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Montana Mavericks: Return to Whitehorn #4.5

COWGIRL BRIDE: A Heartwarming Second Chance Story of Cowboys and Small Town Romance

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery, a fanfavorite short story about love, returning home and second chancesCowgirl Sierra Conroy doesn’t need anyone. She’s tough, independent and more than capable of holding her own on the ranch, despite all the grief the cowboys give her about being a woman. Sierra certainly doesn’t need love. She gave up on that the day Dylan McLaine broke her heart and left town.Dylan knows he did wrong by Sierra, and he hasn’t been able to forget her, even after all these years. And now that his marriage is over, he’s bought a ranch in his hometown and he needs Sierra’s help to run it. But will the woman whose heart he broke give him another chance?

93 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 1998

141 people are currently reading
233 people want to read

About the author

Susan Mallery

864 books15.6k followers
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.

Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

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5 stars
100 (33%)
4 stars
69 (22%)
3 stars
93 (30%)
2 stars
30 (9%)
1 star
11 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves.
1,470 reviews18 followers
August 11, 2017
Ditto to shms's review as she's written it just so!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Plus ...
Details of the past were so sketchy.
So they went to school together and stayed together till when?
When did he study law?
Who are his parents/family and where are they now?
No connection to the past is shown here. No town name*, people, her boss, his people.
She's this amazing and capable cowgirl who barrel raced too and has nothing to show for her life? Just a bunkhouse bed at the ranch she works at and stuff she can pack in an hour!
I'm sorry but he becomes a big shot lawyer and a politician-in-making but she doesn't even own a place of her own? I liked her tough cowgirl character/persona and she starts out like a h never seen before and I instantly loved her but the author lets her down.

And who writes letters?
And who keeps them to show their complicity in hiding them?

*We know it's Whitehorn because it's the 'Return to Whitehorn' series!
Profile Image for shms.
1,433 reviews
August 12, 2017
I felt the h's angst in this second chance romance, it was well done. She would have been an awesome h, what with being a strong woman making it in a man's world, but that went down the drain with one kiss. I found myself aggravated, given that it had been 10 years since the separation and yet she just gave him a pass. Make him work for it girl!

Reading between the lines she hadn't been on ice, not physically anyway but emotionally certainly so. Least that's how I interpreted it. He had been in a marriage in which he chose to stay until his wife walked out. Nothing says 'I loved you all along' until the man you love gets kicked to the curb and comes looking for his 'one and only'. It was just so aggravating. I confess I mellowed a little with the explanation and excuses but it still wasn't enough to smooth out the aggravation. Hence the 2*'s.
Profile Image for Maria.
2,410 reviews51 followers
April 11, 2020
An interesting second-chance romance. Trust issues are usually at the core of the problem of getting back together, and this is no exception. Although I enjoyed the story, I didn't feel that the trust issues were adequately resolved and should have been explored further.
647 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2019
Sierra fell in love with Dylan and he ends up breaking her heart and marring someone else. Ten years later she is working on ranch and he comes back divorced with his son and wants to hire her to run his ranch. He tells her that he still loves her but she has hard time believing him. After he convinces her to ask her big brother about the letters he wrote her she discovers that the woman he married tricked him into believing the child she was carrying was his but the baby was not his but he stays with her and raises him as his own. His wife leaves him because she knows he still loves Sierra. Sierra still thinks that he will be better off without her but finally she sees that they belong together.
Profile Image for Susannah Carleton.
Author 7 books29 followers
July 8, 2020
There’s an unbelievably quick recovery from ten years of a broken heart when the lady’s first love returns—after marrying someone else. He was tricked into marrying his wife, but even after that is explained, through five letters he wrote the heroine during the first six months of his marriage (which her brother kept from her), the fact that the heroine still loves him and is willing to give him another chance is difficult to believe.
Profile Image for Sue Stewart.
1,680 reviews11 followers
March 22, 2018
Great second chance love store - full of secrets that, when revealed, will hopefully change their direction for the future. Sierra and Dylan were great characters but Rory truly stole my heart.
Sweet, feel good story!
906 reviews2 followers
March 23, 2018
I like the second chance at romance stories

Sierra and Dylan had 10 years apart but were still deeply in love. They had a short time to find their way back to each other. Also, Dylan has a son who wants Sierra for a Mom. I like the characters and the story is wonderful.
Profile Image for Pauline Frost.
1,486 reviews5 followers
February 21, 2025
A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. A story that opens up communication between Sierra and Dylan after ten years apart. Promises made but didn't hold up to stay together and Rory who finds a family he can depend on.
Profile Image for Janis.
233 reviews6 followers
November 13, 2016
Another great book

Well done as always Susan. I love cowboy romances.. highly recommended. I really enjoyed this book. hi Nikki and cats
Profile Image for Missy.
927 reviews21 followers
October 13, 2016
Betrayal, heartbreak, and a second chance.........

Strong and independent Sierra has tried to forget the love she shared with Dylan...but it has been tough. 10 years have passed and in rides Dylan with a son. One look at him and she starts quivering....One kiss and she is gone. Their passion has not died and they are still in love but she sure forgets the pain and the past in a hurry. One month! And they are hot and heavy again. He sure didn't have to suffer long.

There was so much passion and angst in this novella. The characters are well developed and of course the kid is too cute.
1,833 reviews4 followers
February 16, 2016
Enjoyable

Susan Mallory always comes through.When you pick up one of her books you know,from the very beginning that your holding a winner.
Profile Image for Nikki.
2,205 reviews8 followers
March 20, 2019
This book needed to be longer for it to have more impact. I liked it but it wasn’t very believable in the end.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews