This was a new author for me but I really enjoyed this romance! Its been a while since I read a cowboy romance but I can see me going back and reading the first two in the series. Very enjoyable!

Amanda Kittridge is tried of everyone (her family/Brody) consider her as if she was younger than her actual age of 22. She decides to move out of her family home to start a new life for herself (and that’s when things change for her in regards to Brody).

Brody moved back to help his brother’s with the family ranch. The road to is a difficult one for this pair. This is a touching romance.

I received an advance reader copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

I am so in love with every book in the series, I swear.

This time it's Brady, the youngest of the Everett brothers, who finds his HEA, and finds it with no other than the Town's Little Sister, Amanda Kittredge. Amanda is also his best friend's little sister, so... *cue drama* The trope is not new, but I still ate it up like this was my first time reading it.

I love how assertive Amanda was with her army of big brothers, and how she just straight up got into their faces and fought with them when they were being overbearing, which is basically all the time. I also love the interactions between Brady and HIS big brothers; there were a lot of tension, and I live for that. Brady and Amanda were so good and so sexy together, and I REALLY loved it that Amanda called Brady out immediately when he was being patronizing, which happened sometimes because of the ten-year age difference.

One of my most favourite things is seeing the Everett family together. Gray and Abby were still solid, and Hannah and Ty were fun as heck to watch, I might just reread their book later.

I'm so happy that the author confirmed on Twitter that there will be more Cold River books, because Riley and Rae? We NEED to know.

It was nice to see another Everett brother find some happiness. Even though Brady was the youngest brother, he had the biggest sacrifce when returning to the homestead to help out his two older brother work the ranch that is their family's legacy. Amanda, the youngest of five, and always being viewed as that little Kittredge girl. Eager to break out of the stereotype, mainly for herself, she has a proposition that Brady knows, but cant's refuse - even though his best freind is one of Amanda's older brothers. The unexpected chemistry creates passion, heat, and some steam nights, but long can they keep going without being discovered, where your business is everyone's business in this small town. It was an fun read, and you find yourself rooting for Amanda and cheering her all the way!

Seemed too predictable and drawn out. I suppose it may be liked better by a younger person. with the story of the female character and her rite of passage into being seen as an adult female by her controlling brothers. The age difference,life experience, and education level between the couple seemed off kilter. The relationship was contrived and the 'games they played were strange. Almost seemed akin to a tame :Fifty Shades' where he rules, she follows his orders but then she's suddenly full of wisdom. A little off balance until toward the end where it became more of a traditional respectful relationship.
The baggage the family carried because of their domineering belligerent father and how they delt with it was a much better storyline than the romance. As noted, may be liked better by a younger reader.
I received this book as a complimentary copy for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author,publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Honestly, not my cup of tea. I was quite disappointed because I really enjoyed the other Cold River Ranch books. I just didn't believe in the coupling of Amanda and Brady. I didn't see the attraction or feel any connection between the two of them. I also wish there was more romance in this book like there was in her other two books in the series. If you've read the other books I'd recommend reading this one. However, if you're new to the series, I would recommend skipping this one and starting with her two previous releases in the series.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Complementary copy given for honest review.

This is one of my favorite books. I can’t wait to read more by Caitlin Crews. This story is about breaking out of the chains of family expectations and making your own story with them included. This is a must read.

It’s hard to express just how much I enjoyed this third book in the Cold River Ranch series. Three brothers, all damaged by a bitter, mean father, finally come to terms with their pasts. This book deals with the youngest son, Brady. He was the boy dismissed as worthless, who worked hard, earned a full scholarship and left for college and a life in Denver. Back to give a year to the ranch, after his father’s death, he struggles with his relationships with his brothers, old friends and a young woman he has known since “he changed her diapers.” This was a moving, emotional story, with humor, compassion and romance to spare!

****Honest review in exchange for book****
Fantastic, great chemistry and lead up. I have not read the 2 prior books in the series but they will defintaly added to my tbr list.

A modern day love story set in a small town in Colorado. A young (22) lady, who was raised and lives on a ranch, with her 3 much older brothers and parents sets forth to declare herself independent. In her quest, to be independent, she takes a second job at a not so respectable bar on the wrong side of town. This job enables her to obtain her own apartment, over the bar, which is meet with the disapproval of the family. An older brother then asked a friend to keep a brotherly eye her for them. As she has always had a fantasy crush on him the fun begins. Can our stalwart maintain his distance or will she be the winner of all her heart desires?

This is a feel good romance that will keep your interest from the beach until the end.

I have rated this book 4 stars.

This is the third installment in the Cold River Ranch series about the Everett Brothers. This shows the lasting effects of an abusive relationship between a parent and a child. The story shows how each son was affected by their mean, drunken father. All three episodes showed how all three boys related to each other and they all got their HEA. It was a quick read with a sweet storyline.

This book was gifted to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

“The Last Real Cowboy” by Caitlin Crews is book 3 of the Everett’s of Cold River series and book 1 of the Kittredge’s of Cold River and features Brady Everett and Amanda Kittredge.

Amanda is the youngest of the Kittredge family and has had a crush on Brady for years. Unfortunately, he still sees her as “little Amanda Kittredge”.
Until that moment he doesn’t.

Sadly, I was unable to finish this book.
Amanda is twenty-two, and though she’s fighting for her independence, she comes across as immature with her temper tantrums.
Brady is about ten years older and, in one scene he tells her she is like a sister to him, while in earlier scenes he noticed she isn’t a kid anymore. I get why he said she’s like a sister to him (and the author’s intent that he’s fighting his growing feelings), but it really made me feel uncomfortable anyway.
Usually, books with a marked age difference don’t bother me, but the characters in this book didn’t sit well with me and my preference as a reader.

Although I enjoyed Cold Heart, Warm Cowboy by Ms. Crews, I found this book not as entertaining. Although I love reading cowboys and the women they love, I did get a chuckle fromt he overbearing but protective brothers and thoroughly applauded Amanda for standing up on her own two feet.

Not sure about the romance between the two main characters. He appeared a bit old and she a bit young so the chemistry between the two did not measure up to what I thought when I started to read the story. I did understand the plot and it was well-written. After awhile the story did turn into a good comfy read for me. I do like this author and would love to read more from her.

I would like to thank the author, St. Martin’s Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3-Stars

ARC courtesy of Netgalley.

After reading the first two books in Crews' Cold River Ranch series, I wrote that I wasn't going to read the next one, because its conservative approach to gender did not appeal. And yet I found myself requesting book #3 when it came up on Netgalley. I'm justifying this by telling myself that I want to keep up on how conservative romance readers view sex and gender, and reading Crews, who is a great writer, is an entertaining way to do so.

Book 3 features the third, and youngest, of the ranching Everett family, city-boy Brady. While eldest brother Gray stood up stoically to their father's abuse, and middle brother Ty ran away, Brady did everything right in an attempt to win his father's attention. He worked hard in school, excelled in sports, and earned a scholarship to college. But his cruel father only insulted him or ignored him. So after college, Brady moved to Denver, and made big $ in some kind of finance work. After his father's death, he agreed to Gray's challenge to spend a year living on the ranch before deciding whether or not he wants to sell his portion and make his escape back to the city.

In the earlier books in the series, Crews showed how the three Everett brothers have each been impacted by their abusive childhoods—and how their relationships as brothers have been influenced, too. Gray and Ty continually tease Brady (in a mean, not a loving, way), calling him "Denver" as if it is the worst insult imaginable, implying that he cares nothing for the land, for their family home, for the family itself. Most frustrating to Brady is the way eldest brother Gray out and out refuses to listen to any of Brady's financial advice about how to make the ranch more profitable, despite his greater expertise. Brady longs for his older brother to take him seriously, just once.

I wondered during the earlier books if Crews would allow Brady to return to the city, or whether she'd make the character rediscover a love of the land, reifying the rural/urban binary opposition (rural = good; city = bad). Crews takes away any doubts right from the start of book 3, making it clear that not only does Brady <i>not><i/> like the city better than he likes the ranch, he actually loves his home, and actively <i>wants</i> to live there: "It wasn't that he hated this place. It was that he'd missed out on it. Even when he'd been right here, doing it, he'd missed out on it. If he didn't belong in his own family—something his father made abundantly clear—then how did he belong anywhere?" (Kindle Loc 1607)

In order to give her character even more reason to stay after his year is up, Crews grants Brady an unexpected love interest: 10-years-younger-than-him 22-year-old Amanda Kittredge, the youngest kid and only daughter in the family of his best friend, Riley. [Interesting how many western romances feature families with lots of brothers, but only youngest sisters....] At novel's start, Amanda has had just about enough of her father and brothers' protective coddling, and announces that not only has she rented an apartment in town, she's taken a second job as a bartender in the bar below. Since Amanda bristles at having any of her brothers spy on her while she's on the job, Riley asks Brady if he'll keep an eye on her. A job that Brady finds more and more difficult as he becomes increasingly physically attracted to the "I'm not a kid anymore" Amanda.

Amanda is well-aware of the sexual double standards that apply to her and to her brothers. But since it is four against one, and the four use openly misogynistic arguments to enforce their sexual policing of their younger sister, and protesting "would only lead to comments about ladylike behavior and why are you so emotional all the time" [Loc 79], Amanda has little hope of convincing anyone in her family to change. The only way she's going to get any sexual experience is to live by herself. Because she certainly doesn't want to turn into another Miss Patrick, the single, cranky school secretary that everyone in town pities.* She wants to live a little, to be free to make her own mistakes, just as her brothers have.

Unsurprisingly, Amanda's long had a crush on her older brother's bestie, and is jazzed as she gradually realizes that she might not be the only one feeling attraction these days. Amanda and Brady "spark", Brady throwing sexist comments her way, Amanda refuting them one by one. Until Amanda asks Brady to "be her first," and Brady, reluctantly (or not so reluctantly, if he were really being honest with himself) agrees. But their relationship is only temporary, because Brady is leaving the ranch at year's end. Or is he?

Two youngest children, both unappreciated by their elder brothers, have a lot in common. Which Brady and Amanda discover during their sexual trysts, trysts which lead not only to fabulous sex (Brady as teacher, inexperienced Amanda as student), but to emotional vulnerability, especially on Brady's part. Sunny Amanda takes the edge off Brandy's restless discontent, and serves as an outlet for his emotional pain. Since Amanda's birth family is only sexist, not abusive, and her frustrations the result of gendered social constraints that the book in the end endorses, Brady doesn't provide much of a similar function for Amanda. Instead, he validates her worth by being attracted to her, loving her, and encouraging her career ambitions (which, because they center on staying in rural Cold River, are acceptable).

The story takes a decidedly old-fashioned turn towards the end, after <spoiler>Brady and Amanda's secret is discovered, and Brady decides he'll actively court Amanda, to appease her angry brothers—and won't have sex again with her until they accept him</spoiler>. Amanda's protests over the sexist assumptions behind this turn turn out to be really about her fear <spoiler> that Brady is being forced to marry her, when he really would rather not, rather than about his sexist posturing </spoiler>, not about any real protest against the gender roles that have constrained her for most of her life.

Crews is a great writer, equally strong on plot, character development, romance arc, and theme (here, how younger children in families learn to stand up for themselves and come into their own). It's fascinating to see how such an accomplished writer works to persuade a reader that her female characters are powerful and worthy, even while reinforcing the patriarchal norms that actively work to disempower them.


* Interestingly, Amanda has a run-in with Miss Patrick, during which the woman tells her, "You think you pity me, Miss Kittredge. Thee truth is that you fear me. You don't know, yet, that lives are choices we make or that I am perfectly content with mine" (2994). The narrative as a whole doesn't really endorse this view, though...

Charming book, but I didn't really buy the chemistry between the hero and heroine. It just seemed to happen to fast. Well written and enjoyable, though.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in The Last Real Cowboy. Amanda's spark made me smile, and the attitude of her brothers was definitely entertaining. I saw it as a coming of age book. Amanda and Brady helped each other become the best person they could be, all while facing and dealing with family issues. My one disappointment was the very end where their future was briefly summed up. I would rather have sequels that reveal this information over time. I want to know how Amanda's barn does and also how the diversification of the ranch works out for Brady.

I received a complimentary of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

OMGosh! This was a great book. I wish that I could give it more then 5 stars!

It was a wonderful conclusion to the legacy of evil Amos Everett on his three sons. The three boys grew up around his hateful ways. Each had to overcome his demon. Brady was the youngest and the one that Amos ignored the most. Brady was the smart one and was able to get a free scholarship to college. He then spent the remaining years in Denver away from his family. Several months after Amos' death, Brady's oldest brother Gray, asked him to stay and work the ranch for one year. During this time, Brady discovers that his best friend's younger sister is all grown up.

This is the touching story of Brady and Amanda Kittredge. The difficult road that they travel to get to their HEA. It was one that kept me glued to my e-reader late into the night. After my poor old eyes gave out early in the morning, I had to put it down. It was the first thing I picked up in the morning (after my coffee that is!)

I adored the first book in this series not so much the second one (as I really couldn't identify with Hannah but I was very glad to have read it). This one really brought to a conclusion the boys getting over the destruction that their father wrought over them.

I adored Brady. He was a character that I was a little unsure about in the other stories. Having a dual POV here allowed me to "see" inside of his thought process to really understand him. He is one fine character! Amanda was a little immature but then again the character is 22 and has been overly protected by 4 older brothers.

This is a sexy romance story. There are a couple of "bedroom" scenes but are highly glossed over for the most part. There wasn't anything overly descriptive here. That being said though, I would highly recommend this story to anyone OVER the age of 18. This book can be read as a stand-alone but I would recommend to start at the beginning. Even though I was not overly happy with the Hannah character in the second story, that one really should be read as well. It really helps to understand Ty a whole lot better.

I hope that the author decided to continue the series with the Kittredge brothers.

Good pacing, Happily read over 2 days, the town and characters of this never seemed stale or canned. The language is excellent!

The Last Real Cowboy by Caitlin Crews is a unique twist on the typical cowboy romance which I found refreshing. Amanda Kittredge has had a long term crush on Brady Everett from afar, He's one of her older brother Riley's best friends and is 10 years older than she is...and changed her diapers when she was a baby! He'll never see her as the woman she now is...or will he?

Brady Everett is a man on a mission to prove that he doesn't need a woman so that he doesn't turn into the abusive man that his father was to his family. He is back on the family ranch for a year after his father's death to prove himself to his brothers and to try to convince them to diversify the ranch. What he doesn't expect is to walk into a bar and see his best friend's baby sister slinging drinks in a tank top that makes it clear that she is no longer a baby. When Riley asks Brady to keep an eye on Amanda while she works there and Amanda makes a request of her own, the stakes are raised and Brady isn't sure what he's going to do during the last few months of the year he's promised his brothers.

With interesting twists and turns, The Last Real Cowboy had me interested to the very end. Really enjoyed it!

I just couldn't get in to this story. Amanda seemed like such a vibrant personality. Brady seemed like, in another life, another situation, he would be an awesome guy. I think him in a corporate job was perfect. He and Cold River seemed like a square peg in a round hole scenario. I didn't necessarily have a problem with the age difference - but there really is a world of difference between 32 and 22. But add the age difference to the difference between what they wanted in life - and I just really didn't see the connection other than physical. Honestly - overprotective brothers notwithstanding - I think it was surprising that Amanda hadn't been on more dates. She was very sheltered, but she was right to want to get more out of life and have a chance to spread her wings and live life. I am not sure a steady relationship with Brady was really the right thing for her. Ultimately, I think they should have kept it sex.

I received an ARC of this story for free - but these opinions are all my own. And I really really wanted to like this story more - it just wasn't the right book for me!