A Cowboy for Keeps (Colorado Cowboys #1) by Jody Hedlund [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts: This cowboy themed story line is new to this author. I have enjoyed her previous historical stories immensely and I was interested to see how she would handle the wild west scene with a mail order bride theme. 

There were two main characters, Greta and Wyatt, and two strong second level characters, Judd (the handy man) and Astrid (Greta's younger sister sick with a lung illness). All characters were well drawn and the reader could empathize each of their experiences as background of their lives or currently occurring.

Greta and Astrid struggle with deep seated feelings of being a burden to others, not wanted, and unlovable. Wyatt struggled with a sense of failure in life's happenings. Each struggles with these feelings as they try to adjust to life together as a family.

This was a light read though there were lessons to be learned in depth. The romantic thread woven throughout of how Greta and Wyatt are being drawn to each other in their hasty, mail order marriage is sweet. There is quite a bit of passion without adult scenes.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

About the book: Greta Nilsson's trip west to save her ailing little sister, Astrid, could not have gone more wrong. First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.

Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revolutions arise, can a union born out of desperation survive?

GIVEAWAY
Begins February 4
Ends March 1 @ 12:01 EST
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DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review from Bethany House Publishing. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given. Chat With Vera nor publisher responsible for lost or misdirected prize.