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The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo #1
Walker: The Rodeo Legend
Out of nowhere, Walker Cody swoops in and saves Paula Olsen's toddler son from a dog bite. Before she can properly thank him, the handsome Iraq War veteran fades into the crowd.Walker's in training to retake his World Champion Bulldogger title. The practice rides are bruising, but still don't knock thoughts of a certain beautiful young widow and her little boy out of his head. And Paula's shocked to realize she has a bad case of "Pervasive Walkeritis."
Survivors' guilt and ghosts from their pasts stand between them. Walker's need to prove himself on the rodeo circuit runs deeper than bragging rights. But can Paula risk her healing heart on a troubled man who deliberately puts himself in danger?
Survivors' guilt and ghosts from their pasts stand between them. Walker's need to prove himself on the rodeo circuit runs deeper than bragging rights. But can Paula risk her healing heart on a troubled man who deliberately puts himself in danger?
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Winters
1,137 books206 followersaka Rebecca Brown Burton, Rebecca Burton
Rebecca Winters, born Rebecca Brown Burton, was the author of over 175 romance novels published with Harlequin, delighting readers worldwide for more than 35 years. Her stories, translated into many languages, have sold nearly thirty million copies. A French teacher turned novelist, she combined her love of language, family, and storytelling into a remarkable literary legacy.
Rebecca Winters, born Rebecca Brown Burton, was the author of over 175 romance novels published with Harlequin, delighting readers worldwide for more than 35 years. Her stories, translated into many languages, have sold nearly thirty million copies. A French teacher turned novelist, she combined her love of language, family, and storytelling into a remarkable literary legacy.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 1, 2010
Walker The Rodeo Legend was a big ole tease. Although it could just be that I’ve been reading far too much erotica lately. This was my first Harlequin American romance and also my first by author Rebecca Winters so little did I know going in this was going to be a “clean” romance. In all honesty I’d never even heard that term before (again possibly too much erotica being read) so you can imagine my disappointment when I realized I wasn’t ever going to get to see Walker the sexy, military cowboy stud naked. *sigh*
Anyways, this turned out to be an okay read (meaning I finished it) that I’d originally picked up because I’m a fan of dark tortured heroes, military men and cowboys. On the surface this ticked all my boxes and started out great however after the introductions the story never really went anywhere. The rodeo aspect, which was supposed to be a big deal (come on its in the title) was unfortunately only ever told to us (repeatedly mind due) but the author never showed us an actual rodeo scene. And the heroine, don’t even get me started. The best I can say about her is that she’s the kind of girl who wears sensible shoes. Of course then we also have her young son and if I had to read one more sentence about ear infections, Pedialyte or Cheerio’s I was going to scream.
Walker’s initial struggles with PTSD are well done however theres a really silly plot thread involving his father and the fact that he’d cheated on his mother some 20 years earlier. Apparently this horror left bigger scars on Walker then the war or any IED ever did. It’s a good thing he finally comes to terms with it so he can concentrate on healing those skin grafts. I’m guessing the message here is that infidelity is worse then war!?
There were moments of this book however that I enjoyed and I think others (with cleaner minds) will probably really like this touching contemporary romance so I’ll stop the bashing and just give you a brief summery. Cheers.
Walker Cody has returned to Wyoming a changed man. Recovering from his war injuries and still suffering debilitating flashbacks all he wants now is to isolate himself at his grandfather’s cabin and avoid his affluent rodeo family. On his way through town he happens upon a parade and without thinking rescues a child from the clutches of some crazed dog. Before the young mother can thank him though Walker has disappeared.
Paula is recently widowed, having lost her husband in Iraq she’s just now starting to get her life back on track and the last thing she needs is to be thinking about is the dark and dangerous cowboy who rescued her son, yet she can’t seem to stop herself. With a war between them our couple forge into a wary friendship. Walker is hesitant and Paula is afraid of falling in love again. When Walker returns to the dangerous life of the rodeo circuit (which runs deep in his blood but not on the page) Paula fears she may just lose him forever.
Anyways, this turned out to be an okay read (meaning I finished it) that I’d originally picked up because I’m a fan of dark tortured heroes, military men and cowboys. On the surface this ticked all my boxes and started out great however after the introductions the story never really went anywhere. The rodeo aspect, which was supposed to be a big deal (come on its in the title) was unfortunately only ever told to us (repeatedly mind due) but the author never showed us an actual rodeo scene. And the heroine, don’t even get me started. The best I can say about her is that she’s the kind of girl who wears sensible shoes. Of course then we also have her young son and if I had to read one more sentence about ear infections, Pedialyte or Cheerio’s I was going to scream.
Walker’s initial struggles with PTSD are well done however theres a really silly plot thread involving his father and the fact that he’d cheated on his mother some 20 years earlier. Apparently this horror left bigger scars on Walker then the war or any IED ever did. It’s a good thing he finally comes to terms with it so he can concentrate on healing those skin grafts. I’m guessing the message here is that infidelity is worse then war!?
There were moments of this book however that I enjoyed and I think others (with cleaner minds) will probably really like this touching contemporary romance so I’ll stop the bashing and just give you a brief summery. Cheers.
Walker Cody has returned to Wyoming a changed man. Recovering from his war injuries and still suffering debilitating flashbacks all he wants now is to isolate himself at his grandfather’s cabin and avoid his affluent rodeo family. On his way through town he happens upon a parade and without thinking rescues a child from the clutches of some crazed dog. Before the young mother can thank him though Walker has disappeared.
Paula is recently widowed, having lost her husband in Iraq she’s just now starting to get her life back on track and the last thing she needs is to be thinking about is the dark and dangerous cowboy who rescued her son, yet she can’t seem to stop herself. With a war between them our couple forge into a wary friendship. Walker is hesitant and Paula is afraid of falling in love again. When Walker returns to the dangerous life of the rodeo circuit (which runs deep in his blood but not on the page) Paula fears she may just lose him forever.
March 20, 2024
With a title like WALKER: THE RODEO LEGEND, you would think that this book centers around the rodeo. You might think that, but you would be sorely mistaken. To be completely honest, I don’t think the author knows anything about rodeos (or ranches, or oil drilling, or PTSD, or therapy, or babysitting, or any of the plots and themes of this book). Walker (the aforementioned-yet-not-clearly-defined Rodeo Legend) is suffering from PTSD after serving in Iraq. Paula is a widow after her husband was KIA. Neither is at a point in their grief where they can pursue a new romantic relationship, and yet they both chase each other… sort of. To be more specific, they both chase one another away on multiple occasions, but after their final fight (which was either about Walker’s competing in the rodeo or maybe Paula still loving her late husband—I’m honestly not sure), Walker proposes. They fly to Vegas that night to get married and are home in time for breakfast with Paula’s 2-year-old son.
I bought all the books in this series, so I will definitely be diving into book 2 immediately.
TL;DR: don’t put “Rodeo” in your title if you will only have one minuscule rodeo scene.
Overall rating: 🤠🤠
I bought all the books in this series, so I will definitely be diving into book 2 immediately.
TL;DR: don’t put “Rodeo” in your title if you will only have one minuscule rodeo scene.
Overall rating: 🤠🤠
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2018
Awesome book!
Great book! I love the characters! This is a book you won’t want to put down! Great series of books.
Great book! I love the characters! This is a book you won’t want to put down! Great series of books.
April 13, 2013
This is one of those books where I wonder how in the world it got published. I can't even tell you how the plot or characters were because all the bad writing got in the way.
- Almost every single conversation in the book felt stiff and stilted. Seriously, I kept picturing puppets instead of people.
- Revelation of key information was sometimes badly timed. For instance, we know Walker is suffering from PTSD and he doesn't really want his family to know. But it isn't until he first goes to see his mother and he's been there for a while that we find out she used to be a nurse and obviously knows what he's going through. The author should have told us that she was a nurse and used that point as a reason why Walker stays away. Instead, we never really understand Walker's reluctance with his family except for that one issue he has with his dad.
- The author also repeats facts in narrative and conversation in close proximity to each other (this is a variation on the stiffness of the conversation). For instance, when Paula's brother and a friend come to visit her, the narrative says that they drove up on their bikes to visit Yellowstone. Just a few sentences later when Walker comes over Paula tells him "they drove up on their bikes to visit Yellowstone." Almost a word for word repetition.
- In the above example with Paula's brother, we also see another problem that occurs throughout the book - the characters give other characters information that doesn't fit with their relationship or their circumstances. Sure Walker needed to be introduced to Paula's brother, but he didn't need to know all the details of his life. He didn't ask and he didn't seem interested anyway. Another place I noticed this was early in the book when Paula met with Walker's mother for business. Their conversation was way too personal for people who had only met a few times to discuss business, especially seeing that Paula was not actually dating Walker.
- Finally, the names were too hard to keep straight. The town is named after the family, Walker is named after an ancestor, etc. So when the book says Walker I sometimes didn't know who/what she meant.
- Almost every single conversation in the book felt stiff and stilted. Seriously, I kept picturing puppets instead of people.
- Revelation of key information was sometimes badly timed. For instance, we know Walker is suffering from PTSD and he doesn't really want his family to know. But it isn't until he first goes to see his mother and he's been there for a while that we find out she used to be a nurse and obviously knows what he's going through. The author should have told us that she was a nurse and used that point as a reason why Walker stays away. Instead, we never really understand Walker's reluctance with his family except for that one issue he has with his dad.
- The author also repeats facts in narrative and conversation in close proximity to each other (this is a variation on the stiffness of the conversation). For instance, when Paula's brother and a friend come to visit her, the narrative says that they drove up on their bikes to visit Yellowstone. Just a few sentences later when Walker comes over Paula tells him "they drove up on their bikes to visit Yellowstone." Almost a word for word repetition.
- In the above example with Paula's brother, we also see another problem that occurs throughout the book - the characters give other characters information that doesn't fit with their relationship or their circumstances. Sure Walker needed to be introduced to Paula's brother, but he didn't need to know all the details of his life. He didn't ask and he didn't seem interested anyway. Another place I noticed this was early in the book when Paula met with Walker's mother for business. Their conversation was way too personal for people who had only met a few times to discuss business, especially seeing that Paula was not actually dating Walker.
- Finally, the names were too hard to keep straight. The town is named after the family, Walker is named after an ancestor, etc. So when the book says Walker I sometimes didn't know who/what she meant.
November 5, 2016
In Nov. I read #2 in this series and really like the first family of rodeo so I bought the whole series and had the need of a contemporary romance and this was perfect. Walker Cody was wounded in Iraq.
He came home with scars both physical and mental. Suffering with PTSD he saved a little boy from a fall and dog attack but it brought on a a PTSD episode. The young widow, Paula Olsen was so thankful that he had saved Clay she wanted to thank him more but he disappeared. She decided to buy him a thank you gift and went to find him at the family ranch and learned they thought he was still in Iraq. Walker was hiding from his family while he got his life under control. he had so much to do to get his life together he didn't think he had time for a pretty woman and cute kid besides she must have a husband and he had to much baggage. Paula has her own baggage and constant random meeting bring them together is the love story that is so sweet. The group PTSD meeting they go to together is an eye opener for Walker and the other men in the group. This book will touch your heart on many levels. I loved it.
He came home with scars both physical and mental. Suffering with PTSD he saved a little boy from a fall and dog attack but it brought on a a PTSD episode. The young widow, Paula Olsen was so thankful that he had saved Clay she wanted to thank him more but he disappeared. She decided to buy him a thank you gift and went to find him at the family ranch and learned they thought he was still in Iraq. Walker was hiding from his family while he got his life under control. he had so much to do to get his life together he didn't think he had time for a pretty woman and cute kid besides she must have a husband and he had to much baggage. Paula has her own baggage and constant random meeting bring them together is the love story that is so sweet. The group PTSD meeting they go to together is an eye opener for Walker and the other men in the group. This book will touch your heart on many levels. I loved it.
November 11, 2010
After Walker saves Paula's son, she goes out of her way to find and thank him. The meeting brings about a connection.
Although Walker suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, he gets the help he needs to overcome it, including therapy, going back to his family and participating in the rodeo like he did prior to joining the military.
As much as I usually hate any book dealing with a military main character this one was decent since it wasn't mentioned in every other sentence.
I liked how Paula's son Clay forms a bond with Walker. I find it cute but it all happens too quick and Walker acts almost as if he were the child's father.
The main letdown of the book was the lack of hot romance scenes. Nothing went beyond kissing.
Although Walker suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, he gets the help he needs to overcome it, including therapy, going back to his family and participating in the rodeo like he did prior to joining the military.
As much as I usually hate any book dealing with a military main character this one was decent since it wasn't mentioned in every other sentence.
I liked how Paula's son Clay forms a bond with Walker. I find it cute but it all happens too quick and Walker acts almost as if he were the child's father.
The main letdown of the book was the lack of hot romance scenes. Nothing went beyond kissing.
June 6, 2010
I love continuities, series by different authors, and was intrigued by this one about a family in Wyoming. I have been to Cody, Wyoming and fell in love with the area and now find I am falling in love with the characters in this first book in the series. I am a sucker for wounded heros and unique heroines and this book has both. Already looking forward to the next book about Dexter by Marin Thomas.
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June 30, 2016"It is a excellent story of two people dealing with mental anguish without the book becoming depressing. Set amid the rodeo and ranching backdrop..." from a review posted by an eHarlequin.com member, read more here.
June 10, 2010
4.5 stars
Loved this one. Her best book in years!
Loved this one. Her best book in years!
May 6, 2014
This book was entertaining, but I wasn't really fond of the writing.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews