Hometown Cowboy

Finished July 15
Hometown Cowboy by Sara Richardson

This is the first in a series of romance novels set in Topaz Falls, Texas. Jessa runs an animal rescue center started by her father. Though her parents never married, and lived apart, Jessa was close to both of them. She got her vetererinarian degree, and then her MBA in preparation for working with her dad and making the center a success. But just before she came on board, he died of a heart attack. Her dad's best friend, Luis Cortez has been great. helping out at the center and treating her like the daughter he never had. Jessa had spent summers with her dad, and loved to hike the Cortez ranch and the mountains around it. She's spent a lot of time doing that with Luis.
Another thing that Jessa has always wanted was a family, and she's been engaged but things have never worked on. After her last boyfriend, and major funder of the rescue, dumps her rather publicly, she engages her friends in helping her get together a new look to engage with the community and find new funders. She says she done with men for now.
Lance Cortez is working hard to take the top medal at the upcoming World Bull Riding championships, and he's been focused on his career for years. He's also not a fan of marriage ever since his mother left his father, him, and his two younger brothers when he was only fourteen. After an arson incident, his middle brother, Lucas, went to jail, and his younger brother, Levi, soon left for the high life of rodeo.
When Lance's training is interrupted by a worried ranch worker telling him his father never came home from the hike he went on yesterday, Lance seeks out Jessa to see if she knows where his father might have gone. He's never really paid much attention to Jessa, but now he really sees her for the first time, and he must adjust his view of her. As he feels drawn to her despite his lack of experience of or interest in relationships, Jessa must fight against her own feelings to stay true to her dreams.
I liked the family aspects of the book, with Luis and his sons, and the other ranch workers. I also liked the close group of girlfriends that Jessa found when she came to town.
A light romance with some pretty hot scenes. Good start to a new series.

For Animal Lovers

Finished November 20
Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses, Five Pigs, One Duck, and a Few Turtles by Rescue Ink with Denise Flaim
This book about Rescue Ink and its members is not only about an animal rescue group, but also about a group that works to educate people about the fact that abuse is wrong. A lot of people that rescue animals are female but this group is definitely male, and they are not afraid to be seen cuddling a small animal. But they are also not afraid to face abusers head on and work in as peaceful a way as possible to show them the error of your ways. They are careful not to break the law, but they definitely have more power than most to get the attention of abusers and then offer them solutions.
As they say, if you see an animal kept outdoors in inadequate shelter, instead of judging and reporting them, offer to help them with shelter or drill deeper to the reason the animal is kept outdoors.
The book shows us each member of the core Rescue Ink group and tells us how they got to where they are now. This was very interesting and thought-provoking.

More animals

Finished October 15
Mutts Shelter Stories by Patrick McDonnell
I've always loved the comic strip Mutts and this collection of his strips around animal shelters and the animals that need homes is no exception. The strips are intermixed with pictures and captions regarding real animals that were adopted from shelters and thus is very inspiring. I already have two cats that I adopted from shelters, and was tempted to go out to my nearby shelter for more.