A Cowboy of Legend by Linda Broday Also in this series: A Cowboy Christmas Legend , A Cowboy of Legend
Series: Lone Star Legends #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on April 27, 2021
Genres: Historical Romance, American West
Narrator: Tieran Wilder
Length: 11 Hours and 55 Mins
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Library
ISBN: 1492693758
It's time for a new generation to become Legend.
Deacon Brannock is determined to make a name for himself and the saloon he's worked his whole life to afford. He was prepared for life in the Wild West, but he hadn't counted on Grace Legend...
Grace has always fought hard for what she believes in, and after her best friend is killed at the hands of her drunk and angry husband, that includes keeping alcohol out of her town. When the owner of the new saloon turns out to be a kind and considerate man, she can't help but wonder if they could have a future together...if they weren't on opposite sides of every issue.
"Resonate[s] with honesty and love...Linda Broday's best."--Fresh Fiction for The Cowboy Who Came Calling
A Cowboy of Legend is the first book in the “Lone Star Legends” series and I am finally getting back to reading this author. There are some reasons I stopped, but I am craving a solid western and this is an element that I know that this author will win in. Linda Broday is an author that I highly recommend to those that really love delving into the wild west and she has so many unique stories that will thrill you in all the best of ways. I have missed her writing so much but when I heard this series was connected to her Men of Legend series (which I adored) and that the heroine in “A Cowboy of Legend” is the baby that Lara was pregnant within The Heart of a Texas Cowboy, I definitely knew I needed this one. Both my library and Any play had these books so I started with the ebook but actually ended with the audiobook in the end because even though the accents weren’t my favorite at first, they eventually grew on me. So I can’t wait to delve into this review and share all the delights that I loved in this book.
A Cowboy of Legend is a spicy western which features:
- Deacon Brannock-had a rough childhood, saloon owner, dreams of owning a ranch
- Grace Legend-first child of Houston and Lara Legend, fighter for women’s rights and activist against alcoholism addiction
A Cowboy of Legend begins with our heroine Grace, storming the streets of Fort Worth, Texas with a group of women who are fighting against the abuse of alcohol and the negative effects it has on the families and victims of the addiction. Grace is determined to fight for women’s right to vote and own property and doesn’t seem to care who gets in her way especially the saloon owner…Deacon Brannock. But when she stumbles into him and he saves her from a mean drunk she knows that she will never be the same, but she also knows him by his reputation and the danger she senses lurking in his eyes. But despite what she has heard about him, there is a chemistry between Deacon and Grace. Deacon may be a saloon owner but he practices safe policy as best as he can do while investing to save up for the future dream of his to own property of his own. He didn’t have an easy childhood which still haunts him and even though he finds Grace a danger to his dream, he can’t deny he connects with her and wants to dig deeper in knowing who Grace truly is. But Grace and Deacon will come together in the most unexpected turn of events, and their connection will turn into a passionate love affair, but there are dangers in their world, and can Deacon and Grace fight for what they believe in while paving the way towards their HEA?
Besides, fighting or not, there was something about being with Brannock, surrounded by the night that tucked around them. It was like they were alone in their own private universe for just a little while.
A Cowboy of Legend is the first book in the series, but I didn’t expect to see such fun moments be built at the beginning of this book. I will be honest in that I didn’t know if I would like this one at all because the heroine ….the heroine was a struggle for me in the beginning. I didn’t know what to make of her and she was hard to really find relatable in any way. I understood why she wanted to fight for women’s rights (back then women still had to rely on men for much of any freedom) but I felt like she was going about it the wrong way. She could be very abrasive and didn’t care who she hurt. But then a member of her family gets involved and sets her on the straight path that in order to create change it won’t happen with giving out vinegar ….but offering honey instead. Then we see a change in our heroine, where she begins to open her mind more, to be more understanding and compassionate, to see what a complex issue it is, and that Deacon is not the man she thought he was, that he has a kind protective soul that has never truly been loved. The romance between them deepens into a whirlwind of a love match neither of them expected to find.
Come hell or high water, she sure meant to give it her best and solve the nagging puzzle. Not because he had a nice smile, saw to her welfare, or possessed a touch that sent heat up her arm.
Both characters are so stubborn in their thoughts of each other, but they are really opposite of each other. I actually don’t mind these types of pairings. Even though Grace was hard at times to be endeared to, eventually she worked for me, and I did like seeing her growth and change in accepting reality and being willing to work with men rather than fighting against them. Deacon was a character that just wins your heart from the beginning of the story. You see what a man of integrity he is who has been dealt a hard life but has tried to be a good man. I love that he doesn’t let his past define him, and keeps striving to be better. He was a hero I admired so deeply and once Grace accepts and understands him, she fights for him so fiercely and I truly admired this author in being able to pivot on that element in their romance. There is also a sideline plot where we see kids going missing, and Grace and Deacon working together to discover where they are going and who is taking them and why.
Overall I found A Cowboy of Legend to be a stunning romance packed with human complexities that endeavor to showcase the beauty of being human and the strength that comes from love and paving your own way to your dreams.
About Linda Broday
I live in the Texas Panhandle on land they call the Llano Estacado where the Native Americans once roamed. History is so thick here with the ghosts of the people who settled this land. I love writing western historical romance and can't imagine writing anything else. I love a man in a Stetson and tight pants. Cowboys also get me fired up.
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