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The Cowboys of Chance Creek #2

The Cowboy Wins a Bride

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All Jamie Lassiter wants is to marry his best friend’s sister and settle down for the rest of his life in Chance Creek. He’s saved his money, bought into the Cruz Guest Ranch and he’s ready for that wedding, but Claire Cruz is nowhere to be found.

Claire’s too busy leaving Montana behind to care about cowboys or their wedding plans. She’s got plans of her own – a trip around the world. She’ll go as soon as she buys her tickets and she doesn’t care if she ever sees Chance Creek again.

Desperate to change Claire’s mind, Jamie proposes a bet: give him six weeks to convince her to marry him. If he can’t, he’ll pay for her round-the-world tickets himself.

Claire can wait six weeks if it means free tickets and a chance to get a little revenge on a man who once broke her heart. She’s got only one stipulation: Jamie can’t touch or flirt with her – or any other woman – while the bet is on.

Now Jamie’s on the run from a bevy of cowboy-groupie ranch guests, and Claire’s learning she cares about the ranch – and Jamie – more than she dreamed possible.

Maybe it’s time to lose that bet.

As long as Jamie loses it first.

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2013

694 people are currently reading
1354 people want to read

About the author

Cora Seton

85 books1,517 followers
With over one million books sold, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Seton has created a world readers love in Chance Creek, Montana. She currently has thirty novels and novellas set in her fictional town, with many more in the works.

Like her characters, Cora loves cowboys, military heroes, country life, gardening, jogging, binge-watching Jane Austen movies, keeping up with the latest technology and indulging in old-fashioned pursuits. She lives on beautiful Vancouver Island with her husband, children and two cats.

Visit www.coraseton.com to read about new releases, locate your favorite characters on the Chance Creek map, and learn about contests and other cool events!

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5 stars
1,261 (39%)
4 stars
1,143 (35%)
3 stars
637 (19%)
2 stars
124 (3%)
1 star
35 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
Profile Image for Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession.
1,223 reviews3,693 followers
May 25, 2017
2 Claire's a bleep... Stars

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I should have known this one was a lost cause. I didn't like the heroine Claire in book 1. I hated her in this one. Like deep passionate hate. There wasn't one redeemable quality about her and I have no clue why Jamie loved her. I gave this book 2 stars for Jamie and the others only. Jamie was supportive, understanding, charming, sexy, loyal and sweet. Claire was a selfish, hateful, self-centered bitch!

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Truly the whole book is Claire thinking about herself, whining about how unfair life is to her only, being a bitch to Jamie, her brother, her long lost sister who's only sin is being born, and everyone that crosses her path. She has major mama drama, and it was clear straight out the gate that she inherited her selfish bitchiness(is that a word? and did I spell that right lol) from her mama.

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There is no relationship build up just Claire ignoring Jamie when she isn't being a bitch to him. The author builds the story as Jamie has always loved Claire. For like 20 years, but I don't see how. She ran from home and only started visiting a few year back and she was a bitch to him every time. She acted like he was a cheater even though he never cheated on anyone. All because he dated over the years like he should have stayed a virgin while she was off ignoring him and fucking anyone she wanted.

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I truly didn't want Jamie to have her. She didn't deserve him. And if I hated the way she treated Jamie, I wanted to reach through my kindle and slap the shit outta her over the way she treated her long lost sister Morgan. Poor Morgan didn't ask to be born to a mom and dad that both were cheaters with other families, or to be dumped off on her dad's parents to get raised. But for some reason when she comes looking for mom(because she didn't know the bitch died) Claire treats her like shit. Claire blames her for being born, stealing her mom, her mom's spending the family into deep debt, her mom being a cheater, and because she believes Morgan had a better life.

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Are you noticing a pattern here......*cough* Claire's a bitch....*cough* And for all these reasons Claire was an unlikable, unforgivable bitch and I wish the book would have ended with her being dumped and all alone. Claire has to go on my top 5 worst heroines of all times list. The plot was just really All about Claire and her sad poor life. I didn't enjoy any of this book other than Ethan and Autumn and the blooming romance between Morgan and Rob. I hope the next book will be better!
Profile Image for Dino-Jess ✮ The Book Eating Dinosaur ✮.
660 reviews18 followers
January 19, 2018
This one was The Bold And The Beautiful instalment of the series.

Every trope imaginable was at work and it was overkill.

Claire was awful. She didn't deserve Jamie.

Not my favourite.

2 Stars
Profile Image for Erin.
3,902 reviews466 followers
December 28, 2018
3.75 stars
I know that I have been blowing up everyone's newsfeed with my Cora Seton obsession and this is my last one for today. But listen people , Cora Seton is amazing and she makes all her Navy SEALS and Cowboys absolutely irresistible. Although the model on this front page is a bit pasty for a hard working ranch hand but whatever! So Ethan( see previous book) 's best bud and business partner, Jamie has adores Ethan's sister Claire since age 8. But Claire just wants to sell her shares in the family ranch and travel far away from the pain she's endured in Chance Creek. But fireworks and other events show that maybe the twosome might stand a chance if they can just open their hearts.
A fast paced storyline and great romance made this go down as easily as a chocolate milkshake.
Profile Image for Julie .
4,248 reviews38k followers
July 26, 2013
The Cowboy wins a Bride is a May 2013 release, published by One Acre Press and Crush Star. This is book two in The Cowboys of Chance Creek series.

Claire is coming home to Chance Creek, Montana for her brother Ethan's wedding. Jamie Lassiter plans on proposing to Claire sticking to his plan to date her a few times and to remind her that she belongs in Montana with him and the horses and the life she once loved. But when Claire arrives, she is in a "mad the whole world" mood. Her partner in her interior design business stole her money and is trying to steal the company too. She and Daniel were lovers as well as business partners.
When Claire's parents were killed in an accident last year, certain moves were made with Jamie Lassiter that saved Claire from financial ruin. Now she has a sizable income and plans to take a trip around the world.
When Jamie hears this plan, he panics and proposes to Claire without sticking to his plan. Claire thinks it's a joke. But, Jamie makes her a deal. If she will help design his new home and help out with his new guest ranch for six weeks, she can decide if it's ranch life and marriage to him or a career in interior design in the city.
Claire accepts his challenge, but with one stipulation. No touching, and for Jamie - no flirting with other women. Claire is convinced that Jamie will not be able to uphold his end of the bargain.

Being back in Montana has brought about many painful memories for Claire. She was still angry and bitter about the things her mother had done. She was also angry at Jamie for breaking her heart, for being such a flirt with every woman he met and for making her think about having a life with him, when she knew he would not be faithful to her.
She was also mad about Daniel has made revenge against him her one and only goal in life. She is approached by a client that has a major interior design project planned and Claire learns Daniel is her competition for the job.
To put the cherry on the cake, Claire learns some shocking things about her mother that solidifies her anger and makes Claire a very angry, self absorbed, bitter woman.

Claire becomes so enraged with life, she is just not a person anyone wants to spend a great deal of time with. She loses her perspective and focuses only on the negative side of things. Jamie has no idea why she is so unsure of his love for her. It seems no one can get through to Claire. Until Claire has a disturbing conversation with a ranch employee with a certain knack at reading people. Then Claire finds herself in some serious danger she begins to give some serious thought to her life and the direction she is heading in.
Can she ever trust Jamie? Does she want to go back to being a big city interior designer or does she miss her life in Montana? Claire has a lot of thinking to do. Will she make the right choice?
Can Jamie convince her his marriage proposal was for real?

I really liked this book. I think most of us have gone through a period in our lives when nothing seemed to go our way. One thing right after another goes wrong . It would be really easy to wind up feeling like Claire did. I felt sorry for her at times, but she really got carried away with her anger. It just got to be too over the top at times.
Jamie was a dream. He didn't really realize how flirty he was with women and how that lead Claire to mistrust him. He really loved Claire and had the patience of Job.
As events continued to crash down around Claire, Jamie was solid and steady.
In the end, Claire is able to reconcile both sides of her personality. She actually gets to have her cake and eat it too.
I recommend this book to any romance lovers. This is a contemporary western romance- but it also has element of romantic suspense. If you like hot cowboys, you can not pass this one up. This one gets a B+

Profile Image for Janeiowa.
1,247 reviews
April 28, 2014
I have a difficult time concentrating on a book when I thoroughly dislike a main character. I didn't want to read even one more of Claire's self-centered, arrogant, childish acts anymore than I would have listened to a real person who acted as she did. Why anyone would want to be close to her was a mystery. Therefore, I tended to skim over her childish behavior and encounters.

Profile Image for Terisa.
818 reviews6 followers
February 25, 2015
The Cowboy Wins a Bride

Didn’t care for the heroin at all!

3 stars

Jamie Lassiter has had feelings for his best friends sister for as long as he could remember and feels that it’s time that he put his foot down and showed her that he wasn’t going to let her get away this time. Now that he had scrimped and saved his money and was able to save her brothers ranch by buying 100 acres of it becoming part owner, he was at a point in his life to show her that he was here to stay and that she should stay as well. He’s running out of time though because Claire plans to run off again as soon as Ethan’s wedding is over and the last guest has left. He’s desperate to change Claire’s mind and does something that he didn’t plan on doing, proposing to her at his best friend’s wedding.

Claire Cruz plans to take a trip around the world and put the ranch and all its troubles behind her. As much as she loved the ranch when she was little is how much she hates it now. There are too many things that happened that turned her against it and Jamie Lassiter is just one of them. She can’t believe that he proposed to her and is going to tell him that there is no way in hell that she is going to marry him just as soon the last guest leaves. But when Jamie proposes a bet to give him six weeks to convince her or he will personally pay for her trip out of his own pocket, she decides to stick around. Not only will she get the trip for free but she will also get revenge on the man that broke her heart at the same time. She’s not going to make it easy on him. He can’t touch her, nor can he flirt with her or any other women during the six weeks’ time.

Jamie believes that it while it might be hard to not touch Claire that it will be easy not to flirt with other women, after all the ranch is a working ranch and even though the ranch will now be taking on guest, it will mainly be men and families that are coming to enjoy a vacation. He quickly finds out just how wrong he was when the first round of guests turns out to be all beautiful women. Single women that are looking to rope themselves a cowboy while on vacation.

I didn’t care for this book as much as I did book one and the main reason was Claire. I didn’t care for her the majority of the whole book. She was a spoiled little brat that only cared about herself most of the time. I realize that she had things that happened in her youth and that she has mommy issues but jeez, her mom is now gone and she needs to grow up. The kicker though was the way that she treated Morgan when she came around. I couldn’t believe how mean and nasty she was to her.

Like most love stories, Claire does come around in the end and while I was happy with the happy ending, the damage was already done which lead to the lower 3 star rating. I still look forward to reading the other books in the series and have already purchased book 3 which features Rob and Morgan.
Profile Image for Meiwilli.
1,643 reviews5 followers
June 28, 2015
Not sold on this story...For such a smart man, (Claire's words, not mine), Jamie befuddles me and his behavior totally vexes me in his pursuit of the undesirable (my words) Claire. Claire is nuclear, toxic and very unlikeable. Even when she decides to grow up, be an adult and deal with the hand life has dealt her, she still comes across as selfish, cold and childish. Jamie should have looked elsewhere, childhood crush or not. Their relationship screams "run" or "divorce will follow" in the real world. Jamie having to constantly reassure Claire of his feelings, fidelity and soothe her insecurities is a recipe for disaster. Claire has lived that way all of her life and it won't change overnight or by the next installment of this series. Jamie's got his work cut out for him! On my Cowboy Scale of Hotness, 3 stars.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
2,512 reviews86 followers
November 22, 2013
I didn't like this one as much as the first. I absolutely loved Jaime but Claire I could have smacked in the head.
2,510 reviews6 followers
February 10, 2020
Claire’s a total mess - unable to see the love all around her. Jamie, the infamous womanizer, finally stakes a claim to the only woman he’s ever really wanted, but she can’t believe he’s serious.
Great story with romance, silliness, fearsome action, and lots of surprises. Rated R.
Profile Image for Curly.
58 reviews2 followers
September 14, 2018
No pues, con la pena... El primero estuvo muy bueno pero ya aquí la cajeteó cañón la autora. Había errores de corrección, de edición.... La escritora escribió como un millón de páginas para la historia de todos! Aunque no fueran relevantes. Bueno, pues ya que. Me salté un montón de partes, fue triste.
Profile Image for Julie Barrett.
9,196 reviews205 followers
January 16, 2014
The Cowboy Wins a Bride
This book in the saga is about Jamie Lassiter, best friend of Ethan from the previous book and they are setting up the wedding venue on the front lawn of the ranch.
He wants Ethan's sister, Claire but he won't be rushing into things like Ethan and Autumn. The friends of guys he has like pranks and bets and bet he isn't married to Claire by the end of summer.
Love hearing of the ranch and how they will run it as a guest ranch where the guests do some of the work. Claire Cruz runs an interior design company and her last boyfriend-the boss, had run away with the secretary and the money. She likes city living and wanted Ethan to sell the ranch so she'd get her half of the money.
But that didn't happen...She agreed to stay on the ranch, pretend to be his fiance and get the house decorated and trails mapped out for the business. There are stipulations about Jamie-no contact, no touching, no flirting and he'd pay for her cruise after the time.
This story also follows the daily life's of those who work on the ranch and the others involved as they come and go...hot steamy sex scenes and lots of action. Lots of back story to bring you up to date.
Won at a contest on FaceBook for Sweet Romance Reads Group
Profile Image for Heather andrews.
9,520 reviews162 followers
April 26, 2014
This one was kind of a let down for me. It's Jamie's story and I really thought there'd be more oomph to it, he had so much oomph in book one I mean there were parts I found amusing like the part where he told Claire what she was going to do, "no, I won't stop it," Jamie growled. "I've got everything planned out and you're not going to screw it up again! You're not going on any god-damned trip around the world, because you're going to stay here and become my wife." Claire, I hate to break it to ya sister, but Jamie is getting under your skin even if you won't admit it out loud, "dinner? Who could think about dinner? All she could think about was Jamie - naked. Hard. Ready for her. Hell, she was ready for him - right now." Hopefully Rob's story has more oomph to it, no matter what I'm going to finish reading this series!
Profile Image for Michaele.
725 reviews9 followers
April 13, 2018
I recently was introduced to this author and liked her books way more than I expected, which made this book a bit of a let down.

I didn't like Claire at all. True she was going through a lot, but she was so selfish and pretty awful to everyone it became harder and harder to sympathize with her. I still can't figure out why Jamie would want to be with her. I don't mind flawed characters who have room to grow over the course of the book, but she didn't really seem to change much and it was kinda too little too late.
Profile Image for Holly Bargo.
Author 42 books145 followers
February 28, 2015
Couldn't finish it

The heroine, Claire, is too stupid to live, and utterly self absorbed on top of it. Really, there's nothing to like. I got two-thirds the way through before I finally got fed up with the stupid, pigheaded, hateful heroine. Why Jamie doesn't just up and leave that unpleasant woman, I don't know.
Profile Image for Kim.
2,157 reviews62 followers
December 30, 2016
So much inner turmoil going on for Claire, our heroine. At times it felt very repetitive. The same feelings were not changing, growing, or lessening for anything. And poor Jamie just kept being steadfast and holding on to hope. It was difficult to see what he saw in her for large parts of the book and that made this story hard to enjoy.
Profile Image for Connie N..
2,793 reviews
January 24, 2024
#2 in The Cowboys of Chance Creek romance series

I must admit that I wavered between a 2-star and a 3-star rating for this book. All because the main female character is just TSTL! She was a total b**** from beginning to end. Jamie has been working on their ranch since he was a kid, and he understands Claire (the owner's daughter) and her fears about being left behind. So when they grow up, and he has bought into the ranch, he now feels he can offer her marriage. Unfortunately, he goes about it in a really dumb way, so Claire thinks it's one of the guys' usual practical jokes. Nothing he says can change her mind. But because she cares about him too, she's upset and unhappy and really takes it out on everyone around her, including the guests, and especially Jamie. They make a bet that he'll not be allowed to flirt with the guests (which is tough, but he's OK with it), but Claire's constantly harping on him, accusing him when nothing could be further from the truth. She's got blinders on, and I just wanted to constantly give her a good shake and a talking to for being so nasty all the time. When a long-lost sister is discovered, Claire again goes on the attack to her too. Sheesh, and to top it all off, Claire goes a little crazy in designing Jamie's new home because she's obsessed with beating her former employer to a lucrative interior design job. Can this woman get any crazier? Yes, she can. There's an action-filled scene that finally knocks some sense into her head, and the ending was quite satisfying, although I still had some resentment over this nutjob woman. Poor Jamie, but he seemed happy enough, and his HEA was finally within his grasp. I'll probably continue, although this series is nowhere near as good as the Heroes of Chance Creek series.
Profile Image for Amber Daulton.
Author 40 books548 followers
January 6, 2025
In book two in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, Jamie Lassiter has been in love with Claire Cruz since they were kids, but she’s never shown interest in him. While at his friend’s wedding, he accidentally proposes to her in a hilarious but horrible way, and soon the whole town thinks they’re getting married.
Claire is angry and humiliated, thinking he and his buddies, which includes her brother, Ethan, are playing a joke on her. She’s secretly wanted Jamie for years, but she can’t trust him. Then he makes a bet with her. If he can’t win her heart in six weeks, he’ll leave her alone for good.
At first, I liked Jamie and Claire. They had great chemistry and a shared history from their childhoods. As the book went on, however, I found it harder to connect with them. He flirts with other women, and she’s so secretive and cold. They both made foolish mistakes, which led to more problems and mistrust. I just couldn’t feel much romance between them.
The secondary characters—Rob, Morgan, Ethan, Autumn, and the rest of the gang—are the ones who kept my interest. I’m really enjoy the universe Ms. Seton is creating, but there were a few typos and sometimes two characters would think, act, and talk in the same paragraph. There isn’t any headhopping or stray POV shifts, however, so kudos to Ms. Seton for that! (It’s one of my biggest pep peeves.) Anyway, I’m so looking forward to Morgan and Rob’s story. This one just wasn’t for me.
3 Stars
Profile Image for CarolKat.
2,280 reviews29 followers
June 10, 2020
I love Chance Creek and I'm pretty sure I haven't been reading the different series in order. I am however trying to catch up on all the books before either a new series starts or another book gets added. I've only read the books in the bundle for this series although I own them all. So now I'm going to catch up.

It's Ethan and Autumn's Wedding day, and once again Rob has pulled a prank, this time on Claire. Little did he know that Jamie already had plans, just not for today. Although when Jamie finds out Claire's plans for the money she received from the buy out of her share of the ranch those plans change radically.

There's a bit more to the bet that's made and quite a few conditions Claire puts on it.

Fate has plans too, and Claire's ex shows up with his wife and takes over 'his' business, firing her in the process. Now she needs to design the perfect home for Carl Whitfield. It's a huge contract and will garner the attention Claire needs to start her design business. Oh and a letter found explains their mother's absences from the ranch, what an interest twist.

All this while living and working with Jamie on the guest ranch. Her conditions aren't easy ones, first he can't touch and he can't flirt with any of the women guests at the ranch.

I'm starting the next book now, I love these Cowboys!
Profile Image for Christy .
498 reviews
January 6, 2020
Great storyline and characters! Claire was feisty and fun (don't get me wrong she had her problems, as they all did). I see a couple of reviews stating that they didn't like Claire but I did. I can't imagine the pain of finding out my mother lived a double life and had a daughter she left me to be with. Her mother was selfish, she should have owned her mistakes. I wouldn't have understood at first either. Jamie was alpha and somewhat clueless at times in his way of thinking. He swore he loved Claire but it was ok to flirt with everyone else? He'd quit when she said yes? What a way to show someone you love them! His explanation of what she saw 2 years earlier in his cabin was exasperating. Really? You were breaking up? That made their reunion that much better in the end though. They had grown. I loved the chemistry between them and all the characters really. Even the somewhat wanton lady guests added so much to the story. The author created a majestic world in the open West to live in for a few short hours. Fun read.
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
July 20, 2017
I have to admit when I read the first book and the start of this one, I hated the heroine. Couldn't stand her and her attitude. I did love how her and the hero interacted and how they egged each other on. The downside waist seemed always against the hero. I loved the hero's portrayal in the first book but in this one you really felt for the guy. I loved how the guests were all female and decided to keep going after him. However he was more than happy to share which is how we get to know the next door neighbors better. It must have been an interesting town the way everyone seems to play jokes on the other.

The heroine calms down a bit and finally realizes what's more important although I wanted to hit her in her head a time or three to get her to smarten up. The hero seemed to be doing the work for both of them. Overall not bad chemistry or story line but at times the heroine's attitude gets to be a bit much.
Profile Image for Fernanda.
617 reviews34 followers
April 21, 2019
ufff..... 2,5* para ser mais verdadeiro!
esta historia foi uma montanha russa de situações, muito melodrama desnecessário.
mas obvio que se assim não fosse também a historia seria um pouco limitada :P

Claire sendo a personagem principal da historia, acaba por ter um comportamento de menina mimada, que quando as coisas não se resolvem a seu contento amua e "foge" de cena, ou seja não ultrapassou os 17 anos quando viu a mãe numa situação constrangedora.

Jamie é apaixonado por Claire desde que eram crianças, mas nunca deu a entender nada dos seus sentimentos, o que faz com que se criem situações pouco esclarecidas.

O "pace" é estranho, porque muitas das situações apresentadas, dão a sensação de nada acrescentar ao desenvolvimento da historia, tornando a leitura mais ou menos aborrecida.

Em termos gerais, deixou um pouco a desejar.... uma vez que as historias anteriores me tinham prendido muito mais a atenção.
Vou ponderar a continuação da serie!! :P
Profile Image for Suzie Weber.
1,005 reviews2 followers
October 7, 2024
I am not sure how anyone could like Claire. She has more baggage than a 747. Her parents died unexpectedly. Her mom spent more money than her dad could make leaving the ranch in a huge debt for her brother Ethan. She wanted the ranch sold so she could get her half. Her mom had an affair with a ranch hand years ago that Claire was smitten on. I wondered if her mom just set it up to look that way to protect her young daughter from an older man? Then an unexpected sister shows up that shot the theory of her mom being in Europe spending money. Where did all the money go? I didn’t feel that was cleared up.

Jamie is a sweetheart and a hard worker. He has been in love with Claire for years. The way he proposed, slid a ring on her finger and started a bet could have been redone several times.

Truthfully I barely got through this story.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,151 reviews25 followers
September 18, 2019
Admittedly, it was hard to sympathize with Claire. She was just too full of her own emotions; too full of fear; too over the top. She DID learn but it cost her years and years of a very high personal price. It is very fortunate that she had a strong relationship with her brother, his wife and the H. Her neediness could suck the light out of a room. What she wanted the most, she was sacrificing with her fear motivated behavior! There was almost too much of her anger and whining in the story. Did she grow up? Fortunately, yes.

The story line, however, was good. The H was likeable and hot. The HEA was earned!

723 reviews2 followers
January 11, 2021
Cowboys are certainly in demand

Begin a Cora Seton book and time flies by! Before I realized it, I had read the entire night. Fortunately I am retired and had no commitments for that day! Love and family dynamics can be so confusing, such is the case for Claire. Her insecurities, family history and business problems just seem to keep multiplying! And how can her brother's friends be so cruel to play a joke on her by Jamie proposing to her and forcing a ring on her finger? You will have to read the book to get all the details! (PS: throw 5 beautiful horny female guests into the mix and you have "crazy" galore)
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