With the fun, sexy launch of the promising Cowboys of California series, Weatherspoon (the Loose Ends series) delivers a second chance at love story with depth and authenticity. TV chef Evie Buchanan fled Charming, Calif., for New York City after the death of her Nana, her last remaining biological relative. Ten years later, after a rival chef pushes Evie down the stairs, she wakes with amnesia and returns home to Charming to recover. Rancher Zach Pleasant, Evie's estranged best friend and childhood crush, failed a grieving Evie when she needed him most. But with Evie's memory of his betrayal gone, he feels like he finally has a chance to make up for his mistake. Weatherspoon keeps Evie's amnesia from falling into the realm of melodrama, and the tentative but passionate relationship between Evie and Zach is realistic despite the over-the-top trope bringing them together. The almost entirely black cast is rendered with care and cultural specificity, making for a refreshing entry into the cowboy romance genre. This fabulous love story will delight readers. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Mar.)

First in the Cowboys of California series, about brothers who run a luxury dude ranch.Celebrity chef Evie Buchanan was raised on the Pleasant family's luxury dude ranch in Charming, California, by her grandmother, a renowned horse trainer, after her parents were killed in a car accident. In the decade since her grandmother died, Evie has been working her way up the culinary ladder in New York City. She has found success co-hosting a television show, but she has never met a man quite like the cowboy who broke her heart. Zach Pleasant, gorgeous, charming, and laser focused on work, is now co-owner of Big Rock Ranch with his brother, Jesse. When Evie sustains a traumatic brain injury at an industry party and loses her memory, she needs a quiet place, away from Manhattan, to recover. The Pleasant family takes her in, and Evie slowly begins to regain some of her cooking skills and memories. She's attracted to Zach, but trying to come to terms with how he hurt her in the past without remembering it proves a challenge. Evie is a heroine to root forresilient, brave, honest, funny, and humble. Her struggles, not only to recover, but to reinvent herself, are movingly portrayed: "I want to feel loved, like really loved. I want to feel that I have something that is mine for as long as I can hold on to it." The romance competes with a very large cast of characters in both New York and California, and a suspense subplot fizzles out, but Zach is a good man and a fitting match.An amnesia plot done right and a fantastic heroine mark a strong series debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The amnesia trope gets a pop culture-infused update in this second-chance romance featuring reality-star chefs, ranch resorts, Instagram feuds, and Hollywood royalty. Evie Buchanan grew up riding horses with her stuntwoman grandmother, but after she wins a reality cooking show, her life is packed with cohosting duties and glamorous parties. That is, until a bitter competitor pushes Evie down the stairs and she's left with a head wound and complete amnesia. The obvious place to hide out while she recovers is the California ranch owned by the closest people she has to family, including her first love, Zach Pleasant. As her body heals, she reconnects with the family she can't remember leaving and develops feelings for the man she spent years avoiding. VERDICT Readers who enjoy the soap opera-like drama of an amnesia story will immediately be intrigued by Weatherspoon's ("FIT" trilogy) new series launch. The emotionally satisfying tale of forgiveness and reconciliation gives Evie's story broad appeal.--Meagan Day, High Plains Lib. Dist., CO

Celebrity chef Evie Buchanan has many admirers but all it took was one jealous enemy, and a shove that sent her tumbling down a dark flight of stairs, to nearly derail her career. Awake in the hospital but without any memory of who she is, Evie must rely on the kindness of a family back in Charming, California. Zach Pleasant never expected Evie to return to Big Rock Ranch after she confessed her feelings for him and he pushed her away, a rejection she never got over. But now that she's back, Zach may have the perfect opportunity to regain her trust before she remembers their past. While Evie recovers from her injuries, she slowly forms a tender new bond with Zach and the rest of the Pleasants, who are determined to protect her from future harm and cheer her on as she rediscovers her passion for cooking and for a certain tall, dark, and handsome cowboy. A gorgeous country setting, engaging multicultural characters, and sweet but passionate love scenes makes this a charming start to Weatherspoon's Cowboys of California series, which will delight readers who enjoy contemporary Western romance.