I decided not to finish this book because I didn't feel a strong connection to the story or characters. I will not be rating it or writing a full review, but I appreciate the opportunity.

For some unknown reason it took me a while to get into the story , I don't know if it s because i just wasn't feeling like reading a cowboy romance or if it was the story it self, but the one thing I did like and love was the family aspect of it .

In the Cowboys of California, Rebekah introduces us to the Pleasant family, the generational owners of Big Rock Ranch in Southern California and home to Jesse, Zach, and Sam Pleasant. Each brother has a distinct personality and their own reasons why they are all currently single. In A Cowboy to Remember, a Sleeping Beauty retelling. We are introduced to Zach and Evie, childhood sweethearts who haven’t spoken in five years. When Evie suffers a head injury and has a form of amnesia, Zach sees this as a way to reintroduce himself to Evie and hopefully win back her trust and love. She is taken to Big Rock Ranch during her recovery in the hope that being close to her childhood home will spark a few memories.

Rebekah Weatherspoon has a way of taking historical romance tropes and making them work for contemporaries, but I don't think amnesia plots are my thing. I fell in love with Jesse though and hope he gets his own book!

Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the eARC to review.

I wanted to love this book so much. I'm a huge fan of Rebekah's and I was excited for an amnesia plot and cowboys and a chef. But something about this story didn't pull me in. I kept picking it up and putting it down. The last 20% did keep my interest and I finished the book. I think it was a combination of a lot of characters, and a lot of different tropes between Zach and Evie. Evie was the driving force in the book but I feel like she was developing as one person with the amnesia and when she recovered, she was a different person. I did like Zach but I had a hard time understanding his past reasonings. I have high hopes for the next book in the series though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While parts of it felt a little to unreal or dramatic as a whole it was a great story and a fun and fantastic escape. I swooned, I sighed, and I snorted. Full disclosure, I have already read a number of books by Rebekah Weatherspoon and on the whole she is one of my favorite authors. I recommend giving this book a try if you enjoy reading contemporary romance.

I looked forward to a new-to-me author, Weatherspoon, and the lure of an amnesia narrative. I love them. It’s residual from my many years of day-time soap-opera watching. Weatherspoon’s premise attracted me; sadly, her execution didn’t hold my love, or attention.

Premise first: Chef Evie Buchanan, tv-cooking-show-darling, is pushed down the stairs during a pre-Christmas cast-party and left in the stairwell for two days. (The believability-metre for Weatherspoon requires a wide reader berth.) Her agent, Nicole Pruitt, finds her and takes her to the hospital, where she’s declared fit, except for the teensy problem of brain trauma and total amnesia. Best-friend Blaire and assistant Raquelle enter the picture to care for her while she’s in hospital. We soon learn, however, that Evie is without family, though her emergency contact is one Jesse Pleasant, co-owner of a California dude ranch. (Again, why would Evie name him her emergency contact when she lives with her Blaire?) Jesse and his brother, Zach, come to NYC to take Evie home with them for recuperation. In the meanwhile, Nicole and Raquelle will hold the SM fort and keep Evie’s memory-loss out of the spotlight. In California, Evie will have a chance to heal, reunite with her found-family (parents and beloved grandmother died ten years ago), as well as the man who broke her heart, Zachariah Pleasant, cowboy, entrepreneur, and heart-breaker.

I wanted to like Cowboy to Remember and, indeed, I thought the first few chapters were promising. It devolved into a narrative that could never make up its mind on a direction. As a result, it went in too many and none at all, often feeling stalled and stagnant.

A Cowboy to Remember had as much potential as it did problems. To start, romance depends on either a liking for, or fascination with, the protagonists. I think the opening chapters were the strongest because we got to know Evie. I liked her: her aspiration and energy. This ended with her amnesia and she then became a blank. Sadly, Zach didn’t fare any better. He remained the smirky, charming cowboy Evie knew from her teen years. The lack of three-dimensionality was made worse by the joining of the amnesia narrative to the reunited-HS-sweethearts trope. Zach behaved badly and Evie doesn’t remember it. He was an ass … when Evie finally remembers, it doesn’t seem so important. At the same time, abandoning Evie when she lost her only family, her nana, is such a dick-move that it’s hard to see how she could ever forgive him. Weatherspoon could have made it work, but the card-board quality of her main couple augmented the problematic nature of her double-trope narrative. A man who has much to atone for and a woman who doesn’t remember what he did.

I also found the writing style flat: so much telling, devoid of showing. This was compounded by the chef-villain narrative, strange forays into Evie’s agent’s, Nicole’s, POV, and so so many secondary characters. Weatherspoon was aiming for a sense of a found family, an ensemble cast, à la Sosa’s Worst Best Man (which succeeded where Weatherspoon failed), but she didn’t have the necessary control over her material.

In the end, the few sparks in the narrative: Evie’s dream sequences and her relationship with the Pleasant matriarch, Leona, couldn’t make up for a dull romance. Evie and Zach are rarely together. When they are, because Evie is a blank and Zach remembers his past betrayal, they don’t get to know one another, hash it out, fight, make up. Their convos are stilted and that is sadly true of all the dialogue. I wanted to like it, I couldn’t. I think Weatherspoon shows promise and I hope to see it in her next romances. With Miss Austen, we found A Cowboy To Remember, “had a high claim to forebearance,” Emma.

Rebekah Weatherspoon’s A Cowboy To Remember is published by Dafina Books. It was released on February and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Dafina Books, via Netgalley.

Rebekah Weatherspoon kicks off her new Black cowboy series with an inventive new take on the Sleeping beauty myth. A Cowboy to Remember blends small town romance, modern fairy tale, and second chance romance. The beauty in this case is Evie, a famous reality TV princess, her prince is a Black rancher from Charming, California, and of course, the witch is a ruthless and resentful reality show competitor. That all tracks. When Evie loses her memory after a terrible fall that is far from accidential, she returns to her chldhood home to recover, and childhood lovers fall for each other all over again.

I liked these characters, their family and friends, and their relationship a lot. The connection is honest and open, and I love the way these two people communicate with each other. The one issue I have is with the way Evie’s memory or lack of memory gets used as a wedge in her relationship with Zach. I’m generally a big fan of second chance romance when the circumstances that separated the lovers are beyond their control. In this case, though, it’s complicated. There is a lot of external interference and pressure, but Prince Charming also commits a whole host of errors.. Because Evie doesn’t remember anything from her past for the vast majority of the book, they don’t really get time to grapple with those past differences. So the relationship they forge is lovely and open and honest, but then it gets discounted and blown apart towards the end.

To me that structure was frustrating. It’s not the amnesia storyline that is the problem. It’s the execution of it— the almost completely all or nothing nature of the memory loss until a switch is flipped—that prevents them from working through what went wrong. Evie’s memory ultimately becomes a a device for delivering this one really dark moment when she finally has to reckon with the past

That issue aside, consider me thoroughly charmed. The bench of chararcter is deep, and this 21st century, media-savvy sleeping beauty retelling is a great foundation for a series. I’m really looking forward to the next one.
3.5 to 4 stars.

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

I am a little torn as to the amount of stars to give this. The story was basically a good one but there were times that I had to re-read sections as I just couldn't seem to understand it at all. There were things that I had to look up as I am not up to date on slang. That in itself was educational and I enjoyed. I love to learn new things while reading romance books. But with this book there just seemed to be a disconnect to me.

As to the story well the main characters were just so-so to me. Evie has amnesia after she is pushed down the stairs at a party. She is a well-known chef in New York and a co-host on a television show. Her friend and agent, Nicole, contacts her emergency contact, Jesse Pleasant, in California to see if he will take her back to his ranch in California for some healing. Zach, Jesse's younger brother, has loved Evie since she came to the ranch many moons ago. Unfortunately he was too young to know what love was and sent her away after her Nana died ten years ago. Nana didn't want Zach and Evie to get together as she had so much more planned for Evie. Evie on the other hand has loved Zach forever as well. She right after Nana's death, Evie tells Zach that she loved him and was devastated when Zach told her to go and finish her dreams. Evie, after just burying her last family member, was pissed at him.

I did enjoy the multiple POVs that the story was written in. It normally helps me to connect with the characters. Here though I was perplexed with Evie. During her amnesia, she repeatedly tells Zach that since she has no memory that she needs to focus on the present and the future. Great idea. Problem, where she gets her memory back, the old hurts come back and I felt she definitely handled it badly. Here she needed to grow up.

I look forward to more of the Pleasant family and their stories. Especially Jesse's. The gentle giant of a man seems really complex and I can't wait to see the kind of lady that will attract him.

This is a sexy story. I would only recommend this to someone over the age of 18.

Chef Evie Buchanan stars on a cooking show that puts her in line to stardom. But while attending an industry party Evie falls and lands in the hospital with no memory. Since they have no family contact for Evie, her assistant contacts the only “family” Evie has left, close friends who run the luxury dude ranch in California where Evie grew up. Evie has no memory of them until former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant walks into her hospital room, and she realizes his handsome face has been in her dreams.

Zach is happy to be in Evie's life again after ten years and enjoying their reunion. But once her memory returns with all the pain from their past is it possible for them to start over again?

✧ rebekah weatherspoon blessing us this year with not one but TWO COWBOY ROMANCES INSPIRED BY FAIRYTALES ✧

A Cowboy to Remember captured me instantly. Rebekah's writing is superb as always and it gave a story that has so much passion and love. Not only between the couple but also family and friends. Reconnecting after ten years... sometimes between family, it feels like time didn't pass and you get back to the dynamic pretty quickly. It also shows you that even though you aren't /there/ for someone, physically, in front of them, even if they live miles apart, you're only one phonecall away.

I never thought I would enjoy the amnesia trope. That was something I was very cautious when I first heard about this book. Of course I wanted to read it because it's Rebekah and I love everything she writes. But I never really /crave/ an amnesia trope romance, you know? It felt too intense for me, and if you know me, I run from angst. But reading this... it was spectacular and I tell you, it's Rebekah's writing!!! She makes everything a perfect little gift that you will open and find all the things that you love inside.

I wanted a small town, second chance romance and I got that. I've been reading second chance a lot lately (Reese Ryan, D. Rose and now this one). Couple who were together years before, sometimes as teenagers, but then broke it off. But still they had the memory and the love they had for each other and when they meet again, they see that this love for one another is still there. Evie and Zach's relationship was that. Getting to know each other again and seeing that that something special was still there. Even though there were regrets, apologies, and stuff to deal with, if you love someone, you got to do everything you can. This is what I saw when reading this romance book.

I'm excited about this series. I obviously want Jesse's book ASAP, but I know Sam's next. Which I'm also pretty happy to read soon.

This book, like all Rebekah Weatherspoon books, worked just really well for me. Who knew an amnesia plot could be so well done!? Only Rebekah could make it work on every level like this. IT seemed so believable and not like a ridiculous thing at all. I love her world building and I need all the characters to get a book now.

I wasn't able to finish this book. I got to 45% and couldn't go on. The characters felt flat and I wasn't invested. Evie's amnesia didn't feel authentic which sounds dumb but is how I felt. I also wasn't a fan of Zach and didn't want her to be with him. I have loved other Rebekah Weatherspoon books so I guess this book just wasn't meant for me and that's okay. I look forward to reading her future books and seeing her backlist grow and grow :)

With a headline spot on a hit morning show and truly mouth-watering culinary skills, chef Evie Buchanan is perched on the edge of stardom. But at an industry party, a fall lands Evie in the hospital—with no memory of who she is. Scrambling to help, Evie’s assistant contacts the only “family” Evie has left, close friends who run the luxury dude ranch in California where Evie grew up. Evie has no recollection of them—until former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant walks into her hospital room, and she realizes his handsome face has been haunting her dreams. Zach hasn’t seen Evie in years—not since their families conducted a campaign to make sure their childhood friendship never turned into anything more. When the young cowboy refused to admit the feelings between them were real, Evie left California, making it clear she never wanted to see Zach again. Now he refuses to make the same mistake twice. Starting fresh is a risk when they have a history she can’t recall, but Zach can’t bear to let go of her now. Can he awaken the sleeping beauty inside her who might still love him?
This was a pretty good book. The story was well paced. I hadn’t read this author before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was not disappointed! I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Special thanks to Kensington for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

I certainly love Cowboy romances, but this one just wasn't for me. The amnesia storyline just sin;t for me. I am still looking forward to reading more of Rebekah's writing as I did like her character development.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

4 Stars / 4 Steam Fans

A Cowboy to Remember is an introduction to a large black family that owns a ranch in a small California town. It also provides the reader with a look into a medical trauma that feels like it happens all the time; however, Rebekah Weatherspoon has taken the amnesia trope and changed it into something new. I enjoyed the journey of these characters, even though there is a lot of information to follow. I am looking forward to more stories and books about the secondary characters.

Video review available in Week 18: Apr 26 – May 2 weekly book reviews.

For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

As much as I love cowboys, I really had a hard time getting into this one. I wasn’t into the amnesia theme in this book. And found that kept taking me out of the story. I partially blame this on reading a book with this theme a couple books prior. I’ll definitely be awaiting other books from this author though!!

I adore Weatherspoon’s other books, but this one didn’t work quite as well for me. I initially liked the story quite a lot but lost interest about halfway through. Amnesia stories may not be for me. DNF at 45% However I look forward to trying the next in this series.

Chef Evie Buchanan has what appears to be a charmed life but is soon met with an unfortunate, life altering event that pushes her towards a past she'd like to leave in the past. This story features a sexy as hell cowboy who knows he has swagger and a (mostly) confident chef who has to learn what's important in life when what she's known is gone.

I'm not usually a fan of an amnesia story line and had some how missed that aspect when I went to read this book. Even with that, I really enjoyed this book. Evie had just the right amount of confidence and apprehension considering what she's going through. I also really liked seeing the dynamics between her and the Pleasant family. There was a moment or two where I felt like Evie and Zack were moving fast in their relationship considering the whole amnesia thing but they worked it out.

If you like cowboy or food related romance this book is for you.

I just didn't connect with the characters or care about the story at all. There wasn't anything WRONG with it. This is a case of "It's not the book, it's me". I've loved Rebekah's books before and will do so again. But this one was a bit of a slog and I was just happy to finish and move on to something else. Nothing stood out for me and this was easily forgettable after I finished the last page.