Reading a cowboy romance novel has all the appeal of the country life, without the dirt and flies. Growing up on a ranch, I experienced it all first hand—working cattle, waking up before the sun, and getting my hands (and clothes) dirtier than I care to admit. Now that I live in the city and have a job as a writer, I still love to relive the nostalgia of country living.
Here are some of the things I miss the most about the country, and everything I love to revisit in a cowboy romance:
- The fresh morning air punctuated with birdsong
- Crickets and bullfrogs singing at night time
- The privacy that only miles of wide open spaces can bring you
- Driving through the pasture with your hand out the window, catching the wind
- The smell of silage in the morning
A cowboy romance brings all of this rushing back, along with some of the best fantasies about dating a cowboy. You get:
- The doors opened for you
- The hat tipped your way
- The strong, rough hands
- The capable confidence
- The strong muscles you can only get on a farm
So when I’m picking up a book with a hero from the country, I have some pretty high standards! These romance novels with cowboys as the heroes are sure to hit the mark!
City Girl vs Country Boy
A High School Love Story by Jordan Ford
One of my favorite dynamics in a cowboy romance is the city girl/country boy aspect. That means we get to see everything that’s wonderful (and cringeworthy) through the eyes of someone new. It’s like watching your favorite move for the first time all over again! Jordan Ford is also an amazing writer in general, so this book definitely won’t disappoint!
Here’s a little about the story:
A kind boy. A grief-stricken girl. A chance for love neither expected…
I’ve just lost everything. My grand plan for college with my best friends has gone up in smoke. I have to look after my siblings now. I’m all they’ve got left.
My parents stated in their will that they want Beck to look after us on his farm.
But why? We haven’t seen him in years. Now two orphaned families are supposed to squish into his crusty old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere?
Five grieving teenagers. This isn’t going to work. But I’ll go. Just for a couple of weeks. That’s what Mum and Dad would want me to do.
What I don’t expect is for Tane to still be living on the farm.
He’s grown up now. He’s gorgeous.
I don’t have room in my life for this kind of attraction, this pull of desire. But his kind eyes and big heart are going to make it impossible for me to resist him.
He told me this land can heal my pain… if only I’ll stay.
Dare You to Resist the Bull Rider
A Sweet Country Romance by Lacy Anderson
Lacy Anderson has an adorable series of high school romances that are sure to hit anyone in the feels, but I am over the moon about her bull rider romance! I remember going to the rodeo every summer and my boy crazy teenage hormones going wild over the bull riders, hoping one would look my way! Here’s a little about the story:
A little dare never hurt anybody...
My sophomore year at Rock Valley High was a total downer. Joining the wrong crowd and nearly getting drowned aren’t exactly things I want to write about on my college admission essays.
But my best friend, Hunter, is moving back home from spending a year on his grandpa’s ranch. With his help, I’m going to win the Junior Rodeo Queen contest and reclaim this summer as the best one ever.
Except...Hunter is different.
In a tight-fitting-jeans, cowboy hat, muscles, and sexy grin kind of way that leaves my knees wobbly.
And did I mention he picked up a talent for bull riding during the year he’s been gone?
So hot.
Falling for my best friend is against the rules we made years ago. Hunter knows it. I know it. But my heart seems to have forgotten, because every time he looks at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes, I want to sink into him.
Maybe we can’t go back to the way things were...
...but just maybe, we might find something even better—despite the rules.
The Cowboy Dilemma
A Standalone Romance by Michelle MacQueen
She was the rich girl from the right side of town, and he was the cowboy returning home.
It was just goats.
Hadley is trouble, as in pulls off the school’s most epic senior prank kind of trouble. She doesn’t think it’s a big deal until the principal hands down her punishment. No school spring break trip to Paris. No spring break at all.
Sentenced to two weeks working for the family she stole the goats from—though she didn’t consider it stealing—she just wants to get it over with. She never imagined working on a ranch was so much physical labor or that there’d be attractive scenery at all times. That scenery… Spencer Lee. He’s the family’s prodigal son returned and working off his sentence of guilt by shadowing the girl he doesn’t want there.
The more time they spend together, the more they realize just how different they are. And that maybe, different is okay. Sometimes, the cowboy does get the princess.
The Cowboy Dilemma is book three in the Gulf City High series, featuring gruff cowboys and a battle of wills they weren’t prepared for. This is a sweet, young adult contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Download it now to see why readers are swooning.
Curvy Girls Can’t Date Cowboys
A Young Adult Contemporary Romance by Kelsie Stelting
Having grown up where I did, I had to include a cowboy in my series, The Curvy Girl Club. In this book, Ginger is a complete city girl, overly sheltered by her parents. Ray is a strong cowboy with a heart of gold but hidden behind walls of stone. He’s gone through some hard situations in his life, but his steadfast personality and protective heart might be exactly what Ginger needs.
Here’s a little bit about the story:
The one thing my parents can’t shelter me from is my heart.
I nearly died the summer of my eighth grade year, and ever since then, my parents have done everything they could to keep me healthy. Now I’m a senior, and instead of feeling safe, I’m suffocating.
When my parents take my twin sisters out of town for an audition, I have my chance to show them that I’m responsible. That I can go to college on my own and start a life outside of their organic food store and Emerson Academy.
All I have to do is turn in all my assignments and have a few quiet nights at home. No problem.
That is, until my video project partner decides to be a total flake. Ray may be hot and fill out a pair of Wrangler jeans like nobody’s business, but he is not ruining my chance at freedom.
I go to his family’s ranch to get his help, but instead discover something else. Could everything my parents taught me be wrong?
Unless I act fast, my quiet weekend will ruin my chance at freedom and wreck my heart faster than the flash of my camera.
More Than His Best Friend
An Adorable Small-town Romance by Sally Henson
Fans of small Midwestern towns, best-friend romances, and country music will fall in love for the first time all over again.
If love is the meaning of life: small town, country girl Regan wants nothing to do with it.
Instead, she would rather take advanced placement classes and stick to the rules her group of high school friends live by, the most important of which being, “no dating within the group."
But when Regan’s best friend Lane kisses her, she finds herself torn between angsty passion and her big dreams of leaving her small town behind.
Sweet, country boy Lane, on the other hand, has been trying to break out of the best friend zone all summer.
But with time running out before he leaves for college, he’ll have to navigate the ensuing drama from friends and family if there’s any hope of convincing Regan to forego her rules and give the two of them the chance he knows they deserve.
More Than His Best Friend is the first book in a passionate and heartwarming young adult romance saga about first loves, close friends, small towns, and big dreams. Fans of friends-to-lovers romances will swoon for Regan and Lane to get together, but just like in real life: happiness can be elusive if you aren’t willing to take a risk.
5 Friends. 3 Rules. 1 kiss that changes everything.
Choosing Your Next Great Read
What are some western romances featuring swoony cowboys that you love to read? I can’t wait to hear from you and discover more cowboy romance for the young at heart! If you’re looking for other stories to read, I have some great posts available! Check these out today!
