To Tame a Wild Cowboy - Lori Wilde (Avon - May 2019)

Series: Cupid Texas (Book 7)

What would it take to tame a wild cowboy?

One minute, Rhett Lockhart is a love ‘em and leave ‘em bull rider with a slow, sexy smile, a swagger, and not a care in the world. The next, he learns his free-wheeling days are over: a baby has been abandoned in the hospital, and there's no question: he's the father. But from the first moment he gazes into his daughter's eyes, he knows the moment has come to say ‘no' to no-strings. It's time to grow up.

Standing in his way is the baby's foster mother, Tara Alzate, who doesn't quite believe Rhett is ready to change his ways. Still, she's not immune to his considerable charms. So when he proposes a marriage of convenience and shared custody, against her better judgment, she says “I do.” Can Tara tame this wild cowboy and make her own, long-buried dreams come true?

Good book. In previous books, Rhett has been the laid-back, fun-loving bull rider who flits happily from rodeo to rodeo and buckle bunny to buckle bunny. Commitment is not a word in his vocabulary except when it comes to his bid for the bull riding championship. He gets the shock of his life when he finds out that one of his one-night stands resulted in a baby girl who has been abandoned by her mother. He fell hard for little Julie, and though uncertain of his abilities, he was determined to be a good father to her. A potential obstacle to his plans is the baby's foster mother, Tara. Tara is the NICU nurse who cared for Julie while she was in the hospital and became the baby's foster mother. Tara wants to adopt Julie herself and isn't so sure that Rhett is up to the task.

I loved Rhett, even in the earlier books. There was no meanness in his avoidance of commitment - he always made sure the women he was with knew the score. He could have given up his rights and just walked away, but he didn't. My heart melted during the scene when he first held Julie, and you could see her grab his heart in her tiny fingers. I also liked that he wasn't too proud to admit that he needed Tara's help.

I had a little harder time liking Tara, especially at the beginning. She came across as very judgmental of Rhett and his life, even though he wasn't hurting anyone. She seemed far more interested in doing what she could to keep Julie for herself instead of being with her father. I wasn't sure if she was going to help Rhett or try to sabotage him, so I was happy to see her do the right thing. I did ache for her and the reasons she wanted Julie so much.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Rhett and Tara. Because of their long history, they knew each other pretty well already. Once they came to grips with Rhett's intention to raise Julie himself, they formed an excellent working relationship. Neither of them expected the attraction that flared between them. When obstacles are placed in Rhett's way during his attempt to gain permanent custody of Julie, Tara proposes a marriage of convenience. This will keep her in Julie's life and allow Rhett to continue to follow his dreams. I had to laugh at the way the marriage of convenience part didn't last past the wedding night. The attraction between them was too strong for a platonic relationship to have a chance at succeeding. I loved seeing them settle into happy family life, though both of them tried to deny the feelings that were growing between them. I ached for them both when their custody of Julie was unexpectedly threatened, and they believed that she was all that held them together. It took being apart for them to realize what their feelings for each other were. I loved Rhett's self-reflection and look at his future without Tara and decide that wasn't what he wanted. I loved the shock of the people around him as he took the only action he could. Tara had already accepted her feelings for Rhett but thought she was doing the right thing by letting him go. I loved seeing her best friend read her the riot act and give Tara the push she needed. Their reunion was awesome, and it was followed by an unexpected and very welcome surprise. The epilogue was great.

I enjoyed most of the secondary characters. It was great to see characters from previous books, especially with the way that the two families have intermarried. I loved Granny, and her stories of the humming heard when you kissed The One. Like her sisters before her, Tara didn't believe until it happened to her. My least favorite character was the judge. I couldn't believe her attitude about Rhett's career of bull riding. Would she do the same to a father who was a cop, soldier, firefighter, etc.? And then her actions regarding Julie's mother made it even worse. Someone needed to bring her into the 21st century.

 

How the Cowboy Was Won - Lori Wilde (Avon - Apr 2018)

Series: Cupid, Texas (Book 6)

Ember Alzate is a fantastic matchmaker with one big problem: she can't find the perfect mate for herself! Alzate family legend says that when she kisses “the One” she'll hear a mysterious humming in her head. Well, Ember's kissed a lot of guys and she's never heard a thing. Now, instead of searching for herself, she vows to find her best friend, Ranger Lockhart, a bride. It's clear this smart, sexy man just needs to meet the right gal.

Ranger's returned home to Cupid with marriage on his mind, but he's not interested in the parade of women Ember pushes under his nose. His thoughts keep returning to his best friend -- with her combustible combination of curves and sass. No one compares to Ember, but what's it going to take to convince her she's the woman for him?

Fun friends to lovers story. Ember and Ranger have been best friends since they were kids. Neither one pursued anything deeper on those occasions when the thought occurred, each one afraid to ruin their friendship. Ember is quite the extrovert. She is friendly, bold, and a bit blunt in her speech and actions. Her self-esteem has taken a beating thanks to a failed, but blessedly short, marriage. She came home to Cupid to regroup. Her best buddy, Ranger, was in New Zealand for a year but was due to return soon. Ranger is almost her complete opposite. He is an introvert, happiest when lost in his work, with his head in th

e stars. The only thing that can pull him out is Ember.

Over the past year, while Ranger has been away, both of them have realized how much they miss each other and depend on each other. I loved Ranger's return and the absolute joy of their reunion. I loved Ranger's surprise and confusion as he noticed things about Ember that had previously made no impression on him. It didn't take him long to realize that he wanted more than just friendship from her. Ember also feels the pull, but after her disaster of a marriage has given up on the idea of love for herself. She quickly saw that Ranger needed a wife and decided to put her matchmaking skills to work.

I loved watching the development of the relationship between Ember and Ranger. He had his sights set on her and nothing was going to dissuade him. Unfortunately, he had his work cut out for him because Ember refused to admit what was happening between them. Instead, she was determined to find his perfect match, and her attempts were pretty funny. At the same time, seeing them spend time together made it so obvious that they were made for each other that I just wanted to shake her. Ranger got a little desperate and called on a friend for help. Ember had her own moments of confusion as unexpected feelings of jealousy made their appearance. Things got even more complicated when they shared their first kiss, which was a mind-blowing experience for both of them. It strengthened Ranger's determination, but sent Ember further into denial, with her fears and insecurities convincing her that she wouldn't be right for him anyway. I liked when she finally came to her senses and ached for her when a misunderstanding made her believe it was too late. This was followed by more misfires in communication as Ranger made his case to her, but forgot the most important thing. Ember made some mistakes of her own that she then had to face up to before she could believe in a future for them. I loved her big moment as she took courage in hand, trusted her instincts, and went after what she wanted. Ranger's reaction made it the perfect ending for this book.

The secondary characters in the book were almost as much fun to watch, especially the various subjects of Ember's matchmaking attempts. Though she'd had several earlier successes, in this book, nothing seemed to go right. A good part of it was caused by her desperate attempts to fix Ranger up, leading her to push a couple of unlikely matches. It was fun to watch her subjects resist her maneuverings and end up with the right matches in spite of them. I also liked catching up with both Ember's and Ranger's siblings, and look forward to seeing Rhett's turn on the hotseat.