Every time I hear Jody Hedlund has a new series starting, I think, "Yes, please!" So when I heard about A Cowboy for Keeps, the first book in her Colorado Cowboys series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And then I found out it was a marriage of convenience romance--my favorite!
Greta Nilsson's trip west to save her ailing little sister, Astrid, could not have gone more wrong. First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.
Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revolutions arise, can a union born out of desperation survive?
This book is an excellent entry in what's sure to be a really fun--and romantic--series! Greta and Wyatt decide to enter a marriage of convenience after mail order bride Greta arrives in Fairplay to learn her groom died while returning home from the West Coast with supplies to furnish their future home. Wyatt and Greta both have their own, slightly selfish reasons for consenting to the marriage, but they end up making a good team ... and feelings, of course, develop.
Greta and Wyatt are both likeable characters (though Greta's independence and stubbornness did grate on me at times), and I really loved Greta's precocious sister Astrid and Wyatt's crusty ranch hand Judd.
While I didn't find myself fully immersed in the novel at all times (largely due to some personal circumstances, I'm sure), I did enjoy every second I spent reading. And while I did anticipate a fairly major plot point well ahead of time, I certainly didn't expect it to resolve in the way that it did. If you like marriage of convenience and/or cowboy romances, you'll want to check this one out! 4 stars.
Note: I know some readers think that Hedlund's books tend to have more heat than they're comfortable with, especially when she's writing marriage of convenience. I felt like the heat/swoon level in A Cowboy for Keeps was dialed back a bit.
Buy the book. (Amazon ad)
Read my reviews of other Hedlund novels.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links; this means if you click the link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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