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The Cowboy Collection
Inesperada luna de miel
Tras perder a su prometida, Tomás Mendoza abandonó la ciudad para retirarse a vivir a un tranquilo rancho argentino que hacía las veces de hotel rural. Hasta que llegó Sophia Hollingsworth con sus zapatos de tacón y se acabó la calma. La joven quería pasar allí la semana y no iba a aceptar un "no" por respuesta.
Sophia estaba de luna de miel sin un marido que la acompañara. Estaba tratando de ser valiente y demostrarle a todo el mundo que podía valerse por sí misma. Pero un apuesto ranchero estaba poniendo en peligro su plan y temía no ser lo bastante fuerte para resistirse a sus muchos encantos
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
36 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Donna Alward
285 books693 followersSince 2006, New York Times bestseller Donna Jones Alward has enchanted readers with stories of happy endings and homecomings that have won several awards and been translated into over a dozen languages. She’s worked as an administrative assistant, teaching assistant, in retail and as a stay-at-home-mom, but always knew her degree in English Literature would pay off, as she is now happy to be a full-time writer. Her new historical fiction tales blend her love of history with characters who step beyond their biggest fears to claim the lives they desire.
Donna currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and cats. You can often find her near the water, either kayaking on the lake or walking the sandy beaches to refill her creative well.
Find out more at www.donnajonesalward.com
Donna currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and cats. You can often find her near the water, either kayaking on the lake or walking the sandy beaches to refill her creative well.
Find out more at www.donnajonesalward.com
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 3, 2011
The book begins with the heroine Sophia arriving at the Esta Vista del Cielo ranch, not only is she there alone on what should have been her honeymoon, she also discovers that the reservation was cancelled without her knowledge due to a recent fire. The hero Tomas reluctantly agrees to let Sophia stay, even though he is annoyed with the prospect of having to keep the seemingly spoilt Sophia entertained. Sophia was expecting to find a luxury spa resort, instead she finds out it's a working ranch where guests are expected to pitch in with all the chores. Tomas expects Sophia to live up to his impression of her and is surprised when she puts her all into learning and doing the jobs he sets her. Sophia is determined to prove to both herself and Tomas that she is not as useless as people think. As they spend time together they begin to open up and share their secrets and hurts with each other, which leads to them falling in love but afraid to admit it for fear of getting hurt again.
The first thing I noticed about this book was the beautifully described settings and surroundings, thanks to the brilliant writing I could really visualise them completely. This was particularly fantastic at the very beginning when Sophia arrives at the ranch and also when they visit Iguazu Falls. Both characters were well developed, I really liked Sophia and how she started off being the person other people expected her to be but feeling a little lost and as the story progressed she became more and more confident. I love character growth in romance novels and Donna Alward has done this perfectly in this book.
There isn't a lot of 'humour' in this book, it's actually quite serious and honest but that fits with the overall pace of the book, and lets face it, sometimes life can kick you about a bit! The HEA is very satisfying and I was left with a warm feeling inside. A thoroughly enjoyable read,
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
The first thing I noticed about this book was the beautifully described settings and surroundings, thanks to the brilliant writing I could really visualise them completely. This was particularly fantastic at the very beginning when Sophia arrives at the ranch and also when they visit Iguazu Falls. Both characters were well developed, I really liked Sophia and how she started off being the person other people expected her to be but feeling a little lost and as the story progressed she became more and more confident. I love character growth in romance novels and Donna Alward has done this perfectly in this book.
There isn't a lot of 'humour' in this book, it's actually quite serious and honest but that fits with the overall pace of the book, and lets face it, sometimes life can kick you about a bit! The HEA is very satisfying and I was left with a warm feeling inside. A thoroughly enjoyable read,
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
June 25, 2011
Won this in a GoodReads Giveaway ! Really liked the characters and the storyline. Will definitely read more books by this author.
March 16, 2023
Argentina—contemporary romance. I liked how the author included a lot of aspects of Argentinian life and Argentina, like Iguazu Falls, gauchos, mate, dulce de leche, etc. The story itself and dialogue were your usual Harlequin Romance stuff—just okay. As a 50-something-year-old woman with 2 teenage kids, I am so over the whole naive “virgin” crap.
July 28, 2022
She would go on her honeymoon alone.
Her fiance had cheated on her so she left and went on her honeymoon alone. She was surprised when she reached her destination in Argentina. She found herself alone with a most handsome obstinate man.
Her fiance had cheated on her so she left and went on her honeymoon alone. She was surprised when she reached her destination in Argentina. She found herself alone with a most handsome obstinate man.
March 27, 2023
Awesome!!!
I believe this is the 3rd book I've read by this author but the first I've left a review on. Not that I didn't think they were great. I was just anxious to read the next one. The story line, the characters, are great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth reading.
I believe this is the 3rd book I've read by this author but the first I've left a review on. Not that I didn't think they were great. I was just anxious to read the next one. The story line, the characters, are great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth reading.
March 11, 2022
I liked the story and found it interesting because of the location in South America. It was a cute story which of course ending the way it should. Lots of things happening in this story.
January 19, 2012
The first book for the 2012 TBR Challenge! Suggested read was a category romance, so I grabbed Donna Alward's HONEYMOON WITH THE RANCHER, on my TBR shelf since RWA National Conference in June 2011. It's hard to read a category romance and worry about the hero and heroine getting to the happy ever after. After all, that happy ending is guaranteed; you know it's all going to work out in the end somehow. The trick in the story is to make the reader believe that happy ever after is virtually impossible, that there will be some seemingly insurmountable conflict that will keep hero and heroine apart.
In HONEYMOON, Alward gives us a very likable heroine in Sophia Hollingsworth. Sophia has called off her wedding after learning her fiance was cheating on her but has decided to take the honeymoon trip on her own. She arrives at Vista del Cielo, a working ranch in Argentina, and finds the only other person on the property is Tomas Mendoza, who appears to be a ranch hand. Without going into detail here, these situations are deftly made plausible by the author. The couple, with only one another for company, eventually fall in love (remember, this is a romance, I'm not giving anything away by revealing that).
However, *why* they fall in love remains a puzzle to me. Sure Sophia is strong and plucky, but I'm not sure what about her charms Tomas. For his part, Tomas is handsome and muscled, but I don't really feel the attraction Sophia has for this guy who's mostly surly...other than that's what's supposed to happen. Long way of saying, I thought hero and heroine were a bit mismatched, complicated for me by my personal confusion at Tomas's dialogue. As an Argentine gaucho, I found a good deal of his dialogue to be a bit too "North American colloquial". Then again, I haven't spent too much time with gauchos, so I could be way off base!
In any case, Sophia and Tomas find their way to love, but while reading, I found myself not so much rooting for hero and heroine to get together, but waiting for a complication to arise - or come to light - that truly threatened to keep them apart. I suppose as a reader I really want stories to show that love conquers all, and I didn't find that here. What I *did* find, was a sweet love story in a unique setting -- is it the kisses that make me swoon along with the characters? or the vision of the ombu "tree"? More likely it is both combined.
HONEYMOON is a treat for a sunny afternoon - or a snowy one! - the sort of story you can read with half a smile on your face that won't fade even after you reach the end.
In HONEYMOON, Alward gives us a very likable heroine in Sophia Hollingsworth. Sophia has called off her wedding after learning her fiance was cheating on her but has decided to take the honeymoon trip on her own. She arrives at Vista del Cielo, a working ranch in Argentina, and finds the only other person on the property is Tomas Mendoza, who appears to be a ranch hand. Without going into detail here, these situations are deftly made plausible by the author. The couple, with only one another for company, eventually fall in love (remember, this is a romance, I'm not giving anything away by revealing that).
However, *why* they fall in love remains a puzzle to me. Sure Sophia is strong and plucky, but I'm not sure what about her charms Tomas. For his part, Tomas is handsome and muscled, but I don't really feel the attraction Sophia has for this guy who's mostly surly...other than that's what's supposed to happen. Long way of saying, I thought hero and heroine were a bit mismatched, complicated for me by my personal confusion at Tomas's dialogue. As an Argentine gaucho, I found a good deal of his dialogue to be a bit too "North American colloquial". Then again, I haven't spent too much time with gauchos, so I could be way off base!
In any case, Sophia and Tomas find their way to love, but while reading, I found myself not so much rooting for hero and heroine to get together, but waiting for a complication to arise - or come to light - that truly threatened to keep them apart. I suppose as a reader I really want stories to show that love conquers all, and I didn't find that here. What I *did* find, was a sweet love story in a unique setting -- is it the kisses that make me swoon along with the characters? or the vision of the ombu "tree"? More likely it is both combined.
HONEYMOON is a treat for a sunny afternoon - or a snowy one! - the sort of story you can read with half a smile on your face that won't fade even after you reach the end.
January 5, 2019
I wouldn't call it Donna's strongest outing, but, as the rating says, I really liked it.
The idea of a 25y's old virgin who didn't suspect her fiancé to go astray until she captured him in flagranti is a bit hard to believe in and so tethers on comedic for me. I mean there's being blue-eyed and there's believing that a egomaniacal lawyer with political ambition will respect you enough to wait... yeah, sure.
Well, that's traditional romance for you, a delightful mix that at times will have you want to either silently giggle or facepalm - not to mention that it's mind set can make the feminist in me cringe at times. But Donna is a reliable force in romance that even in those moments never fails to brighten my day - and who could honestly want to have drab realism, if we can have a starry-eyed romance to make us happy, right?
The idea of a 25y's old virgin who didn't suspect her fiancé to go astray until she captured him in flagranti is a bit hard to believe in and so tethers on comedic for me. I mean there's being blue-eyed and there's believing that a egomaniacal lawyer with political ambition will respect you enough to wait... yeah, sure.
Well, that's traditional romance for you, a delightful mix that at times will have you want to either silently giggle or facepalm - not to mention that it's mind set can make the feminist in me cringe at times. But Donna is a reliable force in romance that even in those moments never fails to brighten my day - and who could honestly want to have drab realism, if we can have a starry-eyed romance to make us happy, right?
April 28, 2011
Rating: 3,5
Nice read, into which you don't have to put much effort to get through.
I liked the fact that narration is in point of view of two main characters, through that we could see what both of them thought. Characters are deep and well build with personal histories which influence the story throughout the plot.
Though chemistry between characters was written into the story I couldn't really feel it, the attraction was shown through emotions created by experiencing things together rather than instant connection.
I like stories like this to be filled with tons of humor, here there were funny moments but there were also many sad ones .
The story is 'complete'. Every loose end seems to have been tied up, nothing was left unfinished.
August 27, 2012
Yazarın bir de Türkçe'ye çevrilmiş kitaplarından birini okuyayım dedim ve Bozkır Feneri'ni seçtim. Bu kitabı da güzeldi ama bir önce okuduğum kitap kadar da beğenmedim. Burada da biraz kovboyvari bir kurgu var. Oğlan kendini pişmanlıkları ve açılarıyla bir çiftliğe kapatmış, oradaki aile onun ailesi olmuş bir şekilde çiftliği işletenlerden birisidir. Kızımızsa nişanlısından ayrılmış ama yaptıkları balayı tatiline tek başına gitmeye karar vermiş inatçı ve kendini aramakta olan bir kızdır. Bu iki karakterin birbirini çekmemesi olası mı? Değil tabi. Kitap ikisinin paylaşılan anılar ve acılarla aralarının güçlenmesini ve bir noktadan sonra ayrılamayacaklarını anlamalarını anlatıyor.
May 21, 2011
Solid romance, with characters I connected with immediately. I loved the setting, and found the romantic aspects of the story compelling, fast-paced, and fun. Not all of the plot threads were explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, and some of the back-story elements felt a little flat. Still, I didn't want to put this down until I had finished it. Full review coming soon to www.mangamaniaccafe.com
June 4, 2012
TBR Challenge 2012--Personal Challenge: This book has been on my TBR list since March 2011.
I was expecting something a little different, a little more story or action, but this was still a decent little book. I do think the main characters spend too much time mulling over the same thoughts throughout the book, but that's a common writing style in romance.
I was expecting something a little different, a little more story or action, but this was still a decent little book. I do think the main characters spend too much time mulling over the same thoughts throughout the book, but that's a common writing style in romance.
October 28, 2012
Inspite of a couple of places where you wish you could slap the main characters, this was a good book. As this is a Harlequin Romance novel, I was pleasantly surprised to make it through the entire book without reading one sex scene. It was actually kind of refreshing to have a likeable female main character who was a virgin at the age of 25.
June 13, 2012
I loved the vivid descriptions of the South American setting in this book. I liked how the point of view switched back and forth between Sophia and Tomas. The relationship between Tomas and his in-laws was sweet. It was a refreshing change to see a character with a good relationship with his in-laws. Very sweet romance with a very satisfying HEA.
April 28, 2011
Good, quick little love story.
May 27, 2011
I liked this one a lot. It wasn't too cluttered with extra, pointless characters and the two main character's problems were realistic and painful.
February 22, 2013
Another book by Donna I just love. Great story, Great book to read. I loved the story of Sophia and Thomas
June 3, 2013
Not that good
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews