Ms. Wilde is a new-to-me author, but I was intrigued by the sweetness of this contemporary romance, so I decided to take a leap of faith. What I received was a sweet romance -- a win-win situation!

Mariah Callahan's father, Dutch, passed away. He and Mariah weren't close -- he had actually abandoned Mariah and her mother -- but his only child was never far from his thoughts. He left his entire ranch to her upon his passing, and given that Mariah's lost her job in Chicago, she believes it's a good time to take in exactly what her father loved more than her.

Joe Daniels is Dutch Callihan's best friend. He's mourning the loss of his young wife and now Dutch's unexpected death has pushed him toward depression. He has big dreams for the cutting horse he and Dutch trained together, so he believes Mariah cannot wait to sell Dutch's property and return to her big-city life.

The Cowboy Takes a Bride is a novel of mistaken impressions. Everyone from Mariah to Joe to the secondary characters involved make wrong assumptions about a specific party, yet continue with their respective beliefs until proven wrong. There are two sides to every story, Clover tells Joe when he complains about Mariah's treatment of Dutch, but Joe isn't convinced of this until Mariah confesses Dutch left she and her mother. We see all the characters grow, personally and in love with their perfect partner.