Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.
I received a complimentary copy of “A Cowboy of Convenience” direct from the author Stacy Henrie in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I love reading INSPY Fiction from Heartsong Presents & Love Inspired:
I am a hybrid reader of both mainstream and INSPY Fiction – however, I’ve been properly charmed by the heart-warming stories of both Love INSPIRED and Heartsong Presents – as these are tender-hearted stories of faith in portable paperback editions which never fail to give you a burst of joy to be reading! The Historical line of Love Inspired and the Amish stories of Heartsong Presents (as well as their own line of Historicals) were always my favourites – something about how they could tuck you back into the past, a setting or time-line easily recognisable for the reader who loved those particular kinds of stories – wherein you met with strong characters on the road to both healing and redemption in their lives!
These are the stories which are a delight to be reading due to their dramatic natures of insight into the human condition but also, how faith and hope are threading through the drama itself – of giving you a lot of hope for your own life’s adversities which alight out of the blue and the joyfulness of a gently told romance where the relationship is built out of both faith and trust. The gentleness of these stories is what truly captured my bookish heart – as there is never anything to worry about finding in the context of how their told. In many regards, that is why I love reading INSPY Fiction to begin with as I recently broached on my 5th Blogoversary by talking about what I love about reading the stories by Kellie Coates Gilbert.
I am wicked delighted knowing Prism Book Tours is getting the chance to showcase and tour with INSPY authors – not just from this particular line but from other publishers as well. Coming up this Friday, is my long awaited ruminative thoughts on behalf of Ms Becky Wade’s Falling for You which I had the honour of spotlighting in May!
A Cowboy of Convenience
by Stacy Henrie
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
Groom by Agreement
A real home--it's what Vienna Howe dearly wants for her young daughter. Yet the ramshackle property she just inherited hardly qualifies. She can't afford the repairs--until foreman West McCall suggests they start a dude ranch together. For propriety's sake, they'll need a marriage in name only...a practical solution for two wary hearts.
Years ago, West convinced Vienna to marry a man of means, never realizing how cruel her husband could be. Guilt-ridden, he intends to secure the lovely widow's future. But despite his reluctance to get close to anyone, this union might do more than fix Vienna's ranch. It could open the door to a warm, loving future...
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1335369710
Published by Harlequin Books, Love INSPIRED
on 1st June, 2018
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 288
Published by: Love INSPIRED (@LoveInspiredBks)
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback
Stories within the series Sheridan Sweethearts:
Book One: The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement | Pub’d 1st February, 2018
Undercover Fiancée
The Pinkerton agent that Edward Kent hired is intelligent, capable—and unexpectedly female! Though shocked to learn that Maggy Worthing will be investigating the threats to his Wyoming horse ranch, Edward needs to find the culprit. And if that means a temporary engagement to give Maggy a cover story, he’ll play along with the feisty detective.
Maggy always gets her man—at least when it comes to solving crimes. The young widow refuses to marry again and land under another husband’s thumb. Unmasking Edward’s enemies will earn her a longed-for promotion…but the heart has its own mysteries. Could working together with the handsome English aristocrat spark a real and loving partnership?
Book Two: A Cowboy of Convenience
Converse via: #LoveINSPIRED, #INSPYbooks, #INSPYHistFic, #INSPY or #HistRom & #Harlequin
a notation about not realising this was a series:
There are moments where I get surprised by finding out a book I am reading is actually part of a series – this especially happens when I am reading Harlequin books – as sometimes the series are listed together and are easily known to be a ‘series’ and other times, the series can sneak up on you! For instance, this is not limited to Love INSPIRED Historicals as I’ve had a few surprises reading Love INSPIRED Suspense, as well!
I do love reading series in order – from the beginning, as it helps me become acquainted with how the characters are first being set into sequence, however, from my experience most of the Harlequin series are a bit easier to read out of order than other traditional series. Sometimes the series are not inter-connected by characters, but rather by settings, or style. In this instance, from the first page, I realised the ‘Maggie and Edward’ from The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement are rooted in the series as the employers of Running W Ranch; in effect, Vienna who is A Cowboy of Convenience is being employed by the original characters first revealled in this series!
I appreciate the ease of being inserted into the series without the joy of reading the first book – it will be one I will attempt to gather from my local library and eventually purchased, as I do rather fancy these kinds of stories of INSPY Lit!
my review of a cowboy of convenience:
I immediately felt connected to Vienna – a young mother of a precocious daughter, Hattie who’d give you at twinkle of joy just to be nearby – who was struggling to stand on her own feet, after her husband had gone off to live an errant life of irresponsibility. We first enter into her home after the footsteps of the Sheriff, coming to give her news which might affect some but for Vienna it felt more comforting than anything – her louse of a husband was finally a concern of hers no longer; he was killed during a came of cards!
As her faith intercedes through her troubling thoughts of knowing which path she ought to follow next – in regards to her sudden inheritance or if she should follow her dream of pursuing her cookery and baking passions – we find Vienna at a self-destined crossroads of choosing what would bring her the most happiness. It is here, we get to tuck into her everyday world – observing how she will lean on her faith to guide her and become more acquainted with the man (West McCall) who was the beau she wished she could have had all those years ago; prior to her ensuing marriage and perhaps, a union which would have resulted in less woes.
The uncertainty of returning back to a place you had to runaway from for your own safety would affect anyone’s resolve. Seeing Vienna returning to the ranch where she was once married to her husband, felt like another difficult chapter in her life – one which would test her and hopefully give her a way to move forward – as the one blessing she still had was the land was paid for without needing to be kept. The downside of course, was the lack of upkeep and the feelings which churned back through her memories – the bad times never far out of her reach of where her mind toyed with her conscience. You definitely could feel the grip of where Vienna knew what she wanted to do for herself and her daughter but the fact of choosing a path to follow which may or may not yield the results she needed most was a believable adversity of choice.
As Henrie was starting to set-up the pacing to lead into the ‘marriage of convenience’ segue, I knew again why I love reading these kinds of stories or watching these kinds of films (ie. Love Comes Softly – the film, A Bargain Struck – a novel) there is something about seeing how two lives can merge together for the better good even if at the time of their coming together, they haven’t quite sorted out how they feel about each other! In a similar vein, this is also why I love reading mail-order bride stories as it plays against the same theme! What struck me as lovely though is how Henrie didn’t rush this particular segue in her story-line – she let you presume along with Vienna and West that this is something which might occur but it might not either! Especially as she was developing the scope of this shift for the lives of both Vienna and West – only one of them was more secure in their feelings for the other!
I felt it was a smart choice to head back to the Dakotas to scout out the ranch West was using as a guide of inspiration to create his own ‘dude ranch’ down in Wyoming! Of course, like most trips which take you away from where you live, there can be a chance of revealling secrets and of talking about things in a liberated fashion to where each parties considering a marriage of convenience might find a healthy respite before committing themselves to the plans their contemplating! One wench thrown into the wheel (of course!) is having someone from West’s past (from the East Coast) coming back into his life with a force of wrecking the small bit of comfort and joy he’s carved out for himself! You know the types – the characters who feel their justified in making other people miserable if only for a moment?! This is the kind of welcome he received from a former acquaintance in his life which of course muddles the present with Vienna just a bit as it shadows the peace she had in believing he was above reproach!
Now in West’s defence, I could see why he wanted a respectable distance from his former life and his current one – he wasn’t credited with a family who believed in him, which is why sometimes removing oneself from a connection is the only way forward. In his case, things are a bit more complicated than self-choosing to live away from family – something I had hoped Vienna would take into consideration.
Back home, where they both consider Maggie and Edward to be more than just friends – as their the family they each chose to have in their lives, I can’t wait to see how their own romance to happen – as I found them such a delight on the pages of Vienna and West’s story! This is one reason I have a preference for reading series in order – especially when like in this one, there is a continuation of lives threading between installments – Maggie is such a surefire sisterhood friend to Vienna whilst West and Edward share a mutual respect for having come from wealthy backgrounds. Each of the men set themselves apart from their ancestral homes – of the livelihoods therein and dared to dream of a life on a spread of land out West. I can relate to their yearnings – of wanting to cast their hearts onto the land, of breathing in the clean air and forging their security by what they could yield off the land? There are few things which can still be depended upon today – but land never goes out of fashion! I could even imagine how large their places were – the expanse of the openness of the fields and the joy of living in harmony with nature. There is something rather attractive about the whole prospect!
One of my favourite bits to the story-line is how comfortable West is around Hattie! Sometimes the interactions between the leading men and the children feels a bit off somehow – almost like they aren’t as paternal as the writers would prefer them to being – not, so with West! He seems like the kind of bloke who would love to have a whole house full of children – he has such a warm acceptance of them in his life! I even liked how he never once treated Hattie differently as he was technically her step-father and the interactions with Hattie always felt genuinely warm and natural! It is wonderful to see this budding relationship between a new father and his daughter, as it points out how there doesn’t need to be stigmas between marriages and children.
Hattie, herself, is a charming young girl! She has an apt mind and a heart of gold – she loves to talk about what is going on around her and I found her such a winsome child to have in the story! You can see a lot of Vienna in her personality as well – even if Vienna has a lot to work through right now, her daughter eludes to the lighter side of Vienna’s spirit. Of how sometimes even after all of the adversities weighing you down, there are still things which lift our hearts and spirits. Hattie is surely the reason why Vienna was able to conceive of a future – it gave her something to focus on which was positive rather than lying in wait for a husband to return she was afraid of seeing again.
As the family becomes used to each other, you start to see why this is a well-thought out series by Ms Henrie! The continuity is one of the best I’ve seen recently in an Love INSPIRED sequence – I credit this to the companionable way in which Ms Henrie has threaded all her main characters together! You can definitely see the echoes of the first novel inside the second one – to where you can gather the gist of what happened but because of how well it’s writ, you definitely want to spend extra time within the pages of The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement! Mostly as the theme she’s chosen to explore is a timeless one!
The unexpectedness of love arriving at points in a person’s life where they’ve all but given up hope on finding someone whom they can trust and grow through life’s experiences together. Of finding equality in marriage to where neither party feels indifferent or cast aside by the other – to where there is a give and take – of trust and confidence and a brewing love of fortitude for having the strength to turn to each other and lean on their faith to greet whatever life affords for them to transition through – it’s the ways in which a strong foundation of a relationship being forged which is the most joy to see developing in Henrie’s stories!
on the historical romantic styling of stacy henrie:
Henrie gives her readers a ready emotional connection to her characters – something I truly appreciate by any author, as it anchours you straight into the drama! It’s the best way to introduce a story – through empathy and compassion – herein, it is the fact despite everything Vienna has attempted to do in her life, she is still attempting to create a more secure future for herself and her young daughter Hattie. This is a theme you can identify with through the joy of seeing how Ms Henrie creates the back-story early-on in the novel to signal a shift of straits might soon be in the young widow’s present circumstances – as the unexpected news of a ranch lingering in disrepair is brought to her attention as still being her own to run. I even liked the touch of irony of how Ms Henrie elected to reveal this news to Vienna and why it was a secured asset rather than a lost one!
I love how whilst reading an INSPY from Love INSPIRED or Heartsong Presents, you can become immediately connected to the characters whilst observing how their faith and their beliefs are gently in the background of the story – ever present and observable but told through the realism of real-life and real situations which strive to test their will to understand how life can take right turns when your attempting to keep your life built on solid ground.
There is a knowing awareness in a Stacy Henrie novel – I saw how she takes time to alight us through a continuance of thought within her characters’ hearts and mindsets. It is how she approaches how to disclose certain bits of their information, too – how she cross-relates the colour of their eyes with a piece of jewelry of a loved one or even the tenderness of giving her characters space for when they need to work out a problem. She has a calmness in her words and I liked how she choose to phrase her narrative’s descriptions which both reflected the introspective nature of her story and the gentleness of an INSPY novel.
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!
{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement” and “A Cowboy of Convenience”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Stacy Henrie, the bookmark giveaway badge and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna, 2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
#JorieReads | #LoveINSPIRED #HistRom by @StacyHenrie
Henrie gives her readers a ready emotional connection to her characters; I loved the introspective nature of her story & the gentleness of an #INSPY novel.#bookreview https://t.co/H0fxzHaPgc@PrismBookTours @LoveInspiredBks pic.twitter.com/zpupqajVNY
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 6, 2018
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Thank you for your lovely review, Jorie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. Especially loved what you said about West and Hattie and their relationship. The hero of the final book in the series will be Alec from this one and the dressmaker Isobel Glasen who’s mentioned in both. And Maggy and Edward and Vienna and West all help play matchmaker to these two. :)
Hallo, Hallo Ms Henrie!!
You gave me a lot of JOY finding this lovely note awaiting me!! :) Especially as I positively LOVED the ‘behind-the-book’ insights you’ve provided for me! I can’t wait to gather the rest of the books in the series and tuck into where everyone’s lives will shift forward! Thank you for your compliment on behalf of what I blogged in regards to West and Hattie – I love finding ways to talk about the relationships in Romance and Women’s Fiction as those are the real reasons I love reading both genres! I love finding how writers interpret the relationships their developing and how those relationships start to re-shape, alter and expand in/out of themselves throughout the course of the story!
I had a good chuckle over whose playing ‘matchmaker’!! (grins)
I’ll have to have a proper re-read once I have all the books, seeing if I can pick up on the subtleties of all the characters who are threading through the series and if I have any new takeaways to share! Blessed for your visit! Thank you for leaving me this sweet note!