Cowboy for Keeps (Colorado Cowboys) (udgave 2021)

From the gorgeous sunset on the cover to the concluding pages, this was an epic mail-order-bride-gone-wrong story with hope and faith winnings out!
“Ahead, the cabin and barn sat against the backdrop of the mountains with the glow of the setting sun reflected on the golden aspens, dark evergreens, and gray rocky crags.” This beautiful setting is perfect for this layered story of rancher, Wyatt McQuaid and Greta Nilsson and their quest to eke out a living in Colorado in 1862. Greta has her sick sister to care for and arrives to find her husband-to-be has died. Wyatt and Greta accept a marriage of convenience, putting their faith in God to somehow make things right. Both are hardworking and honorable. Ms. Hedlund writes a villain we love to hate and he makes things hard for Wyatt and his friend Judd. Their resolve is challenged but they do not buckle.
Greta tries her best with her nine year old sister, Astrid, who despite her illness, is a bright spot in their lives. “For so long, every time she prayed, she had felt she was disturbing God. Maybe He was waiting-even wanting- her to come to Him and let Him bear the burdens with her.”
Although this story came to an end, the last chapter hints at an equally mesmerizing story to come. The next book is about Wyatt’s family in Pennsylvania and a reunion is in the works.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.* ( )

A Cowboy for Keeps by Jody Hedlund is the first book in her Colorado Cowboys series. Greta Nilsson is headed west as a mail order bride, hoping that the climate change will help heal her little sister’s health problems. When she arrives in Fairplay, Colorado she learns that her fiancé has died. Wyatt McQuaid is in town to buy more cattle. The mayor approaches him with a business proposition. He’ll invest in Wyatt’s ranch if Wyatt will marry Greta and help make the town more respectable. Can they turn a marriage of convenience into a marriage of love? Greta was a great worker, she just let her little sister get by with too much. I felt like Astrid was just a little brat. The characters were a little too understanding. The story-line had great potential but just never clicked with me.
DISCLAIMER: There was a lot of marriage related scenes. The passion never got specific but it was border-line.

I received this book from the publisher for my honest review. ( )

Overall I am regrettably underwhelmed with A Cowboy for Keeps, the start of Jody Hedlund’s new Colorado Cowboys series which takes place in a mining town called Fairplay, Colorado.

Best Characters: Astrid, an impulsive, stouthearted, at times defiant, ridden with consumption, little sister to Greta, stole my heart and every scene in the story she was in as well. I laughed out loud when she audaciously took on Wyatt’s bully neighbor Roper Brawley, the pirate as she called him, several times. I must divulge A Cowboy for Keeps would have been my first Jody Hedlund DNF if it had not been for her. The other character who stood out for me was Judd, Wyatt’s wise right-hand-man, who didn’t talk much, but when he did, you should pay heed.

Least Notable Characters: Greta Nilsson and Wyatt McQuaid, the H and H of the story were mediocre, both feeling they were not worthy. Instead of depth, wisdom, and the ability to understand and reason, we were given two leading characters with no horse sense. They spent so much time lusting each other it overwhelmed the Christian message for me.

Astrid kept me turning the pages as well as some of the more humorous interactions amount the characters. For example: “Come on now, Captain Jim.” (Owner of Simpkin’s General Store) “You know the business of every fly living on a horse’s hind end this side of the Continental Divide.” “If you didn’t see where that little girl was headed,” Mr. McQuaid continued, “then I reckon this town better invest in a telegraph to take your place.”

Except for the vivid scene that took place when Astrid and Greta first met the Indians there wasn’t much description to make me feel as if I was in the 1800s. However, the stunning breathtaking descriptions of the Colorado Territory landscape when Wyatt took Greta berry picking and while searching for Astrid reminded me of the Jody Hedlund of old.

Must bring to light that personally I would rate this story R due to the borderline provocative thoughts of Greta and Wyatt, and some very crude comments.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author’s publisher Bethany House via NetGalley as a member of her Release Crew. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review, and all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ( )

Jody Hedlund has once again proven that she can tackle different genres. She is a super talented writer and it shows in her new release, A Cowboy for Keeps. This begins the Colorado Cowboys series. I adored Greta right from the start. I admired her determination to do what was right for her sister. I loved how she interacted with Wyatt. Such a beautiful, inspiring, tender and sweet story.
A Cowboy for Keeps is getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I am looking forward to the next installment from the Colorado Cowboys series to see what happens next. Meanwhile, this one will be placed on my very limited keeper shelf. I highly recommend for readers who enjoy reading clean historical romance.
I received A Cowboy for Keeps from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. ( )

A Cowboy for Keeps is a great read. I loved how Greta and Wyatt would up getting paired up. Greta planned to have a new start for her and her sister, but things go wrong on the trip out west and when she gets to the town where her soon to be husband lived. She finds herself looking for help as she does not know who to turn to.

Wyatt is not really planning to start a family but when given the proposition of getting his ranch going just by helping the mayor he soon starts to decide it is a cause he can work with. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

I received a copy to read, the review is mine. I also was able to listen to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator. ( )