I am a big fan of this author. Having said that, this wasn't my favorite book by her. I liked the cowgirl concept, but I find the Russian portion less interesting. I had a hard time bonding to either main character and that is such an important part of enjoying the book. Love them or hate them, you need some kind of relationship with them. I still look forward to this author's next book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book because of the title Comrade, of course, takes me immediately to Russia. Whereas cowgirl has 100% all-American stamped all over it. The title is an oxymoron and it intrigued me. Then I read the summary and was intrigued and hesitant.

It took me a while to get through this one because my sister had an accident a few years ago and my and I are dealing with the financial aftermath. I know this affected my appreciation of this book. I would suggest that you not take my rating as law, but instead search for other reviews online.

The premise for Comrade Cowgirl is interesting - Laramie, an American cowhand, is hired to train Russian ranch hands, and Anastasia, who has been let go from her job for being out, is hired as her translator. Setting a lesfic in Russia could have led to some really interesting character development, especially for Ana and her backstory. There seemed to be more focus on the running of the ranch than the development of the relationship between the two MCs. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me - in the story line, the romance and the characters themselves.

Very little romance, the chemistry between the two MCs was just okay. An okay story, sometimes too much blabla. It could have been a great story!

Comrade Cowgirl is a romance about finding love in a completely unexpected place. Laramie is an American cowgirl whose family needs money to care for her brother. She is big-hearted, warm, attractive and a product of her upbringing. Following an unusual opportunity, Laramie arrives for work in central Russia where she meets the local translator and LGBT activist, Anastasia.
I like this book quite a lot. The writing and story are good, the characters come across as both real and a bit cliché, and the setting is refreshing. It’s always good to get out of North America or Western Europe for a while. It might surprise some readers to see that central Russia is very similar to large swathes of central USA – wide, empty, rural, hot summers, brutal winters, socially conservative, homophobic, and insular.
Overall this book is a solid 4 stars. Not Yolanda Wallace’s best but still an enjoyable read.

Ms. Wallace has written a nice, simple, modern-day cowgirl romance. This cowgirl novel is different from most in that she has placed the story in Russia. Initially, I was not sure if it would hold my attention. I was pleasantly surprised when I was given the opportunity to learn about another country and how Russia deals with homosexuality.

Laramie Bowman is a true American cowgirl who helps to run her parents’ ranch in Wyoming. Her brother is a rodeo star who has sustained major injuries while competing. His hospital bills are outrageous, and his family is being financially stretched to cover the expenses. As a result, Laramie accepts a three-year contract in Russia to help a multi-millionaire start up a cattle ranch and train the cowhands.

Laramie does not speak Russian so Anastasia Petrova, an interpreter, is hired to assist Laramie in communicating with her staff. Anastasia is single and does not have any family. They are attracted to each other but realize that there would be major problems if they acted on their impulses.

The plot is not very complex. Readers will find no surprises. I also feel there could have been a deeper development of the chemistry between Anastasia and Laramie. I did find it interesting to learn about the legal and societal difficulties that gays face in Russia.

I rate it 3-1/2 out of 5 stars.

I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

Cattle rancher Laramie Bowman has decided to take up a lucrative position on a cattle farm in Russia while the stunning Anastasia Petrova has been employed to act as her translator.
Having a strong, confident, capable and gorgeous cowgirl as a lead character should have been enough for me to really love this book...seriously, who doesn't love a cowgirl? But unfortunately I felt the storyline fell a little bit short.
I actually quite enjoyed the book up until Laramie and Anastasia got together as there was enough angst between the two characters to keep me interested but once the characters physically connected I lost interest. I felt the sex was a little bland and lacked emotion and the remaining storyline lacked depth and was all wrapped up quite quickly and perfunctory.

Laramie is the epitome of a cowgirl, very capable on the ranch, an excellent horse rider, and a devoted daughter. When the family needs money to help with her brother’s medical expenses, Laramie takes a job in Russia to get an upstart cattle ranch up and running. So she travels with a trusted ranch hand, Shorty, to Russia. Her Russian boss provided an interpreter for the two of them.
Anastasia is a lesbian activities in Russia, where homosexuality is baned, she has no money so she takes on the job as an interpreter. However she hates the idea of being away from other lesbians to go to a remote part of Russia, but when you need money you go where the money is.
When the two women meet there is an instant attraction both know nothing can happen with this attraction since both women would lose their jobs and Anastasia could be sent to prison.
Laramie quickly realizes that there’s a lot of work to be done to get a group of men trained to be cow ranchers. The men are somewhat hesitant to take orders from a woman but when they realize that she knows what she’s doing they are quick to fall on step with her. The ranch begins to take shape an the attraction between the two women develops.
This story has so many twists and turns, mysteries, and mostly fun especially once all the people living on the ranch get to know one another, but always with the language barrier. Yolanda Wallace writes a very interesting story with unexpected happenings. I highly recommend this book.

This is a new author for me so I was excited to receive a copy of the book. I went in with no expectations and ended with a nice surprise of a good read.

The plot was a bit different then what I am usually reading, in that the story is set in Russia of all places. It is around an American woman that needs to help support her family ranch due to an issue from her brother, so she takes a job in Russia to help run a cattle ranch and train Russian 'cowboys'.

The book is full of robust characters, and the two main female characters are very believable. The story goes at a nice pace, and even though I have no clue what living in the Russia country side would be like, the writing by this author gave me a very believable idea what it might be like.

The book also touches on how homosexuality can be still very dangerous in a foreign country that bans it, so that added a bit of understanding to the Russian characters.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, I came away with a nice feeling for the characters, and was cheering them on in the end that they made the ranch a success.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-Enjoyable

For Laramie Bowman leaving Wyoming to work at a ranch in Russian wasn’t in her plans but when her brother is hurt and the medical bills grow she feels it’s a sure way to make some money to help her family. Anastasia Petrova is a LGBT activist living in Russia. Not a great place to be considering the political climate re LGBT rights. Not able to find steady work she accepts the chance to make some money by working as a translator on the same ranch as Laramie. Staying in the closet is the safest thing for her to do but that might not be as easy now that she has met Laramie. The women also have to deal with a foreman who is embezzling money from the ranch. Actually not that bad a story but I’m afraid it’s not what I’ve become used to reading from Ms Wallace. But still a nice little read.
ARC via NetGalley

Laramie's brother just got hurt and the medical bills for her family are gonna be really big. She has just recently gotten a job offer to go to a small town in Russia though and help a Russian cattle ranch become better and be run better than it has been being run.

Laramie doesn't speak Russian and for the most part the Russian ranch hands don't speak too much English and so a translator is brought in as well. Enter Ana. She has quite the past and was an interesting character (as was Laramie). They grow closer, but, they're both in Russia where (as the characters keep saying) being gay is illegal, and so their relationship may be dead on arrival before it has even started.

At the beginning I had a thought about where the plot could go on one specific point, and I just cracked up with happiness when I turned out to be right. It was awesome.

The characters were all so unique and cool too. From Shorty to Vlad, and everyone in between.

My only real problem with the novel was that some of the ending just seemed too pat and too easy for the characters (from an 'everything works out like a perfect puzzle' point of view). I just wish that the end here had been a little messier.

But, overall it was a fun read and something new that I don't think I've read yet (anything mostly set in Russia).

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

Russia as a setting for a contemporary lesbian romance is
unusual and interesting especially since Russia criminalises homosexuality.

Laramie Bowman is a rancher from Wyoming. Her older brother
chases a dream of being a rodeo star while Laramie is happy to handle the ranch
with their father. A rodeo accident puts her brother out of commission and
piling costs for the already-stretched family finances in the foreseeable future.
Doing her bit to help alleviate the expenses, Laramie takes on a three-year job
offer to set a newly minted ranch in Russia on track. Anastasia Petrova, a gay
activist in Moscow lands the job as Laramie’s translator. Ana is out and as a
consequence finds herself out of jobs all too soon. Her finances are
practically at rock bottom. There is instant attraction between the two MCs but
they cannot act on their attraction because of the repressive political
atmosphere.

Ana and Laramie work well together. The attraction between
them and their conversations are sweet. More than seventy-five percent of the book
is spent in acknowledging their attraction towards one another but not really
being able to act on it.

The end is a little rushed and a little pat on many fronts
but still, it is the HEA that romance readers would all want.

I was very disappointed in this story. It had so much potential but turned out to be overly talky, totally predictable, tiny love story. I didnt feel any chemistry between the two main characters yet they immediately had an irresistible attraction for each other. Could it be because they were the only lesbians at the ranch? Where was the ranching lessons? We learned nothing about ranching. Why did it take place in Russia? Nothing unique about the location except the language bearer and the repeated, repeated, repeated reference and remarks about homosexuality being illegal. Yet everyone seemed to be ok with it. With more development of the uniqueness of the location and more ranching information and a few less obvious storylines this story could be one I would recommend.

When Laramie's brother is in a rodeo accident, she takes a job in Godoroye, Russia, to make money to pay for her brother's medical bills. She and her colleague Shorty have three years to teach a new rancher how to run a successful cattle ranch. Anastasia was hired as a translator for Laramie and her colleague but she doesn't predict she'd going to enjoy ranch life as much as she does, and she doesn't expect the American cowgirl to be so attractive. The two women struggle with the challenges of a start -up ranch and their feelings for each other in a place where their feelings could be dangerous.

I really liked the way Laramie and Anastasia's relationship came together, their chemistry was fantastic and they had a very realistic relationship. I really enjoyed the cast of characters Wallace assembled in Godoroye, the heroes and the villains alike, they brought a beautiful depth and warmth to the story.

The setting for this story was really interesting, and posed scary challenges for our leading ladies.

I really enjoyed the pacing of the first 85% of the book. However, I assumed I was only at about 50% of the way through the story, so I was surprised to find out I was almost done. In the last 15% of the book the pacing sped up exponentially and it was a very rapid recounting of what happens. It was missing the emotional nuances from the beginning of the book and Laramie's decision felt very unrealistic, without perhaps showing us the rest of the three year period in Godoroye. This has happened previously when I've read Wallace's books - where the beginning of the book is excellent and then the last 15%-20% is rushed and I lose all emotional connection to the story and the characters. I rated this book five-stars for the first 85%.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well this book made me smile and feel happy because it’s lovely and a refreshing change. A romance that also tackles the difficult subject of gay rights in Russia, not an easy combination. I am not sure how realistic the family acceptance is as that all seemed a bit neat given the political climate. But I am prepared to forgive the coincidence of Elena, because it’s such a nice read. Also has a cute cowgirl on the front cover; I love the dimple.

First time reading a Yolanda Wallace book and I found her writing to be very smooth. I’m usually a slow, distracted reader and this one took me just a few enjoyable Sunday hours to get through.

The premise is unique, a Wyoming rancher, Laramie Bowman, accepts a lucrative job offer on a Russian cattle ranch to train locals into running their business in a more professional and proficient manner, basically turning them into real cowboys. Her translator, Anastasia Petrova, is a LGBT activist which continuously keeps her in danger and out of work until her best friend finagles her the job on his uncle’s ranch. It’s definitely a slow burn and no one’s in a hurry but the story and characters keep a consistent pace. There are good backstories on both mains which added some depth but didn’t bog down anything. When Laramie and Ana finally come together, it feels true to their characters. Even the villain was a good smarmy one.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading some of this author’s earlier stories.

3.25 Stars. I’m a fan of Wallace but unfortunately I have to put this book in the only okay pile. I was excited to read this because of the premise of a lesfic romance taking place in Russia, but unfortunately the book didn’t really live up to my expectations. It is not a bad read, it’s just was not what I was hoping for.

The main story is about a Russian millionaire who hires some American’s to help fix his cattle ranch up. I’m not a horse fan in real life but something about books with lesbians on a ranch, always works for me. I found myself enjoying the ranch scene and finding them really interesting. However, the book shifted and we didn’t get to see anymore of trying to turn the ranch around and I actually missed it.

The actually romance in the book was unfortunately a miss for me. I just did not feel the chemistry between the two mains. I understand being gay in Russia is illegal so things had to be on the down-low, but still there were plenty of missed opportunities to ramp up the sparks. Some of the best love stories are about two people who should not be together, so I don’t think it was a reason for the characters not to have more chemistry. Even the sex scene was kind of blah. When the book shifted to more romance, I wanted the ranch scenes to come back.

I just looked back through my ratings of Wallace’s books. 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, I really enjoyed the books she put out back then. Her books after that have just not been the same for me. They have been okay and always readable, just not great like her earlier works. I don’t know if it is me or what, but I hope Wallace can find that magic spark of hers that I used to really enjoy.

This is my first Wallace book and I liked it. Laramie Bowman takes a ranching job in Godoroye Russia to help pay for her brother's medical bills. She doesn't want to go, but knows her family depends on her. Ana Petrova is a gay rights activist in Russia. She keeps getting fired from her jobs because she insists on be out to her co-workers in a country where being a homosexual is illegal. Her best friend and play boyfriend helps her to secure a job working as a translator for Laramie.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way. What did I like. I like the attraction and interaction between the two MC's. The love connection between Laramie and Ana is very cute. Ana seems to learn how to come into her own with Laramie's help. Now, even though I thought this was a cute little romance, I did feel something was missing from this one that would make it a 4 or 5 star read. The plot seemed a bit overly simplified (being gay and in Russia is heavy) and I also found myself wondering how this book was going to be wrapped up if Laramie was set to be in Russia for 3 years. I think I would have loved a different ending.

I give this one 3.25 stars.

After reading the description of this book I was really looking forward to it. The mixture of hot cowgirl, Russian activist and the added tension of taking place in a country where being gay is 'illegal'
The book is well written and kept me turning the pages. I did think the author could have added more tension and suspense but overall a good read. Would I recommend......yes

I received an ARC copy of this book by the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.
This is the first book by this author under this name that I have read. I have read only one other under her other pen name. This is the first book I have read that the storyline has been set in and around Russia where being anything but straight is a crime. Laramie’s brother is injured during a rodeo ride and Laramie has decided to take a job offer in Russia to help pay with the medical bills. To Laramie nothing comes before family. She would do anything to help them out. Anastasia is a translator for foreign ranchers and this is what brings the two main characters together. I enjoyed the storyline but to me there was very little romance between Anastasia and Laramie which was a little disappointing but I still enjoyed the book and will read more from this author in the future.