I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Chasin' Eight
by
Lorelei James
erotic romance in eBook edition on June 28, 2011 and has 288 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Corralled, Saddled and Spurred, Rode Hard, Put Up Wet, Wrangled and Tangled, Long Hard Ride, Cowgirl Up and Ride, Rough, Raw and Ready, Tied Up, Tied Down, Wild Ride, Branded as Trouble, Shoulda Been a Cowboy, All Jacked Up, Raising Kane, Cowgirls Don't Cry, One Night Rodeo, Casanova Cowboy, Kissin' Tell, Gone Country, Mistress Christmas, Miss Firecracker, Bound, Redneck Romeo, Unwound, Turn and Burn, Hillbilly Rockstar, "Schooled", Wrapped and Strapped, Unraveled, What You Need, Just What I Needed, Racked and Stacked, Hang Tough, Spun Out, All You Need, I Want You Back, Want You to Want Me
Eleventh in the Rough Riders erotic romance series complete with cowboys in Sundance, Wyoming. The couple focus is on Chase McKay and Ava Dumond Cooper.
I really wanted to go with a “3” for all the errors in this, but I have to appreciate the message that James promotes in this.
My Take
What can I say? I am so caught up in the McKay family and learning what’s happening in their lives, you’d’a thought I’d’ve missed all the proofreading errors scattered throughout this story. Man, James, were you really in this much of a hurry that y’all couldn’t be bothered? I mean, Mazerati, Manalos, let alone all the missing articles and prepositions???
It is pretty funny. Chase has sworn off sex and here’s Ava dying for some. Nor does he want any of his family to know he’s been kicked off the circuit…so why he decides to hole up on Kane’s ranch is beyond me. He knows what the family is like.
For all the words James has written, there’s no sexual tension between Ava and Chase. Sure, he’s highly sexed and Ava wants some reassurance, but he’s determined to stick to his vow. Which doesn’t make much sense since he never has in the past. So, all of a sudden, for the sake of this story, he is gonna stick. Then Ava keeps letting Chase know how attractive she finds different guys, but she does absolutely nothing about it. Sure, we know it’s inevitable that they’ll get together, but, geez, couldn’t James have put more sizzle into this?
There are some interesting bits of “raw honesty” in this. Desires one wouldn’t expect. Especially from a guy. I think it’s also the first story in this series with such a tremendous message to it, and I do appreciate what James is saying in it. She presents the attraction and mechanics of bullriding in a rodeo circuit and tempers it with a hard dose of reality in the need for more and better safety equipment.
One of the things I like about this series is that the family isn’t afraid to get down and dirty with each other. They’re supportive AND they tell it like it is.
The Story
It’s similar disasters that find two completely different people meeting in the most unlikely place.
Ava Cooper has just been emotionally destroyed by her boyfriend while Chase is well on the way to destroying himself with his personal antics in the bar and the bedroom.
They each plan to lick their wounds and NOT each other when Chase stumbles over a sleeping Ava. He refuses to have sex with her, and he wants to get back into his groove while Ava tags along to experience something different, something real that isn’t knocked up on a soundstage.
Hours, days spent on the road lead each to opening up in varying degrees to the other. Seeing the similarities and self-absorptions they share.
The Characters
Ava Rose Cooper Dumond is a actress who’s never really hit the big time. She’s also from a mega-wealthy family. Jake Vasquez is the boyfriend who has no manners; Decker is his boyfriend. Hannah is her assistant; Brad is Hannah’s uncle, just doing her a favor. Her dad is Dumond of the Dumond Racing Team in NASCAR. Her mother is a Cooper, CEO of Cooper Hotels, while her brother Axel is involved with DRT and Cooper Tires. Marnie Driscoll is her agent. Petra is an actress friend of Ava’s who married up — Arthur — and now does the New York high society thing.
Chase McKay, a.k.a., Bill Chase, is a great bullrider, but he’s been coasting on his laurels. Ben is his furniture building brother. Aunt Joan has left Uncle Casper, which has sent his parents, Violet and Charles McKay, into a honeymoon phase. Quinn and Libby with their son Adam and baby Amelia (Wild Ride: Strong, Silent Type). Gavin Daniels is the oldest…and longlost…brother. He has a fourteen-year-old daughter, Sierra.
Brandt and Jessie are honeymooning as well. Tell has become a licensed rodeo judge. And, hoo-ee is he angry! Dalton‘s still single.
Ginger Paulson is Ava’s lawyer and friend; she’s also married to Kane McKay (Raising Kane) and they currently have Hayden, Paul, and Maddie. Her dad still lives with them.
Cash Big Crow is going to help Chase get back his mojo. Gemma is his wife (see Rode Hard, Put Up Wet) and their kids are Ryder, Ella, and Jansen.
Carter and Macie McKay (Rode Hard, Put Up Wet; Macie is Cash’s daughter) with their kids Parker and Thane (Gib and Braxton get a mention); Carter and Colby (he and Channing have added Talia to their brood; see Long Hard Ride), his older brother and Chase’s cousins, are helping Cash with his bulls.
Chet and Remy are building Keely and Jack‘s place (their story is in All Jacked Up).
Elroy is Chase’s PBR liaison. Winnie his PBR publicist. Sheree Bishop is a spoiled, rich lunatic who wanted Chase while her dad, Lou Bishop, has too much power, but not enough nouse to know his daughter. Rhea and Janae are really flexible in bed.
Ryan Ackerman is new this year to the PRCA bullriding circuit. He recognizes Chase, but keeps it quiet and, in turn, teaches Chase a few things. Jackie Ackerman is his mom. Taz is an old-timer on the circuit with his own set of stories.
The Cover and Title
The cover is hot. It’s not Chase or Ava. Simple, physical math dictates that. Uh-huh. He’s 5-foot 7-inches and she’s several inches taller. In flats. The graphics do follow the theme set for the series with its “carved leather scrollwork” and sepia-toned black-and-white photograph.
The title is all about why bullriders participate, why they obsess about Chasin’ Eight.
