Return to New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Wilde’s beloved town of Cupid, Texas, where wedding fever is in the air . . . and two best friends discover that sometimes the perfect match is standing right in front of you . . .Ember Alzate is a fantastic matchmaker with one big problem: she can’t find the perfect mate for herself! Alzate family legend says that when she kisses “the One” she’ll … she kisses “the One” she’ll hear a mysterious humming in her head. Well, Ember’s kissed a lot of guys and she’s never heard a thing. Now, instead of searching for herself, she vows to find her best friend, Ranger Lockhart, a bride. It’s clear this smart, sexy man just needs to meet the right gal.
Ranger’s returned home to Cupid with marriage on his mind, but he’s not interested in the parade of women Ember pushes under his nose. His thoughts keep returning to his best friend—with her combustible combination of curves and sass. No one compares to Ember, but what’s it going to take to convince her she’s the woman for him?
more
What we all want, after all, is to be loved and accepted just as we are. In How the Cowboy Was Won the Ember Alzate has always felt like she is too loud, too wild, too spontaneous, too much for everyone else but to her very best friend, Ranger Lockhart.
I love the best friend to lovers stories because they have such a solid foundation to build a relationship on. This story had so much more than just the romance developing between the two best friends. There were community affairs and events with plenty of characters to get mixed up if not paying attention, there were the match-making attempts by Ember, the filmmaking, the living and loving of small-town Texas, and it was funny, sweet, adorable, and entertaining.
There were moments, like the best first kiss ever, that had me swooning, there was the ardent passion that had me fanning my face, there were the moments of true confessions, the raw truths of the hearts and souls that had me in tears, there were moments of pure vulnerability that helped the characters grow, and there were the continues moments that the best friends could not communicate what truly was in their minds and hearts that had me frustrated and even annoyed.
Charming and captivating, delightful and humorous, poignant and inspiring – The story stirred the emotions, had me engaged in the tale while whisked me away to a lively and lovely visit to Cupid, Texas.
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
I love Lori Wild’s stories. This book has you rooting for their hero and heroine. The heroine is willing to set up her best friend and the man she loves. She believes he would be better off with someone else. The story has a touching ending.
Lori Wilde is one of my auto-buy author’s. I love the Cupid, Texas series and Alzate family legend.
Ember is an extroverted risk taker. She’s smart, outspoken, bold, and normally doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions before she does or says something. Ember is all these things and so much more, but has very low self-esteem. All her life she has been told that she’s too loud, too out there, needs to change, and conform. This hits home when her marriage dissolves. Ember takes leave from her job as a real estate agent and returns home to Cupid to be with her family, and reconsider her life. In Cupid she is known as the matchmaker, but she doesn’t believe there is a happily ever in her future.
Ranger Locker is an introverted absent minded professor. Ranger is also Ember’s BFF. After a year working on his doctorate down under, he returns to Cupid. The first person he goes to see is Ember. A year of being separated from his BFF was been really hard; for both of them. Once Ranger see’s Ember again he realizes that his feeling have changed. Ember is also sees Ranger in a different way, but doesn’t act on it.
Ember decides to play matchmaker for Ranger. Find him the perfect wife who will challenge him to be more outgoing. Unbeknownst to Ember, Ranger believes Ember is his perfect match, his forever BFF and the love of his life. He wants Ember as his wife.
There are many twist and turns. You will laugh, get frustration, and just about question Lori’s perception of this couple. You wonder how Ember and Ranger can be so dense with what is right under their noses. But then you take into consideration Ember’s low self-esteem and her belief that she is not good enough for Ranger. Then there is Ranger whose sole focus has always been his career. Now he’s struggling to leave his comfort zone.
There will be heartbreak before Ember and Ranger can attain their HEA. It all comes down to believing in yourself, and knowing that you will have each others back regardless of where your lives take you.
It was ok.. Ive read better plots. But this had a good storyline
Couldn’t put it down
I totally adored the story of Ember and Ranger. This friends to lovers trope had by far the best romantic love scene I have read in a long, long time! It made my heart go pitty pat and increased my temperature by several degrees. It may have taken almost the whole story to get there, but boy was it worth it!
Ms. Wilde has mixed a cowboy and a nerd and come up with the perfect hero. Ranger is wonderful. You combine his introvert tendencies with the “out there” qualities of Ember and you have the perfect match. It doesn’t hurt any that they have been best friends since they were little. I just can’t say enough about this story, but I’m going to stop here. Go read it for yourself!
Fun friends to lovers story. Ember and Ranger have been best friends since they were kids. Neither one pursued anything deeper on those occasions when the thought occurred, each one afraid to ruin their friendship. Ember is quite the extrovert. She is friendly, bold, and a bit blunt in her speech and actions. Her self-esteem has taken a beating thanks to a failed, but blessedly short, marriage. She came home to Cupid to regroup. Her best buddy, Ranger, was in New Zealand for a year but was due to return soon. Ranger is almost her complete opposite. He is an introvert, happiest when lost in his work, with his head in th
e stars. The only thing that can pull him out is Ember.
Over the past year, while Ranger has been away, both of them have realized how much they miss each other and depend on each other. I loved Ranger’s return and the absolute joy of their reunion. I loved Ranger’s surprise and confusion as he noticed things about Ember that had previously made no impression on him. It didn’t take him long to realize that he wanted more than just friendship from her. Ember also feels the pull, but after her disaster of a marriage has given up on the idea of love for herself. She quickly saw that Ranger needed a wife and decided to put her matchmaking skills to work.
I loved watching the development of the relationship between Ember and Ranger. He had his sights set on her and nothing was going to dissuade him. Unfortunately, he had his work cut out for him because Ember refused to admit what was happening between them. Instead, she was determined to find his perfect match, and her attempts were pretty funny. At the same time, seeing them spend time together made it so obvious that they were made for each other that I just wanted to shake her. Ranger got a little desperate and called on a friend for help. Ember had her own moments of confusion as unexpected feelings of jealousy made their appearance. Things got even more complicated when they shared their first kiss, which was a mind-blowing experience for both of them. It strengthened Ranger’s determination, but sent Ember further into denial, with her fears and insecurities convincing her that she wouldn’t be right for him anyway. I liked when she finally came to her senses and ached for her when a misunderstanding made her believe it was too late. This was followed by more misfires in communication as Ranger made his case to her, but forgot the most important thing. Ember made some mistakes of her own that she then had to face up to before she could believe in a future for them. I loved her big moment as she took courage in hand, trusted her instincts, and went after what she wanted. Ranger’s reaction made it the perfect ending for this book.
The secondary characters in the book were almost as much fun to watch, especially the various subjects of Ember’s matchmaking attempts. Though she’d had several earlier successes, in this book, nothing seemed to go right. A good part of it was caused by her desperate attempts to fix Ranger up, leading her to push a couple of unlikely matches. It was fun to watch her subjects resist her maneuverings and end up with the right matches in spite of them. I also liked catching up with both Ember’s and Ranger’s siblings, and look forward to seeing Rhett’s turn on the hotseat.
Ranger and Ember have been best friends since they were really little. Ranger has been gone for a year in Australia for work and now he’s back in town. Ember decides Ranger needs a wife to help him with his career so she sets out to find him the perfect wife. However, she’s not sure how she is feeling about this once she sees him with other women.
This story kept my attention and I didn’t want it to end. I love this author’s style of writing and how the reader falls in love with the secondary characters as well as the H&H. I felt like I knew Ember and Ranger right away and loved the easy relationship with each other. They were very strong characters without one over shadowing the other. I liked how Ember wasn’t bossy in a mean way but she was a big, fun personality. The chemistry is off the charts between these two, as they don’t realize what is happening. How the Cowboy Was Won is a great story with characters that pull you in and you can’t help but laugh, cry and grin from ear to ear when things come together. This is a lovely story about friends to HEA and Ms. Wilde did an amazing job with this latest book in the Cupid, Texas Series. I really did love it.
WWED? What would Ember do. Outrageous Ember would do anything for her brilliant best friend Ranger. Even let him go so the world could benefit from his brilliance. The chemistry between these two characters is off the charts and larger than any star Ranger might ever study as a research scientist. I found myself a soul sister in Ember with her take no crap, over the top, tell it like it is personality. People in Cupid are drawn to her strength and outrageousness making her the go-to gal for real estate and matchmaking in her small town. When her sexy Professor of a bestie returns from a year in New Zealand studying the stars and saving the world, Ember is gob smacked with the realization her love for him is shifting. Ranger Lockhart returned to Cupid, TX with an agenda. One, score his dream job at the McDonald Observatory in his hometown, and two, make Ember Alzate finally see that they are so much more than best friends. He enlists the help from an unlikely character to help him make Ember realize what he’s known all along…they belong together. Granny Blue tried to tell her, but she couldn’t accept it. She would know from a single kiss what all Alzate women did. When you hear the sweet sound of humming in your head, you’ve found The One, your soulmate, your forever.
I laughed, I cried, I got angry when a certain Kiwi interfered, and I cheered when things went the way they were supposed to! Lori Wilde once again took me deep into the heart of Cupid, TX. ‘How the Cowboy Was Won’ was worth every minute and every emotion. ENJOY!
I won a copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways. I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a wonderful story how 2 friends that have grown up together could finally admit that they had feelings for each other. He was the brainy PHD guy who had left for a while but is back and she is the girl who married the wrong guy rather admit her true feelings. I love how friends and family brought them together,,
When it comes to love Ember Alzate is a master at matching up the folks around her, but when it comes to her own love life she just can’t get it right, so she has given up on making a love connection of her own for the moment. When she learns that her best friend is moving back home and is ready to settle down she designates herself his personal matchmaker, problem is he has already found his girl, she just doesn’t know it yet. He wants Ember and he will do just about anything to convince her that she is the right women for him… even playing a little dirty!
How The Cowboy Was Won is a sweet, witty, and toe curling tale that is sure to leave romance readers hearts overflowing! The moment you meet this couple you will be instantly captivated by them, their quirky personalities, sizzling chemistry, and genuine care for one another makes it all to easy to fall for them and root them on. I am a sucker for a smooth talking cowboy and I have to say Ranger definitely dazzled, he was charming and sweet when the moment called for it, and certainly knew his way to a woman’s heart! This was a pleasurable read, it had emotional content to stir up the feels, witty banter to inspire the giggles, and some steamy scenes to curl your toes… highly recommend it!!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title.