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Cowboy, Come Home #4

The Eight Second Wedding

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"You're the Last Possible Groom."

Rodeo cowboy Channing Richardson couldn't believe it. But since all his brothers had found their own wives, only Chan could fulfill his mother's dream--that one of her sons marry her best friend's daughter.

Even proposed bride Madeleine Decker preferred spinsterhood to marrying Chan!

Normal mothers would take no for an answer. Not theirs.

There was only one thing to do. But going down the road together for the summer seemed a drastic solution to a lone wolf like Chan.

Madeleine was as tempting as she was unsuitable.

What was worse, what if their mothers were right...and they were wrong?

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

12 people are currently reading
20 people want to read

About the author

Anne McAllister

341 books124 followers
Anne McAllister has written nearly 70 romance novels for Tule Publishing and Harlequin Books.

She has won two RITA awards from the Romance Writers of America — for COWBOY PRIDE and THE STARDUST COWBOY — and has had nine other books which were RITA finalists.

Her books have also been finalists for the National Readers’ Choice Award. She was named Midwest Fiction Writers “Writer of the Year” and also received Romantic Times’ Career Achievement Award as “Series Author of the Year.”

But while the awards and sales are wonderful, Anne thinks the best part of writing is telling the story. With every new book she writes, she meets new characters – or gets to know old ones even better – and discovers what makes them and their relationships tick.

It’s the relationships that interest her most and the question about “where do you get your ideas?” has always astonished her as she has more ideas than she knows what to do with!

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Dalia.
488 reviews76 followers
June 23, 2013
Two meddling matchmaking moms, plotting the marriage of their kids : a rodeo cowboy and a philosophy student graduate. A match made in heavens. Not.
Madeleine comes with a "brilliant "idea, She ll accompany Chan on his rodeo tour for two months. They have to prove to their mothers that they don't belong together.... by being together . Would they be able to survive two months together? They'd be lucky not to kill each other before the end of the road trip.
AM's trademark romance sprinkled with humor is at its best. she also introduces us to the world of rodeo, bull- riding competitions, road trip and cowboys.
I liked Lily and Dev parallel romance. It was real emotional.
I absolutely loved Madeleine and Chan. The interaction between these two is so fun to read. They may appear incompatible but they are perfect for each other. As the old saying : Mothers know best.
Profile Image for Sue.
1,793 reviews32 followers
May 4, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding is the 4th book in Anne McAllister’s terrific series, Cowboy, Come Home. I’ve enjoyed all of Anne’s books that I’ve read. You don’t need to read prior books in the series to understand what is happening. In this book we meet Madeleine Decker and Channing Richardson. She is a graduate student at NYU working on her dissertation on Free Will, living in NYC. He is a bull rider, traveling from rodeo to rodeo across the country. Their mothers were college friends and always had plans to set up Madeleine with one of the other woman’s sons as they believed they would make beautiful babies.

As the book opens, both of the mothers are pressuring the two to meet and ultimately get married. Both Madeleine and Chan are not looking to get married and not to someone their mother sets them up with. The two do meet when Chan is in NYC for a rodeo. The two have differing ideas on life. Madeleine proposes she join him for 2 months as he competes in the rodeos and they can tell their mothers they are incompatible and be left alone. He eventually agrees to her plan. Neither planned they would be in such close quarters together 24/7. They argue about everything. Madeleine meets the other Bull riders and learns about what is involved in being a rodeo participant. Their mothers check in on them and they keep complaining about the other one. However, the mothers do not give up hope that the two will get together.

This is a very enjoyable book. I liked the characters and found some of the situations humorous. The mothers added some comic relief as well. Both Madeleine and Chan are down to earth and genuinely likable. Her lack of experience with relationships adds to her charm. Watching the chemistry grow between the couple was very rewarding. I highly recommend this book.

I was fortunate to receive an arc from Tule Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Elaine Coghlan .
1,552 reviews14 followers
May 4, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding~ Cowboy, Come Home #4 by Anne McAllister

Though this is book 4 and I have not read the others this is a fantastic book, that has been written brilliantly. Wonderful characters that you fall in love with from the start.
Here we have Channing Richardson a Rodeo cowboy and Madeleine Decker.
Can two opposites attract? According to their mothers who have, a PhD in genetics and years of anthropological fieldwork, they can.
Their mothers have been friends for a long time, and when Madeleine was born they predicted that their children's genes were the best to give them grandchildren. They knew both Madeleine and Chan were just right for each other. However, that's not what Madeleine and Chan think. Can their mothers help push them in the right direction? Will Madeleine and Chan get a HEA?
It is a brilliant book, which I highly recommend to all, in my view this deserves more than 5*


Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Happily Ever After, Inspirational, Page-turner, Romantic, Realistic,
Rodeo Cowboys, and Wonderful characters
3,759 reviews20 followers
May 3, 2024
Chan’s mother Julia decided when her friend Antonia’s daughter Madeleine was born that she would marry one of her sons when she grew up, but they all fell in love and married other women and Chan is the last one standing. Julia and Antonia go to great lengths using reverse psychology and constant harassment to manipulate them into getting together. But Chan and Madeleine are complete opposites with him being a brutish at times rodeo cowboy and her a doctorate student who has been used by the men in her life. I was surprised that she could afford to just go on the road with him to prove a point without worrying about a job or money. They are both trying to fight their mothers’ manipulations and because of it at times aren’t very nice to each other and have communication issues in this steamy cowboy romance.
Profile Image for Eileen.
2,704 reviews
June 30, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding by Anne Harrison, is the story of two people whose mothers scheme to put their kids together and married. Madeleine, a doctoral candidate, lives in NY and Chan, a rodeo bull rider, are totally different. Madeline decides they must combine forces to prove their mothers are wrong and show they are not compatible at all. . Slowly, as they travel together in an RV from one rodeo to the next, she writes and he rides. Between the small space and traveling around the US to various rodeo shows, a relationship grows between them. Things are going so well until they are not. They had a plan to prove their mothers wrong; but things don't always go as planned. I loved how Chan teaches Madeline how to drive and about the rodeo, his friends taking her into their group, and the growth of the characters.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Profile Image for Grinning Cat.
4,190 reviews120 followers
May 3, 2024
Cat’s Stats
MMC/FMC- Channing and Madeleine
Genre- Contemporary Romance
Sub Genre- Cowboy Romance
Heat- 🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋 They do the thing without naming the parts and it’s still totally hot.
Series? N
Safety? Y
Triggers- mild swearing, non-explicit erotic content, meddling mothers
Tropes- Hate to Love You, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Rhinestone Cowboy
Mewsings
I loved this story. The MCs spend a summer together in an effort to prove to their matchmaking mothers that they aren’t compatible. It was really cute. And kudos to the author for the zexytime- proves that a scene doesn’t have to be explicit in order for it to be hawt.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Jennie Fortna.
2,648 reviews30 followers
May 2, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding is book 1 in the Cowboy, Come Home series by Anne McAllister, a new to me author.

When two meddling mothers plot to marry their children based on science…4 sons to 1 daughter except 3 sons choose their own brides. Madeleine decides to prove them wrong and goes on a 2 month Rodeo RV ride with rodeo cowboy, Channing. What happens next…will they survive each other and go their separate way or maybe find they truly belong together…read on to see how it all ends…

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book from Tule Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
985 reviews15 followers
May 3, 2024
Two meddling mothers believe (scientifically) matching their children will produce the perfect Grandchildren. A marriage between Chan and Madeline is their last hope. Madeline and Chan agree to spend 2 months together to compile evidence in an effort to prove them wrong. So city girl goes on the road with a rodeo star and I enjoyed every minute of their rocky, hilarious road to an opposites attract romance. I along with Madeline learned a lot about the rodeo circuit and the long days of driving from competition to competition. A fun romance-who doesn't dream of falling for a cowboy? I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Shelagh.
1,842 reviews25 followers
May 29, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding showcases author Anne McAllister’s tongue-in-cheek humour and is a thoroughly enjoyable story. I loved the two mothers, Antonia and Julia, and the way they manipulated their children into getting to know each other. Actually, all the characters are fabulous. Tere’s plenty of emotion throughout this story but also plenty of humour. Having Madeleine open her door while dressed in nothing but her underwear and then thrust a slinky black dress at Channing was a brilliant meet cute and an excellent start to this fish-out-of water romance. I pretty much read this story in one sitting, albeit overnight, and loved it.
Profile Image for Laura D.
1,127 reviews
May 2, 2024
Although I enjoyed this book I always feel duped when I go to review the book and it is a re-release. This one was originally published in 1994. On to the story. Channing's mother is trying to get him married off since he is the last single son. Who is this Madeleine Decker? If his mom likes her then he is out. Then he agrees to meet up with her when he is in her town. What could a bull rider and a Phd have in common? Then they come up with a plan to get their families off their backs. It's just pretend and it's just for two months. What could possibly go wrong? Good read.
4,287 reviews22 followers
May 2, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding by Anne McAllister is another re-released in the now titled Cowboy, Come Home Series. This story has two meddling mothers who have fine ideas about what their children should do and with whom they should be doing it. The two grown children have very different ideas. Needless to say, this makes for an entertaining story.

Rodeo cowboy and city girl romance that has the characters resisting each other as long as they can. The right kind of story for the coming US Mother’s Day celebration. At least in the book, mothers do know best.
Profile Image for DeeAnn.
853 reviews28 followers
May 6, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding
By Anne McAllister

When friends, Julia and Antonia decide that their children must marry! They think that scientifically they were produced the perfect grandchild. What a fun book this is.

Channing a rodeo cowboy.
Madeline a philosophy graduate.

They are bound and determined to prove their mother’s wrong! So they decide to travel together in a very small RV for two months. Channing needs to be on the rodeo circuit and Madeline is working on her dissertation. They feel that traveling together for two months in an RV. They will have enough evidence to prove their mothers wrong!

This is definitely a well written opposites attract story. Definitely has its laugh out loud moments. With a little bit of emotion in there too.

I was given this ARC by Tule publishing in return for my honest review.
Profile Image for Donnajo.
2,377 reviews
April 5, 2024
I voluntarily read an advanced reader's copy of this book for a honest opinion.

I always enjoy stories by Anne McAllister. The Eight Second Wedding, which is book four in the Cowboy, Come Home series didn't disappoint me. It had likable characters, great character development, dialogue and just everything about the story just pulled me into the storyline that I didn't want to end. I can't wait to read more books by Anne McAllister.
Profile Image for Paula Pugh.
2,372 reviews11 followers
April 8, 2024
Mothers conspire to put their kids together and married. The kids are a doctoral candidate and a bull rider with no commonality. Slowly, as they travel together in an RV from one rodeo to the next, their romance is tenderly crafted by the author. Both are surprised by the relationship that grows. A very delightful story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Sara.
345 reviews12 followers
May 1, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed Rodeo cowboy Channing Richardson and scholarly city girl Madeleine Decker‘s story. These two are being pushed together by their matchmaking mothers and Madeleine decides that to make their mothers see they are wrong together they will travel from rodeo to rodeo together over summer. I loved the banter between Channing and Madeleine, this was a fun read with fabulous characters and a great insight into rodeos.
1,637 reviews10 followers
May 2, 2024
Loved it! You have 2 match making moms, a city girl and a bull riding cowboy. That is the recipe for a very entertaining read. Then when the children agree to spend the summer together just to prove how wrong their moms are. The real question is how wrong are the moms? Loved it from start to finish. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Amanda Marlowe.
2,568 reviews28 followers
May 4, 2024
Madeleine and Chan have mothers who are best friends and have decided that they should marry as their children will be genetically the best possible!!
So they come up with a plan, Madeleine will join Chan on the rodeo circuit, for two months, she will document everything and prove they are not compatible. Trouble is they start having feelings for each other!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A great, amusing, read from Anne
Profile Image for Marichus Real.
3,729 reviews31 followers
May 19, 2024
Madeleine and Chan are tired of their respective mothers trying to get them married. They can’t be so different. To stop their mothers pestering them, Madeleine decides to join the rodeo for two months. Will they survive the experience?
The book is entertaining, fun and interesting. I liked the part that explained what Chan felt and the preparation he did just before riding the bull.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Delacey.
1,204 reviews8 followers
May 27, 2024
I greatly enjoyed this story. It was funny, the characters were great on their own and even better together. I loved the ending. Overall, a great romance. *I received an ARC of this book and this is my voluntary and honest review. Please note that this book is a 2024 reissue of this story and I do not know how or if any of the content was changed from the original version.
547 reviews30 followers
September 10, 2024
The Eight Second Wedding by Anne McAllister is book #4 of the Cowboy, Come Home series. It may be read as a stand alone without an problem. We have a rodeo cowboy, Channing, and a PhD candidate, Madeleine, that are thrown together by their uber intelligent mothers.
Interesting information about the life of a rodeo rider, barrel people and PhD candidates.
Profile Image for MEF.
423 reviews3 followers
December 12, 2024
Cracking fun read!

Sitting in the wet UK it’s hard to imagine someone riding bulls, it’s like another universe not just another country! 8 seconds of poetry when you get it right.
Channing and Madeleine’s story is a fun read of bickering, challenging, non courtship that pulled me in and had me cheering them on from the stands .
1,516 reviews
July 29, 2025
Finally making a match together

Another great cowboy story from Anne McAllister. The mothers' of Chan and Madeline wanted them to marry and so they did everything they could to avoid agreeing to do so. By spending time together they finally realised that their mother's were correct and stopped fighting and started to enjoy their happily ever after.
Profile Image for Carrie.
92 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2024
This was a good, happy, feel good read. Sure they had some relationship stuff to work out; but it wasn’t stressful to me as the reader. I look forward to reading the next books in the series!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
97 reviews1 follower
April 15, 2024
I wanted to dislike the moms in this story, but their antics were so fun. The tension between the two lead characters was yummy!
Profile Image for Julie Barrett.
9,276 reviews210 followers
May 2, 2024
The eight second wedding by Anne Mcallister
This story starts with Madeleine and she's heavy into her dissertation. Her mother and her best friend, Antonio who has 4 boys are scheming to get a marriage between Maddeleine and one of the boys. Over the years the boys have gone off and gotten married without een notifying their mother. There is only Chan left and both of the parents are trying to get them to even meet each other. Madeleine works out of NY and Chan is on the rodeo circuit but does agree to get the whole thing over with and meets Madeleine in NY where he's shocked when she answers the door. Once he's left Madeline gets it into her head that they must combine forces to prove their mothers wrong and they are NOT compatible at all. Love the trekking around the US to the rodeo shows while she writes and he rides. Love how he also teachers her things about the rodeo and just everyday things, like how to drive. Things are going so well til they are not.
They are right all along there is no way they would ever marry one another... Funny story at times and sincere.
Great read
Received this review copy from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.
Profile Image for EJ.
162 reviews
January 14, 2017
It's not really the best book I've read but it's definitely one of the funniest. The couple's mother's are absolutely hilarious. I believe that I've enjoyed the mothers better than the main character's relationship.

The idea of rodeo romance is interesting but not really exciting for me. The only conflicts (or plot drivers) I could see in these types of stories are accidents and getting late to the rodeo. I would like to learn more about the girl's first bed partner and maybe have a little conflict between

1,565 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2024
A nice little romance book about Channing a bull-riding cowboy and Madeleine a city girl. Both have mothers who dreamed, plotted, and expected the girl to marry the cowboy. They had a plan to prove their mothers wrong. Things don't always go as planned. A good read!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews