Book Review: Cowboy Ever After
I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Jennie Marts
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
Publish Date: June 28, 2022
Format: eBook
★★★★☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Fish-Out-of-Water Stories and Small Town Settings
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Cowboys and Ranch Life or Stories with Dead Spouses
Favorite Line: "Let's go get our girls." ~ Luke
The Book
Kaylee Collins, a shy city-dweller, is writing a Western romance—and getting the details wrong. Her editor insists that Kaylee learn more about country life by spending a week at a working ranch. Kaylee reluctantly agrees as long as she can bring Gladys, her slightly overweight Corgi.
To rustle up her courage, Kaylee channels the spirit of the fearless heroine of her story. But she’s shocked when she meets Luke Montgomery—the spitting image of her handsome cowboy hero!
As far as Luke’s concerned, Kaylee’s books are pure fantasy. Love hurts, and he should know: he lost his wife a few years back. But he finds himself amused, and then enchanted, by this woman who bravely tries new things and whose heart seems to be as big as the Montana sky. Can they both dare to start a new chapter together?
The Review
Do you ever think that books appear in your life, right when they are meant to? Like in some way, the cosmos/fate/whathaveyou knows the moment to send you a story that will be absolutely perfect for your current season of life?
Y’all, that’s what happened to me with Cowboy Ever After. I mean, I knew ahead of time that I would enjoy this book as I was a fan of Recusing Harmony Ranch, Jennie Mart’s first book with Hallmark Publishing, but this story?? It was everything I didn’t know I needed.
First off, let’s talk about the leads, Kaylee and Luke. Kaylee is a romance author living the Introverted Life of my Dreams in Chicago. She can write the hell out of some characters and scenes for her books, but when it comes to real-life she’s constantly worried that she will say or do the wrong thing, so she just stays at home. My guy Luke is a widower who is basically just going through the motions of life. He gets up, he works on the ranch, he goes to bed - wash, rinse, repeat. It’s not until Kaylee shows up (in the most awkward first meeting ever, lol) and turns his life upside down that he realizes just how numb he has been all these years.
Listen, their relationship was a DELIGHT from their first meeting to their first kiss. It was everything that I love to remember about falling in love. Hesitant touches. Almost kisses. Wondering what the other person meant when they said something? All of those butterflies that take over and make everything dreamy - yeah, it was all there. And it worked because these two were together for most of the book. There was no business proposal to execute, an event to plan, or even a villain to take time away from these two. It was just Kaylee and Luke, working together on the ranch and getting to know one another. Each step that they took towards one another felt natural and breathless in that way that first attractions can make you feel. I loved every moment of their story. Even when the dreaded Third Act Break-up happened.
I think a lot of the hate for the Third Act Break-up is because sometimes it feels like a box to check in the story as opposed to something that shows what the characters have learned and/or if they have changed. A moment in the characters' lives where they have to make a choice on whether or not they want to try and make things work. It’s their realization that it IS worth the risk and then they CHOOSE EACH OTHER AGAIN that makes that moment the Romance Reader Money Shot. In Cowboy Ever After, these two find themselves questioning who they really are and what they could realistically offer each other in terms of a future together. It’s a painful scene to be sure, but it made sense that these two would backtrack and let fear take over. And the way they come back together?? Y’all, I don’t want to ruin it, but it wasn’t at all what I expected to happen - in a good way.
Add in a clever, ten-year-old girl named Emma, a pair of Very Good Doggos, a town full of people who very much look out for one another, gorgeous descriptions of Montana, and an unexpected reveal/twist at the end and you have an idyllic summer read.
The Author
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.