Title: Homebound
Author: Meredith Trapp

Homebound hit all the right tropes for a super fun small town cowboy, ( in this case cowgirl), romance. I felt that the story line flowed very well. The scenes that involved the rodeo and bull riding was spot on. The emotions from the female character felt real and raw. The struggles of a single parent were also very well executed. The yearning for one another along with the slow burn was delicious. I was hoping to see more character development for the side characters. Over all I absolutely loved reading a small town COWGIRL romance. Where the female character was the strong bull rider who was following her dreams. This book is perfect for the readers who want a small town, single dad, slow burn, friends to lovers romance read.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this 5/5 star read.

I was sat from the first chapter. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that pulled me in right from the start. I read a lot of hockey and small town romance and Homebound easily made it into my top tier for the genre. I highlighted passages in every chapter.. Wyatt’s yearning and being down bad for Dakota was immaculate, the banter was bantering, and the spice was spicy. I will be recommending Homebound to everyone who is asking for recs with cowboy, small town, single dad, NHL, sunshine x black cat, he falls first.

Wyatt: hockey player and single dad. Dakota: bull rider. While these two started out as childhood friends, Will Wyatt ever make it out of the friendzone?

Overall this book was just okay. I wasn’t wow’d by the romance. The characters fell a little flat to me. I couldn’t connect to any of them. I did appreciate no weird 3rd act break up but that’s about it. Honestly liked Wyatt better in book 1. It just wasn’t for me.

And I have to ask: why in the world did the baby’s name change from Betty to Vienna?? That just baffles me.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Holy smokes. This so so full of craving, in more ways than one. It’s spicy, and lustful, filled with so much love!

This was only my 2nd cowboy romance and I’m so obsessed. What gets more country than a professional bull rider in Texas?!? The scene was SET. You could picture every word, every movement, every little bead of sweat.

The main characters attraction, best friend to lovers, and breaking that barrier. Obsessed.
And there was so breakup- no fight, no miscommunication. Just love. Like yes please.

I am dying because I feel like Book 2 is def going to be focused on Alanna (Barbie) and Willie (Sasquatch) and they are cold blooded enemies. Give it to me, I can feel the tension!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review!

I thought this was really adorable and I genuinely liked the writing style. None of the writing feels forced, and it reads easily. I love the single dad trope, and found the characters to be clearly defined. The tempo of the story could use some editing, the first half of the story felt very drawn out and did not quite match the feeling of the second half. A solid foray into a “cowboy” romance, and u adore that it’s the girl who’s a cowboy this time!

This cover? SUPER ADORABLE! which is what initially caught my attention. The premise had lots of potential. We’ve got bull riding FMC, an adorable kid, a sweet single dad. *swoon*

There were definitely some tender and funny moments. & Wyatt’s definitely an amazing dad. But overall the pacing dragged, the writing got a little repetitive, and the cheesiness went from cute to cringe 🫠

Not totally my vibe, but if you like small-town cowboy/cowgirl romance with spice and heart, you might just love it. I’d still give Meredith Trapp another shot!

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books & Meredith Trapp for this earc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes:
* She’s older
* Rodeo cowgirl
* Hockey player
* He’s been pining for her a longggg time
* Best childhood friends to lovers
* Single dad
* Cinnamon roll & grumpy girl
* He trains her 💪🏻
* Forced proximity
* Summer romance

Thank you to NetGalley, Meredith Trapp, and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really like the dual POV chapters for Wyatt and Dakota. Both are told with great detail into their thoughts and feelings. Wyatt and Dakota are both someone you can tell feel strongly for those they care for most, and that similarity is what eventually gets them together. They challenge each other in the best ways, while also nurturing and supporting when they need it most.

I thought it was interesting to reverse typical tropes romance books by having him as a single dad, and her as a bull riding cowgirl. It made this book really engaging to read because I enjoy going against gender norms. She’s rough around the edges, and he’s the good guy that is polite with good manners, selfless and very caring, and the doting dad.

I also liked that she feels like many women: wanting to break the glass ceiling while also wanting a family. That inner turmoil of feeling like you can’t have both as a woman, especially in such a male-dominated field as bull riding. This author really made strong choices her so that this isn’t just romance, but a great example of women’s fiction.

And Wyatt appreciates her determination and strength, and finds it so attractive and admirable. It’s what he seems to like the most about her. He accepts her for who she is, and doesn’t want her to change for anyone. He’s her biggest supporter and will do whatever it takes to help her prepare for the rodeo. He’s nearly perfect (besides the issue of communication before this book starts, sigh!)

I think my favorite moment of this book was actually earlier on in the book when they go to their spot at the creek and he first makes her see what is possible with him while they hold onto each other in the water. It’s hot and sweet as she first gets to see how much he’s worked on himself and his physique, as well as acknowledging she may actually be attracted to him as he has changed in his confidence.

There’s so many swoon worthy scenes in this book! When he gets her on the dance floor, they’re literally in flames with how he’s sweeping her away with his touch and his words! And when he shows her that she needs to let go on the bull just like she does with him in that moment, I literally melted. He’s EXACTLY what she needs and it’s beautifully written.

Their first time together is both emotional AND steamy (literally and figuratively 😉). It was really detailed to show both how much it’s helping fix her brokenness, and how much he really needed to finally have this with her. Even if it’s not how he wanted it to go, he knows it means so much to them both. They’re both vulnerable in that moment, and it makes it so hot and romantic at the same time.

This book was a perfect summer romance read. I teared up multiple times whenever they were so supportive of each other, of Vienna, and I swooned over them both the whole time. Their ending was perfect and I hope to see them more if there’s more books in the future. She’s the kind of woman I look up to, and he’s the best kind of man! I’m so grateful I got to read this!

Homebound gave me all the feels. ❤️🤠🐂

From the moment Wyatt showed up with his baby girl on his hip, I was hooked! The mix of swoony romance, second chances, and small-town charm made this one of those books you never want to put down (and never want to end)!

Let’s start with Wyatt. This man was written to PERFECTION. Every time he talked about his daughter, my heart did actual somersaults. I think I audibley swooned at multiple parts in this book. 😅 He’s caring, patient, and completely smitten with Dakota, and I couldn’t get enough. Seriously, I would like one Wyatt, please and thank you.

And Dakota? Absolute badass!! As a female bull-rider who’s known as the “Cowboy Killer”, all I can say is "iconic". I loved that she was the grumpy one in the classic grumpy-sunshine pairing. It felt so fresh and fun, and watching her walls slowly come down as she reconnected with Wyatt was so heartwarming.

Their chemistry was off the charts (hello shower scene 😉), but what really stuck with me was how they showed up for each other. There’s so much tenderness between them. Add in baby Vi (so cute!) and their dog Tuna (also cute!), and this little found family completely stole my heart.

There's a few side-characters that definitely caught my attention (hello Willie, Cruz and Lana! 👋) - I'm really hoping we get another story with these guys!

I thought this book was so sweet, between Wyatt trying to win back Dakota, and his adorable daughter. The pining in this book was next level, especially when considering how long Wyatt has had feelings for Dakota. Overall, this book was such a refreshing read!

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did, but it was very well done! The characters were all great and honestly relatable. I have loved Cowboy Romances, but it is nice to see the FMC be the bull rider. She was so relatable to real life and I enjoyed reading the story even more. Let's talk about the MMC because.. oh my.. I would love to see more of these men in real life! The way he's been there for her through the story was just *chef's kiss*

If you want to giggle and read a story that will make you kick your feet in the air... give this a shot!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC!

This was a really cute romance. Dakota and Wyatt are perfect for each other. I love the way Trapp wrote them as good balances for each other. I liked the rodeo aspect of the story, and there were some really great secondary characters. At some points, the story felt a bit repetitive, but overall a really enjoyable, very cute romance.

This was such a fun read, and I was instantly hooked by the fact that Dakota’s a bull rider! I’m a sucker for tough, no-nonsense heroines, especially when she’s the grump in a reverse grumpy-sunshine duo. Dakota was bold, brash, and laugh-out-loud funny (even if she had her eye-roll moments).

Now, Wyatt. This man wasn’t just down bad. He was down catastrophically bad for Dakota, and I ate up every moment of it. He's the single dad of our dreams, a total sweetheart with a filthy mouth, and yes, I loved every minute of his golden retriever energy. He’s been carrying a torch for her since they were kids, and now he’s back with one mission: to win her heart for real this time.

Dakota, meanwhile, is laser-focused on making the PBR drafts and smashing stereotypes in a male-dominated world. On the outside, she’s all grit and scowls. On the inside? She’s navigating a storm of insecurities, and watching her slowly let her guard down was just chef’s kiss.

Their chemistry? Electric. The soft edges, the sharp ones—they just fit. Add in the adorable little Vi, who completely stole the show, and you’ve got a story that’s as heartwarming as it is steamy.

My only wish? More flashbacks. Wyatt’s devotion is clear, but I would've loved a few more concrete glimpses into their shared past to really feel the years he spent loving her from afar.

All in all, this was a fast-paced, low-angst, small-town romance with laugh-out-loud moments, swoony spice, and a heroine who rides bulls while the MMC falls harder than she does off a saddle.

What to Expect:
🧡 Lady Bull Rider x Hockey Player
🧡 Single Dad Done Right
🧡 Childhood Friends-to-Strangers-to-Lovers
🧡 Second Chance Romance
🧡 Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
🧡 Golden Retriever x Black Cat Energy
🧡 Small Town Vibes
🧡 It’s Always Been You
🧡 Forced Proximity Perfection

Thank you to Meredith Trapp, the author, Atria Books, and the NetGalley team for the ARC opportunity!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5

cute friends to lovers. I felt like the romance moved quickly. overall a good book.i had a good time reading it.

Homebound, by Meredith Trapp, is a Western, childhood friends-to-lovers romance set in Texas. The main characters have been friends for most of their lives, but Wyatt, the MMC, has been in love with Dakota, the FMC, for as long as he can remember. He moves back to his parents’ farm for the summer with his infant daughter, intending to win Dakota over.

Dakota is completely focused on becoming a professional bull rider. She spends most of her time working out and training, or with her Dad or her best friend. Her nickname is the “Cowboy Killer”, because she doesn’t have time for a serious relationship. Wyatt, her childhood best friend, comes back into town for the summer, and she is initially upset after he cut off contact with her a few years prior. He is not alone, and brings baby Vienna into Dakota’s life and heart as well.

Wyatt is a true cinnamon-roll character, and his constant thoughts about being in love with Dakota felt a bit excessive at the beginning of the story. As the book continues, and Wyatt and Dakota move towards being more than friends, his confidence and flirtatious nature come out and take Dakota by surprise. I really enjoyed the single Dad story arc, which is not common in contemporary romance. Without spoiling the rest of the story, Dakota and Wyatt find their happy ever after.

While Wyatt’s character was a little too sweet and yearning for my taste, I loved how he completely supported Dakota and her career. His actions made his deep feelings for her evident in every way. He treated her with kindness and deep respect, and both characters really complemented each other. I also really appreciated the positive queer representation in this book, with Wyatt’s parents being two Moms who are incredibly loving and supportive of him and each other. The families in this book were incredible and supported each other so much.

I am really enjoying Western romances right now, and Homebound was a great read. I’m hoping this author continues with Micah’s book next. Hockey players in cowboy boots are like catnip!

Thanks to Meredith Trapp, Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC.

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was really intrigued. As a Texas girl, I grew up around bull riding and having a female lead who was also a take-no-shit bull rider seemed like a great start to a book. Add in the friends-to-lovers aspect and this book should have been a slam dunk. But, to me, the pacing was incredibly off, and the characters didn't grow over the course of the book and ended up feeling incomplete and lackluster.

The pacing issues surprised me, because the author mentions in their foreword that this was a slow burn romance. Unfortunately, the shift between friends and lovers happened too quickly and with very little resolution between Wyatt and Dakota about what happened to have them fall out of contact with each other. He ignored her for three years, and then the second he turns back up, all it takes is an apology for her to get over it? I don't know anyone with that kind of capacity for forgiveness. I feel like he should have had to work more to get her trust back, and their reconciliation should have happened at a much slower pace.

Wyatt and Dakota, as characters, were fine overall, but they were relatively one-dimensional so it was hard to relate to them over the course of the book. I wanted more conflict between the two of them and more of an opportunity for us to get to know them as individuals before they get swept up in each other. There was never any true moments of conflict and after a while, it was harder to continue reading the book.

Not a bad book, per se. It definitely has some really great moments. But for me, I wish I had more development from the author.

This was a cute friends to lovers, cowboy romance. I wanted the hero to have to work a little harder to convince her to date him because it went really fast. I also thought it was a little unbelievable that this man was soooo obsessed with her for his whole life but then ghosted her for three years. All in all, a quick and simple read

I’ve found one of the summer romance that’s about to own your heart and your TBR.💥 Imagine sunshine, sass, swoons, and a cowboy hat or two… yeah, I was hooked.

📖The Vibes:
Granite Falls is giving big summer energy—think sweet tea on a porch swing, denim cutoffs, and the smell of wildflowers in the air. The romance? DELICIOUS.

✨Tropes we live for:
🐎 bull-riding, tough-as-nails FMC
🏒 cinnamon roll NHL player MMC
🏡 small town magic
🍼 swoony single dad energy
🫶 childhood friends to forever
😮‍💨 he's been secretly in love with her since he was a kid
🌞 grumpy girl x sunshine boy (yes, reversed and YES, I’m obsessed)
🚫 no third-act breakup (we love emotional stability)
💛 bonus: he calls her Honey 🥹

Y’all, Dakota and Wyatt? They’re it. From the flirty banter to the deep-rooted history and full-on heart melt moments, I was grinning like a fool the whole time. They’re opposites in the BEST way—and when I tell you he WORSHIPS the ground she walks on?? I mean it.

📚For lovers of:
✨ small town cowboys
✨ hot, doting single dads
✨ grumpy heroines who don’t play games
✨ soft, steady MMCs who’d lasso the moon to make her laugh

Go ahead and one-click this baby. Your summer just got so much hotter.

When I saw the plot for this book, I knew I had to grab it from NetGalley right away. A badass bull-riding heroine? Yes!! Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

On paper, the setup hit all of the marks I enjoy in a cozy western plot: friends-to-lovers, small-town charm, a single dad who falls first (and hard). But the book just didn’t deliver. The story felt like it was checking off boxes rather than truly engaging the reader in the narrative. The writing lacked flow, and the transitions between chapters were often abrupt, making it difficult to stay immersed.

While I did grow fond of both the FMC and MMC, it took effort. Their dynamic often felt immature, with arguments that seemed more fitting for teenagers than grown adults. The reasoning behind her coldness toward him was explained, but it just did not work. The broody female heroine falls for the male golden retriever hero trope is one I enjoy, but here it felt overused and inconsistent. One moment he’s a stressed single parent, the next he's bouncing around happy and giddy.

As for the FMC, I appreciated the author’s attempt to portray her as strong and guarded, and some aspects of her personality worked well. However, there were inconsistencies that made her character feel uneven. For example, she insists on handling things alone after a fall from a bull to avoid appearing weak, but soon after, after falling off again, she accepts help without hesitation. And it is not because she is falling for our MMC, she just accepts it. That is how it is explained in the book. It made it hard to fully connect with her journey.

The subplot involving the ex also felt unnecessary. It didn’t add tension or conflict and seemed thrown in just to tick another trope box. It resolved so quickly and cleanly that it lacked any real impact.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential. But the lack of depth, uneven character development, and flat pacing left me feeling underwhelmed and not wanting more from these characters. I wanted to love it, but in the end, it just didn’t pull me in.

Thank you for an arc copy of this book.

Honestly, I was feeling like this book wasn't for me. The FMC calling everyone “sugar” at the end of just about every sentence is cringey and felt forced. Wyatt complaining about the friend zone for half the book is a choice, he’s supposed to be 26 & a dad but he is whining instead of actually telling Dakota how he feels (or better yet? Showing her). Hitting the half way point, the book started to turn around for me, but not enough for me to love it.

I recommend this book to someone who wants a spicy read without thinking, there are some holes that don’t really make sense and things escalate quickly (and out of character).

I am obsessed!!, this was such a cute, beautiful story. I'm not usually the type for a friends to lovers but this one was done just right!. I loved all the side characters as well, they all had lovely personalities that made this book more enjoyable every chapter. I'm a sucker for cowboy and single dad romance so I knew I was going to have a great time reading this one and I did. It has the right amount of spice and the perfect amount of romance.