Review: Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? by Abigail Sharpe

by Jewels E 6/17/2013 0 comments

Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 7th 2013

by Forever Yours (
first published March 5th 2013)

There's nothing florist Ainsley Fairfax won't do to help her sister get the love of her life-even if it means taking her place on a bachelorette weekend at a Wyoming ranch so Cecelia can sail off with the man of her dreams. Ainsley is determined to spend the time keeping her head down and her heart safely tucked away-until an encounter with the ranch's hunky owner gets her heart-and steamy desires-to bloom . . .

Riley Pommer doesn't want to be lassoed into any relationship. But with the family ranch in dire straits, Riley knows his sisters' crazy plan to turn the ranch into the setting for a dating competition-and using Riley as the bait-is the only thing standing between them and foreclosure. But the rules of the game change the instant Riley lays eyes on the spirited Ainsley. Now, as others try to stampede over their love, can Riley prove to Ainsley that true love is a prize worth fighting for?

♥My Thoughts♥

This was a really fun read. I was quite drawn in by the humor and polished style of Ms. Sharpe. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a novel that featured this bachelorette scene, but I was delighted with the story and characters. I think was most impressed me was that the story features two romances, that of Ainsley and Riley, and her sister Cecilia and Edward, and did that well. I'm not usually a fan of a book that has two couples as the focus, but it somehow worked out in this book. Maybe because the main focus was on Ainslsey and Riley. I don't know, but this time, for me it worked!

Ainsley: I think what I liked best about her was that she was laid back. She didn't want to go on this bachelorette getaway, but figures it's a good way to get out of the cluctches of Edward (who's chosen Ainsley as his society wife with the full blessing of her mother) and to help Cecila get the man of her dreams: Edward! She never expected to fall in love, and treated Riley like a regular guy instead of a conquest like many of the other women on the ranch. She also let their relationship develop even though she never really believed (till she did) that anything meaningful would come of it. And when she did, and Riley let her down, she learned a lot about herself. Like how she wasn't as independent as she wanted to be, and wasn't standing up for herself enough, something that made sense but I never quite saw because she seemed independent. But being with Riley taught Ainsley a bit more about herself and what it means to really not care about the opinion of your family. I was so glad she learned that lesson.

Riley: Good ol' boy? Not sure. He was always a gentleman, a bit of an ass when it came to love (baggage, man had baggage) but he had a bit of wild side--sex in a parking lot? That's wild. And well done. I like Riley a lot, but I honestly wondered about his emotional head space at times. I felt like he good reason to be worried about being used, abandoned, but I also felt like he was too easily manipulated by the other women on the ranch and their catty lies about Ainsley. I know he had some abandonment issues, but I guess I wanted to know more about them to understand Riley better. However, overall, despite being an ass some of the time to Ainsley, for the most part he was a gentleman. And I loved how he was so into her he could just know she was around by the smell of her perfume. I also quite admired him for putting up with the whole ordeal that his sisters dreamed up for the ranch, and that he was such a good brother to Seth.

Edward & Cecilia: Edward made me laugh, he really did. I can't imagine throwing over the woman you love for her sister just for the comfort of an organized life. But he seemed to come around to sense--to understanding that love is worth everything a lot quicker than Riley. Cecilia was sassy and owned herself--just what Edward needed, someone to love him for him and let him know it's okay to be exactly who you are. I loved them together.

Overall, I thought this was a solid debut novel with a lot of funny moments, sweet moments and some steamy scenes. This is definitely an author I will be reading more of in the future.

4 glittering stars