A Cowboy for Keeps by Jody Hedlund

A Cowboy for Keeps by Jody Hedlund sweeps you back in time to 1860s Colorado and two people’s quest for survival.

Book Blurb

Greta Nilsson’s trip west to save her ailing little sister, Astrid, could not have gone more wrong. First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.

Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He’ll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt’s ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family. And the mayor, who has promised to try to help Greta, has just the candidate in mind for Wyatt to marry.

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this marriage of convenience story. Hedlund does a great job of making you care about the characters and their plight from the very beginning. I think it’s always a good sign when you don’t always agree with a character’s decisions but still root for them to come through their trials.

Wyatt and Greta go into the marriage with selfish motives and an understanding that they both have their priorities already set. The conflict comes in when feelings develop, causing them to question their motives and priorities. I think this is a great look at relationships because everyone has to stop and reevaluate in a relationship, especially when marriage is involved.

Seeing these characters grow was just the incentive I needed to keep turning pages. Hedlund fleshes out these characters in such a way that you quickly become invested in their lives and root for them as they grow and mature.

And there are great spiritual arcs about fiery trials and how God wants to be involved in our lives. I found these arcs to be especially touching. Believing that God cares even about the little things can sometimes be hard for us to wrap our minds around. Especially when we encounter so many people who act as if we’re a bother. We can never be reminded too often that God cares about us.

Overall, A Cowboy for Keeps is a satisfying romance historical fiction lovers will enjoy.

(Note: I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.)

Further Information

A Cowboy for Keeps releases January 5. To pre-order, check out your favorite retailer or click the book cover image above to order it from Bookshop.org, a website that supports independent bookstores.

For more on Jody Hedlund, visit her website and sign up for her newsletter. You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.