Thompson is as good as it gets when it comes to writing smart, sassy dialogue. I found Hope a lot harder to like, even though Ms. As a character, Liam is clearly a cowboy to fall head over heels about-he's kind, sweet, sexy, gorgeous, thoughtful and very romantic. While I love a hot sex scene or three, it's somewhat off-putting when they are substituted for the plot, which is slim in this novel, because aside from the wedding preparations and conversations among the other characters, not much else happens. The chemistry between these two characters is intense and the sex scenes are plentiful-almost too plentiful, and are definitely for the mature reader. When they discover that they'll each be at the ranch for a full week after the wedding, the weekend plan becomes a one-week plan, but again, Hope is in denial about an actual long-term relationship with Liam, who clearly wants more than that. As a copy editor and poet who knows a large number of authors, I know that being a writer is who you are, not what you do, and that creativity is certainly not something you can just turn off.Īlthough Hope isn't looking for a relationship, she's certainly not opposed to sex, so when she agrees to a moonlight horse ride with Liam, it turns into a whole lot more, and they agree to a weekend of no-strings sex. Hope's high school friends always knew that she was a writer and loved her creativity and imagination, but, when asked about her writing, she shuts down and simply says she gave it up. A long-time relationship with a man named Tom ended a year ago, and Hope has no intention of leaving herself open to that kind of pain again. Since they'll both be at the ranch for the wedding weekend, he steps up his flirting but Hope is resistant to the whole idea of dating. He's been subtly flirting with her for some time, but so far, he hasn't asked her out. She's knows Liam because of her job at the concierge desk at a hotel in Cody, where Liam often drops off his river rafting clients.

This installment is all about the upcoming wedding of Damon and Philomena (Phil), but Liam Magee is the hot, hunky, cowboy hero, and he's got his eyes and heart set on Hope Caldwell, one of Phil's high school friends who will be attending the wedding. I'm always happy to return to Thunder Mountain Ranch, and its wonderful cast of characters, and this is the sixth title in the series. I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review and here it is: 3 stars.

Cowboy up by vicki lewis thompson