3.5 stars for me. In general I enjoy books that are set on ranches as this one is, and I liked Make Mine a Cowboy although it didn't completely click for me. The premise starts with a big (huge) communications error that made the hero (Ben Callahan) take a path that he otherwise wouldn't have chosen. Not to worry, though, because the heroine (Dr. Charlotte North) is pretty forgiving of some of Ben's previous statements and allows their relationship to grow despite an adventure they shared in the very recent past. The adorable, meddling grandparent who is respected by everyone is a trope that I struggle with, particularly when the very strong/smart leads don't tell her to simply back off. At the end of the day this is a pleasant story of Charlotte and Ben finding their way to each other in the midst of conflicting priorities and life in general. The health issue that Ben's Dad is facing is real and I could feel the love as his family and others helped him through it. There are a couple of intimate moments which I think are quite tame, but this technically can't be classified as "clean".

I enjoyed the growth that Ben displayed but I was unhappy with Charlotte's ambivalence when she is clearly a woman who dives into problems and solves them. I found something lacking in the connection between Charlotte and Ben but Make Mine a Cowboy is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. I am grateful to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A good romance between a doctor and a cowboy. The chemistry was good between the main characters with supporting cast adding to the scenes and dialogue. I love that the cowboy was willing to make a major change in his life instead of expecting the woman to be the one who has to sacrifice. The ending was right on track. Can never go wrong with a cowboy romance.

This is my first A.J. Pine book and it was cute. This is the second in a series, but this book seemed fine as a stand alone book. This book has a common theme of "please pretend to be my boyfriend so someone doesn't fix me up with every available man out there", but I've read other books that pull it off better. Don't get me wrong - you could feel the chemistry between these two, but something just felt off. Maybe because the cowboy in the scenario had always been such a player and then he received some medical news that gave him hope for his future and he just simply decided the current girl in front of him had to be "the one". And the heroine in this story just seemed a bit off at times. I couldn't really find myself caring for either of them beyond the story and usually that lets me know if I'm invested enough to care to read future books in the same series. I think I'll pass this time.

But the previous books in this series earn higher ratings than this book does, so maybe they are worth it?

I received a copy of this book for an honest review. The opinions above are mine without biases.

Pine elevates tropes we have all read a million times-fake relationships, a couple who live far away from each other- into a book that made me both laugh and cry when I wasn’t expecting it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!
I love A.J. Pine's books! Her writing is superb! Add in a hot cowboy who is like Joey from Friends until he meets Dr. Charlotte North. I love her analogies, her references to Marvel and her Hamilton references. This book made my night. I read it in one sitting and loved all the characters. From Doc to Gram !