Holly‘s review of How a Cowboy Stole Her Heart by Donna Alward.
Clay Gregory’s known Megan Briggs her whole life, and he’s been plenty worried about her while she’s been getting medical treatment. Now she’s back home and hiding away on the family ranch.
Knowing the stubborn cowgirl won’t accept his help willingly, he invites her to a family wedding to help him avoid his aunt’s matchmaking!
He plans to remind Meg she’s still the girl who can beat him in a horse race! But as she steps out in her curve-hugging red dress, her skills on a horse are suddenly the furthest thing from his mind….
Don’t let the title and cover fool you, this isn’t a light piece of fluff. There’s quite a bit of emotional depth in these pages.
Megan and Clay have been friends for a long time. Meg has been away going through chemo and radiation for breast cancer. Before she left, she and Clay said some harsh words to each other. Now that she’s back and in remission, she wants to mend fences but isn’t sure how.
Clay lost his father to cancer, and in a way, his mother as well (she abandoned them because she couldn’t handle his father’s illness). When Meg tells him she has cancer Clay knows he isn’t strong enough to be there for her. He says some harsh things that he can’t take back..but he wants to make it up to her.
Surprisingly, while they’re trying to mend their friendship they realize there’s more between them. But they’re both afraid to move forward with their relationship. Meg doesn’t trust that Clay will stick around for the long haul..and frankly neither does Clay. He doesn’t want to lose another person he cares about.
Meg and Clay are just two big balls of issues. Meg is dealing with the scars from her fight with cancer – both the physical and emotional ones. She’s determined to live her life to the fullest, and yet at the same time she’s scared. Scared that next time she might not make it. She’s also scared that Clay won’t be the man she needs him to be. She needs someone she can rely on. Someone she can count on to be there in case the worst happens and her cancer comes back.
Clay has lost enough people in his life. He doesn’t want to take the chance that he’ll end up having his heart broken. Instead, he pushes Meg away, thinking they’ll both be better off. But as time goes on he comes to realize he wants Meg in his life – even if that means risking his a broken heart. The problem will be convincing Meg he’s the man for her.
Although there were some very touching scenes in this book and many emotional pitfalls, I had frustrations with both Meg and Clay. They kept saying harsh things to each other and pulling back at the slightest hint of deeper feelings. While I understood this in the beginning, as the novel progressed I found myself losing patience with them.
3 out of 5.
This book is available from Harlequin Romance. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
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