In Wild Ride Cowboy, Alex Donnelly returns to
Copper Ridge, Oregon to keep a promise, but the last thing he expects is to
fall for his best friend's sister, Clara Campbell. Fans of Maisey Yates' Copper
Ridge series will love this sweet, sexy romance releasing August 29th!
Wild Ride Cowboy
Copper Ridge #9
By Maisey Yates
Releasing August 29th, 2017
Harlequin
Contemporary Romance
In Wild Ride Cowboy (Copper Ridge #9) by Maisey Yates, Alex Donnelly holds a lot of guilt for the death of his best friend and military brother-in-arms. So, accepting the responsibility of taking care of his late comrade's sister is the least he could to honor his friend. However, Alex never expected to fall for the one woman that is off-limits to him. Will Alex realize that love is worth taking a chance on, or will he lose the best thing that's ever happened to him -- the love of a good woman?
This is the second book I've read by Ms. Yates, and the second book I've read in this series, and I've got to say that the Donnelly men are an absolute treat to read because they're good guys that have been through a lot. The way this story started had me sympathizing with the heroine, as she's had a lot of loss in her life, and with Alex's news on top of it, I could understand why she feels betrayed. Why would her brother do what he did? However, it was from the moment the hero and heroine came face-to-face for the first time in this story that made me completely hooked, as Alex is a hard man to ignore. Will Clara be able to handle Alex being in her life?
As for the dialogue, it was riveting and made this story very engaging, as there's a bit of an age difference between Alex and Clara. She's quite the innocent, yet she's resilient, courageous and I liked how determined she was to go after what she wanted -- a chance with Alex. Moreover, she's been through a lot in her life having lost her family, and I could sympathize with her when it comes to her grief and how she's handling her recent loss. Yet, what I liked most about the heroine is how she began to move past her grief with the help of Alex. The news of how her brother died and what he did certainly helps her to understand how much of a hero her brother was. While Alex, he's been through a lot in his life with parents that did a number on him and made him feel as if he wasn't good enough. Yet, he's done well for himself, despite his upbringing. I also liked the way he was with his brothers and how they tease each other when it comes to their love lives and life in general. Yet, what I liked most about the hero is his interactions with Clara and his willingness to help her, even though it's more to honor his friend's wishes than for the heroine at first.
Overall, Ms. Yates has penned a really good read in this book where the fantastic main characters kept me entertained from start to finish with their back stories and the obstacles they have to overcome on their journey to happy ever after; the secondary characters had me liking them due to their advice and their need to make sure Alex is making the right choice by getting involved with Clara; the chemistry between this couple was intense; the romance full of exquisite heat and passion that had me thinking that Alex needed Clara in his life to overcome his past demons; and the ending had me wondering whether Alex would ever realize that his relationship with Clara is the best thing that's ever happened to him before it's too late. However, in saying that, I liked that Clara didn't give up on Alex, even though he did his best to make sure she had the life she would have hopefully had if she didn't suffer the losses she's had in her life. I would recommend Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates, if you enjoy the brothers best friend trope or books by authors Lori Wilde, Jennifer Ryan, Susan Mallery and Mariah Stewart.
BLURB
He's come back to Copper Ridge, Oregon, to keep a promise—even if it means losing his heart…
Putting down roots in Copper Ridge was never Alex Donnelly's intention. But if there's one thing the ex-military man knows, it's that life rarely unfolds as expected. If it did, his best friend and brother-in-arms would still be alive. And Alex wouldn't have inherited a ranch or responsibility for his late comrade's sister—a woman who, despite her inexperience, can bring tough-as-iron Alex to his knees.
Clara Campbell didn't ask for a hero to ride in and fix her ranch and her life. All she wants is the one thing stubborn, honorable Alex is reluctant to give: a chance to explore their intense chemistry. But Clara has a few lessons to teach him, too…about trusting his heart and his instincts, and letting love take him on the wildest adventure of all.
Putting down roots in Copper Ridge was never Alex Donnelly's intention. But if there's one thing the ex-military man knows, it's that life rarely unfolds as expected. If it did, his best friend and brother-in-arms would still be alive. And Alex wouldn't have inherited a ranch or responsibility for his late comrade's sister—a woman who, despite her inexperience, can bring tough-as-iron Alex to his knees.
Clara Campbell didn't ask for a hero to ride in and fix her ranch and her life. All she wants is the one thing stubborn, honorable Alex is reluctant to give: a chance to explore their intense chemistry. But Clara has a few lessons to teach him, too…about trusting his heart and his instincts, and letting love take him on the wildest adventure of all.
Reluctantly, she covered the coffee
with a white to-go lid then turned to walk out the door. She didn’t make it
very far, though, because she ran right into a brick wall.
Well, it wasn’t really a brick wall.
It just felt like one. Large, hard and uncompromising. But breathing. Which
brick walls definitely didn’t do.
“Clara Campbell. Fancy meeting you
here.”
Clara blinked and stared up into Alex
Donnelly’s forest-green eyes and felt a strange response that seemed to originate
in her stomach and travel upward to her chest, where it twisted, hard and
sharp.
After looking at Asher, his
understated physique and much softer brown gaze, the sight of Alex was jarring.
Too intense. Too masculine. Too a lot of things.
His dark hair wasn’t military short
anymore. It was long enough to hang into his face. He pushed it back off his
forehead and again, something twisted, low and deep inside of her.
And then it wasn’t only his features
that seemed too sharp. It was seeing him at all. She had been studiously
avoiding him ever since he had moved back to Copper Ridge. If ever she’d caught
a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, she’d gone the other way.
The last time she’d seen him up close
had been at Jason’s funeral.
Pain washed through her, canceling
out all of the good Asher feelings from only a moment before.
No wonder she’d had such a strong,
immediate response to the sight of Alex. The man was dragging a bunch of her
baggage in with him. Another thing she liked about Asher. He was separate from
her life. From her pain.
Alex was all wound up in it.
“Hi, Alex,” she said, clutching her
coffee cup tight, the warmth bleeding through to her palms. Which she was
grateful for at the moment since her stomach had gone ice-cold at the sight of
him.
“I’ve been meaning to stop by,” he
said.
“That’s really okay,” she said, and
she meant it. More than okay. Jason’s death meant that she was alone. Both of
her parents were already gone. They’d had children later in life, and when her
mother had gotten sick, her father had done everything he could to make his
wife comfortable as her health declined. She’d died when Clara was twelve. And
there had been no amount of preparation that could soften the blow. No amount
of expectedness that could have made it feel less like a giant, ugly hand had
reached into their life and wrenched the beauty out of it, leaving nothing but
a dark abyss.
New
York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon
with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting
features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several
times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer
spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.
Since
then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she
wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark,
passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy
contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She
believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Maisey Yates always pens a good read, and I too, love these heroes. Can't wait to read Liam's story.
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