Reviewer: Rowena
Tempted By a Cowboy (The Perfect Man #2) by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Series: The Perfect Man #2
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: June 18th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Westerns
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Series Rating:

The sisters of Gamma Delta Rho just can’t agree whether the perfect man is rich or rugged. But can a cowboy ever prove he’s worth his weight in gold?

Billionaire Astrid Lindberg may have grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she’s determined to have a career as a vet and she feels most at home in a barn surrounded by her beloved horses. Though her parents expect her to settle down with someone refined and rich, Astrid can’t keep her thoughts off of the handsome and hardworking rancher Fletcher Grayson. Too bad he’s one of her clients and thus strictly off limits.

Then, Astrid is involved in an accident after helping one of Fletcher’s horses in the early morning hours, and Fletch comes to her rescue. In the aftermath, the two find their sizzling attraction outweighing common sense and overriding their professional relationship. But Astrid is keeping a secret that is a ticking time bomb with the power to destroy their newfound passion…

This new novella is a part of a series featuring the romantic experiences of sorority sisters, all of whom come from vastly different walks of life and yet whose bond of friendship is stronger than many biological siblings.  This short novel features a woman whose delight is in being a small town vet, one who can simply live as herself and not as a billionaire heiress.  She loves being liked for who she is, appreciated for the expertise she displays in caring for animals, and for her genuine spirit of wanting to be a part of this really nice community.  She is also very aware of the ethics of being involved romantically with one of her clients and it is a tribute to the stalwart nature of her character that no  matter how tempted she may be by the gorgeous body and upstanding character of Fletcher Grayson, she is still determined to be a professional of the highest standing in her field of expertise.

But the human heart has a way of undercutting even the highest of ideals and the heat between these two characters is evident right from the first.  It only gets hotter.  But inbetween Astrid and Fletcher sits those billions, money she doesn’t mind having, but bank accounts she absolutely doesn’t want to determine the way people judge her or look at her.  Her greatest fear is losing the high regard Fletch has for her, possibly losing the love of the one man who has become almost emotionally indispensible to her.  It’s a crisis of rather grand proportion and thus this is not a novella that is comfortable or sickeningly sweet.  It is a story that, in spite of the money involved, is one where two people may well lose out, big time.  So throughout the story there is this tension between what Astrid really wants to see happen in her life and what she fears may happen when Fletch finds out about all that money.

As always, Ms Thompson has given readers a delightful story that is filled with emotion and the energy that comes when real-life people engage in what we call relationship.  It is also about the pressures of real life, although I doubt that many of us know vets who are billionaires.  Nevertheless, it is about the desires and hopes of a young woman who may have been born with a platinum spoon in her mouth but carries within her the same hopes and dreams for being accepted for herself and not for anything external.  I was sorry that the story wasn’t longer–I think these two people are really fine people and I would have liked to see their story teased out a bit more.  But suffice it to say, it is always a pleasure to read one of Ms Thompson’s stories and I have every expectation that all her fans will be pleased.  It’s a fun series.  I think it deserves to be read and enjoyed.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place

This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.