This is a romance suspense. I really enjoyed this book. The romance was ok, but the suspense/mystery I really enjoyed. I did not guess the twist in this book. This was a easy and quick read. The characters was fun and easy to love. This book is character driven. The suspense mystery in this book is not like a thriller, but it is a little more then a cozy mystery. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) or author (Carla Cassidy) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I’ve just gotten into cowboy books and this one hit the spot. I loved the main characters and their love story and I never wanted it to end. Highly recommend

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Lily and Jerod strike up a deal for a marriage of convinces where it'll benefit her failing ranch and Jerod gets a child and a sense of family with a good women. Thing is soon after the wedding a few mysterious things happen as well as a few close calls now they must figure out who is behind this.

I really enjoyed this book. Things were awkward at first when it came to the two, in the beginning there was nothing between the two so they had to warm up to the idea of eachother. Thing is someone is clearly trying to put a wedge between the two and with a couple of close calls its clear something is amiss and someone is out to get Lily. I couldn't wait to find out who was behind this. I had my guesses and still managed to be surprised. I liked seeing the warming up between the couple seeing as they learned more about eachother and seeing that attraction grow. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.

Good mix of romance and suspense. Jerrod is one of the original twelve "lost boys" who came to work at Holiday Ranch when they were troubled teens. Over the last several years, most of them have found love and started their own families. At the beginning of the book, Jerrod feels pretty down in the dumps. He, too, wants a wife and family, but finding a woman to love hasn't worked out. He's just about given up when he gets a wild idea. After overhearing Lily's troubles at the bank, Jerrod considers offering her a marriage of convenience. He'll catch up with the mortgage payments and help make the ranch profitable if she will marry him and eventually have his baby.

Lily is a single mother who gave up on love. She loved her son's father, but he took off after learning she was pregnant, taking her savings with him. Since then, Lily has struggled to keep her ranch afloat, working as a teacher to earn some of what she needs. She wants to keep her ranch going and have something to leave her son, but she's reached the end of her rope. The bank threatens foreclosure, and she's out of options. That is until Jerrod shows up on her doorstep with the most outlandish idea. Lily is stunned by the request, but after considering it, she accepts his proposal.

I loved Jerrod. He is kind, honorable, and fair. He understands that this is an unusual situation and is happy to let Lily set the pace for their relationship. He knows her son, Caleb, from his work at the community center and has infinite patience with the boy's attitude. I liked Lily, too, but had a few problems with her. Thanks to her past, she has some trust issues, and early in their marriage is quick to jump to conclusions about Jerrod's faithfulness. Though hurt by her accusations, Jerrod shows her the truth through his actions. As Lily and Jerrod settle into their marriage, an attraction begins to build between them, as do unexpected emotions. Life-threatening danger finally opens their eyes and hearts, and their own happily ever after.

The suspense of the story was intense. Someone is not happy about Lily's marriage to Jerrod. It starts with annoying and creepy events, like a bloodied bride doll left on the porch and a lie about Jerrod's faithfulness. Those quickly intensify to physical attempts on Lily's life. There are several possible suspects and a shocking final confrontation. I was on the edge of my seat until it was all over, hoping that Jerrod would find Lily in time.

I enjoyed seeing characters from earlier books. Dillon and Cassie have prominent roles in this book. I especially loved how Cassie offered to help Jerrod give Lily a real wedding. Several of the other ranch hands also made appearances. Mac is the lone bachelor left of the original twelve, and I can't wait for his book.

This story continues the Cowboys of Holiday Ranch series. As always these are an enjoyable fast read. Lily and Jerrod enter into a marriage of convenience to save her ranch and to establish a family for him. Both lead characters are well thought out and relatable people. I really enjoyed the slow burn in their relationship and was thankful they did not just "jump to it".

After their marriage Lily starts receiving threats that grow increasingly worse until someone attacks and stabs her. While the mystery of who was fairly easily determined I did like how it helped the growth in their relationship. Overall a really good continuation in the series.

Received as an arc from Netgalley.

This marriage of convenience romance was a lot of fun, and I do like that it was mostly about the relationship, with some added suspense elements.
Add a single parent trope into the mix, and that is what this book is. I truly loved the development not only between Jerod and Lily, but between Jerod and Caleb. They had a small foundation before the marriage came about, but the way it builds is really nice!

I've thoroughly been enjoying Carla Cassidy's Holiday Ranch series, and this latest novel in the series is no exception. As the series has progressed, many of the lost boys who came to Holiday Ranch years ago and found a job and a purpose, have met the loves of their lives, married and started families of their own. There are only two bachelors left, Jerod and Mac, and this is Jerod's story, and what a good and engrossing story it was--I read it cover-to-cover until 6:30 a.m. because in addition to being a marriage of convenience romance, it included one heck of a dramatic mystery as well, and there was no way I could put it down until I learned who the evildoer was--and what a shocker! It gets 4 stars from this reader.

Jerod Steen is one of the original 12 boys who came to live at Holiday Ranch, and as he's watched his friends and fellow cowboys find love and happiness, he realizes, at age 35, that what what he really wants is something he was denied as a child, a wife, a home, a stable family and children of his own. Bitterroot, Oklahoma is a very small town, and none of the women he's met and dated over the years have really struck his fancy. The idea of internet dating sites has no appeal either, and it's not until he's at the local bank, standing behind single mother and grade school teacher, Lily Kidwell, whose son, Caleb, he knows because of his work at the community center for at-risk children, and he overhears her conversation with the teller, a conversation in which she admits that she's behind on her mortgage payments and is begging for another couple of weeks before they start foreclosure proceedings, on her home and ranch, that an idea begins to form in his mind.

Not long after that, Jerod turns up at Lily's door with a proposition--a marriage of convenience, hardly a new trope, but something you see more of in historical rather than contemporary romances. Jerod offers to pay up Lily's mortgage deficit, and save her ranch in exchange for her marrying him and bearing him a child. These are two people who barely know each other, and Lily is certainly dubious of his intentions because although she was in love with Caleb's father, they weren't married, and he took off as soon as she announced she was pregnant, and broke her heart. She's not really dated in the past decade and is stunned by Jerod's plan, buteventually considers it and finally agrees to his plan, but with more than a few reservations.

While that marriage of convenience plan and its developments would have been enough for a romance novel, Ms. Cassidy had a whole lot more in store for her readers--a gripping mystery and suspense novel, as someone is clearly not happy about Lily's marriage to Jerod, and more than one event occurs that threatens not only Lily's happiness, but her life as well. There are more than a couple of suspects, and once shocker of a denouement, which I won't spoil for you, but it certainly was a mind-blower.

While I really liked this as a novel of romantic suspense, there were a couple of wrong notes that just didn't work for me. First was Lily's lack of trust in Jerod, who'd been more than kind, fair, supportive and understanding of her, allowing her to set the pace for theor relationship and the consummation of their marriage, and his kindness and decency toward her son, who'd been having anger issues at school. Jerod is a really good man, yet at the first sign of trouble--an envelope containing a pair of men's boxers and the hint that Jerod has a woman on the side, after one week of marriage, Lily immediately jumps to the conclusion that's he's been cheating on her and asks for a divorce. Her doubts about her new husband were all about her low self-esteem and lack of trust in spite of all the goodness, decency, honesty and kindness Jerod exhibited on a daily basis--and that incident was just the beginning of her trust issues, which didn't speak well of her, and I would have preferred a little more romance in this romance novel.

Yes, this novel is part of a series, although it hasn't ever been billed as one, and it definitely works just fine as a standalone. Despite my issues with Lily, I still found this novel to be a gripping and exciting read, and I'm happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Lily and Jerod were essentially strangers who married for convenience. He wanted a family and she wanted to save her ranch. Granted, Jerod knew Lily’s son from the community center but only had a passing acquaintance with her while she knew next to nothing about him. This is part of the reason the romance didn’t work at all for me. Then there was the multiple assumptions Lily made and the lack of communication between them...everything was kept at an impersonal level for too long to make me believe either one was falling for one another.

However, although I didn’t care for the romantic aspects of the story, the mystery was very well-done! I didn’t even guess at the villain, even after reading the story twice to double check for clues. Talk about a surprise twist!

I received an advance reader copy from Harlequin/Netgalley and this is my honest review.

This was a super cute and quick read. The romance was sweet and sexy at the same time. I had such a fun time reading this novel.