She needs a favor. He needs a bride.
Langston Carr is back in her hometown Marietta as the temporary event planner for the Graff Hotel. The first event on the calendar is the society wedding that should have been her big day with her loving groom, so when rodeo cowboy Bowen Ballantyne swaggers into the hotel, all hard-bodied and chivalrous, she thanks him the way any single woman needing to salve her pride would—she kisses him.
Bull rider Bowen Ballantyne thrives on competition, but this time his cowboy cousins have taken their one-upmanship challenge too far. He needs to find a bride by the end of the Copper Mountain Rodeo. Bowen’s never backed down from anything, so when former barrel racer Langston Carr, his tormentor from their teen years, propositions him, Bowen rockets up the heat.
A game of pretending between rivals…what could go wrong?
Titles in the Montana Rodeo Brides series include — The Cowboy Says I Do – The Cowboy’s Challenge – Breaking the Cowboy’s Rules –
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Title: The Cowboy’s Challenge
Series: Montana Rodeo Brides #2
Author: Sinclair Jayne
Genre: Modern Western Romance
Published: September 2, 2021
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
The Cowboy’s Challenge continues the Montana Rodeo Brides series with Bowen and Langston taking their childhood bantering and rivalry up another level to finally acknowledge the affection that has always underlined their reactions to each other. Plus, there’s always the bonus for me of going back to my favorite fictional town of all time… Marietta, Montana. I love the bantering, the love, and the challenges between the Ballantyne cousins. And I equally enjoy watching each one fall for their lady leaving the idea of that challenge far behind, well, mostly, since these guys do love to win that’s obvious through their professions.
Langston is returning home, not quite with her tail tucked in tight but close to it after discovering her cheating ex’s actions. She’s not going to stay down for long and with Bowen back in town as well it seems like the perfect plan has just dropped into her lap. All she has to do is convince Bowen to fake a relationship with her and convince her ex’s family, as well as the jerk, that she’s doing just fine after their spectacular break-up. It won’t be for real… will it?
Bowen’s grandfather’s news of possibly selling the ranch has hit him hard. When his rodeo days were done he’d always imagined coming back to the ranch with his cousins and continuing their family legacy. Now in order to not have the ranch sold out from under them, the cousins have devised the challenge. Langston’s suggestion of a fake relationship, just pretend for a while would work perfectly with his plan to win that challenge and keep the ranch out of a stranger’s hands. Oh, sure, the sparks have always been flying around him and Langston, she can rile him up faster than a rodeo ride. But it’s all pretend, right?
I loved this couple. They are stubborn, determined, and perhaps a bit bull-headed but those sparks do ignite when they’re together. Watching them fall for real and forever was a fun, emotional journey filled with tensions, laughter, sizzle, and falling in love with the right person. I had fun here and can’t wait to return to this world in Breaking the Cowboy’s Rules.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
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