Julia Justiss’ second book, The Cowboy, in the McAllister Brothers series is heart warming and so very touching...centered around loss and love found again, the story weaves through you a joy and gentleness born of faith in patience and love itself. Grant, Abby, and Katie will steal your heart and leaving you longing to know them personally...no better testament to an author’s gift for telling a story. This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This book was even better than the previous McAllister brother's book; Ex-military hero and a widowed heroine with an adorable daughter. From the moment these two are on the pages together, you can feel more than just chemistry. There is a strong pull and while Grant would love nothing more than to explore that attraction, Abby isn't looking for a relationship. Abby has enough on her plate with running her small business and raising her adorable daughter. In addition, Abby is fearful of falling in love again. As you can expect, Abby keeps Grant at a good distance and yet she can't help getting to know him. The way he is with Abby's young daughter is only another thing to like about Grant. Abby knows her heart is fighting a losing battle. This book is well written with a steady flow. There are emotional moments and a bit of angst along with a slow burn romance. I didn't mind the time it took for Grant and Abby to become a couple. The author did a great job at building the friendship first. I also loved the Texas country and secondary characters that gave me even more enjoyment. While I will admit, Grant and Abby had some emotional obstacles to get over, I appreciated the slower pace. I absolutely love when an author not only immerses me in the story, but puts me there as well. This author painted the perfect scenes, wrote engaging monologue as well as dialogue and all around gave me a five star novel. While I was provided an advanced reading copy of The Cowboy, this is my honest and unbiased review and I thank you for taking the time to read it. :)