Book Review: A Cowboy Kind of Thing
Author: Reese Ryan
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Series: Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Wedding #1
Publish Date: December 14, 2022
Format: eBook
★★★★☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Arguing to Lovers, Ranch Life, and Horses That Bond With Love Interests
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Promise Not to Touch Her Promises or Storylines Mentioning Cheating
Favorite Line: “The man would probably be flirting with and trying to charm the panties off his home health aide when he was one hundred and lying on his deathbed.” ~ Dionna Reed
The Book
He’s Texas. She’s Hollywood…and together they’re playing with fire!
Dionna Reed is in Royal, Texas, to help plan her starlet bestie’s wedding. But when the bride and groom bail, all the planning falls to Dionna…and the too-hot, too-sexy best man who’s convinced Texas can outdo Hollywood for this wedding event of the year. Well, bring it on, cowboy.
Tripp Noble has one week to convince city-slicker Dionna that Royal is the perfect place for his cousin’s wedding—all the while keeping his hands off the gorgeous maid of honor. But cowboys don’t always follow the rules…
my thoughts
Y’all, Category Romances are DOING IT for me right now. Great stories with the perfect amount of steam that you can read in a couple of hours?? CHEF’S KISS. And there are SO MANY great authors writing for Harlequin, but Reese Ryan is quickly becoming a favorite.
First off, let me just say that A Cowboy Kind of Thing is Book #1 of the Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Wedding series. This new series is part of an interconnected world of Texas Cattleman’s Club books that go back to the early aughts. I mention this for two reasons, 1. there are a small number of characters and backstories that will probably resonate more if you have read the other books, but are in no way required to still enjoy the story, and 2. once I realized that there was a previous book, His Until Midnight, that had the lead Tripp as a side character, I paused reading this to read that other one first, but again you don’t have to. You can read my thoughts about His Until Midnight HERE.
It would be easy to classify this as an Enemies to Lovers story as the two leads, Dionna and Tripp, have a bit of a rough start and do argue about almost everything when it comes to the wedding, but I don’t think that label would do this story justice. They aren’t ever really enemies. These two initially meet via video conferencing through mutuals - her BFF and his cousin, who are the couple getting married. Dionna and Tripp are clearly interested in one another before meeting in real life and that initial attraction only grows once they do meet, but like so many people before them, they misjudge each other based on rumors and past histories. It makes for some very bumpy roads on their journey, but man, when it all comes together?? I was legit in tears.
What I loved about their relationship the most though was how they weren’t afraid to mix it up. They argue and tease and make jokes and everything about them screamed ATTRACTION! BUT I’M ALSO NOT A SUCKER! Lol. There’s also a pretty intense third-act break-up that initially seemed harsh, but in the end, I appreciated the very direct, “this was not okay and I’m not okay” communication. Did I think that it lasted a bit too long to be fair to the other person? Maybe, but that just made the ending that much sweeter. I’m hoping we get to see glimpses of them again in the future TCC: The Wedding books and that they are still making jokes, lol.
about the Author
Reese Ryan is the author of twenty published works of romantic fiction and counting. Her stories feature a cast of flawed, complex characters. She presents her characters with family and career drama, challenging love interests, and life-changing secrets while treating readers to an emotional love story with unexpected twists.
Born and raised in the Midwest, she now resides in Central North Carolina. She treads the line carefully between being a Northerner and a damned Yankee, despite her insistence on calling soda pop. She gauges her progress by the number of “bless your lil’ hearts” she receives each week. She is currently down to two.
Reese, an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction, is the past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter, a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and the 2018 Donna Hill Breakout Author.
Connect with Reese Ryan:
Website / Newsletter / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Pinterest.