The Farmer Takes a Husband: A Small Town Seasoned Romance

Riley is an organic farmer and Deacon is her CPA, who has been taken with her for over a year. When she has a breast cancer scare and the will states that if she is gone, the farm resorts to other family, she is dead set against her cousin getting his hands on it. A quick marriage to Deacon would do the trick and he has a couple of daughters, but without telling him of the cancer it could all fall apart. The characters are treated with great respect amid a cancer scare. I have gone through cancer surgery as well as biopsy for breast cancer, too. It is soooo scary and knowing someone is there to hold you and not leave is an awesome feeling. We celebrated our tenth anniversary with news that it was really gone. That was fifteen years ago. The storyline is terrific, with great heartwarming scenes and intense feelings and emotions. The daughters were amazing, too. Can not wait to read more by this author. Very well done. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Riley came off as abrasive with a thick wall around her preventing anyone from getting too close to hurt her or be hurt if she loses her life to breast cancer. Ever since her mammography showed further testing was needed she was a wreck determined that she was going to die and how could she keep her awful cousin from taking over the farm and destroying it. Her accountant Deke that she spars with regularly offers to marry her to secure the farm, not knowing the real reason why. His daughters were snarky, funny, and wormed their way into Riley's heart even though she didn't want them to. I laughed out loud over her encounters with them and Deke. But I also felt her worry and pain behind the front she put up.

This story was a quick little bite of fun. It takes the marriage of convenience theme and tips it ever so slightly to the side. I love that this series has leading characters that have lived more life. In this case, an unapologetic single woman who has never wanted marriage or even a serious relationship and the divorced single dad of two daughters. I kinda started falling in love with Deacon when we met him in the previous book, and this story pretty much cemented those feelings. Riley was a tougher nut to crack. There were times that her snark and independence came across as just plain mean and that didn’t sit well with me. However, watching her finally get vulnerable with her emotions made it a lot easier to forgive her bad attitude when it reared up. I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout.