A Rancher’s Reward: A Western Fake Date Romance

Critch’s (Turning Up the Heat) first Harlequin Desire title uses some well-known tropes, but her writing keeps them fresh. Garrett Hardwell needs a wife in order to inherit his grandfather’s ranch—what better person than Willa Statler, the sister of his best friend and a woman he spent one passionate night with and can’t keep out of his mind? Willa agrees because the money Garrett has promised will help her fulfill a lifelong dream. Willa and Garrett are both practical characters, and readers will enjoy the way that they let emotions overtake their logical plans. While they try to keep apart, the passion between them frequently overwhelms them. Critch allows the relationship to develop naturally, and readers will see the love growing between them before the characters will even allow themselves to consider it.