REVIEW: Million Dollar Cowboy by Lori Wilde

In Million Dollar Cowboy (Cupid, Texas #5) by Lori Wilde, Ridge Lockhart grew up on the Silver Feather Ranch, in Cupid, Texas knowing he was always going to be the outsider, being that he was the only illegitimate son out of Duke Lockhart’s four boys. The bad blood between him and his father pushed Ridge to become a highly successful CEO of his own company in the silver mining industry. But now his childhood best friend’s wedding is pulling him back to Texas for a few days and he’s not sure if he’ll make it through without a knockdown fight with his old man. Then lovely Kaia, his best friend’s younger sister, catches Ridge’s eye and his world shifts. Between her positive outlook on life and her sassy ways, she gets to him like no one else. But he’s not sure he should play with fire, when he’ll likely be no good for Kaia.

“Did you really think I was going to dump water down your collar?” he asked huskily.
“With you? I don’t know what to think.”
“I have a much better way of getting you wet,” he murmured, and pulled her up against his chest, every urge in his body yelling at him to kiss her.

Kaia Alzate shouldn’t have been shocked that Ridge, the guy she always had a crush on, turned out to be a devastatingly handsome man. Or that he’s become such a success. Although she has to admit that she’s disappointed he hasn’t been back home to Cupid in a decade. Kaia understands better than most people how much Duke’s animosity hurt Ridge. She’s hoping she can show him that everyone else accepts him as an important part of the ranch. But when their chemistry goes off the charts and Kaia realizes that Ridge feels the attraction between them as well, she begins to hope she can help him open up emotionally and believe that he finally deserves to be loved.

‘With great love came great pain. You could not have one without the other. If you loved, eventually you would be hurt. But oh! It was so worth the cost.’

A brother’s-best-friend trope, Million Dollar Cowboy was a story layered with friendship, mutual attraction, family resentments, and even a whisper of Native American legend. Set in small town Cupid, Texas, Lori Wilde created a romance that felt every bit as grand as it did down-home.

‘He was too damn broken for Kaia. She deserved so much better. She deserved someone who would know how to love with all his heart and soul. Someone who could and would put her ahead of everything else. And Ridge just didn’t know how to do that.’

There are a couple of authors I think of when I want to read an authentic small town romance set in Texas but Lori Wilde always tops that list. I think it’s because she obviously knows the region so well, being a native of Texas herself, but it’s also due to how her stories pack such an emotional punch. She’s not afraid to put her characters through their paces. And boy did she make sure Ridge and Kaia earned their HEA in this book. Whew! But it was so worth all their emotional turmoil.

Like you would expect, each character was larger than life and was unique in their own way. Kaia, I’ll admit, was a wee bit too perky sometimes for me but she was such a positive person and was so much fun that I couldn’t help but be charmed by her, right along with everyone else. Kaia was great for Ridge–Mr. Overachiever–who was a workaholic and never took time to relax. I thought it was sweet that they’d both had crushes on each other for years and sort of looked out after one another, never thinking they’d ever act on their feelings. And even though Kaia and Ridge tried to deny what they felt, I think readers will agree that they were soul mates who were meant to be.

Family played a big part in Million Dollar Cowboy as well. Ridge’s tough upbringing and the animosity with his father, plus Kaia’s grandmother’s stories about the legend of the Song of the Soul Mate added extra depth–and complications. It was interesting to see how Lori Wilde was able to weave those threads into an already interesting romance and have it all work together seamlessly.

A spirited heroine full of light and love. An all-work-and-no-play hunky businessman with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. And a complicated family history that came roaring back to the forefront after a decade of silence. That’s just a snippet of what made Million Dollar Cowboy a perfectly paced, highly enjoyable novel.

Book Info:

Publication: March 28th 2017 | Avon | Cupid, Texas #5

New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Wilde returns to Cupid, Texas with a heartwarming story of a cowboy who comes home to the family ranch for a wedding filled with surprises…

The illegitimate son of a Texas ranching dynasty, Ridge Lockhart left home ten years ago with one goal: to become more successful than the father who never accepted him.

Mission accomplished, but now he’s back at the Silver Feather Ranch for a wedding—three days of best man duty until he can hightail it out. Then he spies Kaia Alzate, and suddenly leaving isn’t quite so appealing.

Kaia Alzate grew up the daughter of the ranch foreman, servants to the mighty Lockharts in the mansion. Back then, she followed Ridge around like a puppy. Now, she’s fighting the attraction she feels for this sexy CEO. She’s determined not to make a big mistake—but when Ridge takes her in his arms she’s stunned…could he be the man she’s waited for all along?