Book picks similar to
Cowboy Up by Stephanie St. James


romance
cowboys
contemporary-romance
contemporary

Nothing But Trouble


Lisa Mondello - 1999
    So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail... But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money. To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.Excerpt:His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely."Mr. Buxton, I need your help.""Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else." He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts."Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious. And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone."You'll do no such thing." Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."

Leather and Lace


Jessie Evans - 2014
    Descended from Lonesome Point, Texas's founding family, Mia grew up hearing tales of an old Irish curse that had followed the Shermans to America. At age twenty-four, Mia is still terrified of the stories, because they aren't stories. They are a warning about what will happen if Mia allows love and romance into her life. The curse struck Mia's grandmother and her great-great-whatever grandmother, and Mia knows she could be next. The first-born daughter of every generation is cursed to lose her husband on her wedding night, which is one of the many reasons Mia has sworn off relationships.Until the fateful day Sawyer Kane rides his Harley into her life ...Rancher turned restoration expert, Sawyer Kane, can't believe his luck when the feisty owner of the lingerie shop next to his hotel turns out to be the curator of his latest project, a ghost town he's been sent to restore. He's looking forward to long, hot days talking history, and hotter nights with Mia, but the redhead with the killer smile seems determined to keep him at a friendly distance. But when a dangerous man from Mia's past arrives in town, Sawyer finds himself drawn into her inner circle, and into the legend of Lonesome Point itself.Can true love conquer all, even a centuries-old curse? Mia and Sawyer may be the first to find out.

The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride


Cora Seton - 2013
    This latest salvo in his ongoing practical joke battle with his best friend, Rob Matheson, has gone too far, and Ethan plans to send his “bride” right back home, then get busy plotting his revenge. One look at Autumn Leeds changes his mind, however. Perhaps he needs a bride, after all. A breathtakingly beautiful city bride. Autumn Leeds needs a story – fast – or she’s going to lose her lucrative contract with CityPretty Magazine, so when she sees the crazy video plea for a modern mail-order bride for a cowboy, it sounds like the story of the century. Making a video of her own, she casts herself as the perfect mail-order bride for a rancher, but when she finally reaches Montana, she’s surprised to find Ethan’s the perfect cowboy husband-to-be. Against her better judgment, her plan to keep her handsome groom at arm’s length disintegrates into a night of passion spent in his arms.Ethan knows he can’t keep playing this game – he has to come clean with Autumn and tell her the truth; about the practical joke and about the state of his ranch. He’s about to lose it all because of the debts his mother racked up before his parents’ deaths. Now his sister, Claire, wants to sell the ranch and collect what little money they can. He’ll be out of a home and a job, and in no shape to support the bride he desperately wants to marry, after all. Autumn’s in bigger trouble than ever. Not only has she fallen in love with the subject of her expose – she might be carrying his child. If she doesn’t write this article and secure her contract for another year, she’ll lose everything – her career, her apartment, and more importantly, her family’s approval. The only alternative is to stay and marry Ethan. But how can she trust a man she’s just met when she knows too well that men always let you down? Can a love based on lies last?

Adam


Chris Keniston - 2016
    What is it about this secretive redheaded beauty that intrigues him as no woman has before?After learning her fiancé's true nature minutes before her wedding, Meg O'Brien drives as fast and as far away from her world as she can. Stranded with no money, and nowhere to go, the city girl must learn to fit in to small town life and all its quirky trappings. Too bad falling in love with her handsome rescuer is not an option.

Harm's Hunger


Patrice Michelle - 2003
    The last thing she expected was to find her very own rugged, sexy cowboy in Harmon Steel.Harm and Jena forge a white hot connection, but he learned a long time ago that happy-ever-afters don’t exist. Living in-the-moment is the best he has to offer.So what's a girl to do when she finds out the man capable of fulfilling her steamiest fantasies doesn't believe in a happy ending? Given the right set of circumstances, she'll create one for him.Note: HARM'S HUNGER is a novella and meant for mature readers. This is the first story in the hot and steamy BAD IN BOOTS series. All the other books are novel length and each book is a stand alone story.BAD IN BOOTS Series:* HARM'S HUNGER (Book 1) - Novella* TY'S TEMPTATION (Book 2) - Novel* COLT'S CHOICE (Book 3) - Novel* JOSH'S JUSTICE (Book 4) - Novel

Lucky in Love


Carolyn Brown - 2009
    It was a night of passion that has always haunted Lucky. The mysterious beauty he seduced at a cousin's wedding disappeared. He's always been lucky at cards, lucky with cattle, and lucky with land, but he's never been lucky in love. Now Milli Torres has come to southern Oklahoma to help out on her grandfather's ranch. A cut fence and a big, mean Angus bull in the pasture are bad enough, but then she looks up and sees Beau Luckadeau. Great God Almighty, how did he get from Louisiana to Ardmore, Oklahoma, and what in the hell is she going to do if he recognizes her?

The Doctor Wears A Stetson


Anne Marie Novark - 2010
    She lost her heart that night, but his plans didn't change. He left their small town to pursue his dreams.Seventeen years later, a trip home leads Cameron McCade back to Salt Fork, Texas and the newly widowed Jessie Devine. Since his return, the fire between them burns as hot as ever. Can they take up where they left off? Can Jessie risk her heart again?

At the Cowboy's Mercy


Emma Jay - 2012
    Her father, a rodeo cowboy, recently passed away after a long, expensive illness. The medical bills, combined with his habit of gambling and the fact that she had to quit her job to take care of him,has left her homeless and with no place to go but back to the rodeo. She tracks down Luke Delaney, one of her father’s proteges, and asks for help. Luke Delaney thought of Red Stacey as a father. Kennedy didn’t call him when Red was sick, so he didn’t get to say good-bye to the man he loved like a father. He can’t forgive her for that, and turns her away.But when she turns to his brother Liam for help instead,Luke steps forward, partly because of his concern of how his brother the player will treat her, and partly because he knows her father would want him to. Since she’s homeless, she has to stay in his tiny RV. At first close quarters lead to sparring as they fight their attraction--and she fights to have some kind of independence when she’s leaning so heavily on him. But nature can only hold out so long, and despite their better judgement, they give in to their desires. But Kennedy is afraid he’s taking her body in payment, and he’s afraid of the feelings he has for her as he gets to know her again, the feelings he hasn’t let himself feel since they were sixteen years old.

Rocky Mountain Heat


Vivian Arend - 2009
    Responsible oldest of six brothers, Blake Coleman knows his desire for the sweet girl-next-door is wrong. While Jaxi has grown into a western-hat-wearing blonde with slim legs that go on forever, the responsible thing to do is keep his hands off. Jaxi has other plans for Blake's hands, and his heart. She's more than ready to convince him they’d be perfect together, but he can't seem to see past the big "don't touch" sign that's apparently hanging around her neck. When Jaxi ends up living on the Six Pack ranch right under Blake's nose, the undeniable heat between them slides off simmer and up to barn-burning levels. When a couple of Blake’s younger brothers decide Jaxi's brand of trouble is worth getting tangled up with, Blake's going to have to let go the reins and fight for what he really wants—her heart, forever.Warning: Unapologetically sexy, this book contains cowboys seducing and being seduced: in trucks, pool halls, and barns. Drool-worthy country charm, a little double-teaming, and a lot of secrets are revealed as the Coleman family saga begins. Saddle up and ride.Originally published 2011

Slow Ride


Lorelei James - 2010
    The only saving grace is that Jack Donohue is finally hers. Usually her hunky man gives her everything she wants, so why is her groom denying her the one thing she wants right now?Jack thought his secretive wait-for-the-honeymoon plan was romantic, until he realizes he's only put Keely in a fighting mood. If he wants to get back on his temperamental bride's good side, he'd better find a way to sweep his cowgirl off her boots...fast.

Heart of a Cowboy


Tessa Layne - 2016
    That means choosing to love no one and save the settling down for his younger brothers. But one woman has thrown a wrench in those plans – Maddie Hansen, the sexy scientist who also happens to be the daughter of his family’s greatest enemy.The Woman He Shouldn't WantPhysicist Maddie Hansen vows she’ll never come back to the small town where she grew up - Prairie, Kansas. She’d rather stay in a dead-end job than stay trapped in a loveless marriage as a rancher’s wife. But she can’t stay away from Blake, especially after he saved her father’s life.Will their love take them supernova, or collapse into a black hole?Maddie's father owns land that used to belong to the Sinclaires, and Blake will do anything to get it back - including talking Maddie into a fake engagement. But Blake’s got secrets. Big secrets. And when they come to light, will their love withstand the shockwaves?

Silk & Spurs


Cheyenne McCray - 2011
    When Jessie meets Zane Cameron, she finds herself wishing the tall, dark, and gorgeous cowboy was free. Lately, Zane has had the feeling that things aren’t as they seem with his fiancée. When she shows her true colors, he calls off the wedding. Zane feels it’s too soon to fall for another woman, but when he meets Jessie, he just can’t get enough of being around her. It’s not long before the pair gets together and it grows hotter between them than an Arizona summer. But Zane’s ex-fiancée threatens Jessie and everything takes a dangerous turn…and Zane could lose her forever.

A Real Cowboy Never Says No


Stephanie Rowe - 2015
    When a friend calls in a favor, Chase opens his home to a sassy, sexy mom-to-be who needs his protection. But he's not prepared for the sizzling attraction that threatens the shield around his heart.Mira is single, pregnant, and on-the-run. When a distractingly handsome cowboy offers her a marriage of convenience, it's the lifeline she needs. But when she starts to fall for the grumpy bachelor, she realizes that her heart might also be in danger.Can a rugged cowboy who doesn't believe in love fall for a spunky city girl with a baby?If you like sexy cowboys, sassy humor, and heart-melting romance, you'll adore Stephanie Rowe's captivating modern-day marriage-of-convenience story!

Gage


Tess Oliver - 2014
    But his side business of breaking colts at the small Montana ranch he inherited from his grandfather doesn't earn him enough money. He has his mind set on running The Raven's Nest, a popular bar and restaurant near his ranch. The original owner has died and Gage is waiting for it to be put up for sale. But there is a five-foot-four, brown eyed, obstacle in his way, an obstacle with lips made for sin and a voice made for breaking hearts. And Summer Donovan is one road block Gage Barringer won't be able to find a way around.Gage is part of The Barringer Brothers series but can be read as a standalone.

Evidence of Trust


Stacey Joy Netzel - 2014
    It’s a fault that lands her in more danger than she bargains for while camping in the back-country of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Ranger Joel Morgan is used to having the upper hand in all his cases—until he runs into the headstrong blond while investigating disturbing incidents of poaching in the park. Brittany’s imprudent lie of omission awakens ghosts in his past, making the sizzling attraction between them unwelcome. As he searches for evidence he can trust her, the monster mutilating wildlife turns his sights on Brittany, and Joel discovers he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her—even give his own life.