The Outback Bachelor Ball series is three stories with three different HEAs. The set-up:

Three unlucky-in-love girlfriends make a road trip to the Outback Bachelor & Spinster Ball, a highlight of rural Australian life. One’s looking to move on, one’s thumbing her nose at romance, and one’s looking to slip away and hide. None of them are looking for love…

Three women are about to meet their match in a cowboy, a soldier and a country rock star.

One magical night.

One less than magical morning after.

Forty-eight hours can change your life.

Each of these three books are about 150 pages, which makes for a nice, quick read. I read them all in order, but they would do just fine as stand alones.

Win Me by Joan Kilby

Feisty, fearless Ellie McFarlane has tried forever to get cattle station manager, Rick Drummond, to notice she’s not another cowhand. So when her gal pals talk her into glamming up for an Outback Bachelor and Spinster ball she’s eager to prove she’s all woman, all the time, and leave her boneheaded cowboy eating dust.

Sexy wrangler Rick is crazy about Ellie just as she is but her father – his boss – told him long ago that his daughter was off limits. Even though she’s all grown up now, Rick still feels it’s his job is to protect her, not seduce her. Plus, he’s finally got an opportunity to buy back his family farm, which means moving far away.

Ellie’s transformation from Cinder-Ellie to belle of the ball has Rick’s jaw dropping – and all the other cowboys falling at her feet. Ellie tries to revel in her new-found sex-pot status but without Rick it’s a hollow victory. Has Rick left it too late to claim the only woman he’ll ever truly love….

This is a nice friends to lovers, or even more – “hero feels like heroine is his little sister” romance. They both know each other well and have Ellie’s farm as a shared passion. She leaves for the US for a few years though, and tries to move on from crushing on Rick but when she moves back, she realizes her feelings are just as strong. Unknown to her, Rick feels the same way. When Ellie decides to go to the Bachelor and Spinster ball, Rick feels jealously rising up, which brings out his true feelings. There is some miscommunication towards the end and I think the HEA/marriage proposal felt a little too rushed. But overall sweet and cute.

Grade: B- l Goodreads l Kindle

Woo Me by Karina Bliss

Disillusioned in love, Jen Tremaine is done with men. So when her best friends dare her to wear a cow costume to their reunion at an Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball, she’s all over it. Who would have thought dressing as a heifer would make her irresistible to a bunch of lasso-twirling, drunken cowboys?

Maybe you should have thought this through, says the sexy security guard who keeps finding her at the center of trouble. Even though Jen’s always dismissed soul mates as a load of bull, the sizzle between them is making her wonder: What if you met The One while wandering lonely as a cow? Would you find the courage to become a believer?

When ex-Special Forces soldier Logan Turner is roped into helping out with security at the B&S ball, he isn’t expecting to find love – but after months in all-male company he sure is hoping for lust. He certainly isn’t expecting to fall for a feisty, funny, trouble-making Cowderella. Only problem is, she’s leaving Australia tomorrow. Convincing Jen they can still have a future together may wind up being the toughest mission of his life.

Jen always plans things as best she can, so when a man who is recently separated from his wife shows interest in her, she waits for him to officially divorce and move on before dating him. But some time later, that man has decided to go back to his ex, leaving Jen miserable. Going to the Bachelor and Spinster ball with her best girlfriends, she drunkenly accepts a dare to wear a cow suit (with a bow tie so she can be dressed in black tie) to the dance. She feels ridiculous and is immediately hot and sweaty. But she knows it makes her two friends laugh and since they are going through a hard time, it’s worth it.

Logan gets forced to work security at this event and notices the cow right away. He notices the cow even more when she takes off her head. After she swaps the cow suit for something less hot, he starts to refer to her as “Cowderella.” She even leaves him at midnight and he must go hunting the next morning to try to find her. So swoony. They have great chemistry together.

Grade: B l Goodreads l Kindle

Wait for Me by Sarah Mayberry

Beth Walker hasn’t just been burned by her philandering country music star ex, she’s been barbecued to a crisp. Coming home to Australia and into the arms of her best friends is exactly the balm she needs. Cocktails and laughter at an Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball seem like the perfect distraction. Until she bumps into the last person she wants seeing her heartsick and pathetic — Jonah Masters, rising country music star and witness to the failure of her marriage. If only she’d met Jonah first. Now she’s broken and won’t ask him to wait until she heals.

Jonah can’t believe he and Beth are finally standing under the same stars. The connection they shared on the road years ago has haunted him but he wouldn’t pursue a married woman. Now she’s free, and Jonah can’t refuse the one night Beth impulsively offers. Can he convince the woman he’s always loved that he’ll wait — however long it takes — for her trust?

Beth and Jonah met while on tour – Beth’s husband and Jonah are big time country music stars. Beth took an immediate liking to Jonah, and always had fun chatting with him. But now her life is crumbling. Tabloid rumors swirled for years about her husband, but she never took it seriously. Now the truth has come out that he indeed have an affair – actually 34 affairs, and Beth is devastated she was duped. By chance, she runs into Jonah and the Bachelor ball, as he is the last minute music guest. Beth takes all the blame for the affair, feeling that if she had listened to rumors, she could have left before it got horrible. Jonah is a good guy – a sexy, good guy who has always cared for Beth. They meet – and Beth throws caution to the wind for a passionate night with Jonah. It’s hot. Beth has to work through her feelings but spoiler alert! It all works out in the end. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Grade: B+ l Goodreads l Kindle

Today, I have a lovely giveaway from the authors of this series! Included:

Tote bag, mouse pad (mouse not included), packet of Tim Tam Biscuits and all three of the Outback Bachelor Ball ebooks!!

There will be one winner – all are allowed to enter – just leave a comment. I’ll choose a winner on Thursday