Usually not into the cowboy romance type books, but I finished this book in less than 24 hours. Very cute and cozy read. Wyatt seemed like the type of man that all of us girls need in our lives and I loved every single minute of him.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for a review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Homebound! It's a slow burn, childhood friendship to lovers romance. Our FMC, Dakota, is a fiery strong woman, and Wyatt, MMC, is her patient and kind opposite. What I enjoyed most about this was Wyatt's character. He was so confident and secure that he was able to create a space for Dakota to just be herself, and he never judged her. He was such a great example of healthy masculinity in this novel.

However, I found Dakota to not be the most likeable character in the beginning. I kept getting frustrated with her and her attitude and had a hard time relating to her or just feeling any sympathy towards her. In my opinion, she is the type of character that you can only truly like once Wyatt brings out some of her better qualities.

Overall, I would definitely want to read more from this author and with how the book is set up with some side characters, I'm thinking there might be another story in the making?

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC 💕

I flew through this one very quickly and really enjoyed it. It’s a nice small town best friend turned lovers story with a refreshing twist on the expected.

I enjoyed seeing Dakota struggle to find her footing as the bull rider of this relationship and the support she received (and didn’t) throughout.

The writing style was not for me, but thats a personal preference and not so much an author or editing fault. It relies a lot more on telling rather than showing, so I found it to be a bit repetitive in some places but I don’t agree on removing a star for a personal preference.

I do wish we had gotten more time with them. I would have loved some more chapters to draw out their story a little more! And Vi! More Vi 🥰

I also really appreciate the side characters! They weren’t mentioned once and then forgotten, they kept appearing, and we love supportive besties!

The spice was spicy! There was a good amount, not too little not too much. We got comfort. We got love. We got some public. A little bit of everything!

If you’re looking for nice chill story you can binge in a day or so, this is a great one to pick up!

I loved the characters and the found family dynamic created between Wyatt and Dakota. I liked this book a lot better than Icebound. It was great summer read, and the premise was sweet. I am giving it 4 stars because at some points the romance was a little too dry or slow.

“Dakota and Wyatt. Storm and Sunshine.”

Wyatt Patterson has been in love with his childhood friend for years. He’s been stuck in the friend zone since kids and came home after three years from hockey to find a way to get the love his life for good.

Kodie Cutler, the Cowboy Killer AkA Dakota is mad as hell that her bestie ghosted her for three years and decides to come back surprisingly… and with an adorable baby in his hip.

Dakota has always been blinded by Wyatt’s feelings for her but he came back from playing pro hockey and he’s suddenly.. a man now. He’s different. And a dad.
Dakota is a bull rider and is hyper focused on her career but this slowwwww burn is so so good. The story is 10/10. The characters 10/10. I love the banter and setting. (Sexy cowboys for the win)

“Wyatt Patterson has shattered the image I had in my head of the golden-boy-single-dad who likes making floral arrangements. I mean, he's still that guy, but he's also the man I can't get out of my head now.”

Once Wyatt takes the bull by the horns and makes Dakota see what’s been in front of her this whole time?! Well… it creates the romance of a lifetime. I completely fell in love with these two. Kinda obsessed actually.

It’s the alpha female vs golden retriever single daddy
It’s the cowboy/cowgirl bull riding plot
It’s the swoony romance of he finally gets his girl
It’s the accents I read in my head that these characters have
It’s all the shower sex
It’s the side characters

Someone give daddy Cutler a book already. 😂

10/10. This book is one of my favorites of the year.

⭐️And for you first time parents, it’s normal for babies to start walking between 9-18 months. Please don’t freak like Wyatt if your child isn’t walking on their first birthday. Relax. Enjoy your baby.
Signed - Mom of four and the World Health Organization. Lol 💜

Absolutely loved this book! A heartwarming small-town romance featuring a badass bull rider and a swoony single dad. Childhood friends to lovers, and he comes back determined to win her over 🥰 Watching her slowly fall in love with his daughter—and then with him—had my heart melting. I was grinning like an idiot the entire time. Pure comfort read!

Thought this book was really cute. Loved the perspective of the female being the bull rider. At first I was upset that Wyatt didn’t get in contact with Dakota. Such a good read and now I’ll need to go back and read the first one.

Rating: 5⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️


Dakota is a bull rider, hoping to make it big in the Professional Bull Rider circuit. She is also trying to get past things that her ex said about her in an interview, that’s caused her to get into her head.

Wyatt is a new dad to Vienna, who is trying to prove to Dakota that he is more than just a boy who used to spend summers with her, and that he’s worth a shot.

When he starts helping her work out, she starts to notice he is more than just a boy from her past.

Can Vienna help her dad win Dakota over?

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for access to the ARC in exchange for this honest review!

I initially was drawn in by the cover and the setting. This was my second “cowboy” romance, but really it’s my first cowgirl romance.

Dakota is a strong FMC, but she is vulnerable in ways that make sense. You see two sides of her, which I appreciate. A girl has weaknesses, but she doesn’t like to show them to others.

I fell in love with Wyatt. He has been obsessed with her since they were kids, which totally explains the pining. I love that he’s a single father, and he cares deeply for his daughter.

The second half of this book is quite the turnaround from the first half. I feel like the first half is a little sad and kind of trying to make-up for mistakes made. The second half… spice and romance.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ So much romance. I loved it. They are the sweetest pairing.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ This was some ghost pepper level spice for me. It took me a little off-guard because I have been reading mild to no spice books. Spice lovers will enjoy it.

Overall, I enjoyed this read for many reasons.

I am so appreciative for this ARC read. This ARC was provided by the Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For western lovers out there, who enjoy all things rodeo, this story follows a complex pair who have a thing for one another.

Dakota is a Texas bull rider with a reputation. She is as tough as they come, but deep down has the biggest heart.

Wyatt is Dakota’s childhood friend. He has always worshipped and understood Dakota but when feelings started to develop, Wyatt always maintained they were only friends.

Now that they are reunited, living in close proximity with Wyatt’s daughter in tow, things get even more complicated… steamy at that, and borderline dark. (with the appropriate trigger warnings) Dakota not only falls for the little girl, but she also sees a whole other side to Wyatt and wonders what if they were not only friends. Next to her father, Wyatt is Dakota’s biggest supporter, he shows it in spades. They give themselves a chance to be together.

This book is the opposite of a cozy small-town story. The characters are messy, passionate, driven and ultimately open up to one another. The outdoor shower scenes move the plot along. The rodeo scenes are real. And the two stepping is everything, go forth and find your cowboy!

Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an e-ARC of this via Netgalley.

✨CowGIRL romance
✨bull rider x hockey player
✨childhood friends to lovers

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reading copy in exchange for a review!

When both characters are a red flag...it's gonna be a yeeNAW for me, cowboy!

Wyatt and Dakota have spent every summer together, as Wyatt's moms own a flower farm near Dakota's home, but now they aren't speaking as Wyatt never came back after one summer. It's 3 years after that fateful summer. Wyatt is an NHL star, as well as a single dad, and Dakota is one of Texas's toughest FEMALE bullriders. Despite walking away 3 years ago, Wyatt has never gotten over his secret crush and unrequited love for Dakota. When he returns to town for the summer to help out on his family's farm, he ends up moving in with Dakota, as she currently lives on his family's property in exchange for her help at the flower farm. What could happen?

First off, I love that the bull rider in this cowboy romance book is a woman!! This was such a bad ass decision and I am here for it even if it is unrealistic - I don't think there are any women in the PBR? not 100% sure. I liked certain parts of this book, but others not so much. I think this was because there were a few plot holes throughout the book, and the writing was not the strongest as the first half of the book felt a bit slow, and then there started to be drama and things picked up a bit. A lot of repetition of some phrases as well. Wyatt was a bit too much of a softie, golden retreiver type in the beginning while Dakota was just wild (fucking dudes left and right - I get not wanting to get hurt, I'm all for fucking around, but to have the nickname of Cowboy Killer in your workplace is kind of wild lol). Phew though the hay bale scene oh yeah and the shower scene spicy lol I also thought there were some really sweet scenes in the second half of the book, such as the fiddle scene at the bar.

The book does have me curious to read the first book in the series and definitely more if it follows the other NHL players.

It was kinda basic. Like, the whole childhood friends-to-lovers, small-town romance with a single dad and a tough bull rider? Sounds like it could be good, but it just felt a little... flat. I kept waiting for the drama to ramp up, or for their chemistry to really pop, but it was more of a slow simmer that never quite boiled. Some parts felt super repetitive, like I was reading the same internal monologue on repeat, and the "feisty" female lead felt more like she was just being difficult sometimes. It was a cute read if you want something super chill, but it definitely didn't have me, like, screaming, crying, throwing up from the feels. It was just okay.

I really enjoyed this!

I liked Wyatt in Icebound, so I was excited he was book 2 of the series. You could tell he was going to be such a good single dad and that held up.

He knew Dakota was his and he was going to do whatever he had to to make her realize it, too. I liked Dakotas prickly personality with everyone but Wyatt. And this was a really well done version of women in men’s sports.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love the change up from cowboy to cowgirl! Definitely different than other western, small-town romances.

But the story was slow to start, and overall the plot was not that exciting. Some moments also felt cringey and a tad-bit unrealistic. Also the MMC being in the NHL could have been omitted, it did not feel vital for the character.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, a rodeo romance with the twist of it being the FMC bull riding was a super intriguing concept, but by chapter 3 I was ready to put it on my DNF. While the characters are supposed adults, I found their internal dialogue to be more what I’d expect from a teenager. A lot of repetitive phrasing, and the premise of a man pining after a girl since they were 10 lacks the romance factor when we’re immediately introduced to the child he had with another woman AFTER he left and ghosted the FMC for the NHL, blaming his daughter making his life busy, yet he ghosted her before he had her. I had to put it down after he showed up out of nowhere expecting to stay with her, and the FMC starts crying during sex because her dog won’t live forever??

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
🐂🤠🏒🍼💐

I LOVED Icebound by Meredith Trapp, so I was super excited to see this one available on NetGalley. It definitely delivered and although it’s 2nd in a series, you don’t need to read the first.

Single dad hockey player returns home to the Texas hill country to woo and win the love of his life, Dakota, a fierce bull-riding woman that he’s loved since they were children.

This is light on the hockey, heavy on the two-stepping and I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT. I lived in Texas for 15 years and this one took me right back to the rolling hills, drinks along the creek and sultry heat. The way tough-as-nails Dakota instantly loved baby Vi? Tore at my heart. And the fact that it took her so much longer to SEE Wyatt? She wasn’t there until she was ready.

Read if you love:
Single dad
He fell first
Small town romance
Strong female leads
An adorable dog sidekick
Even when they’re not together, they always have each other’s back

#homebound #meredithtrapp #singledadromance #blackcatxcinnamonroll #smalltownromance

Goodreads is being funky with this one, so I’ll post my full review here and add it there later.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Homebound is a childhood friends to lovers story about Dakota and Wyatt. Wyatt grew up spending his summers in Granite Falls where he met and befriended Dakota. He knew all along she was it for him but she needed some convincing. After a few years of separation and a failed engagement on her end, he comes back into town determined to change her mind once and for all.

I really liked the way Wyatt was so patient with Dakota throughout. Probably because he has been waiting for years for her but I was a fan of how he let her be her own person and figure things out on her own. All while quietly supporting her from behind.

Dakota was an average FMC. Other than her struggles with being a woman in bull riding she didn’t seem to have a lot of defining characteristics. Her main story revolved around her want to balance her career goals as a bull rider and staying uninjured.

Some parts of the story were not explored much including her friendship with Alanna, Wyatt’s hockey career, and Dakota’s past relationship. These all had moments in the story but I felt like it could have been explored a bit more.

Overall a great cowboy romance for anyone who is a fan of the genre.

2.5

This had a lot of potential, but there were a few too many things that bothered me about this. The cringey dialogue. The possessiveness of the male character. The repetitiveness. The author’s habit of over explaining in both dialogue and in expositions. I think with another round of edits this could be a great summer read, but it didn’t hit the way I was hoping it would. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This slow-burn romance is pure Texas gold. Dakota is as tough as they come, the only female bull rider in Texas, determined to prove herself in a man’s world. But her heartbreak from a failed engagement haunts her, leaving her struggling in the arena. Enter Wyatt—her childhood best friend turned NHL star—who’s back in town with his baby daughter and a heart full of old love. The chemistry between Dakota and Wyatt crackles like a Texas summer, with delicious tension that builds to a sizzling payoff. Wyatt’s dedication to winning Dakota’s heart is swoon-worthy, and the story’s emotional depth makes it more than just a steamy romance. Highly recommended for fans of heartfelt second-chance love stories and strong, independent heroines!