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Farewell to Freedom: What Happens in Las Vegas Doesn't Necessarily Stay in Vegas!

Anita Waggoner
Strategic Book Group (2011)
ISBN 9781609119324
Reviewed by Tia Bach for RebeccasReads (7/11)

Cheyenne Stevens is blindsided when her husband announces he’s leaving her for his mistress just days before Christmas. Heartbroken, she and a girlfriend rush off to Vegas. There she meets Rowdy Harrison, a cowboy from Freedom, Oklahoma. A weekend love affair quickly turns into much more.

Cheyenne tries to go back home and move on, but she feels drawn to Freedom and to Rowdy. Soon she’s sharing her love and business experience with him. Both beaten down by previous relationships, they find solace in each other. The luster of new love and a new adventure starts to wear thin as Rowdy spends more and more of Cheyenne’s money, they suffer various business setbacks, and Cheyenne’s divorce drags on.
I wanted to care about Cheyenne, she’s feisty and stubborn. Not easily discouraged, she fights for every success she has in the book. But she was so blind when it came to Rowdy, I lost more respect for her with each turn of the page.

The author never showed me any truly endearing side of Rowdy, so I never believed Cheyenne’s intense draw to him or to Freedom. Most of the book I was just angry: angry that a woman would get herself into such a mess in the first place, much less continually go back for more.  I couldn’t buy Cheyenne throwing it all away on a guy who drinks too much, rarely shows her any real affection (outside the occasional roll in the hay), and spends all her money.  Maybe with a first love, but this woman should have been hardened by her first marriage suddenly collapsing. Or at least cautious.

There was one highlight: I loved the character of Cheyenne’s best friend, Maryanne. She said exactly what I was thinking at one point, “What in the hell does Cheyenne see in the macho cowboy?” If only Cheyenne had listened to her spunky girlfriend.

The story jumped around so much it was hard to follow. Way too many characters were introduced and quickly thrown aside. For a good story and memorable characters, I could have moved past the poor editing and jumbled thoughts. But, in the end, I didn’t care about the characters (where were Cheyenne’s kids during all this mess?!) or the story, so I was left with nothing.

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