Amy Sandas

HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCEBorn into elite Boston society, Courtney Adams never questioned the future her parents laid out for her. That is, until her wedding day, when she realizes she doesn't want the life they chose. Courtney flees the church in a flurry of bridal finery and trades her pearls for a train ticket to Montana - only to be mistaken for a mail order bride!Gruff cowboy Dean Lawton doesn't want a bride, especially some fancy woman from the east he believes his brother "ordered" behind his back. But there's no backing out without ruining the lady's reputation. Now married, Courtney and Dean have four weeks to decide if they want to stay that way - or if they're better off a country apart.

The Cowboy's Honor

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Cowboy's Honor is the second book in the runaway brides trilogy. I am loving these books so far, and man this author did great in her Regency romances but she has excelled in writing  Western's and they are so fun. If you like books with the Wild West....these are books you need to grab up because they are written so superb. I love seeing this story develop and what I have loved about this series so far is how engaging these books are. They pull the reader immediately into the story and you just don't want to put it down EVER. I was so addicted to this story and couldn't wait to see these two reach their HEA.
For the time being, she was the bride of a man who wanted her. A man she wanted with every breath and beat of her heart. She could not truly be brave in this new life if she was not willing to take what she wanted despite what might come.
The Cowboy's Honor begins with our heroine, who lives out East in Boston, with her family and is about to be married to a childhood friend, and even though she knows it's her duty she hopes one day to love her future husband. But when she learns that he loves another woman and has kept that knowledge from her, she takes a page from her friend's book and runs away from the wedding, her family and her life in Boston to find something new and have some adventure. Courtney Adams is traveling across the west hoping she reaches Montana soon but then her stagecoach shortens the stop from Helena, and she is stranded is a small town and will have to survive on the little coin she has left until she can get word to her friend who lives days away.  But then before she realizes its a sexy cowboy saves her from a creepy man that was going to take advantage of her. But she finds herself married to the stranger somehow.

Dean Lawton runs a ranch with his brother and his brother is happily married and wants Dean to find love too and keeps trying to convince him to order a mail order bride from back east but Dean has his own reasons for not wanting to marry a woman. But when his brother insists he picks up a package from town, he goes and finds Courtney, who is wearing a wedding gown and from the East coast and he assumes she is sent by his brother and just marries her to protect her until he can divorce her and send her on her way in the near future. But the judge won't free them from the marriage until they live together for a full month. So now Dean and Courtney have to find a peaceful way to live with each other for a full month. Things are tense between Dean and Courtney, at first, but soon the desire they have for each other builds into a sweeping love tale....
I'm not sure of much anymore, but I know I want you more than I've wanted anything in a long time. I didn't want you to stir up so much inside me. But you do. And I'm tired of denying it.
I ADORED this book so much, and I have to say I hope Amy Sandas sticks with Western romances because she is so good at them. I have enjoyed these books more than her Regency novels. I am not sure exactly what the difference is per se, but I just love how these are written and they are definitely my catnip in every way. In The Cowboy's Honor, we have a marriage of convenience set up, but a unique way of seeing this trope and I really admired that this author had a different twist to it. Seeing these two find common ground with each other and discover if they want to stay together after the month is over or be separated for good. We see so much growth in our heroine though. She is a city girl through and through, but I loved her energy and eagerness to try new things like cooking a meal by herself or doing laundry or even learning to shoot a pistol. It was like as the reader, we experience everything along side her and how much she devours all the information she learns about her new life. Its like she is truly finding herself on this journey of self-discovery and I loved how much she craves new experiences and doesn't shy away from them.

Our hero has a tough past, he lost his fiancee when she died from a horrible horse accident and blames himself for everything including her wanting to leave him for another man. He puts so much guilt on himself he doesn't allow himself to be happy until the situation with Courtney happens and he has to face up to his past and his own fears and guilt. I did love seeing him face his past and fight for the love he feels for Courtney. We do have a back plot to the story that is about someone trying to destroy what Rafe has built in his ranch and the twist in the plot that I didn't see coming but I was really happy with the ending and how the story evolves.

The romance that develops between these two is angsty at first, but not full angst, it's more of slow steady angst as they learn to trust in each other and try to deal in compromise and adapt to their new situation. I loved this set up though and seeing them try to find what they need in each other, solve the mystery and learning what is most important in life. We see some great friendships and fun side characters I want more of.

Overall The Cowboy's Honor is a captivating love tale that sweeps the reader off their feet, its a story of sacrifice, self discovery and deep emotion....A WILD WEST GEM!!

Sheena

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 Stars)
Title: The Cowboy's Honor
Author(s): Amy Sandas
Character(s): 
― Courtney Adams: 21 years old, Red, Green Eyed
― Dean Lawton: 27 years old, Sandy Brown, Blue Eyed
Setting: Montana, USA
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary 
Content Rating: R
POV: Third Person
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s): 
― “Seems to me, being a little selfish might be necessary every now and then.”
―“I did want you, Courtney. I swear on everything I hold dear, I wanted you.”
Overall Opinion:
After receiving a misdirected letter from her betroth to his lover, Courtney Adams flees the day of her wedding and the future her parents have laid out for her to the West for then to be mistaken for a surly cowboy Dean Lawton mail order bride. The last thing Dean wanted was a wife especially not some fancy Eastern lady he believes his brother "ordered" behind his back. Yet one misunderstanding leads to another, and before the dust can settle, he finds himself married to a woman who challenges him at every step. Seeking an annulment after discovering the error, the judge denies their request and gives them four weeks to decided on the marriage. Becoming nothing more than a marriage of inconvenience, feelings developed and soon Dean must decide to either convince Courtney to remain in his arms or lose her forever.

Overall, this Runaway Brides Series was more than enjoyable. The witty banter between the leads had me laughing out loud and they were so evenly matched in temperament that it became difficult not to like them. Dean was used to getting his way so when he ended up marrying the red-haired spitfire, she gave him a run for his money. It was so refreshing to come across a western romance novel with strong female characters: main and secondary. The author was able to thoroughly flourish the relationship beautifully and create a heartwarming tale that anyone could enjoy.

The Cowboy's Honor

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