Taken by the Cowboy

Roping Her Curves #4

by Kaci M. Rose

A Fake Date, an Ex-fiancé, and a Cowboy who is taking what he wants.

Candy

I love my job as the town Librarian but in a Small Town like Walker Lake, Texas it is pretty hard to meet anyone, and being alone for Christmas just sucks.

So, when my friend suggests that I be North’s fake date to his brother’s Christmas wedding I decide to go for it.

What do I have to lose?

Maybe I should have gotten all the details first…

North

My brother is marrying my ex-fiancé and my parents want me to go and put on a brave face for the sake of the family.

I will do it for them, but I refuse to go alone. So, when a buddy of mine suggests taking the curvy librarian as my fake date I am all in.

Candy is as sweet as her name, and I have every intention of not letting her walk away.

Only my ex has other plans and with the whole town watching my every move, I plan on taking what I want.

And what I want is Candy…


** Please Note this book has been re-edited as of October 27, 222

Genres: Westerns, Romance, Christmas, Novella

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2022

Reviews

[Debi Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. It was a fake relationship that turned into a real relationship. North and Candy made the perfect couple and got their happily ever after

[Korkoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Blessing For His Patience -
North and Candy thought their fake relationship would just be about helping North save face at the wedding, but what actually happened was something they actually didn’t realise they needed. This story broke my heart over and over, but by the time I finished reading the book, my heart had been pieced back together. Fake dating stories are one of my favourite tropes, but a fake dating story where there is drama with the ex, who ends up getting their comeuppance, makes the story a whole lot more interesting. This was a really fantastic book to read and I am sure you will enjoy reading it.

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

[Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh boy

I love the trope, liked the characters, and over all enjoyed the book. The author could used a good proof reader though. There is probably some kind of wording error on every other page. Not just miss spelled words. Full on weird wrong words making things super confusing and taking me right out of a good story.

[Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb was really interesting and it’s part of a series but it’s not good,
The main couple are dumb and dumber… didn’t feel the love… H is really stupid,
I liked the heroine and when she got angry with the H I was really happy, H puts her in a very strange position,
I liked that she wanted always to take her own car to have a way to left, that’s smart in this kind of situation,

Safe
Not very romantic
Cheating but not between the main couple
One sex scene pretty good
No condom

[Olive · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm convinced that the wrong copy got uploaded to booksprout, because there were so many mistakes. Normally typos and grammatical errors get left out of reviews, but these were unavoidable. There was a mistake on almost every page. You could tell that some of it was dictation into text because there were random words that made absolutely no sense unless you said it out loud very slowly. (ex: Abbott = I'll haven't, "just join me" = "just you and me") Sentences would go on for entire paragraphs with no punctuations or capitalization. I have read Kaci's work before, and the quality is never like this.
HOWEVER! Assuming this is a mistake and all errors are to be ignored, still not thrilled with this book. The premise is cute and simple, but at one point the female main character, Candy, refers to herself as "fat" to one of her best friends. Now it's established that Candy is plus sized/curvy, and she was using 'fat' in this context to describe her body in saying that North would never like her because she's a 'fat librarian.' Her "best friend" then flips out saying that she should never talk about herself that way, and she was angry with her for saying mean things about her friend. Now I am going to say this as clearly as possible.
IT IS 2022, CAN WE PLEASE STOP USING FAT TO MEAN UGLY. CAN WE STOP USING FAT AS A WORD WE ASSOCIATED WITH BEING UNDESIRABLE. STOP PERPETUATING THIS IDEA THAT 'FAT' IS THE WORST THING A PERSON CAN BE AND THAT YOU SHOULDN'T DARE DESCRIBE YOURSELF THAT WAY.
If Candy said, "oh he probably doesn't like me, because I'm not skinny like he's past girlfriend," it's still not great that she's putting herself down, but at least she's not calling herself fat to insinuate that she is ugly and undeserving of love. As a plus size person, my entire life I've had to deal with saying "oh I'm fat" or "I'm plus sized" to be immediately met with, "NO! YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!"
Two things can be true Brenda!!!!!!!
If you are going to write curvy, plus sized, Fat characters, and cater your stories to an audience that also fits that description, have some respect for said characters and your audience. I am exhausted by this "fat people are undeserving of love that's why it'll only happen in romance novels" narrative. Romance novels are supposed to make you happy and hopeful, not remind you that a majority of the world doesn't approve of you, and no one will like you based on appearance unless they are some fictional cowboy.
Heartbroken and Disappointed. Likely won't be reading from this author again.

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

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

His brother is marrying his ex. The cowboy lines up his own "girlfriend". The story is fun, the characters are playful and serious. This reader had moments of warm mental hugs and thoughts of head slaps. An enjoyable read.

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

[Nikki_Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! Fab*u*lous Absolutely love this one!! I couldn't put this one down. This was a nice quick, short read.

North and Candy have seen each other around town. When North at the diner talking to his friend Ben about his ex-fiancée marrying his brother and his parents are insisting he goes. North's friend suggests he take a date with him. North asks Ben if he has anyone in mind and he points to Candy, sitting by herself reading a book. North walks over to Candy asking her, and she accepts. North asks Candy to have dinner with him so that they can talk and get their story together. North packs a picnic for them to have by the lake and they talk about how they met. North invites Candy to his ranch so that he can show her around. Candy goes to talk to her dad about North and is invites over to go Christmas tree shopping. North's family has a week long actives planned for his brother's wedding. The first is the festival and everyone in town is around. When North and Candy get on the Ferris Wheel he tells her they're expected to kiss at the top. North's mom invites them over for dinner to get to know Candy but his brother and ex-finance aren't invited. Next there's a cruise around the lake, and Candy notices North's ex-fiancée staring daggers at her the whole time. When they get back to Candy's home she invites him inside. North pleasures Candy then they make love. The next day North heads home and lets Candy get ready. North picks up Candy and they head to her dad's home so that they all can hang out. Later North drops Candy off for the bachelorette party while he heads down the road to the bachelor party. Candy doesn't enjoy herself and all the other girls giggle at her. Candy sits at the bar drinking her one drink while she notes North's ex-fiancée dancing with other men. Candy sends North a message and they decide to end their night. Candy heads to use the restroom and hears someone having sex in the stalls. Candy notices the shoes of the woman and realizes it's North's ex-fiancée. When Candy gets outside North is waiting for her, she's a little piss about the way the other girls treated her. North notices Candy's upset and asks her about it. North drops Candy off at her house and she tells him she'll see him tomorrow. North shows up to pick Candy up the next day and tells her he talk to his mom about the way the other's treated her. Candy tells North she wants to drive herself to the wedding at the lake house. When North and Candy arrive his ex-fiancée shots her daggers and his mom steps in and has a talk with her. North and Candy avoid his ex-fiancée and his brother for the rest of the night. At the rehearsal dinner people give out toast and someone suggests that North give a toast. North stands up and tells everyone how his now ex-fiancée is now marrying his brother. No one says anything as North and Candy leave. North takes Candy to her suite and then he heads to his own. Candy can't sleep so she heads out to go to North's room. When Candy opens North's door his ex-fiancée e is sending in his room naked. Candy tells North she was just payback for his brother and then leaves. North tries to follow Candy but his ex-fiancée stops him. North yells loud that he wakes everyone else up. North's ex-fiancée tries to tells him he's the one that came onto her, but he puts a stop to that. North tells his parents that he's done with this family and leaves to find Candy. North doesn't find Candy so he heads to his ranch and messages her father. North watches the video Candy sent him of the night of the bachelorette party and notices something in the background. North gets the video to his brother so that he can see what a cheater his ex-fiancée really is. The following morning Candy wakes in her father's home, it's late. Candy tells her father and sister what happened and they listen. Candy and her sister decide to make Christmas cookies and then watch movies. When there's a knock on the door Candy answers to find North push his way in. North grabs Candy and throws her over his should and takes her back to his ranch. North explains to Candy what really happened. North tells Candy that his brother called off the wedding. North tells Candy that his parents are begging for his forgiveness but it doesn't matter if he doesn't have her. North tells Candy that he loves her and needs her. North tells Candy he wants her to be his, for real. North goes down on one knee and ask Candy to marry him, he loves her. Candy tells North yes she'll marry him. The next day they head to Candy's father's house for Christmas. North bought everyone Christmas presents and slips them under the tree. After gifts they all have breakfast. After everyone is finished with breakfast North tells Candy he has one more gift for her but couldn't bring it. North takes Candy back to the ranch where he surprises her with her own horse. Candy names the horse Jingle Belle or Belle for short. North never seen the appeal of Christmas but now he does and it's going to be their holiday. Over a year later, they got married in the summer. North is still working on his relationship with his family. Candy's never felt more at home since moving to the ranch. In April North wants to get Candy pregnant so that she can have a Christmas baby. When North gets home he finds Candy in the dinning room on the table is her pregnancy test which is positive. North has never been so happy, they want to start thinking of Christmas names to keep the tradition going. The first person North calls is Candy's dad.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of money

This book clearly wasn’t edited or proofread. It’s so poorly written it’s difficult to understand. This author just cured me of pre-ordering ebooks. I only made it 23% into the book before I quit reading. I wish I’d read the reviews before purchasing.

[Shani Beaufort · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could have been a great book. But with the amount of errors, it was distracting.

[Sharon Grow · Rating 5 out of 5]

North is in a bind and asks his best friend for help. Earlier he was ready to propose to Vicki, the woman he had been dating, only to find that she had also been dating his brother. Now his brother is engaged to her and he is expected to participate in all of the wedding festivities. His parents are aware of what happened, but still insist that he be the best man. He believes that having a date for the events will make it easier for him to be around his brother and his ex. His friend recommends that he ask Candy Ellenson, the town librarian. Shocked when she agrees to be his date, they decide that a few prior dates will make their history more believable. They truly enjoy spending time together, but what if they start believing that whatever this is between them is real? Candy has never been the one asked on dates, but North doesn’t seem to see her as overweight, but curvy. When his ex decides to make things uncomfortable for Candy, will North realize that he had a lucky escape and that Candy is the one for him? A shorter story, but so very enjoyable! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

[Ms. Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candy is the librarian in Walker Lake, Texas. It is a small town and she is lonely as Christmas approaches.

North needs a fake girlfriend for his brother’s wedding and the week-long festivities before it. His brother Jake is marrying North’s ex-girlfriend, Vikki. North’s parents want him to be there and put on a brave face for the family. Plus, his grandparents will be there whom he has not seen recently. Ben, North’s best friend, suggests asking Candy to be his fake girlfriend. When she hears North’s story, Candy agrees.

They go on a few dates to get to know each other. North even suggests they get the awkward first kiss out of the way before they meet the families. They kiss and sparks fly.

It was cute that from the beginning, the both of them had to keep telling themselves that this was a fake relationship.

[Nina Diab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I love the fake dating/relationship trope- especially if there's a nasty adversary who gets put in their place by some point. Though I'm not much of a cowboy romance reader, I love this author's mountain man series , so I had to give it a try. I thought it was a fun read with likable characters (and unlikeable ones!). Biggest problem- it's badly in need of an editor. Horrible punctuation, wrong words, misspellings. It wasn't enough for me to stop reading, but it cheapens the whole story a bit. I also found it very surprising as I've read four or five other books by this author, and none of them were anywhere near as grammatically challenged as this. 3 stars, but would have rated 4 if the grammar wasn't so bad.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fake relationships are one of my favorite tropes! North’s ex is marrying his brother, who, by the way cheated on North while they were dating. An impossible situation right. North’s parents do not see anything wrong with any of this and basically blackmail him by saying that his grandparents are getting old and who knows when they’ll see them again.
North’s friend has a solution - work out a deal with someone to go as his fake date to the wedding with him. Candy is a librarian and North asks her for some help. Agreeing to help Candy does as he asks but the potential for more is there.
What kind of a relationship will this evolve to?.

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

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly Disappointed

I've loved every book in this series and this book is no exception.
I loved the instant connection of North & Candy and their story leading to their HEA..
This would have been a 5 star book if not for the editing and grammatical nightmare of the wording and sentencestructure. It felt like autocorrect gone wrong and I had to read many sentences over and over to decipher what was actually trying to be said..
It reads like a deadline was imminent and the release was more important than the actually quality of the book..
If you can get past that, it is a beautiful love story and I'd recommend.

[Terry Sasada · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read, North and Candy started out as a business transaction. More than anything North did not want to go to his brother’s wedding, who by the way was marrying his ex. Being an ex is one thing being an ex because you were caught cheating with your brother’s fiancé is something else. He convinces Candy to go with him, and what starts out as an arrangement soon becomes more. The author did a great job with their relationship, and the relationship of both North’s family and Candy’s family. Yes it does have a happily ever after, and more than that it gives you a look into family dynamics and what it takes to maintain a good relationship with your family.

[Lisa Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

North's brother is marrying is ex, the woman he was going to ask to marry him, he would not be attending if his grandparents were not attending. His parents do not seem to think there is anything wrong he should just suck it up. He refuses to go alone, his friend suggests taking, Candy, the town librarian.

Candy loves living in a small town, it just makes it hard to meet any, being alone is no fun. When North suggests to her to be his fake date for the wedding of his brother and ex, she wants to help him.

The more the two spend together, the closer they become, can this be the start of something?.

I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book with no obligation to write a review.

[casvec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is a story that just screams family drama with a twist of tension egged on by a cheating ex that has you melting at the heart of sweet and sassy.

The last place North wants to be is at his brother's wedding to his ex that cheated on him with his brother, right there you need a drink. Not wanting to go alone, North ask Candy to go as his fake girlfriend. Candy is sweet, kind heart woman with a side protectiveness that makes me like her.

This fast pace read takes your heart and mind on a wild ride that keeps you in your page turn after turn.

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

[Oriana Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

North is in a difficult situation. His parents are forcing him to attend the wedding of his brother and his ex. His ex cheated on him with said brother. But he doesn't want to go alone so he asks the shy librarian Candy to help him out. What starts as a fake relationship quickly turns into more. But guess who has a problem with that.... Yes his despicable ex. Candy and North have to suffer through a week of pre wedding gatherings and Candy is a saint for not throttling the ex🤣🤣 North just knows that Candy is his One and nothing can stop him from getting his woman🥰🥰 Instalove, sweet, steamy, romantic ,fun to read with a sweet HEA 😍😍😍😍 Gosh I hated North's family and the freaking ex🤬

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining story about North and Candy. Unknown to North his brother Jake was dating his girlfriend Vikki at the same time. Now Jake and his ex-Vikki are getting married on Christmas Day and North needs a woman to take. His friend Ben suggests Candy the librarian. Candy agrees to be his pretend girlfriend but warns North she'll might be writing her experiences in a book, he agrees. What ensues on the family weekend wedding event was an enjoyable story I'd received and volunteer to read and review. The characters were likable, the plot kept me reading, and our main characters interactions were engaging in this cowboy romance story I'd received a copy and volunteer to read and review.

[Jennifer Brewster · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I’m a huge Kaci Rose fan but this one needed so much work. I feel like maybe the wrong copy got uploaded. There are so many grammatical errors. Like run on sentences, missing commas and incorrect words that make the sentence not make sense anymore.

I loved the trope and the premise of the book but it was very difficult to get past the errors. It made for a very difficult reading experience. Again I genuinely feel like someone uploaded the wrong version. I juuuuust read another book by her yesterday and there were no errors.

[La'Jacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love has a way of showing up when you least expect it. Candy is the curvy librarian that noone relly loks at but North does, even if it started for the wrong reasons. North needed a distraction for a wedding he is forced to be at.

This story shows that love happens in some of the most incon2way and with the the most likely people who started with the idea of fake but not only did it end up real but it happens to be exacyly what is needed.

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

[Book Addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

fake or real

North needs a plan to help him get through the week long wedding festivities of his brother and ex-fiance.
Ben suggested asking Candy (the librarian) to step in as a date of sorts.
These 2 are the best "fake" relationship people you can imagine.
The fake ends up turning into a real relationship that is so strong it blows people away.
What North and Candy show people is do not put your own happiness on hold for family.
Go after what you believe in.

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

[Loreli Jessee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely enjoyed this book with its personable characters. Candy is such an awesome person, so willing to help, she shows a lot of courage. North has gone through a lot with his parents and brother. I love how they both are perfect for each other, it just creates a wonderful atmosphere. The ex is something else, you will be hoping she gets what she deserves till the end. I couldn’t stop reading this book.

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

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. North and Candy are great together. He needs a date for his brothers wedding that he is forced to go to. North's brother is marrying his ex who happened to screw around on him with his brother. North asks Candy to go with him, fake relationship. And they both realize they want more. I loved the play between the two main characters but the 3 is for the proofreading. I don't think there was any. There were a lot of mistakes and at times I had to figure out what the author was trying to say. Other than that it was a good story and I liked the story line.

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute fake dating story that quickly becomes real for Candy and North. It's pretty messed up why North needs Candy's help at the start and I didn't care for the other couple in the story (Vikki and Jake), at all.

There were a lot of typos, grammar errors and one instance of the wrong name used. I think with a bit more editing and proofreading and perhaps expanding the story so it didn't quite feel so rushed through events that this would have been a far superior story.

I received a free copy of this book from the Hot and Bothered Book Club and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Aspen G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken by the Cowboy is super cute! North is adorable and so devoted to Candy from the moment he speaks to her. I loved watching him fall hard and fast for the spunky and fun librarian. Candy is absolutely gorgeous with a kind and loving heart. Her family is so sweet, and her willingness to put herself in awkward situations in support of North is just incredible. Her low self-esteem is a fascinating juxtaposition to her confidence in all other aspects, and the 3rd act drama in this one is quite over the top. The epilogue makes it all worth it though!

[Julianne Macneil · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book as part of an arc program. This is the story of North and Candy. North has to attend his brother's wedding to his ex-girlfriend and he doesn't want to go alone, so he asks Candy is she will pretend to be his girlfriend. They know they have to get to know each other and spend time together before the wedding events, and soon they are both wishing the relationship was real. This was a cute story, filled with some heat. I like that Candy wanted to help North, i think they were good together. Good one.

[Christina Sneeringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy and heart-tugging, North is in the awkward spot of attending his ex's wedding to his brother. Having a date will go a long way toward helping avoid any more awkwardness, so he asks Candy to pretend to be his girlfriend for the wedding events. Heart-tugging sweetness, simmering chemistry, and a sexy cowboy make this holiday-themed romance excellent entertainment. A visit to Walker Lake is always worth the trip.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This started out as fake but sure did not end that way. His ex-girlfriend cheated on him with his brother, and they are getting married. His family is forcing him to go. He wants a plus one, so his friend tells him to ask Candy.

She agreed and is treated like crap by the bride who is the ex. It does have a bit of drama.

North lets them have it at the dinner party. Great story and characters.

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

[Sarah Nielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute fake relationship romance. I really love this trope and this story brought all the warmth and family feel that I have come to expect from Kaci M. Rose. I love that this story was set in Walker Lake and I have been looking forward to hearing more about that town. North and Candy had a great connection and loads of chemistry. I really enjoyed reading their story.

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