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The Cowboy's Targeted Bride (Cowboys of Holiday Ranch Book 11) Kindle Edition

by Carla Cassidy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 118 ratings
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New York Times–Bestselling Author: Reluctant newlyweds face danger and desire in this romantic suspense novel.

Love’s not part of the deal.

But neither are threats against their lives . . .

In return for getting the family he’s always wanted, cowboy Jerod Steen will save a single mom’s failing ranch. That’s why he agrees to a marriage of convenience with Lily Kidwell.

Neither is looking for love, but when someone begins to terrorize Lily, danger draws her and her brand-new husband closer. Now they must survive to save their ranch—and their family.

Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series

A Real Cowboy

Cowboy of Interest

Cowboy Under Fire

Cowboy at Arms

Operation Cowboy Daddy

Killer Cowboy

Sheltered by the Cowboy

Guardian Cowboy

Cowboy Defender

Cowboy’s Vow to Protect

The Cowboy’s Targeted Bride

The Last Cowboy Standing
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Previous page
  1. Book 11 of 12
    Cowboys of Holiday Ranch
  2. Print length
    214 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Harlequin Romantic Suspense
  6. Publication date
    November 1, 2020
  7. File size
    2863 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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From the Publisher

Harlequin Romantic Suspense bodyguard suspense romance contemporary chemistry jeopardy thrill

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carla Cassidy is a New York Times bestselling author who has written more than 125 novels for Harlequin Books. She is listed on the Romance Writer's of America Honor Roll and has won numerous awards. Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B088P3534J
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harlequin Romantic Suspense; Original edition (November 1, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2863 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 214 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 118 ratings

About the author

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Carla Cassidy

Carla Cassidy

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Carla Cassidy lives in the Midwest with her husband, Frank. She's the author of over eighty books and can't think of anything she'd rather do for a living than tell stories.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
118 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Susan Frank
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good blend of romance and suspense
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2020
Good mix of romance and suspense. Jerrod is one of the original twelve "lost boys" who came to work at Holiday Ranch when they were troubled teens. Over the last several years, most of them have found love and started their own families. At the beginning of the book, Jerrod feels pretty down in the dumps. He, too, wants a wife and family, but finding a woman to love hasn't worked out. He's just about given up when he gets a wild idea. After overhearing Lily's troubles at the bank, Jerrod considers offering her a marriage of convenience. He'll catch up with the mortgage payments and help make the ranch profitable if she will marry him and eventually have his baby.

Lily is a single mother who gave up on love. She loved her son's father, but he took off after learning she was pregnant, taking her savings with him. Since then, Lily has struggled to keep her ranch afloat, working as a teacher to earn some of what she needs. She wants to keep her ranch going and have something to leave her son, but she's reached the end of her rope. The bank threatens foreclosure, and she's out of options. That is until Jerrod shows up on her doorstep with the most outlandish idea. Lily is stunned by the request, but after considering it, she accepts his proposal.

I loved Jerrod. He is kind, honorable, and fair. He understands that this is an unusual situation and is happy to let Lily set the pace for their relationship. He knows her son, Caleb, from his work at the community center and has infinite patience with the boy's attitude. I liked Lily, too, but had a few problems with her. Thanks to her past, she has some trust issues, and early in their marriage is quick to jump to conclusions about Jerrod's faithfulness. Though hurt by her accusations, Jerrod shows her the truth through his actions. As Lily and Jerrod settle into their marriage, an attraction begins to build between them, as do unexpected emotions. Life-threatening danger finally opens their eyes and hearts, and their own happily ever after.

The suspense of the story was intense. Someone is not happy about Lily's marriage to Jerrod. It starts with annoying and creepy events, like a bloodied bride doll left on the porch and a lie about Jerrod's faithfulness. Those quickly intensify to physical attempts on Lily's life. There are several possible suspects and a shocking final confrontation. I was on the edge of my seat until it was all over, hoping that Jerrod would find Lily in time.

I enjoyed seeing characters from earlier books. Dillon and Cassie have prominent roles in this book. I especially loved how Cassie offered to help Jerrod give Lily a real wedding. Several of the other ranch hands also made appearances. Mac is the lone bachelor left of the original twelve, and I can't wait for his book.
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Donna Repsher
4.0 out of 5 stars A contemporary cowboy romance with a "can't put it down" mystery
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020
I've thoroughly been enjoying Carla Cassidy's Holiday Ranch series, and this latest novel in the series is no exception. As the series has progressed, many of the lost boys who came to Holiday Ranch years ago and found a job and a purpose, have met the loves of their lives, married and started families of their own. There are only two bachelors left, Jerod and Mac, and this is Jerod's story, and what a good and engrossing story it was--I read it cover-to-cover until 6:30 a.m. because in addition to being a marriage of convenience romance, it included one heck of a dramatic mystery as well, and there was no way I could put it down until I learned who the evildoer was--and what a shocker! It gets 4 stars from this reader.

Jerod Steen is one of the original 12 boys who came to live at Holiday Ranch, and as he's watched his friends and fellow cowboys find love and happiness, he realizes, at age 35, that what what he really wants is something he was denied as a child, a wife, a home, a stable family and children of his own. Bitterroot, Oklahoma is a very small town, and none of the women he's met and dated over the years have really struck his fancy. The idea of internet dating sites has no appeal either, and it's not until he's at the local bank, standing behind single mother and grade school teacher, Lily Kidwell, whose son, Caleb, he knows because of his work at the community center for at-risk children, and he overhears her conversation with the teller, a conversation in which she admits that she's behind on her mortgage payments and is begging for another couple of weeks before they start foreclosure proceedings, on her home and ranch, that an idea begins to form in his mind.

Not long after that, Jerod turns up at Lily's door with a proposition--a marriage of convenience, hardly a new trope, but something you see more of in historical rather than contemporary romances. Jerod offers to pay up Lily's mortgage deficit, and save her ranch in exchange for her marrying him and bearing him a child. These are two people who barely know each other, and Lily is certainly dubious of his intentions because although she was in love with Caleb's father, they weren't married, and he took off as soon as she announced she was pregnant, and broke her heart. She's not really dated in the past decade and is stunned by Jerod's plan, buteventually considers it and finally agrees to his plan, but with more than a few reservations.

While that marriage of convenience plan and its developments would have been enough for a romance novel, Ms. Cassidy had a whole lot more in store for her readers--a gripping mystery and suspense novel, as someone is clearly not happy about Lily's marriage to Jerod, and more than one event occurs that threatens not only Lily's happiness, but her life as well. There are more than a couple of suspects, and once shocker of a denouement, which I won't spoil for you, but it certainly was a mind-blower.

While I really liked this as a novel of romantic suspense, there were a couple of wrong notes that just didn't work for me. First was Lily's lack of trust in Jerod, who'd been more than kind, fair, supportive and understanding of her, allowing her to set the pace for theor relationship and the consummation of their marriage, and his kindness and decency toward her son, who'd been having anger issues at school. Jerod is a really good man, yet at the first sign of trouble--an envelope containing a pair of men's boxers and the hint that Jerod has a woman on the side, after one week of marriage, Lily immediately jumps to the conclusion that's he's been cheating on her and asks for a divorce. Her doubts about her new husband were all about her low self-esteem and lack of trust in spite of all the goodness, decency, honesty and kindness Jerod exhibited on a daily basis--and that incident was just the beginning of her trust issues, which didn't speak well of her, and I would have preferred a little more romance in this romance novel.

Yes, this novel is part of a series, although it hasn't ever been billed as one, and it definitely works just fine as a standalone. Despite my issues with Lily, I still found this novel to be a gripping and exciting read, and I'm happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
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EssentiallyBookish
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
Lily and Jerod strike up a deal for a marriage of convinces where it'll benefit her failing ranch and Jerod gets a child and a sense of family with a good women. Thing is soon after the wedding a few mysterious things happen as well as a few close calls now they must figure out who is behind this.

I really enjoyed this book. Things were awkward at first when it came to the two, in the beginning there was nothing between the two so they had to warm up to the idea of eachother. Thing is someone is clearly trying to put a wedge between the two and with a couple of close calls its clear something is amiss and someone is out to get Lily. I couldn't wait to find out who was behind this. I had my guesses and still managed to be surprised. I liked seeing the warming up between the couple seeing as they learned more about eachother and seeing that attraction grow. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.
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jewlsbookblog
3.0 out of 5 stars The mystery was very well done!
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2020
Lily and Jerod were essentially strangers who married for convenience. He wanted a family and she wanted to save her ranch. Granted, Jerod knew Lily’s son from the community center but only had a passing acquaintance with her while she knew next to nothing about him. This is part of the reason the romance didn’t work at all for me. Then there was the multiple assumptions Lily made and the lack of communication between them...everything was kept at an impersonal level for too long to make me believe either one was falling for one another.

However, although I didn’t care for the romantic aspects of the story, the mystery was very well-done! I didn’t even guess at the villain, even after reading the story twice to double check for clues. Talk about a surprise twist!

I received an advance reader copy from Harlequin/Netgalley and this is my honest review.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Cowboys Targeted Bride
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
I have enjoyed reading another book in this series of Cowboys Of Holiday Ranch, I was so engrossed in reading it that I had to finish reading it before I could put it down. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has been reading this series and also anyone who likes to read about cowboys series.
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