Jessica Cook introduces us to the setting and series Turn Around Ranch which is a correctional ranch for troubled teens. Jessica blames herself and her single mother status and the idiot boy her daughter Chloe started seeing – everyone but Chloe, really. The fifteen year old girl was caught in a stolen car with an older stoned driver so it’s a youth program or youth jail.

A COWBOY NEVER QUITS is a good motto for Wade Dawson. He’s part of the big-hearted family running this ranch. Jessica seems like a pushy mom getting her daughter into the camp, but only out of worry. As the camp is short a cook, Jessica offers for the job, hiding her inexperience. Wade is among the staff who show her the ropes, keep her separated from her resentful daughter and even teach the office worker about being a cowgirl. Wade can’t help thinking he’d like to know Jessica better – but she’ll be leaving here when Chloe completes her time.   

Chloe fell for a line, perhaps, or maybe the lad she likes really wants to see her again. She has to earn computer time by mucking out stalls and attending classes, but when she gets on line, there’s no response from social media. What’s happening to her friends, now she’s cut off from the world? Were they really her friends anyway?

I thought for a while that this book A COWBOY NEVER QUITS must be a few books into the series, because there are so many characters with individual backstories. Just like you would meet in a normal town, everyone in town wants to know newcomers and share information; while the Dawson family are not a generic family, they include adoptees and people with varied health issues. Cindi Madsen has done a fantastic job of making everyone feel real, friendly and concerned. This first story is an adult romance but we also see the issue of teen relationships so this would be a great mother and daughter read. Provided the mom has had ‘the talk’ with her offspring of course. Actually, discussing the characters might be a lot less awkward than discussing your own family.

Enjoy this involving romance with cowboys, kittens and a horse called Rowdy. I’ll be looking out for more books in the series. Cindy Madsen has written romances for adults and Young Adult novels so there is something for everyone.

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