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

This is a fun read that works perfect for summer!
Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy 
by Abigail Sharpe

• File Size: 518 KB
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forever Yours (May 7, 2013)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00AG0VO8G

Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: May 7, 2013"Charming and witty. Abigail Sharpe will delight you."-- New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig"A rich and rustic tale of family, friendship, and love guaranteed to lasso your heart." -- Jessica Lemmon, author of TEMPTING THE BILLIONAIRE
In the bestselling tradition of Lori Wilde...
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMEONE NEW . . .
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?

Review:
Ainsley is stressed by her high society mother trying to foist her onto the starched but ‘oh-so-proper’ Edward. Edward has totally bought into the position of teaming with Ainsley as his practical society wife. He believes that he can manage a life with her and won’t have to worry about the pain that he associates with a passionate love. The thing is--Ainsley doesn’t love Edward and dreams of freedom to pursue expanding her florist shop. On the other hand, her rebellious and free spirit sister, Cecelia, has had a crush on Edward for years. Cecelia has decided to escape their mother by spending a summer week on a Wyoming ‘dude’ ranch as a bachelorette candidate for the handsome cowboy owner.  The girls decide to trade places when their mother books Ainsley on a romantic cruise with Edward.

Riley is the reluctant bachelor who has to entertain a group of bachelorettes. The scheme was his sisters’ idea to increase the income of the ranch and use a dating competition to test the ranch for women to come to a dude ranch destination.

Riley has always played the field and has no intention of settling down just to please his siblings who are struggling with the recent loss of their dad. Ainsley has no plans to fall for a cowboy. She plans to use the time investigating the ranch family green house.

Riley isn’t pleased to have to take several days to entertain eight overly eager women. However, he is quickly intrigued by the one woman who isn’t fawning over him. Ainsley isn’t interested in competing for attention but she has a hard time ignoring the sparks when she gets close to Riley. The other jealous women make nasty innuendos and start suspicious rumors to interfere with the growing relationship between Ainsley and Riley. Edward showing up to claim Ainsley as his fiancee only complicates matters.

This turned out to be a fun story and you sort of get a “two-fer” as you get Ainsley’s romance and Cecelia’s struggles to win over Edward.  The other female candidates make some good characters to dislike as they create conflict.  The writing style is easy and the plot is fun and engaging. Riley has commitment issues while Ainsley has fear of confrontation issues to overcome. Riley’s siblings, a teenage boy and his sisters, are clearly characters who may develop for further stories. This is a good summer read for those who enjoy bachelorette antics and conflicted romance stories.

I received this title from Forever Yours/Hachette for an honest review.