Marry Me, Cowboy

Marry Me, Cowboy By Lilian Darcy

Teagan Ashe had always dreamed of taking over the family ranch one day.  Unfortunately, during her time in America becoming a champion barrel racer, her father did the unthinkable:  he sold the ranch and retired.  Now, feeling cut adrift, she has no desire to go back to Australia.  However, that might be just what she has to do.  Her visa is about to expire and her green card wedding has just been called off.  Enter the groom's best friend...

Jamie MacCreadie has spent his life chasing something.  Scratching the proverbial itch before planning to settle down and help with his family's cattle ranch in Montana.  Now, after his best friend has dumped Teagan at the alter, he is faced with a tough choice:  step in and marry a woman he doesn't even like, or step away and make her mend her own fences while he mends his at home.

This is the second book in the Copper Mountain Rodeo series and the first book to feature the MacCreadie family (Jamie's parents, Rob and Melinda, are featured in Rodeo Sweethearts; his aunt, Kate, is featured in Late Last Night).

Teagan is fairly straight forward and "salt of the earth".  She not only doesn't shy away from hard work, she expects to carry her own load.  Her anger at her father and resentment of her step-mother come out in some fairly ugly ways, but she is smart enough to keep those feelings under wraps, all things considered.  She misses Australia, but feels that there is nothing for her to go back to.

Jamie is partially estranged from his own family.  He has never understood his parents' relationship; his mother is upbeat and scatter-brained (not ideal for a rancher's wife), while his father is hard working and quiet.  He also has a strained relationship with his older brother, RJ, who seems to resent his life style.

I have to say this was not one of my favorite stories by Lilian Darcy.  She has a way of making chemistry come out of extraordinary circumstances.  It just didn't seem to work in this case.  I didn't really connect with Teagan, and I didn't find Jamie very heroic.

That being said, I did enjoy the end of the book, which definitely made up for the lack of emotional response in the rest of the book.  The characters finally lived up to their promise at this point and made this book worth reading in the end.

Overall, I would say buy the book, hang in there to the end, and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 4

Sex – 3 

Language – 4 

Storyline – 3

Overall – 3