Cora Seton

Fun start to this series about four brothers, each in a different branch of the military, and their attempt to regain possession of the family ranch. In a convoluted inheritance process, when Mason's father died, the control of the ranch went to their Uncle Zeke. He has passed away, and his son doesn't want it, so their Aunt Heloise offers it back to the brothers. But she has particular requirements for them to meet. All four brothers must marry within a year, with one of them having a baby show more on the way at the end of that year. They must fix up the ranch and have one hundred cow/calf pairs on it simultaneously.

Mason is none-too-happy about the requirements, but he'll do whatever he must to get the ranch back in the family, and he'll drag his brothers kicking and screaming along with him. As the oldest and the first to be leaving the military, Mason takes the lead by placing four "Practical Wife Wanted" ads online - one for each brother. He starts going through the responses while he waits to leave Afghanistan, separating the ones that sound promising until he gets to one that tickles his fancy.

Regan Anderson is tired of waiting for The One. She decides to become a single mother through artificial insemination. She quits her job as a bank loan officer to start a new career as a consultant and moves to a smaller apartment to save money. When she arrives home after her last day on the job, she pours some wine and, feeling bored and lonely, browses the web. When she comes to the "Practical Wife Wanted" ad, she's just tipsy enough to respond to it. I loved her Austen-esque, over-the-top email to Mason.

I loved the communications between Mason and Regan while he was still overseas. She was surprised to hear back from him and made sure he knew she hadn't been serious in her response. But Mason is determined that Regan is exactly who he wants and refuses to give up on convincing her. I liked how they went from emails to chats to Skype. I loved their exchange of questions and answers and how much they had in common. It didn't take long for Regan to start thinking that maybe this would be possible after all. Mason sealed the deal when he showed up on her doorstep, ready to add his in-person attempts to the mix. He suggests that Regan accompany him to the ranch for a month and see it for herself.

This is where things get tricky. The ranch is in much worse shape than Mason expected. Uncle Zeke let things go near the end and sold anything that wasn't nailed down. Further complicating matters, Zeke also died owing money to many people. These people now look to Mason for repayment. I wanted to shake Mason and tell him Zeke's debts weren't his problem, but Mason's sense of honor won't let him do that. Mason's frustration leaps off the page, but he's determined to succeed. I loved that Regan was with him each step of the way and seeing her go from city girl to ranch woman. It isn't easy, and the problems are realistically portrayed. There are some heart-wrenching scenes as Mason deals with his memories of the ranch and its current condition. There are also heartwarming scenes, such as the neighbors who come to help, not collect, and the help Regan gets in recovering some of the things so important to Mason.

I loved seeing the relationship between Mason and Regan develop. Working and living together 24/7 gives them a lot of time to get to know each other. Mason's honor and commitment continue to inspire Regan, and her feelings for him grow stronger. There are times when his single-minded focus makes her feel unseen, but he usually pulls himself out of those situations quickly. Mason's love for Regan grows stronger as he sees her throw herself into restoring the ranch. However, there comes the point where Mason starts to lose faith in his ability to make it happen. I loved seeing Regan bring him back from the brink and laughed out loud at how she did it. She also steps in with his brothers and makes her own pitch for their cooperation.

I loved the ending and seeing the progress made when Mason and Regan get married. It was great to see all three of his brothers arrive for the wedding, knowing that Austin was now there to stay. I can't wait to read his story and see how his wife hunt goes.

#netgalley show less

What I loved the most about this bundle was that all the books had one thing (other than featuring SEALS) in common--strong heroines. Few things aggravate me more than when a heroine is weak and whiny, sitting back and expecting other people to solve their problems. In these stories the women stand up and, in a few cases, face life-threatening situations head-on.

It's rare for me to rate a bundle as five stars because there's usually always one or two stories that I don't like or enjoy as show more much as the others. This is not the case here. I loved each story.

These are a part of an existing series by each author, but I haven't read any of the other books prior to this and I didn't feel like I was missing any of the backstory for any of them. I enjoyed these so much though that I'd like to go back and read some of the prior books.

**A free copy was provided by one of the authors (Kimberley Troutte) via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.** show less

In the prequel to the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, vegan chef Sunshine Patterson has inherited a building from her beloved late aunt Cecily, but she never expected her dream to open her own café to hinge on a few daunting stipulations in the woman’s will.
Cole Linden runs an indoor rifle range and lives above the business in a small apartment. He expected to inherit the building from his landlady, Cecily, but then learns he must compete with Cecily’s niece in order to have the show more building. Worse, he has to live with the woman, and she’s the hottest lady he’s ever seen. Can he keep his hands to himself? It’s a battle of the sexes, and only one of them can win in this messed-up contest—right?
I loved this book! I haven’t read many enemies-to-lovers stories in a while, so Sunshine and Cole’s rivalry hit the spot for me. I laughed out several times and kept rooting for them to work through their issues. Both characters are flawed, which made them likable and relatable.
Cole’s friends are a hoot, and I look forward to reading how each of those sexy cowboys gets taken down a notch or two.
I enjoyed Ms. Seton’s smooth writing style, and I’ll definitely read more of her books.
5 Stars show less

In book one in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, rancher Ethan Cruz and his three best friends go to the airport to pick up Ethan’s bride-to-be. He doesn’t want to her marry her, but since his friends have played a practical joke on him, he now has to deal with a city gal coming to his small Montana town. Fortunately for him, his plans to put her on the next plane back to New York fall apart when he sees her.
Autumn Leeds needs to write a snarky, scathing exposé for her women’s show more magazine, or she’ll lose her job and be nothing but a failure in her mother’s eyes. So after she sees a video about a lonely, drunk cowboy wanting a sweet, quiet, hardworking wife, she creates a fake persona and responds to his video with one of her own. After all, what could be a hotter story than digging deep into a stranger’s personal life and exposing his need for an email-order bride?
I love this story! Ethan and Autumn are wonderfully flawed characters. They’ve both suffered loss, which has shaped them into the people they are. Despite their trust issues and all the lies building between them, they fall into bed and into love. Their romance happened fast, but it was definitely believable.
The secondary characters are great, especially poor Rob. His friendship with Ethan is strong and solid, but they definitely have a bit of love/hate going on.
I’m definitely interested in the next book, which features Ethan’s sister, Claire, and his friend Jamie.
5 Stars show less