Ten years turned her into a champion and him into a cowboy looking for a fresh start.

Roped in by her sisters, Merry Grayson is home in Last Stand, Texas, for Christmas and a charity event at the Three Sisters Ranch. She’s shocked to run into her bad-boy ex-boyfriend. She thought he was still in prison, and if he’d ratted her out all those years ago, she would’ve done time too. Instead, Merry had seized her second chance and made a career in rodeo—trying to forget her rebel past and the boy who stole her heart.

Simon Reynolds is determined to move on. He never regretted protecting Merry when his Robin Hood heist failed. After his father had hung him out to dry, the thought of her warmth and beauty kept him going. Simon knows he needs to let go of his past, but the sparks and chemistry are as volatile as ever and he feels himself being pulled back in.

Christmas is a time for miracles. Is asking Santa for a second chance at love too much?

Titles in the Three Sisters Ranch series include – The Cowboy’s Daughter —♥— The Cowboy’s Hunt —♥— The Cowboy’s Heart —♥— A Cowboy for April —♥— A Cowboy for June —♥— A Cowboy for Merry —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

(This series is part of the Last Stand, Texas group of connecting series. Think Marietta, Montana– Tule Publishing’s other large set of somewhat connecting series set in a fictional town.)  Visit the Last Stand Texas page for series that have been reviewed here at Happily Ever After Romance.

Booksprout ARC

Title:  A Cowboy for Merry
Series:  Three Sisters Ranch #6
Author:  Jamie K. Schmidt
Genre:  Modern Western Romance
Published:  November 15, 2022
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

I have enjoyed the Three Sisters Ranch series so much over the past few years.  And we finally get Merry’s story in A Cowboy for Merry.  I suspect this is the wrap-up conclusion to this series, and if so, well, what an amazing ride it’s been watching these couples fall in love – most often, in spite of themselves.

Simon and Merry have a history, and not only a romantic history.  It was Merry that Simon was with when the owner of the house they were in, and the car they’d been driving showed up guns blazing.  Simon went to prison, Merry escaped into the night, and on to a successful rodeo career.  Now Simon’s time is up, Merry’s career is winding down and both will encounter each other again where it all began for them, back in Last Stand, Texas.

I’ve met some stubborn couples in my years of reading romance, but Merry and Simon have to be among the top ten at stubbornness, bullheadedness, and crossing lines they’ll come to regret.  The love and the passion between them haven’t died down over the years, but their stubbornness may have hiked up a few notches.  Since Simon has been assigned to the Three Sisters Ranch as his first stop outside of prison, it’s inevitable that they’ll run into each other but one is determined to get answers and continue to explore the feelings that never died – the other is cautious, reluctant to bring the woman he’s coming to love into the backlash that being with an ex-convict may cause for her career or her personal life.  Between the passion that has only grown during their separation and the crossing of lines that each should have avoided, their romance is a bit on the volatile side.  And that fits them perfectly.

Add to their mix – father issues for them both.  I completely understood Simon’s position – Merry’s was a bit harder to accept given the circumstances.  Yet, they each dealt in their own way, and each learned lessons from those situations.  A Cowboy for Merry is charged with emotions, the kind that can blow up in a couple’s face if they aren’t careful… and careful is a word that neither understands all that well.  I loved my time back in this world and was given the chance to catch up just a bit with the other characters I’ve come to love in this series.

If you’re in the mood for a well-written, emotional, passionate romance then this one is perfect for you.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or author’s team via Booksprout. The opinions expressed in this review are my own – good, bad, or indifferent.*

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