Gina Derose is in trouble, her carefully curated life is falling apart at the seams and the best advice her crisis management company “Dalton and Associates” can give her is to lie low at Dry Creek Ranch.

Unfortunately, they failed to mention the ranch belonged to their son Sawyer and his cousins who are none too happy to find celebrity chef Gina DeRose in his bed. Especially when Sawyer should be concentrating on his investigative journalist pieces and the ever expanding ranch that is milking him and his cousins dry.

Cowboy Strong is a story of ambition, revenge, infidelity and a HUGE serving of jealousy. Stacy Finz has woven an intricate web of interconnected yet independent stories that truly encapsulate ranch living with a modern twist. It features nosy cousins, snoopy paparazzi, burned careers, has-been cooking show stars and intriguing mystery after mystery.

She has developed an entertaining host of characters with such depth and variety that is truly impressive. Stacy does justice to every single character from the determined career woman with low self esteem, cocky rancher journalist, meddling but well meaning parents and a mouthy sassy diner owner who gives two hoots about fame and is more interested in a strawberry shortcake recipe.

Utmost appreciation to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation for providing me with an arc. This review will be live on my blog from 26th June 2020 here: https://jesreadsit.wordpress.com/

Book #3 in the Dry Creek Ranch series does not disappoint. Stacy Finz always creates hunky heroes that save the day. Her female characters are strong and independent but welcome a little help from a handsome cowboy. Beautifully crafted story full of mystery and romance with just a touch of sizzle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

-- Read this review, and others, on my blog at www.hookedbythatbook.com --

Sawyer returns home to Dry Creek Ranch from a long assignment in his job as journalist, only to find his apartment has been invaded by a harpy. Gina doesn’t make a very good first impression on the exhausted Sawyer and he is even less impressed when he finds out from his mother that Gina is a fallen celebrity chef who needs a place to hide. Gina’s life and career are falling apart. She has been accused of having an affair with the male half of a competing celebrity couple. Her tv show is getting drop and she is in danger of losing her biggest sponsor. Sawyer’s mom is her publicist and that is how Gina found herself tucked away at Dry Creek Ranch. Despite the fact that she is now living in her own space, Sawyer still sees a lot of Gina, as she is using his kitchen to test out her recipes.

As Sawyer finds himself becoming more involved with Gina and her problems, he starts to know her better, and believes her side of the story. They work together to try to figure out who is trying to sabotage Gina’s career. And fall for each other in the process.

Gina was like a small hurricane with Sawyer the calm in the eye of the storm. I enjoyed the banter between them and I liked the two of them together. It was really sweet. I also enjoyed reading about their plans for making the ranch more profitable. Another great addition to the series and well worth reading. I always enjoy Stacy Finz’s books, and this one was exactly what you can expect from her. There were some other issues on the Dalton’s side that had nothing to do with Gina, but they didn’t detract from the main story, and made their lives seem more diverse and interesting.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised by Cowboy Strong. It's the first time reading a book by this author and enjoyed the story.
This is the third in a series but I didn't have any issues following the sub plots that pertained to the other characters.
The main characters Sawyer and Gina were great together. They had an easy friendship which grew into more. I'm sure the over arching storyline could have been solved before it was but then there wouldn't be much of a story.
I'm looking forward to reading the first two books in this series.

4.5 stars

Let me start by saying, I LOVE, LOVE LOVE this book! When I received this book, I had not yet read the first two books in this series. So I quickly read them and instantly fell in love with the Dalton family and their Dry Creek Ranch in northern California. If you haven't read this series, you don't know what you are missing - run pick them up immediately.

The first two books centered around two of the Dalton cousins, Jace and Cash. This third book focused on the remaining cousin, Sawyer. Sawyer is a freelance journalist and he travels the world while breaking newsworthy stories about issues that really matter - politics, living conditions in struggling third world countries, etc. But a very newsworthy event soon takes place with a celebrity chef that leaves the chef hiding out at the Dry Creek Ranch while Sawyer's parents try to save her reputation through "crisis control". At first, Sawyer can't stand the celebrity chef - she obviously broke up a marriage of two fellow celebrity chefs by having an affair with the husband; she is very self-centered; spoiled and pampered beyond belief (example: she can't even clean up after herself after destroying a kitchen through intense cooking); and he feels she is just plain ornery. But soon his feelings begin to change - especially as they become better friends and he starts to understand more of what is really happening with her.

I can only hope that another book will come out and will place Angie (Sawyer's sister who has been missing for 5 years) as the main focus.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Sawyer is back home at ranch, after his work took him away for few months, he gets surprise, there is someone in his apartment.
Gina is down on luck, her live is complete mess. Looks like someone is sabotaging her carrier. Hiding on the ranch, she is miserable.
She needs a lot of help, to solve everything and get her life back.

What a wonderful story. Loved everything.

Couldnt put it down! Like the earlier books in the series this is a perfect HEA! Not to mention it’s always great to see the truth win out! Be sure to add Cowboy Strong to your “must read” list. And please tell me there will be another book with Angie’s happily ever after!

Cowboy Strong
By: Stacy Finz
3.8 / / 5.0

I enjoyed seeing Sawyer and Gina’s relationship bloom, but something didn’t click for me. It felt like it happened suddenly. You didn’t get an inside look at their conversations while Gina was cooking in Sawyer’s apartment. That would have made it seem a little more organic and natural. It felt more like a movie relationship instead of a book relationship. There were crucial scenes cut out that were needed in order for the reader to see the relationship bloom.
It was a good romance novel, but not a book I would reach for again. The author’s writing was fine and it flowed nicely; I just found that I didn’t care for the characters as much as I could have. Normally, I fall head over heels with characters if the novel clicks with me and this novel just missed its mark with me.
There were a lot of hot and cold feelings that I was getting a little annoyed with. One second they liked each other and the next they weren’t talking to each other. I like novels where they get together about 3/4th of the way through with the novel and then break up just to get back together before the final chapter/epilogue. This novel had them get together at the end of the novel. I didn’t devour this novel, but it was a nice read.

Author’s Site: https://www.stacyfinz.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Strong-Dry-Creek-Ranch/dp/1516109295/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1591388145&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cowboy-strong-stacy-finz/1133681681?ean=9781516109296

This review will appear on my blog on June 29, 2020.

After reading Cash and Jace's stories I looked forward to reading Sawyer's. Sawyer is an investigative journalist who arrives home to find a strange woman in his home. Gina is a celebrity chef whose life has become upended. Sawyer's parents are her PR team and send her to the ranch to hide out. It was interesting to see how two such different people could fall for each other. As always there's some twists and turns. Very good read!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that was offered to me from the publisher - I had originally heard about the book from the author’s newsletter. I took a chance on a new author and I wasn’t disappointed!

I enjoyed the book and the plot. Gina and Sawyer were perfect together. I really think I’d like to go back and read the previous two books about the other cousins.

My favorite part of the story was that Gina’s assistant’s name is Darby! That’s my daughter’s name and I love when authors use the unique name.

You can't hide from love:
What an amazing book! Gina is a celebrity chef and hiding out from the media after a scandal that is threatening to ruin her career. Sawyer is surprised to find her at his ranch and in his home and initially they butt heads but over time their attraction grows and they can't fight their feelings any longer. You could feel the energy and chemistry between these two and I enjoyed seeing them deal with their issues and feelings.
I really appreciated that there was depth to the story; there was intrigue, romance, drama and family bonding. All of the references to real life celebrity chefs and shows were fun although I did think the character of Gina was a little too closely based on an easily identifiable Food Network star.
I loved the ending and I can't wait to read more by this very talented author. Whilst Book 3 in the series, it can definitely be read as a standalone as I hadn't read the previous books and found I was able to follow along without any difficulty. However I now want to go back and catch up on the cousins stories.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Well that was a different twist on a celebrity scandal story. I felt so bad for Gina. Cowboy Strong would make a wonderful Hallmark movie.

This is a cowboy romance, and this book is the 3rd book in the Dry Creek Ranch series. This book is the romance story of Sawyer (a cowboy and a investigative journalist) and Gina (celebrity chef that during this book is dealing with a sandal). I have to say this book is a fast pace romance story with a lot of drama throw in. I really liked it. I think even if you do not like cowboy romance you would like it if you like cooking book with romance and a little mystery. There is two mysteries going on in this book. One of the mysteries was solving the sandal Gina was dealing with. I also think this book had great characters that you can really fell in love with while reading. I love a book that is drove by characters more then the plot, and this book is like that. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Stacy Finz books! This one was no exception. Sawyer and Gina have dynamic chemistry. She is running from a scandal and they do their best to try and figure out who was behind it, while trying to fight their attraction to each other. Well detailed and the characters come alive in this book. Can't wait for another winner from Finz. I received this book as am ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the third book in the series and just as good as the last one in my opinion. So Sawyer comes home from his job as a free lance journalist only to find that there is someone in his bed. His parents are Hollywood fixers and sent Celebrity Chef Gina to the ranch to hide while the scandal is really and destroys her life and what she loves. These two are both annoyed with each but while spending time that annoyance turns into something else.And questions get answered.

I have not read the first 2 books in this series, but absolutely loved this one!

Sawyer is an investigative journalist who travels for extended periods of time for work. But as soon as assignment is done, he heads straight home to the ranch and cowboy life. After a long flight, he is ready to climb in his bed and stretch out.....only to find his home is currently being occupied by a woman he doesn't know.

Gina, a celebrity chef, has been thrown into the middle cheating scheme in which she proclaims she's innocent. Sawyer's parents sent her to hide out at the ranch while they manage the chaos in the city.

What starts out as pure animosity between the two grows very slowly into a truce to get along, to a friendship....to more! For the first time they find themselves in love and happy. With Sawyer's help, Gina is on her way to proving her innocence and getting her life and empire back, but at what cost? A lonely life with no friends and no relationships? A life without Sawyer?

Can these two find a way to have it all or will they lose it all?

I enjoyed revisiting the Daltons at the Dry Creek Ranch.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Dry Creek Ranch
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading Angie's story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.

I loved this book! This is the third book in the Dry Creek Ranch series centering around three cousins, running their grandfathers cattle ranch. Sawyer Dalton is a freelance journalist who arrives home to his loft apartment on the ranch to find Celebrity Chef Gina DeRose staying there. His parents are Hollywood Crisis managers, and sent Gina there to hide out while a scandal is threatening to take down her cooking empire. You have two mysteries to be solved in this book, the one involving Gina and also Sawyer’s missing sister. I loved both Sawyer and Gina and seeing the development of their relationship from annoyance to much more was well done. I really hope that the author continues this series with some of the characters introduced in this book. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

#CowboyStrong#NetGalley
Sawyer and two cousins who are like brother's inherit a ranch. Sawyer who is a investigative journalist comes home to Dry Creek Ranch and finds Gina DeRose binding out in his aoartment. Gina is a client of his Mother's public relations firm. Someone has made Gina look like a home breaker and has posted man's scandalous and untrue things all over the internet and in magazines.She will loose her good name, her television show and many other things in her life in shambles. Sawyer just wants her gone. He takes her to a old cabin in the ranch hoping she will leave. As time goes by there is something that pulls them togeather. Does Sawyer help her find out who is out to get her ! As they spend more time together he believes her and tries to help her. As they begin to help each other does love begin to bring Sawyer and Gina where they are supposed to be? Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this booj.

This is one of my favorite new series. Can't wait for the 3rd book to come back. Sawyer comes home to find someone in his bed. Gina was hiding from the media and paparazzi and wendy sends her to dry river to hide. To hear more read the book.