Single father Henry “Hank” Watson is a fresh transplant from Alaska to Painted Barrel, Wyoming. He doesn’t want anything more from life than to put in a good day’s work, then go home to his daughter, Libby. But when Libby needs some emergency work done on her curls thanks to a gum incident, Hank’s out of his depth. He takes his daughter into town where he meets Becca, the local salon owner.
Becca’s still nursing a broken heart after her ex dangled marriage in front of her, then bailed a few days before the wedding. She’s done with men…or so she thinks. When she meets Hank and his little girl, she realizes that they need her help with more than just hair. It’s clear they both need a woman in their lives.
Everyone in town believes Hank is too gruff for someone as sweet as Becca. But what they don’t understand is that he makes Becca feel loved. She can see a future with him and his adorable daughter…if they don’t move back to Alaska.
Release Date: Jun 2, 2020
Series: Wyoming Cowboys
Book: 4
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $7.99
The Cowboy Meets His Match is the fourth book in Jessica Clare’s Wyoming Cowboy series. We’re introduced to Becca, a salon owner who has recently been left at the altar by her longtime boyfriend. She’s begun to feel like the only thing people can do is pity her, and she’s ready to make a fresh start of it. Enter, Hank Watson and his little girl Libby. Hank comes to the salon for some help with the little girl’s hair and Becca is immediately smitten with both of them. But Hank hasn’t had an easy life, and trust is hard for him. Can he take down his walls and let a good woman like Becca in?
This blurb immediately lured me in, because I am a sucker for an opposites attract novel. I loved that Hank was a gruff alpha, but genuinely wanted to do the best he could for his little girl. I loved that Clare gave us dual POV so we got to spend time in his head, it really gave excellent insights into his character. Becca was the type of woman anyone would love to have as a friend. She was sweet, driven, committed, caring, and funny. I loved that she didn’t let the mess with her ex bring her too far down in this book.
I had a bit of a hard time with the start of this novel. Hank is not much of a talker, which came off as rude and aloof much of the time. Internally, we are told that he’s deeply insecure and unsure of how to navigate a relationship with Becca. I love when the gruff guy has a heart that is all mush for the woman in his life, but I didn’t like how long we had to suffer through a pretty obnoxious level of rudeness from Hank. Especially, when Becca comes to help them at the ranch for several weeks, and it’s insinuated that he doesn’t warm up to her in all that time.
The only major other issue I had was in the characterization of Hank’s daughter. Children in romance novels are always problematic for me, because rarely are they written in a believable way. Libby is supposed to be four, but throughout much of this book is speaking and acting like a much older child. Perhaps because I am a mother these discrepancies are more pronounced to me, but it really did take me out of the magic of the book several times.
Overall, I enjoyed the novel and would considering continuing on in the series if Hank’s brother’s get their own stories. This was a quick read for me and it had the perfect amount of steam and heart. The chemistry between these two was well written and I found the author did a good job of holding my attention. This would be good for anyone that loves a good small town romance, modern western, or opposites attract story. My issues with this were minimal so I’m giving it a 3.5 out of 5.
~ Lindsey
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