Want Me, Cowboy

Copper Ridge: Desire #5

by Maisey Yates

Her rancher boss is looking for the perfect wife...and she wants the job!

Poppy Sinclair kept her feelings for Isaiah Grayson secret for a decade. When her infuriatingly gorgeous Stetson-wearing boss enlists her help in finding him a convenient wife, she threatens to quit. Until Isaiah counters with an interesting proposal: Why doesn't she marry him? Can she say yes to sharing his life and his bed, but not his heart?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Marriage Of Convenience, Westerns, Cowboy Romance, Western Romance

217 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.

She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.

Reviews

[Geri Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Poppy.

Poppy deserved a better man than Isiah.

But the heart wants what it wants.

Still.

I didn't like Isiah at all.

And again with the whole "my ex did me dirty so I will now act like an ass to the whole female population" as motivation.

Like ok, dude. Time to grow up.

Which makes me mad all over again 'cause HE DOESN'T DESERVE POPPY!

Also, I really wish heroes who are clueless for 10 years should do the proportional amount of grovel. Like is that really hard to ask?

The end.

An ARC was provided by the publisher for this review.

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Poppy has been in love with her boss for ten years and the guy doesn’t realize it! I could forgive this to a point because it’s clear from the beginning that Isaiah, while being a brilliant business man is socially clueless. Isaiah’s on the spectrum in some way even if it’s not officially stated that he is, all around him acknowledge that he’s not the average male when it comes to feelings or social interactions. So being around Poppy and not realizing that she loves him or even looking at her potential romantic partner was easier to excuse.

Isaiah isn’t a hearts and flowers kind of guy since Poppy’s foster sister betrayed him several years ago. But Isaiah likes the idea of a wife, family, and stability, so his sensible answer is to put out an ad to find a woman to fill the role. I can’t imagine a job more infuriating or heartbreaking than searching for the potential wife for the man you love, but thankfully Poppy doesn’t just roll over and take it, and the quest doesn’t last for more than a heartbeat. Poppy’s got a spine and stands up to Isaiah. Isaiah’s brilliant reaction is to have Poppy fill the role; I mean she’s been the one constant in his life forever, gets him like no other woman can, and he quickly learns that they have off-the-charts-chemistry!

Oh, I just loved Want Me, Cowboy! Maisy Yates has a way of touching my heart with every one of her romances! Unrequited love that blossoms into more is one of my favorite romances! Both Isaiah and Poppy were insecure and worried to show the depth of their feelings beyond the arrangement they strike up, but the sizzle and emotions between them made it impossible to keep each other at arm’s length, even in an effort to protect their hearts.

A copy was kindly provided by Harlequin Desire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if her MCs are dramatic and fancy speaking about their feelings, I've loved some of Ms. Yates' books very much. This one was angsty and very hot.

[TinaNoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little read that gave me a bit of mental deja vu because I just read anther book, More Than Crave You, that had the same basic plot as this one:

Hunky billionaire who has some difficulty connecting emotionally decides he needs a wife to make his life easier. Decides to advertise for one. His trusty personal assistant (who also happens to be black*) who has been with him for years has been secretly and unrequitedly in love with him for years. She is the one who submits the ad and is tasked with interviewing the women. She gets in her feelings about it because, duh, she is in love with him and can't with the idea of him being with some other woman. She gets angry about it and rebels, he finally notices her, a sexual spark ignites, she can't resist, 'hey how about you marry me then because nobody know me as good as you' , she agrees but the rest of the conflict is that he is sure he just can't love and she can't accept him without love (even though she did agree to marry him). Also in both books an unplanned pregnancy happens to make things even more fraught.

This was a a quick read with a fairly Harlequin Romance standard feel to it. Both the leads are appealing with the heroine being the one doing all the emotional heavy lifting. The hero is able to stand back and wallow in his 'one woman done me wrong' feels as an excuse to why he can't ever feel in love with anyone else. I did think the transition from never noticing your assistant in a sexual way in ten years to suddenly kissing her and pow now I want to sex with her all the time was a bit abrupt. And at some point the 'I love him he can't love me' gets a little repetitive, but overall the story was fine.

My biggest problem with the book is the total lack of acknowledgment of Poppy's race. I would normally shelve this book as an interracial romance, but I am not because it barely is. The only thing that signals Poppy is non-white is the picture on the cover. And covers can change so easily. If the author/publisher decided tomorrow that Poppy should not be black, then they could change that cover photo and just a few words of text in the book and no one would be the wiser. There zero references to her ethnicity and maybe three references to her skin color in the whole book, twice referred to as 'brown' and once referred to as 'mahogany' but then again he could see her blush from across a room so I wonder...

I don't need the book to dwell on Poppy being black, but the absolute lack of any reference to it felt glaring and disingenuous. Especially since the book several times makes a point to talk about Isaiah's (the hero) preference for blondes. There are a couple times Poppy despairingly acknowledges that she isn't blonde like the women answering the ad and does fit his physical type. That, of course, he would never notice her because she doesn't look like those women. The fact that Poppy never once in her head acknowledges he looks so different because, well, she is not just not blonde but she is black feels incredibly dishonest. Also, who embarks on an IR relationship and never once even mentions race?

[DeeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sassy, heroine, Poppy Sinclair's rancher boss, Isaiah Grayson wants a wife and in several ways she wants HIM but she get jealous when she's assigned the role of selecting the perfect blonde wife for him. lol, Poppy is far from a blonde among others things.


WIFE WANTED

"Rich rancher, not given to socializing. Wants a wife who will not try to change me. Must be tolerant of moods, reported lack of sensitivity and the tendency to take off for a few days’ time in the mountains. Will expect meals cooked. Also, probably a kid or two. Exact number to be negotiated. Beard is non negotiable."

Poppy's secret was that she had a mighty strong crush on Isaiah for 10 years (yep, 10 long years) but both have trust issues. Although Isaiah comes off as a cantankerous, growly, insensitive alpha male, it takes spitfire, Poppy to make him see she is the only one for him and his controllable and stubborn ways.

Oh I really wanted to add how Poppy redrafted Isaiah cold ad verbiage.. too clever!!!!!


I really enjoyed reading "Want Me, Cowboy (Cooper Ridge: Desire, #5)" by Maisey Yates from the very beginning to the satisfying end! Haven't read a Harlequin Desire book in ages!

I'm planning to check out the other books in this series!


4 stars for a memorable read!

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I even read the synopsis of a Maisey Yates book any more. I just see her name and I’m in.

I really liked Poppy and Isaiah. She’s sassy and he’s gruff and in their working together for 10 years, have forged a friendship. Oh, and their chemistry? It’s off the charts. There were a few scenes with the family, but this is mostly all Poppy and Isaiah.

Plot wise, it was good. The shortened story didn’t feel rushed and the bursts of drama were quickly resolved. I really enjoyed reading these two navigate their issues and find their happiness.

Overall, it was a quick read with characters I really enjoyed. I am eager to see who gets a story next.

**Huge thanks to Harlequin Desire for providing the arc free of charge**

[Anna's Herding Cats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for herding cats & burning soup. (posting 11/6/18)
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LSGHW9

Cowboys and Christmas! Yall know that's my catnip. Want Me, Cowboy was delightful!

The Gist: Poppy and Isaiah have worked together for 10 years. And suddenly her boss decides he needs a wife and tasks her with putting an ad in the paper and...finding him one. Seeing she's been in love with him for a decade and wants to fill that position herself, well, yes, she's a spot fit to be tied.

These two were interesting!

>>Poppy's a former foster child with trust/abandonment issues. She rocks a 1950s style, is a bit brash and colorful with a side of sass.

>>Isaiah's brilliant with numbers but not with people. He can't process facial expressions and has trouble understanding emotions which was interesting. He's a bit anti-people (because most are idiots lol), total sexy growly cowboy. Very matter of fact and doesn't play games.

I really loved them together. They both have a very small circle of people they trust and few who truly understand them but these two get each other. I loved the connection between them that's grown from years of working closely together.

Things heats up, gets complicated and a touch frustrating as they both deal with their personal hang ups and limitations. They weren't perfect and could both use a little shake now and again for certain actions/things they said but there's a lot of sweetness and caring between them even if it's not in your face or typically shown.

All in all, Want Me, Cowboy was a nice novella with interesting characters. I liked Isaiah and his social issues. You don't see that too often and it was interesting to watch play out.

[Adele Buck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually like Maisey Yates books. This one, no. The hero was basically a bully. He repeatedly ignored the word "no" (and no, it doesn't make it better that she was conflicted and wanted him. He doesn't know her better than she knows herself. "No" is a complete sentence and needs to be respected).

HE THREATENS TO TRY TO TAKE FULL CUSTODY OF THEIR UNBORN CHILD BECAUSE SHE SAYS SHE DOESN'T WANT TO MARRY HIM.

This is not okay. It's not made okay because he confesses later he didn't mean it. None of his behavior is made okay because he's (not diagnosed as but presented as) autistic.

Nope, nope, nope. All the nope.

I was given an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading Yates’s upteenth Copper Ridge novel, Want Me, Cowboy, I thought of abandoning it because it was too much like Helm’s A True Cowboy Christmas. In both cases, hero and heroine have known each other for years and SUDDENLY the hero decides he wants to be married and SUDDENLY notices the heroine’s appropriateness for the starring role of wife and mother in his soon-to-be neatly arranged life. The heroes think everything will be emotionally tidy, calm, organized: he and the heroine will cohabit, get along like affectionate roommates with sex and segue into being calm, adult, responsible parents. Bwahahahaha … “famous last words.” A great premise, a great trope, but did I really want to read another one? Turns out I did and I would recommend you do too. Review over. They’re both good and worth reading.

After my initial eye-roll of exasperation over the sameness of Yates’ and Helm’s novels, Want Me, Cowboy had me thinking about the Romantic in romance. If the Romantic (yup, those guys, early 19th century, etc.) ethos, and I’m simplifying here, posits the primacy of emotion over reason and nature over intellect then, quite often, the romance genre is about the same: the “irrationality” of reason when it denies the primacy of not just “feelings”, but emotional connection with the other. No one does this better than Yates. In Want Me, Cowboy, uber-rational billionaire Isaiah Grayson advertises for a wife and asks his PA, Poppy Sinclair, to interview the candidates.

Nuts, right? The idea that marriage can be an arrangement between two compatible adults, agreeing upon shared values and way of life, why wouldn’t that work? It’s not long before Isaiah realizes that the best candidate for the wifely job is none other than Poppy herself. He argues rationally why she’s the best candidate:

“You’re good with people. You’re good at anticipating what they want, what they need. You’re organized. You’re efficient.”

“You make me sound like an app, Isaiah.”

“You’re warm and … and sometimes sweet. Though, not to me.”

“You wouldn’t like me if I were sweet,” she pointed out.

“No, I wouldn’t. But that’s the other thing. You know how to stand up to me.”

And she sure does, witness this delightful exchange: ” ‘Lead with being less of an asshole.’ ‘I am an asshole,’ Isaiah said.” Of course, Isaiah is right: Poppy is all those things and more. His reason has anticipated what his heart has yet to discover. Poppy, on the other hand, is and “was tragically in love with him.” Because she knows he doesn’t love her back. He respects her, cares about her; he’s a good, loyal friend and appreciative, considerate boss, but he isn’t in love with her. Or at least that’s what reason tells him.

While the Romantic poets had nature as an intermediary between their rational selves and their desire to tap into the sublime, romance, much more entertaining, has the body. Sex. Isaiah may tell himself that he doesn’t, can’t, love Poppy, but his rational self is already being superseded by his physical desire: ” … as he looked at her, as those familiar grey eyes, so cold and rational most of the time, went hot.” Just as reason is swept away by Isaiah’s physical need for physical possession. This is an equal desire, as Poppy wants him as much as he wants her, except Poppy knows that her desire is a result of her love for Isaiah and that love is expressed by physical fidelity, a value that is eminently important to the genre and categorically distinguishes it from erotica. It isn’t long before Isaiah is disturbed by his exclusive physical need for Poppy: this is good old Biblical “cleaving”, so important to the genre’s HEA.

As the novel’s emotional tension builds, Isaiah and Poppy have to overcome their brokennesses, their emotional impediments to love. Especially Isaiah. In trying to understand their woundedness and why they’re suddenly caught in this philosophical conflict between reason and feelings, Isaiah and Poppy begin to articulate that very argument. As Isaiah says to Poppy:

“Things are easy for me when I can line them out. When I can make categories and columns, so whenever I can do that, I do it. Life has variables. Too many. If you turn it into math, there’s one answer. If the answer makes sense, go with that.”

“But life isn’t math,” she said. “There’s not one answer.”

If Isaiah knew anything about higher level mathematics, neither is math. But probability is still about the ability to predict rationally and that’s not what Poppy is trying to tell Isaiah. Her impassioned cry to him is a perfect counterpoint to his logical reasoning:

“So don’t try to tell me you’re being logical. Don’t try to talk to me like I’m a hysterical female asking something ridiculous of you. You’re the one who’s scared. You’re the one who’s hysterical. You can stand there with a blank look on your face and pretend that somehow makes you rational, but you aren’t. You can try to lie to me. You can try to lie to yourself. But I don’t believe it. I refuse.”

I loved that an emotional impasse is “hysterical”. Women’s “wombs” are so often the site of their irrationality, their hysteria, their excessive, immoderate, overblown, disproportionate FEELINGS. But it’s Isaiah’s impassivity, his lack of emotional expression that is the illness here. As Isaiah realizes, he has way TOO many feelings, all of them centred on his love for Poppy, that prove to be the ultimate in denial and the true cause of his half-life, half-soul, and mixed-up, misunderstood, and ignored heart. But there must’ve been something in Isaiah to lead him to decide on that ridiculous ad: it was his fist step towards emotional resurrection, the recognition that connection is the raison d’être of life, not money, success, or keeping safe from being hurt. It’s a story I’ll never tire of and so, in the end, both Helm and Yates told it and told it well. In this case, with Miss Austen, we say Want Me, Cowboy proves there is “no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.

Maisey Yates’s Want Me, Cowboy is published by Harlequin Books. It was released on November 1st and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Harlequin, via Netgalley.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

Brilliant with numbers but not so much with people, seeing his brothers get married gave Isaiah Grayson the idea to do the same. The ad at the beginning that the hero wrote to find a wife will make you understand right away that Isaiah is not a man like the others. I must say though, I'm glad I knew before reading the book that he's autistic or else I would probably had a harder time understanding his reactions and might have seen him as not very kind. His assistant is the one who have to interview his prospective brides. Not the kind of job who would please Poppy Sinclair normally, but add to this that she's been in love with him since she met him when she was 18 and you can guess that she's really not happy about his plan. Isaiah is totally clueless about her feelings and only ever saw her as an efficient colleague. Poppy never talked about it because it's always been complicated. A ward of the state and shuffled around many foster homes, it's one of her foster's sister who found her the job with Isaiah, who was her boyfriend at the time. But Rosalind is also the one who betrayed him, broke his heart and Isaiah made his heart unavailable ever since. He wants a wife and children, but he doesn't want love. So how will he deal with it, when love find him anyway ?

"Emotion was like a foreign language to him. One he had to put in effort to learn so he could understand the people around him."

The fact that Poppy was still friend with Isaiah's ex brought something different and interesting to the "other woman" thing, even if Rosalind was not present except from a phone conversation. But it's cool that the author showed that not all ex-girlfriend are crazy, psycho or total bitch, even if Rosalind wasn't totally innocent, because of what she did to the hero. Isaiah's rigidity was sometimes frustrating but once again, I like that Maisey Yates showed diversity. I wished I enjoyed the romance more though but I didn't felt her usual whirlwind of emotions in this story. Is it the shorter format or was it intended this way because of the hero ? Either way, the emotions felt more spoken than felt for me.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want Me, Cowboy by Maisey Yates is a sexy and enjoyable modern marriage of convenience romance set in the author’s familiar ranching world of Copper Ridge, Oregon.

Poppy Sinclair has been working for her methodical and introverted boss Isaiah Greyson for several years now and they make an efficient team. She’s had a crush on him since he first dated her foster sister, a relationship that ended in disaster and caused Isaiah to close off his heart to new partners, preferring casual hookups instead. Poppy is firm in her belief that Isaiah is off limits. After all, he’s not only her friend’s ex-boyfriend, he’s also her boss.

That changes when Isaiah decides he wants a wife, and asks Poppy to interview prospective brides. Poppy understands that what Isaiah is really looking for is a carbon copy of her for his home life, with the added benefit of sex. When she confronts him with this, Isaiah agrees – and proposes to her! It’s Poppy’s fantasy come true, except that she’d imagined a declaration of love, not a practical marriage of convenience. But what starts as a simple arrangement becomes decidedly complicated when sex and emotions come into play. Can their marriage turn into a real happy ever after?

For more of this review please visit Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-wan...

A copy of this story was provided by the publisher for review.

[Maddie butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s your average love story. Girl is in love with the guy, the guy can’t love after a heartbreak. Girl tries to get him to love her once he does she’s already walked away. There was one Instance of a situation that had my blood boiling but you’ll just have to read the book to find out what was said/ wrote. But in all it was a good short read to pass the time.

[Teresa (Reads_Romance) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second Maisey Yates novel, and I am officially impressed. I loved this book. It was a quick, one-sitting read for me packed with three-dimensional characters, emotional depth, and sexy romance. Oh, did I mention that it’s a billionaire, cowboy, Christmas romance novel? Talk about checking all the fun subgenre boxes! Poppy has been in love with her boss, Isaiah for ten years when he tells her to put an ad in the paper for a wife. This is the last straw, she quits, and Isaiah proposes she marry him instead.

Poppy was wonderful. She had survived life in the foster care system and built a successful career for herself despite her unhappy childhood. She absolutely had emotional baggage, but she was pretty self-aware, and I loved her personal style and confidence.

Isaiah was decidedly on the Autism spectrum, at least a little bit, although it was never labeled, only heavily alluded to. Understanding nuanced conversation was beyond him, he was brilliant in some areas of his life but struggled greatly in others, and felt the need to analyze any emotion before he let himself feel it. Did he say something pretty terrible while arguing with Poppy? Yes. But it gave my inner alpha-loving self a little shiver of delight, and I won’t apologize for that.

Overall, this was a delightful Christmas romance, although I would argue that the holiday aspect was so negligible it can barely qualify for the subgenre. There was a great balance of angst, a few twists, romance, and a satisfying HEA. Maisey Yates has a way of tying your emotions to her characters right from the start, and I can’t wait to get my hands on another one of her books.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

[Jhonatas Nilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maisey Yates is one of my favourite authors of all times but this book was not for me.

I started loving it. The trope of friends-to-lovers is adorable and when it is well worked, it results in a great romance. Yates always writes about it and does it well, but "Want me, cowboy" didn't made me happy.

The problem here, for me at least, is Isaiah. He just thinks he is usually right and when he decides he wants something, he just push and push until he gets it.

That's why I just didn't believe in this happy-ending. The whole story was about she saying NO and he pushing and pushing so she changes her opinion and says yes for pressure.

NO MEANS NO. But for Isaiah, NO MEANS PROBABLY A YES. And it REALLY irritated me. I hate this type of person.

I didn't like this book. Sorry.

[Eva Millien · Rating 4 out of 5]

She’s kept her feelings for Isaiah Grayson a secret for a decade, but now Poppy Sinclair’s infuriatingly gorgeous Stetson-wearing boss has enlisted her help in finding him a convenient wife. Poppy threatens to quit and Isaiah counters with an interesting proposal.

This romance is full of heated clashes and red hot passion. The characters are strong, vibrant and really stand out to readers as they navigate a passionate relationship that starts off with friends and co-workers and blossoms into a rocky romance full of emotional turmoil and volatile encounters. Readers can’t help but become caught up in all the turbulence and the fiery relationship of this couple.

The plot is steady pace and keeps the suspense and excitement of this relationship building throughout ups and downs and ‘real’ reactions of what Poppy feels as she tries to accept a relationship where she shares his life and his bed but not his heart. Readers can’t help but smile and cheer Poppy on as Isaiah and her reach for their happily ever after and the get a feeling of joy during the holiday setting of the conclusion of this fiery & exciting romance.

[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book by a new to me author. It was sweet, funny, and complicated, just how I like my contemporary romances.

Working as a one handed typer (lately) to see my full review and thoughts about this book check out my #contemporaryathon vlogs, #contemporaryathon wrap-up, Septempber 2018 wrap-up, or check out Read Bliss Interracial Couples Book Recommendation videos.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Rom Book Talk.

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

As much as I usually love this author, this particular book reminded me why I generally leave the category romance reviews in the hands of my friend and (not nearly frequent enough) guest reviewer Amy Daltry. (She loved Hold Me, Cowboy, a previous book in this very series)

Because as much as I usually love this author, this particular book made me want to throw it against the wall. I don’t have this reaction often because my iPad is just too damn expensive to treat that way.

Let’s just say that Want Me Cowboy is not exactly a contemporary romance for the #MeToo era.

And that’s just for starters.

Except that, for starters, I really liked the setup of the story. I like a good friends to lovers romance. I also like a good lusting after the boss romance. And the opening of the story was hilarious – it reminded me of all those fake ads for a wife or a husband where the previous candidate had an impossible condition – or at least impossible for most respondents. You know the kind, the ones that usually end with the woman keeping her cats or the man keeping his cabin. Or in the case of this particular ad, Isaiah Grayson starts out by saying he’s keeping his beard.

And telling the assistant who has been in love with him for a decade that she’s the one who will be interviewing any prospective candidates. The possibilities for humor are endless. And I wish the story had gone there. Or pretty much anywhere else instead of where it actually went.

Not that I didn’t hope that they would get together, because I initially did. Until I didn’t.

Let me explain…

The first thing to understand about Isaiah Grayson is that he seems to be somewhere on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Not that it has ever been officially diagnosed, but both he and his family are more than aware that Isaiah has never had any skills in processing what other people are thinking or feeling. And he uses that lack of awareness as an excuse to be an asshole.

He’s usually not mean, or at least not mean per se. But he has decided that he is usually right, and when someone tells him something that he doesn’t want to hear or that he thinks is wrong, he overrides everything they say and everything they do, leaving them no choice but to either go along or walk away – and he makes it incredibly difficult to walk away.

As he finally realizes late (too late) in the story, he did give Poppy a choice. However, he has the financial power to restrict that choice to the point where the least bad option is the one that he wants. It’s not necessarily that she wants what he has decided is best, just that all of the other choices are so horrible that it might as well be no choice at all.

Things in this story begin going pear-shaped when Poppy Sinclair finally snaps back at Isaiah about giving her the job of interviewing his wife candidates. She’s fed up with his hunt for a convenient wife who will be the equivalent of her, just at home. And with sex. Otherwise, he IS looking for her clone.

He gets the bright idea that he can have his cake and eat it too by just marrying Poppy. This could have been a great story, but the problem is the way that Isaiah goes about it. Once he’s kissed her and discovered that they have AMAZING chemistry together, he decides that no one else by Poppy will do, takes over her life and NEVER listens to any of her objections or concerns.

Including the concern she never gets a chance to raise. Their sexual relationship has the definite aura of him pushing her boundaries until she “realizes” that she really didn’t want to say no in the first place. The way this feeds into the whole narrative of “no means yes” that men fall back on when consent is forced or withdrawn made me grit my teeth.

That he, in spite of his own internal dialog about his sexual experiences, can’t be bothered to use a condom is just plain wrong. She’s a virgin, so the idea that she wasn’t remotely prepared to have sex with anyone isn’t surprising. That he doesn’t seem to even think about protecting her from either pregnancy or any consequences of his past is selfish and thoughtless, to say the least..

That she becomes pregnant from her first sexual experience is part of the story. Because it becomes yet another way that he takes her choices away from her.

You’re thinking that she can raise the child alone, that in the 21st century pregnancy does not equal a choice between marriage and eternal shame and damnation. And you’re right.

But, and in this case it is a huge gigantic butt, he has decided that marriage between them is the right thing to do. Because for him, it provides him with the perfect, stable family that he has decided that he needs.

So when Poppy tries to back out of the engagement he has pretty much coerced her into, he informs her that if she doesn’t marry him he will fight her for full custody, and that with his money and his resources, he will win. And he’s right about that. So when she won’t do what he wants, he makes all her other choices so horrible that she has no real choice.

For me the whole story was like that. He has decided what he wants, so he takes over her life. She has doubts and tries to back away, or at least to slow things down. He rides roughshod over her. Over and over again.

Her answer to his behavior is to just love him more. And to give him more. His mother convinces her that a successful marriage is one where she gives everything and eventually he will see what’s right in front of him. This sounds like the kind of advice that abused spouses receive.

Ironically, it is not the kind of marriage his parents actually have, so there’s an element of “do as I say and not as I do” involved along with the guilt trip.

He does eventually figure out just how big an asshole he’s been, and he does seem to learn just a bit of his lesson. But I’m not nearly convinced that he’s learned enough of a lesson, or grovelled nearly enough, to get past the “if you don’t marry me I’ll take your child away” threat.

Escape Rating D+: It’s been a long time since I’ve dragged out the D+ rating, and this book wasn’t nearly as much fun as the last time I did. But I did finish the damn thing, and that’s what puts it into this category. There was the germ of a good story in here, but it just derailed for me into questionably consenting assholishness.

I could go on (and on and ON) but I’ve ranted long enough.

I still love this author, and will pick up her next book that is NOT a category romance. (In fact, I already have an ARC) But if there are any future books in the Copper Ridge: Desire category series, I’ll leave them to Amy.

[Donna Repsher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want Me, Cowboy is the fifth novel in Maisey Yates' Copper Ridge: Desire series for Harlequin, and, for a number of reasons, which I'll get to, I almost cannot believe that I'm giving it a 3-star rating, instead of the much more frequent 4 or 5 star ratings I've given every other much loved novel in Maisey Yates' Copper Ridge series that I've read and reviewed, but 3 stars is the best I can do in this case.

My first issue is the title. I understand that the format for the titles in this series always ends with the word "cowboy, " but the main character in this novel is Isaiah Grayson, and he's anything but a cowboy. He's a numbers guy, great at math, obsessively detail oriented, and great at being the CFO of his own major construction conglomerate worth billions of dollars, but the fact that he taught his personal assistant, Poppy Sinclair, to ride a horse a year before this novel opens doesn't make him a cowboy.

Next on the list is Isaiah Grayson himself, the supposed hero in this novel. I found him to be utterly unlikable. He's a bully, he doesn't know how to take "no" for an answer, he's socially inept, he's not good at interpersonal relationships, he has no friends, in fact, now that I'm writing this review and listing the problems I had with his character, it occurs to me that it might be possible that he's got a mild and undiagnosed case of Asberger's Syndrome. Isaiah did once have a 5-year relationship with Poppy's foster-sister, Rosalind, who Isaiah admits to having loved. That relationship ended when Rosalind cheated on him, and Poppy knows better than to mention her name around her boss, whom she's worked for for the past decade, a position she got because of Rosalind.

Since Rosalind's betrayal, Isaiah has sworn off love for good, but having looked around at the happy marriages of his parents and siblings, Isaiah has decided that he wants to get married and have a family of his own, and has decided that since one of his brothers placed an ad for a fake wife, who turned out to be the love of his life, he's decided to place a similar ad for himself. The text of the ad is as cold and emotionless as Isaiah himself, and when he asks Poppy to look it over and place the ad, she changes it to make him sound more a bit more appealing. As if that wasn't upsetting enough, he also expects Poppy to conduct the interviews for the blonde wife-candidates that Isaiah mentions are his type.

What Isaiah doesn't know is that Poppy is and has been in love with for the past ten years, even through his 5-year relationship with her foster-sister, Rosalind, who was responsible for getting her the job working for Isaiah. Frankly, I had a difficult time understanding why she loved him. She's kept her love for him a secret, although it nearly killed her when it appeared that he was going to marry the one person in her life that she loved, his now ex-fiance, Rosalind. Once that relationship ended, she still didn't do anything to reveal her secret love for Isaiah to him, content enough to work with the man and make him her fantasy lover.

I liked Poppy a lot and I liked that she wasn't afraid to tell Isaiah that she thought his ad, as written, was utterly ridiculous. A short time later, and after she's spent the day interviewing 6 of the bottle blondes who responded to Isaiah's ad, Poppy decides that she's had enough of this, announces that she's quitting, and when she tells Isaiah that what he really seems to be seeking is a personal assistant for his home, he suddenly sees Poppy with new eyes, finds her attractive, knows she's a hard worker, knows they get along, and knows that he doesn't want to lose her. He decides that she's perfect for him, and immediately proposes marriage--but he's really clear that he isn't in love with her, never plans to fall in love with her or anyone else, but wants a family and children and someone to keep his home running as smoothly as his office, and to warm his bed, and, as I stated earlier, he won't take "no" for an answer. If I didn't already dislike Isaiah, that chapter would have done it for me.

What isn't fully mentioned until just before the marriage proposal is that Poppy is African-American. Although I have no problems or issues with interracial marriage, somewhere along the way, I would have expected someone in his family to have at least mentioned it. It seemed to me, that anything relating to her race was ignored, which didn't seem at all realistic to me, especially since prior to my own marriage, I dated outside my race, and my family had plenty to say about it.

Poppy has had a rough life--a drug addicted, absentee mother, an unknown father, and being repeatedly moved from one foster home to another until she aged out of the system. If anyone deserved a wonderful, loving husband and family, Poppy did, and yet as much as she repeatedly stated that she loved the person that Isaiah was, and didn't want to change anything about him, I simply couldn't figure out why, or what she saw in or about him that was worthy of her love and devotion, especially after she gives up her virginity to him and gets pregnant. It's at this point in the novel that I really came to loathe Isaiah, because when Poppy tells him she can't go through with the marriage, he resorts to emotional blackmail to get his way, telling her that he'll seek full custody of their child, and that he has the money to fight her for it and win. I can't recall the last time I so wanted to reach inside a book and smack a character upside the head, but that's exactly how I felt when I reached Isaiah's despicable ultimatum.

I believe that many of the problems I had with this novel were due to the fact that it was released in the Harlequin Desire series--short and sexy reads with a limited page count. Those limits didn't do this author and this novel any favors, because there simply wasn't enough time to make Isaiah more likable, and show us some good points about his character so that we could understand what on earth Poppy saw in him to love.

If you're looking for a short, sexy romance read with an HEA ending, this novel will fit the bill, but if this is your first time reading a Maisey Yates novel, let me assure you that she's written dozens of novels which are far better reads than this one, and that Want Me, Cowboy, is, in my opinion, not indicative of either her excellent writing skills or storytelling abilities. If anything, I consider it an anomaly.

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

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want Me, Cowboy was an enjoyable read featuring a marriage of convenience romance between a boss and his assistant.

Isaiah Grayson has it all when it comes to his business but with those around him finding happiness, Isaiah realizes he wants more in his personal life. The problem is he wants a wife but not the emotional aspect. His solution is to put out an ad looking for a wife and have his assistant interview the candidates. Poppy Sinclair has been secretly in love with Isaiah for a decade. When he asks her to interview candidates for his wife, Poppy has had enough and quits. Isaiah then proposes Poppy fill the position, but can she share his life but not his heart?

Isaiah is dedicated to his work and has avoided love after his last relationship ended poorly. Isaiah has a lot of trust issues after the way his fiancée ended their relationship. As a result, Isaiah hopes to avoid love while still wanting a wife to come home to. Personally I found Isaiah's idea to be a bit ridiculous, but it's not an uncommon one in marriage of convenience romances. Poppy had a rough childhood and has always felt unlovable, something she still struggles with as an adult. Poppy's reactions to things made a lot of sense once her background was revealed and I enjoyed the way she worked through her issues in the book.

Isaiah and Poppy's relationship has been platonic for the last decade although Poppy has secretly harbored feelings for Isaiah for nearly all of that time. Isaiah had never thought of Poppy that way although his attraction for her was quick to develop once he allowed himself to think about her that way. The steamy scenes are well done as this author's usually are. I expected to love Isaiah and Poppy's relationship as I really enjoy marriage of convenience romances. However, Isaiah does some pretty crappy things to Poppy throughout the book that made it hard to see him as a good love interest. Plus with how much I enjoyed Poppy's character, I didn't want to see her end up with someone who treated her badly.

Overall Want Me, Cowboy wasn't my favorite in this series although I did enjoy the cameos of characters from previous books. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the series, Need Me, Cowboy, soon.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Delight
Maisey Yates has a unique style of writing that digs deep in me. I enjoy every word and don't know why I don't read more of her stories. Poppy is a woman I would love to emulate style wise, but she also has a backbone that makes her endearing. Isaiah isn't the usual hero which is why I loved his character so much when most won't. Now I really must find more books in this series or written by Maisey!


Review
When you boss gives you the task to find him a wife, you might look at him funny, but for Poppy she knows the man and how his mind works. But that doesn't mean she is going to put the ad in the paper without a few words of her own to him. See Poppy has been in love with the dope for years, but their working relationship of 10 years is something she treasured and didn't want to ruin. Now she wants to fill this position.

Isaiah is a brilliant man who can't read people. He doesn't suffer fools easily. Not being a people person is putting it mildly. Poppy has been with him for ten years and was the one person he knew he could trust. There were only a few others with that honor. Now he wants a wife so placing an ad seems logical to him. Only having Poppy interview them seems logically to him, but thoroughly demeaning to Poppy who basically does the things he needs in a wife from his ad. His past colors his way of thinking of love and he doesn't realize until now that Poppy is the dream woman in his mind.

The two weren't perfect. They both did and said things wrong. There is also an action that happens that you know right away will have consequences. Some hate this troupe and some don't mind. I am about 50/50 if the circumstances are right or wrong. This one straddled the line ... I am being vague, but you will see why when you read it.

Overall, I like getting to know a hero who wasn't the perfect alpha, who struggled reading people and struggled just wanting to be loved. Poppy had a bad childhood and feels guilty for something her sister did. This colors the way she acts. The two weren't perfect by any stretch, but I liked the way the author wrote them. Perfection is overrated.

This was a short read and good for an afternoon curled up in your favorite chair. I jumped in the middle of the series, but that didn't hamper me and it should hamper you!


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Preview

This review was originally posted on Delighted Reader

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this. The cover alone is worth 5 stars, if only the story lived up to it.

This is an unrequited love story (again) between Poppy and her boss Isaiah. He asks her to marry him as a convenience because he's ready to be married.

She took a lot of emotional hits from Isaiah and I didn't feel he was worthy of her. For once, I'd like to see the heroine walk away for a while and live their own lives. Ten years is a long time to sit on the sidelines.

It seemed as the author was dancing around the hero having mild autism. However nothing is spelled out. Just that he has trouble expressing emotions the way others do. I didn't find this a convincing reason for how he treated Poppy.

That said? Bravo for the inter racial cover and black heroine. I really wish she had a hero worthy of her.

[Aneesah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this surprisingly steamy for a serial romance. I may have to check out more by this author. I was a little disappointed that for it to be an interracial romance (at least I THINK the heroine looks black on the cover), there really isn’t any mention of her being black at all. That shouldn’t be a big deal but it just seemed kind of odd. Like the idea to make them a mixed-race couple was an afterthought.

[Stacy Hutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrible! He is a bully. I hated it.

[Char (1RadReader59) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This eye-opening short of how we as humans can dig in and believe what we talk ourselves into. In order to not face the world head-on while feeling the emotions.
As in Isaiah Grayson’s case. All his life he has had a hard time processing info quickly. Which freezes him to the bones. So, instead of requiring him to work through it he was allowed to avoid it all throughout his life. Better yet, there were siblings to buff the road for you.
Therefore, his inability to work out his emotional embarrassment, hurts, anger and so many other feelings from his only big relationship have stumped him. When he asked his assistant and friend, Poppy to place an ad, interview, and weed through the women from them he can’t understand her anger over the matter.
Poppy Sinclair, started working for Isaiah when she was just eighteen. When her foster sister was then dating him. Rosalind asked him the favor of helping her out with a job and he did it. Every time he moved jobs, he took Poppy with him. When he and his siblings opened their own business, she was there on the bottom floor, right there with them. She was basically part of the family. For a foster kid that meant a lot.
It killed her when she knew that her foster sister, Rosalind was the cause of the heartache that Isaiah had been going through those five years back. You see the day she started she fell in love with him on sight. She never once stepped over the line and now there has been a decade gone by and she still has never said a word about her crush.
She has seen him on dates and seen his taste of women and she is not on his list. Because he likes blonde hair and blue eyes. She is mahogany skin, brown hair, and eyes. Just her luck. But she loved Isaiah quirks and all. She never minds being his go-between when it came to the world during their working hours. She also cherished their friendship. But she knew he still had major scars on his heart.
When after interviewing at least six women she has had enough and confronts him. He is obtuse when it comes to emotions so he can’t read her. But earlier in the day he had made the statement in a pissy smartass way in reference to being ‘her boss’ not ‘boss/friend’ just ‘I’m your boss.’ So, it had played on her all during the interviews no self-respecting assistant at any other place would even be asked to do this for their boss. So, she quit!
She had job experience, a nest egg, and at a larger company, she could get comparable pay. She didn’t have to stay with a man who didn’t appreciate what she had to offer. Why continue to torture herself watching the man she loves date other women and now marry one too. It shouldn’t be a requirement to find him a wife. She questioned him asking if he was looking for a clone of her but for at home to do wife things for him.
That’s when she got the surprise of her life. When he realized he needed a PA for all areas of his life. Then, asked her to marry him. In making the proposal he forgot an aspect of the venture, SEX…

I enjoyed the push and pull of this emotional war of feelings of their past experiences. They seem to overcome them for the most part. Yet, you see some rawness as they try to deal with their own personal turmoil. I give this: 4 stars. Provided by netgalley.com. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Books and Spoons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want Me, Cowboy floored me in the best possible way and I wanted to start reading it AGAIN right after I finished it.
Poppy and Isaiah, as characters, were endearing and lovable, with their smarts, intelligence, and ability to shine within their professions they impressed me, but it was the brokenness, the vulnerabilities, and aches in their souls, the fear of losing control and getting hurt, that made both of them so attractive, so appealing, so easy to relate to.
They have known each other for ten years, they have worked closely together, they were colleagues and friends, but there were possibilities to so much more if they dared, if they found the courage, if they took the leap, and just jumped into the unknown, still holding on to each other tightly.
The journey they take on the pages of this book is an inner struggle they have to win. The ardent passion they feel for each other surprises them, confuses them, until it takes over them.
I admired and adored that Isaiah wasn't the perfect male, who has everything under control. I loved that his social awkwardness was part of the story, his difficulties not only to deal with people but to communicate with them just made him even more lovable to me.
Poppy's life hasn't been easy either, going from foster home to another, her life had turned up to be a challenge of trust, knowing everything could be wiped away tomorrow without explanation.
Together, these two didn't only heat up the pages into an inferno, they taught valuable life lessons while they grew as people and as a couple, as friends, partners, and lovers throughout the story.
I love this series more than most, and this addition, that can easily to be read as a standalone novel, is just so perfectly done, an unputdownable experience filled with love and passion, that I consider it a must read!
~ FIve Spoons!

[AnnMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want Me, Cowboy is the fifth book in the Copper Ridge: Desire series (Mills & Boon Desire)by Maisey Yates.

This is only the second book I have read by this author, and I am pleased to say that I enjoyed it as much as the first one I recently read.

It's a quick sexy read about Isaiah Grayson, a successful businessman, hurt in love before but realising it's time to marry and have children. He doesn't want love, he just wants a woman agreeing to accept a marriage of convenience, no emotions involved. With that in mind, he asks his PA to put an ad in the paper for the said wife.

Poppy Sinclair is his PA. She has been in love with Isaiah since she was 18, even when he was engaged to her foster sister, the woman who broke him. He has never looked at Poppy as a woman, but when she tells him that all he requires from a wife is exactly what she does, but with sex and children added he realises that Poppy would be the ideal wife.

He gets her to agree to marry him not realising how she feels about him. The sex is hot hot hot, and they are already best friends, but the more they find out about each other, and open up to each other the more Isaiah thinks that he shouldn't marry her because he knows she wants love and it's something he will never be able to give her, isn't it??

I enjoyed the idea of the boss marrying the PA and Poppy finally getting the man of her dreams in bed if nothing else. Although there is a lot of steamy hot lovemaking, I love how the author brought the depth of both characters into the story. With both of them carrying their own emotional baggage there seems no way that they could be good for each other. Seeing them learn that perhaps they are exactly what each other needs to heal was wonderfully emotional stuff. I really enjoyed their journey.

[Ryan - Sweet Red Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the premise and main characters of Want Me, Cowboy reminded me a lot of Shayla Black's More Than Crave You (a white male lead who has an aversion towards socializing decides he wants a wife, has his female African American assistant fill out a personal ad to that effect as well as tasking her with vetting the applicants, meanwhile she's secretly been in love with him and he gets the bright idea that she is in fact the perfect candidate for wifey but refuses to invest himself emotionally) something about the characters and plot of this book drew me in more. Perhaps it was Poppy's background as a child that grew up in the foster care system, or the fact that Isaiah had once been willing and able to participate in a committed romantic relationship, or maybe it was the way the story developed as well as the side characters that are included - but I enjoyed Want Me, Cowboy more. In fact, I fully intend on reading the previous books in the series as well as the next one! The writing is excellent and engaging, the characters are real and relatable, and the steamy bits are perfection. I also really appreciate that the female lead is a WOC but that is not fetishized or even made into a major plot point. She's just a woman and he's just a man and they just happen to be attracted to each other. In fact, the way that her skin color is addressed is completely relevant to the situation and understandable. I sincerely look forward to reading more from Maisey Yates - in this series and others! 4 out of 5 wine glasses.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poppy has always had feelings for Isaish, but has never said anything as he is her boss. Now he wants her to put up an advert in the paper for a wife. Then he wants her to interview the women for him.
It's too much for Poppy so she announces she is quitting. While arguing with each other Isaiah realizes he needs a wife just like Poppy. She is stunned when he suggests she is his wife. Isaish has so many issues, he uses the excuse that he isn't like other people, then tramples all over Poppy's feelings.
Having said that it was an enjoyable read, if you like your romances with a bit of steam then this is for you. ARC received from net galley as part of mills & boon insiders. This is my voluntary review.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

After working for Isaiah Greyson for ten years, Poppy is giving the task of finding him a wife. Only probably is if it a job she wants for herself. Isaiah has watched his brothers both settle down and get married. Although he has issues with emotional queues and reading people, he knows he doesn’t want to be alone forever. To him it makes sense to follow Joshua’s lead and put out an add, also to make the marriage more of a business deal.

I really liked this story. It was a quick read, I finished it in a day, that I just didn’t want to put down. Another great addition to the Copper Ridge series.

[Jennifer Mccann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it ok, I wanted more of the characters background/info. The MC had difficulty that was never named but I think was hinting at something on the spectrum - I wanted more fleshed out info about their relationship to that.