Bucked [Paperback]

Cowboys, and Porno, and Love...Oh My! This has got to be one of the most original erotic romances I've read all year. Get ready for a Bucking good time!

In BUCKED, we are taken back to the world of professional bull-riding right from where UNRIDDEN left off. I will say that I devoured this book as I couldn't wait to see what trouble Mustang was going to cause next for himself. Mustang, the resident cowboy ladies' man, is hurt in competition and taken out of riding for at least 3 months. He has to have surgery on his riding arm, so he decides to go home to convalesce. Home...that's a dirty word to Mustang. He doesn't like to go there mainly because his father thinks he should be working with him at the local Prison instead of traipsing around after bulls. But he's pleasantly surprised when the first person he sees when he comes home is the girl-next-door who is all grown up...and hot!

Sage has always had a crush on Mustang, so when she knows that he's going to be coming home for a few months, she knows that she's got to take the chance to be with him. She's a woman, not "Little Bit", as he so lovingly called her, anymore.

Mustang knows that he's no good for Sage, but he can't resist her. Harder still, he thinks he's falling for her. But when Mustang's quest for monetary independence lands him in less than stellar situations, he must decide whether to keep his unsavory deeds from her or come clean and risk losing her forever.

This is the second book in the Studs and Spurs series, and although it could easily be a standalone novella, I would suggest that in order to really get into the world of series, you start with UNRIDDEN, the first book in the series.

Mustang was touted as this ladies' man in the first book, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how little he fought the relationship that he had with Sage. It seemed as though it just fell into place for him. Sage is very young in this book, she makes mention of the fact that she's not old enough to drink, and she's in college, but she seems to be mature in a lot of ways. She's always been a source of support for Mustang, and I feel like he was able to let her in easier because of that. Mustang was the one who seemed to be immature in this book. He got himself mixed up in a pornography company because he was desperate for money and really didn't ask the most basic of information before signing on. He also didn't have the guts to stand up to his father and let him know that he didn't want to take the job that he was offering him. It seemed as though without the bull riding circuit, he was just floundering. And I guess in a lot of ways he was, except for when he was with Sage.

On the other hand, Sage was the good girl that did everything right, but with Mustang, she got to live out a bit of wild side and seduce him. In that way, they seemed perfect for each other.

The plot of the book is definitely interesting. I for one wasn't expecting Mustang to get into porn. I know that he loves having sex and all, but I had to laugh out loud when he first showed up on that set. I think that the author did a great job of making those scenes mechanical and unsexy. They were also a bit hilarious, especially the description of the first one that he did (yes, the fool did TWO).

What I didn't expect was the sweet and loving sex scenes between Sage and Mustang. He treasured her body and always treated her like she was special from the beginning--which was a much different Mustang that we were used to seeing.

My only complaint is that I feel like we didn't get to see enough of the relationship develop between Sage and Mustang. It was as if just when they got started on the right track, the story ended. We get the sense that they will work it out, and they will be ok, but there were so many things left up in the air, I just wanted a bit more. Will Mustang be able to ride again? Will Sage change her major and be able to go on the road with him? I'm hoping some of this will be addressed in the next book.

I enjoyed the comedy of errors which was Mustang's fledgling career in the adult entertainment world, and also catching up with Jenna and Slade from the first book, as well as young Chase, the rookie of the year. But what I loved most was watching Mustang fall in love and not fight it. Seeing the man get so off course but getting exactly what he needed gave the book an appeal that all romance lovers will enjoy.

Reviewed by Rho
for The Romance Reviews

Worth a look if you like a quick read. Didn't think the romance was that great and the sex scenes were kind of flat.

Mustang Jackson, in his early twenties, does two things well - ride bulls and love women. That is until an accident in the arena with the bull, Ballbreaker, forces him off Pro Bull Riding for 3-4 month. Having no additional income he backs up his trailer and heads of back home to Texas. Being back home is torture, his father lecturing about proper jobs, and the job at the Prison administrative wing is boring him to death, the only bright spot about the whole ordeal is the little sister of his former high school girlfriend.

Sage having had a crush on Mustang ever since she was in braces and pigtails can't keep away from the guy even though she's well aware of his player reputation and the fact that he'll be gone again in few months, but whenever he looks at her it all seems to disappear.

Mustang having to deal with his dad and the hated prison gig drives him to accept a modeling gig out of desperation and chance to get money more easily, but things don't go as planned and artistic nudity turns into a film, and before he knows it he is way over his head and feeling guilty and dirty as hell, and swears he's never going to taint Sage with his mere presence, but still she's the only one he can talk to, the only one ever who has made him feel like he has someone to come home to - so what will it be, honor or selfishness?

I have to say, I wasn't as fond of this as I was of the first book Unridden. I expected Mustang's book to be quite active, but I did NOT expect adult industry. With mixed feelings I still liked this book. It was good to see the industry from male point of view and how his naive view of the game was changed quite quickly, on more than one occasion though I wanted to yell at him, "Stop! What your doing?!"

That said I loved his character, he's still as charming and funny as he was in Unridden though taking the lead here you learn about his darker side, and yes he does have one with doubts about where his life is going, what he has to do if his career suddenly ended and does he want to spend rest of his days bed hopping - and that is what redeems the book for me on the issue of him in front of the camera.

Now Sage, I would have liked much more from her, the little we got from her point of view wasn't as coherent and compelling as Jenna was in Unridden. I'd like to have gotten more about her work and studying, but in fairness this book was all about Mustang and what he went through, she was just his crutch, his heart and his home, and the story was about him finding her as that in himself.

I love Cat Johnson's style of writing! She keeps it clean, simple, witty and funny, with enough gritty word play to make the male characters as believable leads... and the way she writes love scenes, wow, props for that, those leave no one cold!