*****

Excerpt:

“You’re really lucky I’m not prone to violence, Cade.”

He almost laughed, but she was looking even more pissed, and her face was turning red. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Y-You should at least be sitting at attention or something when someone walks toward you with their hands fisted,” she sputtered.

He crossed one ankle on the other and tried not to let his gaze wander over her, because he hadn’t touched her in all of two minutes, and he was already longing for her, not just for the moment or the night, and that was why he linked his hands behind his head and took on the role he’d once been most known for—troublemaker. Her gorgeous mouth curled into a half smile, and damn if he actually physically responded to the sight. Except she ruined the moment by picking up one of the decorative pillows he’d already removed from the bed. 

There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she approached him slowly.

“Hell, Sarah, put down the damn pillow. We already went down that road with the dangers of upholstered fabrics in here. No need to get crazy,” he choked out, scrambling into a sitting position.

She laughed. At him. And raised her arm with the filthy pillow.

“You wouldn’t.”

She raised her eyebrow, an adorable—if not slightly evil—smirk on her lips. “People think I’m boring and I don’t take risks.”

He swallowed hard, his gaze darting from the pillow to her dancing eyes. “You don’t have friends, remember? No one knows if you’re boring or not. I don’t think you’re boring. You’re very dangerous, you take lots of risks, and you’re the scariest person I know.”

She laughed.

He took no chances. He grabbed her wrist and she half screamed, half laughed as he pulled her onto the bed, but she still managed to hold on to that damn pillow. They were laughing as he tackled her gently and rolled until he was on top of her. She kept her arm raised, the pillow dangling off the bed. He didn’t think he’d ever laughed so hard in his life, certainly not as an adult. He was still laughing when he lowered his head to kiss her.

Wait. Hell, what was he doing?

*****

Review:

Cowboy for Hire is a sweet, awkward romance involving a couple of sweet, awkward characters. There’re a lot of issues between these two, but I think that they work well here. Cade is caring and supporting, exactly what Sarah needs in her life. She’s spent a lot of years being repressed and she’s ready to stand on her own two feet. She’s a little like a newborn colt, all gangly legs and clumsiness, but she’s determined to stand on her own and finally do what makes her happy.

Cade has spent all of his life trying to show that he’s useful, as his childhood taught him that if he wasn’t then he wouldn’t be kept around. It’s hard for him to believe that someone, anyone, would want him around just for himself and not what he can do for them. He’s made a lot of progress in the last few years, finally finding friends that treat him like family, but he’s still not quite there.

This definitely causes moments of conflict between the two – his need to solve problems and her need to be involved. But together, with a little help from those who love them, they might figure out how to make things work.

While there are a lot of awesome moments with these two, Cade’s struggling with his feelings and Sarah sometimes being bold then other times uncertain does create a very push/pull type of relationship that readers have to be OK with. It’s handled realistically, between two characters who are trying their best to handle their hangups and a growing attraction, but some may be looking for something a little more straightforward.

I really enjoyed getting to know Cade and Sarah. They are good people and, while life hasn’t always treated them well, they’ve managed to come out of it stronger (with a little baggage). It’s sweet, complicated, and heartwarming, perfect for readers looking for a book with a little slower of a pace and not very much heat.

(Note: James starts the story with a humorous little mix-up that totally set a tone that didn’t play out throughout, which I think throws readers off a little. It’s something that she could have played throughout the book but unfortunately it’s kind of a throw away after the first handful of pages. And while the book technically can stand on its own, there’s a lot of references to things I didn’t understand and I wonder if I would have had an idea about Cade’s character, and an affection for him, coming into this story.)

*****

Author Info:

Victoria James is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Victoria always knew she wanted to be a writer and in grade five, she penned her first story, bound it (with staples and a cardboard cover) and did all the illustrations herself. Luckily, this book will never see the light of day again.

In high school she fell in love with historical romance and then contemporary romance. After graduating University with an English Literature degree, Victoria pursued a degree in Interior Design and then opened her own business. After her first child, Victoria knew it was time to fulfill her dream of writing romantic fiction.

Victoria is a hopeless romantic who is living her dream, penning happily-ever-after’s for her characters in between managing kids and the family business. Writing on a laptop in the middle of the country in a rambling old Victorian house would be ideal, but she’s quite content living in suburbia with her husband, their two young children, and very bad cat.

Sign up for Victoria’s Newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming releases and exclusive giveaways, follow her blog for daily antics and insight into her daily life, and get to know her on twitter and Facebook. She loves hearing from readers!

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*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card

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*****

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