This is the third book and final book in the Star Valley series. The series centers around three ex Navy Seals who has come back to work on the ranch to take care of their friend Jace Valdez”s widowed sister, Tess and her two daughters. Thatch Hearst is the last of the Seal’s to find his happily ever after. He has been flirting with Lyric Valenza throughout the past two books, but after getting rejected by her, has decided to back off. Lyric is attracted to Thatch, but has kept him at arms length due to her past traumatic relationship. When Lyric suspects an abusive relationship between a local teen couple, she decides that a fake relationship with Thatch is the best way to observe them. Why does Thatch go along with this crazy scheme? Well, he has decided to become a competitive Bronc rider, and needs Lyric’s private yoga classes to help him win.. The set up is a little weak, I mean what teenage couple wants to hang out with folks ten years older. If you can get past this set up, the rest of the book is enjoyable. Both Lyric and Thatch have past relationship issues they have to work through, but once they do, they are a great couple. I really enjoyed this series and am a bit sad to see it end. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

This was a beautiful and sweet love story. I look forward to reading the other two books in this series.

Lyric, still reeling from the trauma from her ex, has swore off dating cowboys for good. Even when they are as appealing as Thatch. When Thatch needs a favor, Lyric reluctantly agrees and then finds herself in a fake dating relationship with him which starts crossing all sorts of lines. The sub plot with the teenaged couple made this stand out from the typical fake dating/cowboy romances I’ve read before. That, coupled with their wonderful friend group (although I hated the lying on their behalf) and the townspeople, made this extra enjoyable for me.

This was a quick and fun read. I appreciated that Thatch wasn't as machista as a lot of cowboy heroes are. I did pretty regularly get frustrated with Lyric, especially with the way she handled the teenagers. I know she has some past trauma but I found it really deeply weird to be a 30-year-old kept asking these teens to hang out with her. And then instead of ever playing it cool and trying to build trust, she just immediately reacted in ways that made things way worse. This book also didn't have as much cowboy stuff as I'd expect out of a cowboy romance--to the point that for most of the book, even his closest friends don't know about his cowboy ambitions.

This is the final book in the series though it can be read as a standalone.
This story is one of hope - and is also a reminder that our community of people are there to help us when we are in need or are experiencing difficult times. I love that the MC realises this - as well as pay it forward by helping others.
The story does reference domestic abuse and this may be a trigger for some readers.

Lyric was married to a cowboy, and it was traumatic, she doesn't want to get involved again, but she agrees to fake date Thatch. a second chance at love story.

Counting on a Cowboy is book three in the Star Valley series by Sara Richardson.
This is a western romance I can dig into.
Being in the small Wyoming town of Star Valley was captivating.
I enjoyed the chemistry that developed between Lyric and Thatch.
The story kept me interested and I really cared about what happened to the characters.
The characters in Counting on a Cowboy are amazing but also flawed.
It is a wonderful mix of real-life situations that made this story so realistic to me.
The rest of the book had me turning the pages of a wonderful journey unfolding.
This was a very well written novel, and I am looking forward to reading the previous two.

Thank You NetGalley and Forever for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thatch and Lyric are a great combination, but... Lyric was married to a cowboy before, and it was traumatic. She doesn't want to get involved with anyone and doesn't trust herself or those around her. For some reason, she agrees to help Thatch with his bull-riding endeavor. When they're caught together in her Yoga studio, they decide to "fake date." The characters are believable and endearing, and the setting is perfect for a small-town country. I enjoyed reading it.

A tough tender cowboy agrees to fake date his closed off friend to help her watch out for a young couple she sees too much of herself in, doing it in exchange for yoga lessons to become a better bronc rider! This book is a heartwarming, spicy & bumpy ride!

Thatch was just too patient with Lyric constantly giving her his all & showing up for her while she didn’t do the same which made her soo unlikeable! By the end I had a little more understanding of why she was that way but still wasn’t her biggest fan.

Although it felt a little similar to every other cowboy romance the main thing that stood out from others was the sub plot with Franco & Elina, with both Thatch & Lyric acting like mentors to them both and bringing the community to help them when needed the most! I loved the strong bond between both Aiden, Silas & Thatch and Kyra, Tess & Lyric! Overall this book was filled with so much family, friendship & love it would be impossible not to love it! I really enjoyed it!

Lyric has no interest in getting in another long term relationship after leaving her abusive ex-boyfriend. But then she realizes that fake dating Thatch will get her closer to a teenage girl that she is trying to befriend. That led to a lot of gray areas and mixed emotions between Thatch and Lyric.

Thatch is very patient with Lyric. He gives her too much space in my opinion. Lyric is gun shy when it comes to romantic relationships. So much so that she sabotaged her relationship with Thatch. Yet once again he is patient with her. Boy is she lucky.
I enjoyed reading, Counting on a Cowboy.

Counting on a Cowboy was full of steam, angst and a romance I couldn’t get enough of!

Sarah is my go to for Cowboy romance! She writes such amazing characters and such beautiful settings I can’t get enough of! Lyric and Thatch stole my heart and I don’t want it back!

These two were not love at first sight or even like. They kept their distance from one another at all costs until he needed a favor and she needed one in return! A fake relationship was their solution but what they got was a beautiful friendship that set the foundation for more! If only Lyric can heal from her past!

I absolutely loved Thatch’s patience is why I love him! He was so understanding and had such a beautiful heart! He truly listened and never wavered when he set his mind to something. Lyric was loving, and cared deeply but she had so much to heal from and I love that when needed she listened and learned. Together these two had my heart melting!

I will say i am not a cowboy romance type of girl but i have read a few that have peaked my interest. this book was one of them, i believe my other reader friends who are more into cowboy romances would absolutely love this book, it had good dialogue and the story line was great