Rodeo Stars of Violet Ridge: Book 3
Publication Date: March 26, 2024
He’s never known love…
Until a chance encounter
Rodeo cowboy Lucky Harper is only making a short stop in idyllic Violet Ridge. So how did he go from being an outsider to pretty rancher Elizabeth Irwin’s wedding date—and her fake fiancé—in one night? For the first time, this lone cowboy is suddenly part of a real family. But even he’s not lucky enough to find family and love by accident…or is he?
From Harlequin Heartwarming: Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.
Book 1: Caught by the Cowgirl
Book 2: Snowbound with the Rodeo Star
Book 3: Her Temporary Cowboy
I loved the first two books in the Rodeo Stars of Violet Ridge series by Tanya Agler, so I was excited to finally read Lucky’s story in Her Temporary Cowboy. And boy, I was not disappointed.
If you know anything about me, you know that one of my favorite romance tropes is the marriage of convenience or fake relationship. And that’s what we get in Her Temporary Cowboy. What starts as an innocent comment of “he’s my date to the wedding” snowballs into a fake engagement between two virtual strangers. Lucky and Lizzie have to figure out what they want as they get to know each other and find they actually make a good pair.
Lizzie is an interesting character. She’s the youngest in the family and feels that her father doesn’t trust her to take the reins of their ranch. Now, her father is remarrying, and she’s hoping for more responsibilities on the ranch. I really found Lizzie’s relationships with Lucky and her family all very realistic and ultimately page-turning. I loved her growth as she fell in love and grew more confident in her ability to stand up for what she wanted.
While I liked Lizzie, I adored Lucky. As a child, he grew up in the foster system and was constantly disappointed by the families who were supposed to care for him. Once he aged out, he found a family on a ranch in Colorado that introduced him to the rodeo. He then found his second family within the rodeo (and those family members, Will and Sabrina, were the leads in the first two books in the series).
Lucky has been around during this series, but he was always a mystery. I was so happy to finally get his backstory and get to know this complicated man. He was so laid-back but also very serious when it came to commitments. He partially felt trapped by this fake engagement, but at the same time, it felt right, and he was so confused. Lucky also had a lot of character growth as he came to terms with the idea of family and what it means to him.
I gobbled up Her Temporary Cowboy. I couldn’t put this book down and had to see how the happily ever after came about. So, very often, as I read, I found myself reaching for the tissues as tears streamed down my face, and I LOVED IT.
Her Temporary Cowboy just hit all the right notes for me. I highly recommend it, and the whole series for that matter, to fans of sweet contemporary romances.
Tanya Agler fell in love with romance novels when her grandmother brought one home from work. After years of reading happily ever afters, she decided to write a sweet contemporary romance with the support of her wonderful husband, four children, and her lovable Basset Hound. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she loves Cary Grant movies, walking, reading, and all things chocolate. Follow her on Facebook at Author Tanya Agler and sign up for her newsletter.
