Cowboys Don't Samba

Oh my god, I loved reading Cowboys Don’t Samba by Tara Lain. It’s the third book in the Cowboys Don’t series. Tara Lain is one of my favorite authors to read. I love the covers for this series. Each one has sucked me in and made me read the blurb. And from there it was easy to one-click the book or in this case put in a request to the publisher to get a review copy to read. And like when I read Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns, book 2 in the series, I fell in love with the characters and supporting characters, and I couldn’t put the book down until I had read it all. Each of the books in the series are about a different couple, but part of book three does take place at the McIntyre Ranch owned by Randi and Kai from book 1, Cowboys Don’t Come Out. It’s also where Danny and Laurie from book 2, Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns, work and hang out. So to get the most out of the interactions between the main and supporting characters, I do recommend reading the first two books in the series first, even though the book is a standalone.

I loved Maury Garcia. He’s a champion bull rider and main provider for his large family. He’s been riding bulls since he was a child and he’s great at it, but he’s getting up in bull riding years, and he has no idea what he’s going to do when he can’t ride anymore. Coming from a large Hispanic family, he’s also been raised to put family before anything else, even his own happiness. I liked that he’s trying to live up to his brother’s memory as one of the greatest bull riders in the world. I also loved how protective he is of his younger brother, Antonio, when he finds out that he’s gay, especially when he suspects that his homophobic uncles had something to do with his older brother’s murder. I could understand why under those circumstances that he kept the fact that he’s gay a secret. And he was doing a great job of suppressing his urges until he meets Tristao Silva. Who just happens to be the youngest brother of his biggest rival and probably the one person who could take the championship away from him. I loved the chemistry between Trist and Maury and the scene at the bar where everybody was dancing was hot! And Maury’s reaction to Trist’s samba hips is priceless. I also loved that he’s bought himself a secret ranch close to his friend and ex-bull rider Danny and his husband, Laurie. It’s the one place that he can go and be himself.

I also loved Tristao. He’s also a world-class bull rider from Brazil, who’s come to ride the US PBRA circuit with his older brother, who is a world-class jerk and homophobe. But Trist is night and day to his brother. Where his brother is hot-tempered and hates Maury and only helps himself, Trist is kind and gentle, and it makes him happy to share his personal knowledge of how the bulls like to buck. And like a moth to a flame, he can’t seem to stay away from Maury. But just like Maury, Trist is from a large and influential Portuguese family that already has his future mapped out for him, complete with an arranged marriage to a woman.

These two men’s lives are worlds apart, but they have a lot in common. Will they buckle under their families’ expectations? Will their future last beyond an eight-second ride? You’re just going to have to read it to find out.

Reviewed by Sammy for Diverse Reader

Maury has been hiding all his life—mostly from himself. Not only does his family responsibilities keep him tied to a career he’s certain to have only a few more good years at but fear of how his family will react keeps him from admitting even to himself that he is gay. Then there’s the fact that there are very few gay bull riders on the circuit and the rare man, like his friend Danny, who does come out are the lucky ones. No, Maury will just have to continue the lonely life he has had since forever—at least that is his decision until he meets Tristao Silva, younger brother of his closest rival and a gorgeous man who immediately gets under Maury’s defenses. But even though Tristao has feelings for Maury as well, he knows he has little choice but to return home and marry the woman his grandfather and mother have chosen for him and take his place in his mother’s business empire. That means no more bull riding, no more Maury and no more dreaming of a life with the cowboy he loves. Maury and Tris are trapped and that means losing each other and the love they know is growing between them. Can two men give up everything, including the family they love, in order to be together?

Cowboys Don’t Samba is the third installment in Tara Lain’s Cowboys Don’t series and I think it is the best one to date. Although it is not without a few flaws, this story is a real page turner—keeping you on the edge of your seat to see just how far Maury is finally poised to go in order to put his own happiness first. Admitting he is gay is only the first step in a journey that could really end his career in the arena and lose him the family he has fought hard to support for so long. For poor Tristao, his life is virtually over before it’s begun. Bound by a family arranged marriage and a grandfather who enjoys manipulating the lives of his grandsons, it will take a miracle for him to ever be free to live the life he wants. These two men desperately want to be with each other but life and their families have other ideas.

The romance here was incredibly well done—the story was a slow burn with doubt and fear on both men’s parts surfacing more than anything else in the first half of the novel. But as frustrating as it was to watch Maury hold back or Tris be so uncertain, it was just as satisfying when they finally let go and let each other into their lives and hearts. While I appreciated the consistency of the religious lense through which most of the homophobic moments in this novel was filtered, I also felt that on occasion it might have been taken a bit too far. That idea coupled with the highly unbelievable 360 that Tristao’s grandfather does at the end of the novel made the story feel a bit forced at times. It was as if the author knew she needed to insert another stumbling block for Maury or Tris and so offered up more blatant homophobia as a catalyst. As far as the ending goes, I get wanting to create the best version of a happy ever after but there is a believable way to do that and I felt that could have been achieved without the grandfather acting so out of character.

Despite these few niggles, I still really enjoyed this book. The action was fast-paced and intense as was the development of the love between Tris and Maury. Cowboys Don’t Samba delivers a wonderful age gap romance that does not disappoint.

Cowboys Don't Samba is a heart wrenching story about a professional bull rider raised in a macho Latin culture home afraid to love the man he’s come to know also raised that he can’t be gay even though he most definitely is. They can take everything a two thousand pound bull throws at them but disappointing their family and PBR fans is something they just can’t do. This is a sweet and touching story that will fill your heart and leave you with a smile.

What a wonderful story, full of heartache turning to joy. I liked both MCs, neither Maury or Tristeo were perfect, and both had their own insecurities. I loved the way their characters were developed by the author, both were much stronger by the end of the book, stopped allowing themselves to be manipulated, and were totally honest about who and what they are.

As with the majority of Ms Lain's books, the dialogue is spot on, what's also great is that there are no long run-on internal monologues. The dialogue also served to reflect the growth of the characters, in both self and confidence.

Ultimately, it's a great story about a good person finally getting a win and two people whose differences are incredibly complementary. Overall, a great reminder of being with the one you love is enough to help you ignore the opinions of outsiders.

A good addition to the series, it was lovely to once again meet characters from the earlier books. Highly recommended. Ms Lain at her best.

This is one of my favorite western/rodeo series. The cover is beautiful! I loved Cowboys Don’t Come Out and Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns. I have been waiting for more in the series and this one didn’t disappoint.

Maury is on top of the charts and destined to be World Champion. He is reaching his peak in years though and with his best friend Danny coming out and marrying his lover, working with Rand and Kai another loving gay couple, he longs for more. He feels he can never have it since he is sure his older brother’s death was no accident and his uncles had something to do with it. When he finds out his youngest brother is gay, he fears for Antonio. His rival with Silva gets worse on tour and when he meets the youngest Silva, Tristao, staying in the closet may e harder than he thought.

I loved all these characters especially Tristao. I liked getting to meet Danny, Laury and Rand and Kai again too.

The storyline is good too. I didn’t want to put the book down once I started. I have to say I would have loved to seen that Samba scene!

You could read this as a standalone, but with as much as Danny, Laury, Rand and Kai are in it, you may want to read the first two, so you understand those characters and get a better grasp of the story.

If you like Cowboys, Rodeos, interesting characters, age gap, family rivalries, and a hot romance this is for you!