New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard. She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.

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She nodded. Grassroots Winery sat in between the towns of Copper Ridge and Gold Valley, and Olivia worked predominantly in the dining room at the winery itself. It wasn’t, she supposed, the most ambitious job, which usually didn’t bother her. She liked the ambiance of the place, and she enjoyed the work itself. But she had always assumed that she would marry a rancher and help him work his land. Make a home for them. The way her parents had done. That seemed silly now that she was single, and there was no rancher in her future.

She had been sure that by now Bennett would have come back to her. Was sure that breaking up with him would make him realize that he had to commit or he could lose her.

Except he seemed all right with losing her. And that was terrible because she was not all right with losing him.

With losing that vision of her future that she had held on to for so long.

“How will I get home?” she asked.

“I could help you out with that, too, but I’ll have your car in working order by then.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you being nice to me?”

That wicked grin of his broadened. “I’m always nice.”

She let out an exasperated sound and clicked the lock button on her key fob before climbing into the passenger side of his truck. She struggled to get in because of her skirt and nylons, but finally shut the massive, heavy door behind her.

“Thank you,” she said, knowing she sounded ridiculously prim and not really able to do anything about it. She was prim.

She grabbed hold of the seat belt, then pulled it forward, having to wiggle it slightly to get it to click. His truck was a hazard. She straightened, held tightly to her handbag and stared straight ahead.

“You’re welcome,” he said, stretching his arm over the back of the bench seat. His other forearm rested casually over the steering wheel. His cowboy hat was pushed back on his head, shirtsleeves pushed up past his elbows, forearms streaked with dirt as if he had already been working today. Which meant that he had likely been out at Get Out of Dodge before driving down toward town. She wondered if he had seen Bennett.

“Were you out at the Dodge place today?” She tried to ask casually.

“You want to know if I saw your boyfriend,” Luke said. Not a question. A statement. Like he knew her.

And this, in a nutshell, was why she didn’t really like Luke. He had a nasty habit of saying the one thing that she wished he wouldn’t. With a kind of unerring consistency that made her suspect he did it on purpose.

“He’s not my boyfriend. Not anymore.”

“Still. You’re wondering about him.”

“Of course I wonder about him. I dated Bennett for a year. I’m not going to just…not wonder about him suddenly.”

“I expect, Olivia, that you could go down to Get Out of Dodge on your own pretty feet and find out how he’s doing for yourself if you had half a mind to.”

I have always considered myself to be someone who is not a fan of cowboy romances. I'm not really sure how that came about either. I think that because I live in Texas, I feel like people expect me to like cowboys and I've always favored nerdy artist types instead. Anyway, when I saw this one available for review there was just something about it that grabbed my attention. The good news is that I am now changing my stance on cowboy romances. I have become a fan and it is all thanks to Maisey Yates.

This is the story of the good girl who had her life all planned out until the one day that life didn't follow her plans. When her long-time boyfriend, Bennett, failed to propose, Olivia's life is upturned. In order to attempt to get the results that she wants, Olivia agrees to pretend to date Bennett's friend Luke to make Bennett jealous.

Luke Hollister is looking to put down some roots. When he discovers that Olivia's dad owns a piece of land that he would like to buy, Luke proposes a deal to Olivia; he helps her make Bennett and she puts in a good word with her dad for the land.

Smooth-Talking Cowboy incorporates several of my favorite tropes. There is a little bit of a love triangle, along with the fake boyfriend, enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends thing going on. I loved that Luke and Olivia have history, but one that they need to work through.

The chemistry between Luke and Olivia is off the charts. I usually roll my eyes at virgins in love stories now, but it really works here for Olivia. It absolutely fits with her personality and her relationship with Bennett.

The side characters were every bit as engaging as the main ones. I am already rooting for certain characters to be featured in upcoming novels from Maisey Yates.

Thanks to the author and publisher who provided an ARC for free. And thank you, Maisey Yates, for making me a cowboy romance convert.

4.25 out of 5 Stars