So, I Guess Wild Cowboys Can Be Tamed...

TITLE: Wyatt (Lucky River Ranch #2)

AUTHOR: Jessica Peterson

PUBLISHER: Bloom Books

PUBLISHING DATE: August 19, 2025

PAGES: 412   

SOURCE: KU

FROM GOODREADS: Wyatt Rivers is the perfect no-strings hookup—a cowboy Casanova who rocks a Stetson, looks smokin’ hot in his Wranglers, and never rests his head on the same pillow twice. 

He’s exactly what I’m looking for. If only Wyatt wasn’t also my best friend… 

I’m back in my hometown of Hartsville, Texas, for a few months while I wait for my dream job to start thousands of miles away. While I’m here, I hope to end an epic dry spell in the bedroom, preferably with a local cowboy. If the rumors are true, they really do ride harder and stay on longer. 

Wyatt and I have been best friends since second grade, and I’ve been in love with him for almost as long. But he’s as wild and untamed as a colt that can’t be broken—not to mention, totally out of my league with his good looks and heartbreaker reputation. 

Then I get to thinking: since Wyatt is such an expert, why doesn’t he teach me the ropes of how to find a hookup? He begrudgingly agrees, and a little fake flirting suddenly leads to fake dating, which leads to real kissing, which leads to real…well, everything else. 

And let me just say, the rumors are absolutely true. 

Now, I want so badly to be Wyatt’s last rodeo. But I’m leaving town, and even if I wasn’t, I’m not sure Wyatt would ever change his playboy ways. 

I know cowboys can’t be tamed. Apparently, neither can hearts…

MY THOUGHTS: I sometimes wonder if this author isn't trying to see how many tropes she put in each book in this series but lucky for me, it's working and I'm really enjoying this series and can't wait to read more (spoiler alert - I've already read the third one as well).

Wyatt is the second Rivers brother the series visits.  He has always been a playboy, on and off the ranch, and in his spare time, loves gambling at the local watering hole in town.  However, Wyatt can't settle down because he is secretly in love with his best friend since second grade.

Sally is the daughter of the local ranch vet.  She went away to school and has worked her way to one of the best large animal vets in the country.  She has just been offered a prestigious job in New York doing what she loves, but deep down, she can't decide if she is living her dad's dream or her own.  Sally hasn't spent a lot of time dating and wants to cut loose one last time before she leaves town.  She has had a huge crush on her best friend for years but believes she is out of her league.  She convinces him to help coach her out of shell by fake dating and making another local cowboy jealous.  What can go wrong?  Apparently, lots but in the end, both may end up right where they belong.

Once again, Peterson takes a spicy romance novel and deepens it with character development and some pretty deep side stories.  Wyatt's mom and dad died when he was a teen, and their deaths hit him really hard.  He continues to struggle with how this incident impacted his life and made him who he is today.  It may also explain why he has such a hard time settling down.  Sally has always been Wyatt's go-to person, even when she was away at school.  I liked Sally as a character but wished she had a little more self confidence in the beginning but then I guess we might not have had such a lengthy book. 

Friends-to-lovers is a trope that doesn't bother me but I'm not always on board for fake dating.  However, it really worked in this book.  Perhaps I'm just still in my cowboy romance era which if you had told me ten years ago it would happen, I might have called you crazy.  I recommend this to anyone looking for a romance with a bit more plot than some and quite a bit of spice.  I still think I enjoyed book one a tad bit more but not by much.  

MY RATING: 4 PAWS