Three Cowboys and a Puppy

Kate Pearce

Oct 2023 · Three Cowboys Book 2 · Zebra Books

About this ebook

Three sexy cowboys find their lives upended in surprising ways in this sweet and sexy trilogy of feel-good contemporary westerns from the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Morgantown series.
 
With a thriving cattle ranch and good friends all around, there’s not much Luke Nilsen would change about his life. But when his buddy Noah’s sister comes to visit, Luke begins to wonder if it’s time to change himself—and become the kind of man a sophisticated city woman like her would want. Maybe his female bestie, Bernie Cooper, who runs the local coffee shop, can use her womanly expertise and give him a man makeover . . .
 
Bernie thinks Luke is just fine the way he is—more than fine, even—aside from being blind to the fact that Bernie is perfect for him. But what’s a BFF to do? Perhaps it’s time for her to finally get over Luke and move on. Yet as Luke helps organize their small town’s Adopt a Shelter Dog auction event, one sweet little puppy seems to be on a mission to help Luke realize that the right woman has been right by his side all along . . .

Praise for Three Cowboys and a Baby

“Cowboy romance readers won’t want to miss this.”--Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

Charming opposites attract, friends to lovers romance When Luke separated from the Marines, he brought his two best friends home with him to help run his family ranch in the mountains of Northern California. After a harrowing winter, Luke is still coming to terms with all the trauma he's endured, both in the military and since. Bernie has always had a crush on her best friend, Luke, and now that he's back she can tell that something's wrong. She knows he has a lot to sort through, but there's only so much she can do to help, especially since she's kept busy with her bakery and online business as well as running the local humane society non-profit out of her barn. When Luke asks her to help him get another woman's attentions, she realizes it's past time for her to turn her own attentions elsewhere. I didn't love this book as much as the first one, mainly because I was exasperated with Luke most of the time. He comes across as less mature than he did in the earlier book, and his path to redemption was not nearly as complete as it should have been. Still, Bernie is a delightful character, strong and determined in her own way, and I loved how she was able to find balance in her life without having to give up any of her pursuits. I also appreciated how she was not at all shy about calling Luke out on his stuff and not letting his excuses go unchallenged. I loved the realistic relationship between Luke, Noah, and Max, even with its endless complications. Emotional intimacy is the absolute hardest thing, especially for men, and I really love the way it was addressed here. I adored the friendship between Jen and Bernie, and was happy to see Sally in a larger role. The HEA was a bit of a let-down because while Luke did address a big issue, it wasn't the one that Bernie kept insisting he address throughout the book, which left me feeling a bit like there's still more work to do before their HEA is solid. But, since there will be at least one more book, I'm hoping we'll see more progress for Luke and Bernie in the future. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

One of my favorite things about this story are the puppies–so many puppies and kitties; I just wanted to have them all. When a story has the ability to make me laugh and also shed a few tears then I know it’s a winner for me and this book did all that and more. I’m intrigued by Max, Luke’s friend, who I’m sure will be the MC in the next book. I’m looking forward to reading it. I also hope we hear more from Luke and Bernie. A copy of this book was provided at my request; this is my honest review.

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born in England in the middle of a large family of girls and quickly found that her imagination was far more interesting than real life. After acquiring a degree in history and barely escaping from the British Civil Service alive, she moved to California and then to Hawaii with her kids and her husband and set about reinventing herself as a romance writer. She writes for Kensington, Penguin Random House UK Rouge Romance, Carina and Cleis Press and is known for both her unconventional heroes and her joy at subverting romance cliches. In her spare time she self publishes science fiction erotic romance, historical romance and whatever else she can imagine. You can find Kate at www.katepearce.com, on Facebook as Kate Pearce, and on Twitter @Kate4queen.