I was so excited about reading another cowboy romance, and the fact that this story followed a female bull rider really amped up the excitement to get my hands on it. I’m sorry to say, but this story fell flat for me in so many ways. It took me a very long time to get into the story, and the dialogue between the characters was a little odd.
I didn’t like Dakota as a fmc at all, and she really bothered me. She slept with basically everyone, but didn’t want to give Wyatt a chance solely on the fact that it might ruin the friendship they had. Then what seemed like two pages later, she sees his muscles and decides that she is indeed interested in him? Let’s also not mention the fact that she calls Vienna “our” daughter super early on.
Wyatt was an ok mmc for me. He didn’t do much that stood out to me other than the fact that he is an NHL player, but that was hardly mentioned at all. I don’t see what he saw in Dakota, but the only thing I can fault him for is his choice in women.
All in all, I didn’t hate this book, I feel as though it had great potential and it could have used some more time perfecting.

*Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the arc*

I absolutely loved this single dad x female bull rider romance. I was looking for something like Heartless by Elsie Silver and this definitely delivered. Wyatt was DOWN bad for Fallon. I also loved watching Fallon fall in love with Vi, Wyatt’s daughter. If you are a fan of single dad romances you must check this one out!

Review: Homebound by Meredith Trap

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book! I love small town drama and the cowboys has occupied my attention span recently, so a female bull rider was a fresh take!

Summary:
Dakota Cutler is in a rut. She’s a badass bull rider and she can’t hold on to save her life… or her barely starting career. Her flaming hot fling sizzled out and he ran her name through the mud.

Wyatt Patterson has had enough. He is heading home to get the girl who saved him all those years ago. He saw the headlines. He sees her, even if she’s never seen him.

His return to Granite Falls is not smooth sailing. Dakota is as prickly as the margaritas she drinks. But Wyatt is a patient man. A gentleman who knows his best friend better than anyone. So like any southern gentleman, he charms the pants off Dakota, quite literally.

My opinion:

I had a slow start with this book. Looking back, it wasn’t the pacing. I think it was my adversion for Dakotas character and how she treated the people around her. HOWEVER! I really loved her character development through the story. I enjoyed that the more we learned about her, the more she opened up. I love her love for Vi. Her and Wyatt are yin and yang. I loved how Wyatt really knew how to knock her down a few pegs when she got out of pocket. When Wyatt said “I’d never try to tame her. The only thing you can do is hold on tight to women like her”, I was HOOTIN AND HOLLERIN.

Selfishly, I wanted mister nice guy to rock that Bowman dude in the face, however I can appreciate a nice guy who does not resort to violence.

I would absolutely recommend this to a friend.

This book was everything I needed! The cover had me snatching this arc so fast and it didn’t disappoint!
Single dad, friends to lovers, he falls first, grumpy sunshine.
I loved Dakota being our grumpy female bull rider!
Wyatt being our sunshine single dad trying to win his best friend back but also her love was everything! The banter was top notch and I can’t reccomend this book enough!

I loved how unique this was in the beginning with the female MC being the bull rider and the feisty sarcastic character. I also loved that he was the one pining for her and that he was a single dad. Best friends to lovers, forced proximity and grumpy sunshine were also included traits that had me stoked to read this.

However the story was so slow and boring. Maybe I’m at the point where I’ve read so many cowboy romances that I’m going to be hard to impress, idk. Big overall, I Dnf at 45%

Small town romance without a 3rd act breakup 🙌🏻 he’s a single dad in the NHL, she’s a “cowboy killer” bull rider going pro… can their training sessions turn into something more?

If you love black cat X golden retriever, (childhood) friends to roommates to lovers, slow burn, small town, single parent, cowgirl, forced proximity, hurt/comfort, “it’s always been you,” two step partners, sweet nicknames, and a cute little dog then this is for you! 😮‍💨

Like a kid in a candy shop addicted to all the sugar, I didn’t want this book to end it was so sweet! 😍 thank you @netgalley @atriabooks @authormeredithtrapp for this book!

This was such a cute read.

It gave me all the fun small-town, summer vibes.
This was my first single-parent book, and I adored every second.

The story of Dakota & Wyatt is incredible, and they show so much strength.

There were definitely some parts I wish went a little more in depth with their feelings & growth, but overall I absolutely did enjoy this read.

I was lucky enough to receive this is an ARC, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was so fun!!! the plot had me HOOKED especially the bull riding. I liked that Dakota was the one bull riding and she was a badass. Vienna was also so cute

I loved meeting and getting to know Wyatt and Dakota. Dakota is a strong force to be reckoned with and Wyatt is so protective of her. This is a definite recommend for a great summer read! Anyone who reads it won't be disappointed.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me, so I ended up dnf’ing at about 20%. I love the premise of the story, but the writing and characters fell a little flat for me. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to share my thoughts!

Another great cowboy romance! I love that the FMC, Dakota was a bull rider! Don’t often see women doing that and I feel like it just set her up to be a strong independent woman! I also loved that they have known each other since they were 12 and that Wyatt was finally letting her know he didn’t just want to be friends anymore! Wyatt daughter Vienna was the sweetest! I loved when he shared how he chose her name!! I loved Dakota and Wyatt and was not ready for their story to be over!

This small town, friends to lovers, cowboy romance had some good bones but lost me a few times in execution. Most specifically, the characters often became caricatures of what someone thinks a southern person would be. The speech patterns and language felt a bit cheesy and leaned in just a little too hard to the “southern dialect.” I also feel like more of the backstory around the characters history could have been explored.
I did like the trajectory of the friends to lovers relationship however and it was a quick and easy read.

This was a good book, it felt a little slow in the beginning and a bit repetitive that made it a bit difficult to get into but still a good read.

I loves a western romance with a strong female lead.
Quick read with an easy flow a bit corny but aren’t we all.

First of all I want to thank Atria and Meredith Trapp for an early copy of this book!!
We know how I love me a good cowboy romance!

(Slight spoiler)
THANK GOD FOR NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP

But this story was so sweet! I always love a good childhood friends to lovers and this was just perfect. Adding a child into the mix didn’t ruin it either, honestly it made it more wholesome!

Thanks to Atria and Meredith again for such a great read!

4.25/5 stars
2/5 peppers

cowgirl, hockey player, single dad, friends to lovers, forced proximity, black cat x golden retriever, he falls first, slow burn

Dakota and Wyatt were childhood friends who spent their summers together, but Wyatt was always i love with her. After losing touch for a few years, Wyatt is back for the summer with his little girl determined to win Dakota over. Wyatt was so down bad for Dakota and it was so sweet watching him cheer her on, help her achieve her dreams and have her fall for him and his little girl. These two quickly become roommates and the tension was delicious. This had a slower burn but once it hit it hits!!

Spicy, male female, 1st person dual point of view, contemporary romance. Lots of great tropes -small town, single sweet dad, bull riding grumpy female main character, second chance friends to lovers. This was a cozy, perfect length, easy read.

Yes, yes, and yes! I loved Wyatt’s and Dakota’s childhood best friends, second-chance story. First of all Dakota is such a bad ass woman, she has resilience and so much enviable determination. She really is a true softy at heart. Genuinely loved that she would pick herself back up whenever situations got tough. She was born to be a bull-rider. And Wyatt, a perfect gentleman, a true yearner a perfect calm to Dakota’s storm. I loved how dedicated he was to his daughter and showed the reality of single parenthood. By the way , we need book two the tension between Lana and Willie( not Nelson) needs to be unfolded. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

I want to thank NetGalley, Atria Books and Meredith Trapp for the opportunity to get to know Wyatt and Dakota’s story.

I had a hard time with this book. While I enjoyed the premise of the book I just couldn't connect with the characters. I love when there's a baddie FMC but Dakota no matter how much I tried I couldn't find myself liking her. Wyatt's dad moments were wonderful. I love single dad romances and his was done great. However, he came off as a tad bit desperate when it came to Dakota which I found frustrating. I did love the moments when it talked about their childhood friendship and Dakota's bull riding.

I did find the writing to be easy to read and the descriptions were great. While I think there are plenty of people who would enjoy this it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the gifted ebook.

3.5 stars.

Homebound is a second-chance romance, set in the world of bull riding. Dakota and Wyatt were always inseparable; he was her summer boy. Every summer, he would come with his family from Tennessee to Texas and they would spend every moment possible together. But one summer, Wyatt never came back and stopped answering her calls. Dakota was heartbroken and felt betrayed by Wyatt’s actions. Now, years later, he’s back in town, determined to remind Dakota of all the moments they shared together.

This book was a good read, and it had so many enjoyable moments. Wyatt was so down bad for Dakota. He was the epitome of a golden retriever boyfriend. He went out of his way to care for Dakota and all his moments were super sweet. He also had the cutest kid.

But, there were a few things that just kept me from giving this a higher rating. Firstly, Wyatt was supposedly a famous hockey player, but this was barely mentioned throughout. It was treated more as an afterthought and felt very underdeveloped. Dakota didn’t fully seem committed to Wyatt either. He has been in love with her forever, but for the first half of the book, it felt like she still saw him as the dorky younger guy who followed her around. Once they got together they had good chemistry, but it felt a bit forced with Dakota’s feelings.

Overall, this story is a sweet and easy read with a lovable MMC and a strong second-chance romance trope. While it didn’t completely hit the mark for me, it’s still worth checking out. Unfortunately, it's probably not one I’d return to for a reread.