There's Something About a Cowboy
1995
- fiction, romance, contemporary
- cowboys, fiction
- fiction, westerns
- anthology
The story
Wildcat by Candace Schiller Texas! At fifteen, Stacey Richards had been wild as range pony - and a hell of a lot more tempting. She’d been like a kid sister to Ben Oakes until then, when she turned from little girl to woman. So, he’d sent her away. Now, after eleven long years, she’s back at Iron Oakes Ranch, scheming to break her grandfather’s will-and Ben Oakes’s heart. The Black Sheep by Susan Fox Wyoming! Banished from her uncle’s house at the age of seventeen, Willa Ross had lost everyone she loved - including Clay Cantrell. The handsome cowboy blamed her for his sister’s death and now, five years later, he’s still blaming her. But Willa’s too damn proud to go to him, cowboy hat in hand, and beg him to listen to the truth - and his heart. Diamond Valley by Margaret Way The Australian Outback! Jay Carradine’s father had built an empire in the outback. Now, the old man’s dying, and Jay and his brother have returned to Diamond Valley to divide up the spoils - which include Brett Sargent, an orphan raised in the Carradine’s homestead. But while Jay makes no secret of the fact that he wants her, he’s still a Carradine’s. He isn’t about to let his head ruled by his heart.
What it’s like
Warm, sun-bleached and unhurried, this is a trio of short category romances set on ranches in Texas, Wyoming and the Australian outback, the kind of book that suits a lazy afternoon, a long-haul flight or a bedtime read with the lamp on. Its prose is brisk and sensory in a bright, slightly theatrical way: dusty corrals and big skies, hot wind across open range, the clatter of hooves and the smell of leather and horses, with dialogue doing much of the heavy lifting. The mood is light and openly romantic, with a steady undercurrent of pride, old grudges and smouldering tension between people who once cared too much. Each story follows a pair of wounded, stubborn lovers slowly forced back together, with plenty of banter, glares and emotional standoffs before the inevitable softening. Physical attraction is present and some scenes turn sensual, though it stays on the simmering side rather than explicit. Violence is minimal, limited to a past tragedy referenced as backstory and the odd bar-room bristle. Best for readers who want a gentle, escapist western-flavoured romance with clear emotional stakes and a happy ending, and for anyone who likes their cowboys brooding and their heroines spirited.
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