The Last Real Cowboy by Caitlin Crews

Cold River Ranch series, book 3. It can be read as a stand-alone contemporary romance, however reading the prior books will provide better knowledge and background of Brady’s brothers.

This was a difficult read. Brady doesn’t see his own worth and through much of the narrative he talks about letting Amanda go because she deserves the best in life. It’s depressing and sad. And wow, Ty may have had his own HEA in a prior book as did Gray, but I hated how nasty and unaware they both were with Brady. Several times, I wanted to either give up, or rail at all the brothers to grow up and let the past go. Or at least to give Brady a chance. Fortunately I pushed through and continued reading. Finally, someone stood up to everyone’s bias and shook things up. I won’t include spoilers, but it was strong and selfless and needed.
In the end, it was emotionally fulfilling and a much appreciated HEA.

Brady is not Amanda’s brother and he suddenly wakes up to the fact that she’s an adult when seeing her bartending in the local dive bar.
Amanda has always loved Brady and now that he’s noticed she’s an adult, she asks for exactly what she wants from him.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

4 stars. What a great end to this series.

Brady is the youngest of the 3 Everest boys and the abuse from his father was different than his brothers. Being ignored and not wanted, Brady set out to leave Cold Springs and make a life for himself in Denver. Now back at the ranch, he has ideas on how to diversify the ranch holdings, but his brothers won’t take him seriously (not that I’d want llama lattes either 😉).

Amanda is the youngest and only girl suffering from 4 over protective brothers. She decides to shake things up and move out of the ranch home. Living above a seedy bar on the edge of town, she takes a bar tending job since the lodging comes free. Her brothers can’t stand her new found independence and ask Brady to watch over her. Which is painful considering Amanda has been in love with Brady forever.

I loved Amanda! She decided that she was going after what she wanted. I liked that she decided when it was time for her to shed her virginity and whom she wanted to shed it with. She wasn’t going to let others dictate her decisions. Brady was a good match for her.

There tends to be a little too much internal dialogue in this series and I was skipping over a few pages of Brady’s internal musings. If not for that, I would have given it 5 stars. Wondering if the series will continue with Riley and Rae. Would love to know what happened there.

So much disappointment with this third book in the Cold River Ranch series. And I was really looking forward to it, too. 😩

Gray, Ty, and Brady are three brothers who inherited the family ranch upon their father’s death. Dear old dad was a terrible, abusive man who pitted the brothers against each other while he was alive, and made them all co-owners of the ranch, effectively facilitating more conflict because none of the three want the same thing. Basically, what this family is in desperate need of is a good therapist.

Brady Everett is the youngest of the three brothers, and for some reason was hated by his father - more so than his brothers. Not seeing a future for himself on the ranch, he left home, got a college degree and was very successful in his career. After his father’s death he agreed to spend one year helping out on the ranch. But even though their father is dead, his memory continues to haunt them all. He's made it clear, though, that one year is all he's giving to the ranch and then he's going back to his life in Denver.

Amanda Kittridge has lived her whole life in the small mountain town where her family has owned a ranch for three generations. Between life in a small town, and four much older and overprotective brothers, she’s feeling like she hasn’t lived much in her 22 years and is ready to add some excitement to her life. With that in mind she turns to her brother’s best friend Brady.

Admittedly, “best friend’s little sister/older brother’s best friend” is not a trope I find amusing (and neither is the "relationship with an end date trope, which is also present here). And this book is exactly why. As is usually the case, we have to read over and over again - throughout the whole book - how terrible it is for the hero to be involved with the little sister. FYI, the little sister here is 22. So, not so much a little sister. And I always wonder...if the hero is so much of an ass, why are the brothers friends with him? I could rant on and on here, but this story wasn’t worth that much time… To make matters worse, I never felt Brady and Amanda’s relationship grew from beyond being physical. Sure, they put in some decent pillow-talk time, but that was it. They both had their own family issues going on and I never thought they spent time building things between themselves. Then at the end when Brady decided to “do things the right way” Amanda was frustrated but then had this grand epiphany about what he was doing...that seemed to be pulled out of thin air. After how strong the relationships were developed in the first two books of this series, I had decent expectations for this one that never materialized.

My next issue with this book...is ALL the arguing. There’s arguing between the hero and heroine, the hero and his brothers, the heroine and her brothers, the hero and the heroine’s brothers. It seemed like that was all there was for over three quarters of the book. Good grief! Just stop already. And they weren’t even different arguments. Just the same things over and over. And I got over it pretty quick.

Wherein the other books did a much better job of making some sense out of the family dysfunction, this one was lacking. As I said before, it was just a bunch of arguing. I kept waiting for some big reveal for why Amos Everett treated Brady so bad - like Brady was fathered by another man when his mother cheated on their father, or something equally as scandalous. But nope, nothing that exciting. And I’m assuming this is the last book in the series, so I was hoping for more closure, or for the brothers to be in a better place. Again, not so much. There were some gains made, but with all the time I invested in this family I would have liked to see them more settled, have more peace.

Overall, this book was just a big disappointment. Too much arguing, no significant relationship development between the hero and heroine, and a family that is still a mess. Love is supposed to conquer all, but all that happened in this series is that three poor women got sucked in. I’ll definitely read Caitlin Crews again since I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I was looking forward to another compelling, heartbreaking, heartwarming story about the Everett men...and that isn’t what I got.

* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

What an amazing, fantastic love story!

On the surface this looks like a typical brother's-best-friend romance, but that's just the frame that wraps around a delightful, emotionally-charged story about families and history and growing up in a small town. The writing throughout this story is simply exquisite, perfectly capturing the essence of country life as well as the intricacies of falling in love with someone you've known your whole life.

"But this was a small town. Every interaction was packed full of all the things everybody knew, but didn’t say. All that history and rumor crammed into a perfectly polite hi."

The story starts when Brady finally (finally!) notices that Amanda, the one girl who is absolutely, unequivocally, emphatically off-limits, has grown up into quite an attractive and compelling young woman. But, he's ten years older, is best friends with the scariest of her four older and very watchful brothers, and is smart enough to fear for his very life just by admiring her in her revealing tank top. He tries to keep his distance, but when Amanda makes her own scandalous intentions clear, Brady simply doesn't stand a chance of walking away physically or emotionally intact.

There are layers upon layers of angst in this story. Brady is still dealing with the changing family dynamics after his father's recent death, while Amanda is struggling to find her place in the sun while being overshadowed by her protective family.

“If you let other people dictate your life,” Kat asked softly, “how can you ever be sure you’re the one living it?”

Though it's a standalone romance for Brady and Amanda, a lot of the emotional impact involves his relationship with his two older brothers, Gray and Ty, whose relationships were detailed in the previous books.

"Brady thought change was the future. Gray thought it was the enemy. And as long as Gray kept thinking it was the enemy, he was bound and determined to think Brady was too."

As the last Everett family story, we finally get the closure and reconciliation that's been slowing building among the three brothers. The climax was both brutally cathartic and quietly triumphant; a moment in time that won't soon be forgotten.

It's rare to find a book so well-written, with so much sigh-worthy insight as well as laugh-out-loud humor. Brady is such a well-developed character, a man so torn up by his perceptions that even when he breaks Amanda's heart, the reader feels the depth of his pain and knows that Amanda does, too. Their HEA was romantic and very satisfying. This is one of my top-ten reads ever, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

The men and brothers of Cold River Ranch are very compelling. The specter of an abusive father impacted each of the brothers differently. Brady was the most confusing to me so I was excited to find out what was really going on in his head. I was shocked at how misunderstood he truly was to his family but Amos played a vital role in building this perception. He agreed to stay at the ranch for a year to ensure that it stayed in the family but he also wanted to expand or diversify what they are doing to ensure its longevity. Gray believes in the tried and true methods from the past generations. Knowing this, Brady may never stay if he can’t get Gray to realize that he does have something to contribute. As he struggles with live on the ranch, his best friend’s sister, Amanda, has him twisted in knots. Amanda is the only daughter and the youngest in her family. Now in her 20’s, even everyone in town still sees her as a little girl so she makes a bold move by getting a bartending job at the not so respectable bar in town. Not only that, but she lives above the bar. Her brother Riley asks Brady to watch out for her since none of the brothers can as they try to give her the space she has requested. Now, Amanda has been in love with Brady for years so this new development gives her an opportunity since she really wants to no longer be a virgin. What will Brady do when Amanda tells him she wants to find a guy to have sex? Can the brothers bridge their divide? I loved both Brady and Amanda’s journey’s in this story. They each needed to break free from who everyone seemed to think they were to show who they truly want to be. The road wasn’t easy but it created a great bond between them along the way. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

It was great to read Brady's story. I really enjoyed Amanda taking steps to change her life. I'm hoping we will return to the Cold River Ranch series to see what happens with Amanda's brothers. Great characters, fun read!

I enjoyed reading this book. Amanda is a spitfire and I love how she challenged Brady. Brady had been emotionally abused by his father most of his life, so he never thought that he was worthy of love. He thought that all he had to offer Amanda was a few nights of passion and that would be it, but Amanda found a way to give him so much more. This book isn't just about the love that grows between a man and a woman, but it is also about the love that can grow to mend a broken family and the love that can join two families and create a new generation that embraces not only the future but incorporates the past. The closer I got to the end of this book the less and less I wanted it to get there. This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Crews, but it is definitely not going to be the last one.

I thank Netgalley for allowing me to read and ARC of this book. I am freely giving my opinion of this book and all thoughts expressed here are strictly my own.

I was not at all impressed by Amanda and Brady’s story. I spent a lot of time skipping over the character’s inner monologues. It was a lot of filler information that wasn’t really needed to make the story.
Amanda’s brothers are all idiots. If I were her, I would have severed all ties with those jerks. They treat her like a piece of property. They’re not protective. They’re bullies! But Amanda is a wimp. She pretends to know her own mind but she’s too wishy washy for my taste.
I didn’t like any of the characters and the story was so drawn out, I wasn’t very interested by the end.
I’m usually pretty good at determining if I’ll like a story because I don’t like to give less than 4 stars. Authors put their heart and soul into their books. But I just could not find anything redeeming about this one.
3 stars.

Although the third in a series it can be read as a standalone story. Also, it was good enough that I want to read books one and two now!

The best part of this story was once their relationship was discovered, Brady faces her parents, grandparents and brothers to get their aporival. They might have started a secret relationship, but he realizes Amanda is the only person that ever defended him and stood by his side. She had his back, whether when confronting his brothers or defending him to her brothers. Her support brings out the best in him and gives him the confidence to look forward to a lifetime together. It was a great story of true love and redemption that I recommend reading.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Last Real Cowboy by Caitlin Crews is the third installment of the Everett Brothers. Brady is the youngest of three brothers still trying to deal with the demons left from an abusive drunk of a father who passed away about a year ago. Amanda Kittredge is the youngest of five siblings whose ranch is next door to the Everetts. Amanda has grown up completely in love with Brady for as long as she can remember. Her older brother, Riley is best friends with Brady. Brady spent many days with Riley as a kid to escape his father’s rantings. Amanda has finally decided that at 22 she needs to take her life in hands and start living. She decides to spread her wings, much to the dismay of her brothers and Brady. At some point Brady finally sees Amanda as a grown woman and feelings start to develop. Will Brady decide to act or will the 10 yr age difference keep him away? Amanda believes she is not worldly enough for Brady and asks for lessons in the bedroom department. This is a slow-burn, older-brother-best-friend romance that I really enjoyed. The chemistry of these two was amazing. It drug a little bit at times but I really was rooting for Brady and Amanda. Can Amanda help Brady free himself from the demons of his past? Will Riley be able to deal with his baby sister and Brady as a couple? How will or does Brady actually handle his relationship with Amanda if and when their families find out? Overall, I really liked this book. My heart just tugged for Brady to beat the demons of his past and for these two find their HEA!! I do recommend The Last Real Cowboy by Caitlin Crews.

I love this story of two families who have known each other for ever but not really understood the others lives. Amanda Kittredge grew up with four big brothers .
Zack, Jensen, Riley and Connor they teach her horse ticks just to upset their mother. All of them are over protective of her treating her like she is 10 instead of 23 and all grown up. She has no privacy and can't even look at guys without them running them off. She is tired fed up and done with her life. A virgin who has only had two dates in her life! So she moves out of her family home, to a Little Apt that just happens to be over the seediest bar in town, which she also takes a job bartering in. Her brothers go on the war path!!! She lets them know they are not wanted around period. So Riley ask his best friend Brady Everett to watch over her.
Oh My like asking the wolf into the chicken house, Amanda has had a life long crush on her brothers best friend.
Brady is having his own trouble with brothers, his Ty and Gray have never treated him like family . His father died last year and Gray ask both Ty and him to come work the ranch for a year before they decide what to do with it.,
He put his life on hold in Denver to come help out , But neither TY or Gray
listen to his ideas or take him serious. Now his best friend wants him to watch over his baby sister ! He has already ran into her at the bar and is having thoughts
about her no friend should have. As he tries to figure a way out without telling his best friend he finds his sister HOT. Amanda pretty much gives him an invitation to teach her all she doesn't know. Then lets him know if he doesn't there are other
cowboys who she can ask.
Brady can't say no and shouldn't say yes, but nothing could stop this train now that both are attractive to the the other, and things really heat up. As Brady and Amanda sneak around so there families don't know and learn things about each other life's they fall hard and with regrets.
When the brother's on both side find out and what happens after is sad, frustrating, endearing, all at the same time.
This is a wonderful end to this series. The hurt, family ties, love and forgiving is great.
If you haven't read the first books, you can read this a stand alone, but much better with the older brother's story first.
I was given a ARC of this book by the author and want to thank her, I am giving my honest opinion voluntarily.
I hope you give it a try, If you like handsome Cowboys, feisty proud women and true family love your going to love it. This whole series is a keeper.

Due to her brother's overprotective and intimidating behavior, Amanda Kittredge has had only 3 dates in her life. When her brothers and their friend Brody treat her like a young girl rather than a woman at a wedding reception, Amanda realizes that she needs to do something before she becomes an old spinster with cats. Over her brother's objections, Amanda moves into a small apartment and works part-time in a raunchy bar. When Brody sees her at the bar, he finally realizes that she is a woman not a girl. Brody wants to stay away from her due to her brothers, but Amanda wants him to be the first in her bed. Even though Brody is a very successful businessman in Denver, he has his own issues with his brothers not taking his suggestions for the ranch seriously. I received a free copy of this eBook from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. This book contains a lot of steamy scenes, but what I like about the book is how Amanda was able to help Brody with his bottled up emotions about his father, his brothers, and the ranch. I also like how Amanda and Brody dealt with the other's family. I hope there will be future books focused on the Kittredge brothers. Once I started this book, I read most of the book in one day.

Let's face it- you read this genre because you want a little struggle between two characters who will find their HEA. In this case, it's Amanda who has has a thing for Brady, her brothers' friend for years. Yes there's a ten year age difference- she's 22 and he's 32- but there's also an experience gap. Frankly, Amanda comes off as extremely immature for a 22 year old in today's world, no matter how protective her brothers are. That said, if you're looking for something to while away the afternoon, this will do the trick. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Brady’s story!

Amanda Kittredge was DONE! She was tired of everybody ignoring her and treating her like a child including her family so she got a second job and moved into an apartment above the dive bar where she on the other side of the river. Amanda wanted to experience some independence without her family always looking over her shoulder especially with four older brothers.

Brady Everett was back in Cold River because he had promised his brothers that he would help run the ranch for one year after the death of the father. Amanda asked Brady Everett to teach her about guys because she barely had a date but Brady wasn’t so sure about helping Amanda because she was so much younger than he was and the families had been neighbors for generations.

I loved The Last Real Cowboy because it’s the last book about the Everett brothers but hopefully not the last book about Cold River because I hope that the Kittredge brothers get their own stories.

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

This series was my first read by Ms. Crews and it won't be my last. I went straight from book one to book 2 in the series and then this one. I truly enjoyed the whole series and reading all of them together worked well for me. The Everett boys are chock full of emotional baggage and it took every bit of all 3 books to unload it all.

4.5 Stars!

This was a perfect ending to the Cold River Ranch series. I liked that the Everett Brothers from the previous two books weren't suddenly perfect after finding their happily ever after, but were still wounded in their own ways and trying to forge a different looking future for their families. The Last Real Cowboy was youngest brother Brady's story and I was happily surprised by his character compared to what was seen in the first two books. Away from his brothers, he was a different man and I was smitten.

Amanda had a similar situation with four older and protective brothers. I enjoyed seeing these two babies-of-the-family rally against presumptions and imperious siblings. Brady and Amanda were great together and the romantic tension was off the charts. Singularly, this book was a wonderful bookend to a great series. Collectively, the Cold River Ranch stories were fantastic with a well-plotted and realistic overarching story line. I'm sad it's done, but it's looking like there might be a Kittredge Brothers series in the near future. One can only hope.

I have read the 2 other books in this series and have enjoyed all of them. This was Brady's story; we got a little hint who the romantic interest might be for him during the previous book "Cold Heart, Warm Cowboy".

The writing style seems so effortless in this series. I enjoy the authors prose and everything flows well. The characters are likable and engaging. I became vested in them from the get-go. I really like how the family dynamics, in both families in this story, plays a major role. I loved seeing the progression of Brady's healing and how Amanda helped him along. Wonderful characters and a great setting. I'd love to learn more about some of the smaller characters mentioned in this book:the high school secretary, Ms Martina Patrick & the spinster cat lady Harriet Barnett.

All-in-all a wonderful story full of hope and promise that no matter what your upbringing/family dynamics you can make your life a happy one if you want to; as long as you decide to make things happen.

Received this book as an ARC for an honest opinion and review from netgalley. Amanda and Brady have know of each other their whole lives as Brady is best friends with one of Amanda's older brothers. Amanda decides to make some changes in her life so that her family will finally see her as an adult and not just the baby or baby sister. While making changes in jobs, moving to her own apartment Brady also finally sees that she is no longer a kid, but a grown women and that is when lines get crossed, tempers come out and family feuds begin. Great read!

Perennial good girl Amanda Kittredge knows that her longtime crush on Brady Everett was never really supposed to go anywhere. But when Brady comes home during Amanda’s first attempt at independence, well, who better to teach her about rebellion. Brady’s plans did not include being forced to work the family homestead for a year—and yet, here he is. And, to make matters worse, his best friend’s innocent little sister is making a menace of herself in the most grown-up, tempting ways.
I like usually love big brother little sister romance but this book didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I really liked Brady but found his I’m a grown man you’re a little girl routine off putting. Amanda is twenty two not sixteen, she was extremely immature & it grated. The ten year age difference just made me cringe as it felt much more than ten years. The book was well written & the characters had depth. I’d loved the first two books in the series but this didn't 'do it' for me
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I love the Cold River series & hope this isn't the last one (although it kind of reads that way). We have had the story of Gray & Ty Everett. Now it's Brady's story as he's the youngest. It also involves the Kittredge family, since Amanda (the 22 year old baby with older brothers) has set her sights on him. He's 32 & her brother Riley's best friend, so she's never been of interest until she moves out of her house & starts working at the seedy bar in town. She's wearing a tight tank top that makes Brady notice her as a woman. Her brothers are overprotective so Riley asks Brady to keep an eye on her. Brady is already wrestling with the demons of his father so adding this into the mix makes for some good reading. I highly recommend reading this to see where all of the Everett's end up. Also, like I said above, I hope we get to visit Cold River some more, like with the Kittredge brothers.