#Review: Midnight Wrangler by Cat Johnson - 4 Wine Glasses

Title: MIDNIGHT WRANGLER
Series: Midnight Cowboys #2
Author: Cat Johnson
Format: Kindle, 368 Pages
Published: Zebra (November 24, 2015)
ISBN: ASIN:B00U7LIZ6S
Links:  Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses

One Lonely Widower…

Rohn Lerner is a successful Oklahoma rancher. He’s old enough to know what he likes, and still young enough to enjoy it. But losing his wife five years ago wore him thin. He’s not ready to date, but he needs someone to share a meal with as badly as someone to warm his bed.

One Woman with a Secret…

Bonnie Martin fled her Oklahoma home years ago, leaving behind her abusive father, and Rohn, the lost love she never forgot. Now she’s back to settle her father’s estate, but she has no idea that she’s about to bump into Rohn or that they’ll fall for each other all over again.

One Night That Changes Everything…

Linda's Thoughts:
"I told you I don't want to meet 'girls' and I'm not going to find a woman of any substance at the bars where you yahoos hang out."
"Then set up one of those online dating accounts. They have them for older folks now."
"Older folks?" Rohn let out a snort as that hit him hard, like a punch to the gut.
"Great. Thanks a lot." How the hell old did these kids think he was, anyway? Rohn had quite a few years left before he turned fifty....

MIKDNIGHT WRANGLER by Cat Johnson drew me in from the very beginning with a hero and heroine who were not spring chickens although you'd not discern that from the cover's model. I recently attended the Coastal Magical Convention in Daytona Beach and was fortunate to catch this author in a few panels. In one of the panels, another attendee made a request that authors write more books featuring mature characters. Cat spoke up that she had a book that featured older characters. I'm glad I was in attendance at that panel and that I did indeed check out the book she referred to. MIDNIGHT WRANGLER is the first book I've ever read by Cat Johnson, but it is not the last; As soon as I finished this one, I started reading MIDNIGHT HEAT as I didn't want to leave Cat's Midnight Cowboys.

This book was the second-chance-at-love story of widowed rancher Rohn Lerner and school teacher Bonnie 'Blue' Martin. They were both realistically genuine characters that you will want to root for. The author tells their stories alternating between present-day and flashbacks. They had fallen in love one summer when they were both in high school and circumstances tore them apart. Will their past keep them from finding happiness together now?

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes:

He was breathing a little faster himself, his heart pounding as he leaned in a tiny bit more. He hovered just shy of her lips before braving the final space between them and pressing his mouth to hers. He knew immediately from the first taste of her that one tiny kiss wasn't going to be enough.
---

She was falling for him again. Head over heels.
That was probably the worst thing that could happen. What she didn't know was what the hell she was going to do about it.

I had so many favorite scenes in this book! But... one, in particular, still makes me laugh just thinking of it. Rohn had utilized the strong backs of his crew to help Bonnie move old furniture out of her deceased father's home. Then... shortly after, his crew found themselves moving furniture, again, this time from Rohn's home. Here's a short snippet taken from the second scene:

"The sofa has to go first. We can put that right in the truck to go to the church."
"Is something going on I don't know about? Is the church paying top dollar for old stuff or something?"

Even though there are interconnected characters, MIDNIGHT WRANGLER works well as a standalone with the author filling in any needed information from the first book to fully enjoy this story. That said, I do want to go back and read the first book in this series now; I've already put it on queue from my library, which has it in their collection.

This story was the perfect blend of sweet and hot western romance, mystery and heartbreak. I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys steamy contemporary romances with sexy cowboys.


Suggested Reading Order: 
MIDNIGHT RIDE (Book #1)
MIDNIGHT WRANGLER (Book #2)
MIDNIGHT HEAT (Book #3)