over again. This last section, which focuses more tightly on Zach and Evie, was the most enjoyable part of the story for me (with the exception of the lovely nutmeg rediscovery scene!)

The focus in this book is more about family dynamics than about life on a ranch (the ranch in question is a luxury resort, not the gritty hard work-type ranch of typical white cowboy novels), or about romance. We meet lots of sequel-bait characters: bad-with-the-ladies older brother Jesse; Evie's roommate Blaire; Pleasant matriarch Miss Leona; Miss Leona's goddaughter Corie; Pleasant cousin Lilah; Evie's nurse Vega; youngest Pleasant brother Sam, an actor like his grandmother. The narrative suggests that some of the minor characters, and even perhaps some of the above-mentioned family members, are queer. The warm family interactions here are the main draw here, not ranching or a strong connection to the land, as is so often the case in conservative white cowboy romances.

This may not bother other readers, but the writing here tripped me up on many occasions, popping me out of the story because I had to work to figure out just what the narrative was saying or because the writing was stylistically clunky (misplaced modifiers, vague pronoun references, repeating words in the same sentence, etc.). When I'm reading for fun, I don't want to have to work! I was also very confused by the opening chapter; the the narrative introduces or mentions 21(!) named characters, and my head was spinning trying to remember who was who, and how they all related to Evie.

Evie as a character is enjoyable, strong and outspoken even while vulnerable because of her injury. It's lovely to see her learning to cook all over again from the matriarch Miss Leona (even though those scenes aren't at all focused on the romance). Zach seems more of an empty character, an idealized smooth-talking charmer without much of his own distinct personality, although the few scenes in the first 2/3 of the book in which Evie and Zach are alone together and bantering are a lot of fun.

I tend to either love or hate the amnesia trope. I’m always intrigued when authors play with the importance of memory, but sometimes the tense imbalance between the characters who remember and the characters who forget twists my breath a little too tightly and suffocates my pleasure in the story.
We have none of that happening here, thankfully. Weatherspoon has gifted us a profoundly thorough take on what’s usually a hand-wavey premise: Evie has forgotten *everything*, not just what’s narratively convenient—she doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror, doesn’t remember in-jokes with her best friend, doesn’t remember how to cook even though the day before her fall she was an award-winning tv celebrity chef. She’s also dealing with the physical fallout of her injury: exhaustion, disorientation, live-in care, the need for new hairstyles, and the scar on her scalp. Things which normally get glossed over as Not Romantic, but which are such powerful ways to explore a character in three dimensions.
Oh yes, and her agent’s pretty sure someone tried to murder her. In case you think Weatherspoon can’t blend emotional subtlety with high-stakes external conflict.
About the only thing Evie does have left is flashes of memory of a gorgeous Black man—who turns out to be Zach Pleasant, one of three brothers who own the California ranch where Evie grew up, and the nearest thing to family she has left. Zach and Evie have A History, and weren’t on speaking terms when she had her accident—he tells her immediately that things between them are strained, and why, but to the reader it is abundantly clear that there is more to their history than Zach realizes. He’s trying to be honest, but how can he be honest with Evie when he hasn’t been honest with himself yet?
Reader, I *adored* this conflict.
I adored this world. There’s so much *there* there: so many hooks for the feelings, so much potential. You have to love it when a series starts out this strong.

I have been eyeing this book for months. The cover is great and it has amnesia as a plot point and is a loose Sleeping Beauty retelling.

Evie is a chef on a TV show that sounded similar to The Chew or an extended hour of Good Morning America. It was descriptive enough for me to imagine Evie on the TV. Evie was a great character. She is injured at a party and wakes up and can’t remember anything. Her assistant calls her emergency contact and Zach and Jesse Pleasant drop everything to go to New York and help Evie. They decide to take Evie back to their ranch in California for her to recuperate out of the public eye.

Present day Evie feels drawn to Zach but she doesn’t really know why. In the past, they were childhood friends and she had a massive crush on him. He liked her, but never acted on his crush. She told him, he was so awful to her and they haven’t talked in ten years. Zach sees this as his second chance with Evie. Zach is kind and gentle. Although there are at least two missed opportunities for Zach to give Evie a great big comforting hug to help her feel safe. I was disappointed in Zach over this. Zach and Evie spend a lot of time together and rediscovering each other as adults.

Weatherspoon does a good job of depicting solid female friendships between Evie and multiple other women in the book. I always love seeing this.

My big issue with this story was I was not convinced that Zach had spent the last ten years pining for Evie. He doesn’t really express it well. Evie calls him on it too, but by then it was a little too late for me. It made it hard for me to truly believe in their relationship when I didn’t believe that he’d spent the last ten years being miserable and being remorseful for doing her wrong.

The side characters are great. It was clear that Weatherspoon is setting up other love stories, including that of Jesse, Zach’s brother, and Leona, Zach’s grandmother. Maybe others but those are the ones I am most interested in.

Overall this was a good but not great story. I liked the ranch and family life that surrounded Evie and Zach. But I was unconvinced by Zach and his intentions. I will read more in this series though.

Cute friends to lovers, second chance romance. I love this author but I've always been more attracted to her shorter titles, as her longer titles don't move as fast. It had a trope I rarely read or seek(amnesia/forgotten memories) but I was glad she pulled me out my comfort zone.

I didn't realize I was only getting an excerpt. What I've read of it is great. It sets up the characters and makes the reader look forward to what happens next.

This only the first chapter of the book and I requested it by mistake. I will review the full book instead of the single chapter excerpt.

*Single Chapter Preview*
It’s hard to gauge the feel of the whole book based on one chapter but I did like what I read and will read the complete book and update my review once released.

A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon was next on my list after some much more serious reads. I was so looking forward to this cute story and dove right in! You should've seen my disappointment when I realized that this was only an excerpt of the book! I like the voice of the narrator, the simple yet descriptive writing, and the fact that we have a main character of color since I don't have that nearly enough in my reading. As soon as I was done with this excerpt, I went ahead and requested the whole book. I really hope to be approved for that as well!

The start of a new series from indie favorite Rebekah Weatherspoon, A COWBOY TO REMEMBER is a perfect storm of tropey goodness. Second chance romance between thwarted childhood sweethearts, amnesia (!!), tv chef darling heroine and wealthy cowboy hero? What's not to love!

I'm hooked! I can't wait to read the rest of Evie's story and find out what's going to happen between her and Zach. The first chapter is great!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this excerpt. All opinions are my own.

This review is for a one-chapter excerpt of the book. While I didn't get to read much of the novel, Weatherspoon develops a strong characterization and sense of conflict in the first chapter. I've already got a sense of Evie as a character, and there's a hint at who her love interest will be. Based on this preview, I am definitely interested in picking up a copy of A Cowboy to Remember.

I'm a little disappointed that this was just a chapter tease. I am very much looking forward to reading this entire book.

I didn’t realize this was only the first chapter! It was a great start to the book, and the female lead already has me invested in her story. I look forward to reading this one when it comes out.

DNF at 72%. Rebekah Weatherspoon is still a favorite and I still want to read anything and everything she writes. But this one isn’t working for me and I’m forcing it and that’s when it’s time for me to stop.

My recurring stress dream is that I was on the show Top Chef - only I can’t remember it. It’s now airing and I’m watching every week with friends and family and I have no idea which episode I was eliminated during. It is VERY stressful. And poor Evie almost sort of gets to live that in this book.

Evie was on a show much like Top Chef and after it ended went on to be on a show like The Chew. At a party, there’s an incident and she gets a head injury that makes her lose her memory. She goes back to California to recover where she grew up. And there we find hot cowboy Zach. I enjoy Zach a lot. I love the great communication RW models in her books. But I’m just not feeling connected at all. Maybe it’s because of Evie not having her memories. This one is a pass for me but I will definitely be back for Weatherspoon’s next book!

Thank you Kensington and Netgalley for the advance reading copies.

Title: A Cowboy to Remember: Single Chapter Excerpt
By: Rebekah Weatherspoon
Publisher: Kensington Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"A Cowboy to Remember" [Single Chapter Excerpt] by Rebekah Weatherspoon

My Speculation:

This excerpt chapter one was a story about Evie Buchanan, who ended up in the hospital due to being pushed down a flight of stairs while she was attending a party. It seems like Evie was well-liked, but as the story goes most of the time, there was someone jealous of her. How will this turn out for chef Evie Buchanan? Well, I guess you will have to pick up "A Cowboy to Remember" to get the rest of this story.