Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! I enjoyed the single dad trope and watching the two rekindle their relationship. We love a strong FMC who takes no shit! Loved the banter and was overall a good quick read.

A beautifully written small-town romance with emotional depth, Homebound is equal parts tender and engaging. The writing is heartfelt and immersive, with just the right balance of tension, comfort, and charm. Perfect for readers who love a slow-burn story that feels both intimate and real.

I cannot wait for y’all to fall in love with Wyatt & Dakota. But most importantly, I cannot wait for y’all to fall in love with Luna Tuna & sweet baby Vi. They steal the show, honestly.

This is a sweet & spicy slow burn is filled to the brim with so much love. You get everything you love in a small town cowboy, I mean cowgirl, romance such as found family and the local hang out spot you wish was real. A friends to lovers “it’s always been you” love story that feels authentic. A badass bull rider FMC trying to make a name for herself in a male dominated sport. A cinnamon roll heartthrob single dad MMC trying to navigate his professional life (he’s a hockey player, you know I love those) and his life with his daughter.
This is a heartfelt, second chance full of laughs and fun times, but also so much heart. These characters, our FMC especially, has a lot of growth in these pages that will have you rooting for their HEA.
Oh, and an outdoor shower that gives us some wonderful moments.

✨ARC review✨

This was a fun little childhood friends to lovers read. Plus, you add in a hockey player and female bull rider into the mix, and you get a fun time. There were times when I wanted to pull my hair out and yell at our stubborn little FMC to 👏🏼 get 👏🏼 it👏🏼 together. She was feisty and headstrong. I'll give her that. I’m a sucker for the single dad trope now🫡

🖤single dad
🖤hockey player MMC
🖤bull rider FMC
🖤childhood friends to lovers
🖤forced proximity
🖤golden retriever x black cat

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚 ARC Review: Homebound
✍️ Author: Meredith Trapp
📅 Release Date: June 17th, 2025
🏷️ Genre: Small Town Romance
🌶️ Spice Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
⭐️ Star Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.75

📖 Book Overview
Dakota and Wyatt were childhood best friends until he disappeared without a word. Now he’s back in Granite Falls with a baby and one goal: win her heart. But with secrets between them and sparks flying, love might be the riskiest ride of all.
✨ Initial Thoughts
I picked up this book because first, the beautiful cover and second I wanted to give friends to lovers a try. Right from the first chapter, I fell in love with “Keep my distance” Dakota and “I only have eyes for you” Wyatt. It gave off so much tension and energy, and I was fully in.
💘 What I Loved
This book absolutely delivered on the tension along with watching Wyatt continually pinning for Dakota. Lets first start with Wyatt and his daughter and how he is such a great dad and getting to read his inner thoughts about her are so sweet. Secondly, I especially loved that two stepping scene. It was everything that I could hope for. The relationship was so satisfying to watch grow between them and no 3rd act break-up! This book may have turned me towards friends to lovers trope. I found myself multiple times needing to take walking breaks to calm myself down along with receiving multiple looks from my partner about what I am so giddy about. Also I am going to leave 3 words that made my jaw drop, White cowboy boots. 😍
😬 What Didn’t Work for Me
While I really enjoyed the book overall, I did feel that there were a couple of slow patches along with jumps in time that I wish wouldn’t happen. I also wished that there was more discussion around Vienna and that when she is present in the story she isn’t always having a melt down. It didn’t lessen my enjoyment too much, but it’s worth noting.
💖 Final Thoughts
If you love friends to lovers where he is head over heels in love with her, I think this one will totally charm you. By the end, I was smiling and giggling with how I know their life will be like.
A feel-good read that reminds you why we love love stories.
✅ Would I Recommend It?
Yes — especially if you enjoy single dad friends to lovers where the girl has no idea that the boy has been in love with her since first sight.
Maybe not for readers who want more plot not surrounding the romance and aren’t into open door romance.
📢 Thank you to Atria Books Publicity and NetGalleyfor the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts are my own!

⭐️ 3.5 Stars! Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review 🫶

This was a sweet, steamy cowboy romance that I thoroughly enjoyed! As someone who loves the "it's always been you" trope, I want to mention up front that I had no issue with Wyatt having a child. He and Dakota weren’t together. She was engaged to someone else and had made it very clear over the years that they were just friends. The child was the result of a one-night stand, not a lingering ex or emotional betrayal (not a spoiler, this is revealed early on). Personally, I didn’t find that detail took away from the story or Wyatt’s love for Dakota at all. In fact I think it made their connection even deeper.

I really loved the setup: a female bull rider (yes please), a devoted soft cowboy, childhood friends to lovers, and a dash of forced proximity that made the tension so good. Wyatt being openly obsessed with Dakota for YEARS? Incredible. A man who yearns is a man who earns. The spice was well-written, though not the focus—and that actually worked really well for this type of story. I also loved the cozy, found-family vibe and how deeply Wyatt cared for her. No third act breakup (yay!!) and just a low-drama, fluffy romance that was absolutely adorable.

My only critiques: the first half leaned more toward "telling" than "showing," which made some emotional beats feel a little rushed or surface-level. There was also some repetitiveness in character traits, inner thoughts, and nicknames that may be a little distracting to some readers. That said, the story still pulled me in, and I was rooting for them the whole way.

Overall, this is a fun, heartfelt small-town romance with great chemistry, a charming single dad, and a refreshing twist on familiar tropes. Definitely recommend!

Is this a re-release? I downloaded this on Amazon in August of 2024. I’m not sure how this is due to be published July 17 2025. It was a 3 ⭐️ cowboy romance with single Dad, childhood friends to lovers, forced proximity tropes. It was pretty good. Fans of Elsie Silver or Lyla Sage will enjoy this.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the ARC!
I love me a good cowboy romance, they can do no wrong, and this one is certainly part of the club.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Tropes 🫶
HEA 💝, hockey player 🏒, cowgirl 🤠, single dad 👨‍🍼, childhood friends to lovers, he fell first, dual POV, YEARNING ❤️‍🔥, <spoiler>no third act breakup</spoiler>

<b>"I always thought love meant finding someone who makes you stronger, but for me, I think love is finding someone who makes me softer"</b>

<u>Storyline</u>: I think this is a cute story line! I really adored how both of them had their struggles to come to terms with, but I certainly feel our focus was on Dakota's. I wish we got to see a bit more of Wyatt's hockey life in this. I think it's fairly realistic, and I love the switch up of her being the bull rider, I think that's awesome. I also love a good single dad plot, and this was that, 100%. I read that others didn't like that the child was from a ONS since he was obsessed with the FMC, but I didn't read that much into it, I was just here for the vibes, and they delivered.
<i>Side note: I did not read the first book prior to jumping into this one, but that didn't affect my reading enjoyability at all. I did go back and read the synopsis for book one, which I will be picking up, and we do not see anything except a brief mentioning of that couple.</i>

<b>"Loving someone as brave as you could only ever be considered a privilege."</b>

<u>Romance</u>: The chemistry was sizzling in this one. I love we get to see Wyatt become a confident man rather than just the summer boy Dakota knows him as. Once he manned up, the banter and confidence that oozed from this man was making me swoon as I read the pages. It's got lovely spice alongside the chemistry, which is always a fun time, and I feel as though it's written in a way that makes it easy to read and not cringey, which I appreciate. The confessions and realizations are chef's kiss in this.

<b>"That boy was always a pit stop, and she knows it. You're her destination. It just took her a little longer since she took the backroads to get to you."</b>

<u>Characters</u>: We had some fantastic characters in this book that I grew to love. I absolutely cannot wait for Sasquatch and Barbie, whom I can already tell will be the next book from the set up we got in this one. I love Dakota and her sass but also how real the mental health part of her job is, and I feel as though that is represented well. Wyatt is one of my fav book boyfriends I've read in a bit. This story had some fantastic one liners from each of them, which really made them shine as individuals, I feel.

Overall, I am so grateful for this ARC as it was my palate cleanser between fantasy novels, and I ATE. THIS. UP. Absolutely devoured. I cannot wait to read more from Meredith because I love her writing style.

Homebound was a solid, enjoyable read that scratched the itch for a cozy country romance. It had all the right elements—small-town charm, emotional healing, and just the right touch of sweetness. While it didn’t quite leave a lasting mark or become a new favorite, it delivered exactly what I needed in the moment: a comforting, easy escape with heartfelt characters and a familiar rhythm. A good pick when you’re in the mood for something warm and romantic.

Thanks to Atria Books for the ARC of this book! This is cowboy romance at its finest, with a twist, since the FMC is the cowgirl and the MMC is a hockey player! If you enjoy authors like Elsie Silver and Paisley Hope, this one is for you! I ate this one up in one evening and it was sweet and spicy and so much fun!
You would like this one if you like the following tropes: Single Dad, Friends to Lovers. This was a five star read for me and the perfect escape from life. Loved it!

This novel was an easy read that combined two of my favorites: hockey and western. While the hockey aspect was merely talked about and not a major topic, it worked well. I love a black cat/golden retriever story, as the brooding male can get old quickly. Spicy girls just do it for me!
Be prepared for a very slow burn, with some mid-level spice. Definitely more plot heavy, which made total sense for this dynamic.
There was some confusion regarding the FMC’s mom. I noted that it never mentioned her until diving in to her running off with Trey. In fact, it never mentioned it was the mom, but I assumed it. It seemed like part of the backstory got deleted by accident.
My only qualm is the repetitiveness. It seemed like some topics were and phrases were a bit much, but it didn’t really completely remove me from the story. I didn’t realize this was an interconnected stand-alone from a series, but I figured that out based on some character info for folks not present in this story. I doubt I’ll go back and read that one if I’m being honest, but I’d love to read future books from this series, especially if there’s a Willie/Alanna story!

This book was a love letter to blond men everywhere!

I went into this book completely blind, I just knew Dakota was the bull rider. This was a cute and fun read. Though in truth, it was the side characters that were EATING the entire time. I spent more time in the book feeling sad or bad for Wyatt than thirsting for him. What can I say, I'm just not a sucker for golden retriever MMCs. Or maybe it was just the fact that he's been obsessed with her and following her around like a puppy dog since they were kids. I couldn't get the image out of my head. idk man 😩

For Elsie Silver, cowboy romance and golden retriever MMC lovers this will most DEFINITELY scratch the itch.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

(AS OF MAY 27TH I AM UNABLE TO UPLOAD THE REVIEW TO GOODREADS, I HAVE IT ON STANDBY AND AM ACTIVELY TRYING TO POST IT)

Thank you too Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Homebound is a sweet, slow-burning smutty book, where one main character is head over heels for his best friend while she only sees him as her best friend.

While I enjoyed the story overall, I must point out that our girl Dakota is a hard one to bond with. We know she loves her dog, but do they need to mention it sooooo many times? I think not. Her bull riding on the other hand was annoying to read, isn’t she supposed to be a pro (she looks like a newb here). Wyatt's whole personality was the superstar of this story, not only do we get a full plot line, but his character does develops over time. Altogether, both personalities complemented each other, balancing out the mood of the book.

This is a easy fast read for when you need a pick-me-up or something fun between world-building books.

Homebound by Meredith Trapp has been on my radar for a while. So when I got an opportunity to read an ARC of the re-release trad published version I was ecstatic. So of course big Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review it.

Y’all Homebound has everything you could possibly want for a cowboy romance. We’ve got friends to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy v sunshine, and he falls first.

In this friend’s to lovers romance, Wyatt and Dakota were childhood best friends. However, they lose touch after several years due to Dakota getting engaged to someone else and Wyatt being drafted to the NHL. Wyatt returns home to help his family over the summer and learns that Dakota is no longer engaged and conveniently staying on his families property. Wyatt hopes this time he can rekindle sparks between them and finally get his girl.

Now I’ll be honest I enjoyed this book, I had fun reading it. But it’s not my favorite cowboy romance. I think my biggest struggle with this book was our MFC Dakota. She’s a tough cookie. And at times I found it hard to like or relate to her. Plus the way she’s pitched as this world champion bull rider felt off. Since 85% of the book made it seem she was more of a rookie. Meanwhile our MMC Wyatt absolutely stole the show. I may be a little impartial because I loved his character the most from the first book in this series. I knew once we got his story he would not disappoint. Wyatt is the golden retriever of book boyfriends and to top it off an amazing Dad to Vi. Be warned ladies you will fall hard for this man.

Overall, even though this wasn’t my favorite cowboy romance. I’d still highly recommend it. And I can’t wait to read what Meredith does next.

4.5 stars!

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦? 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭?"

"𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

From start to finish this book had me hooked in and wouldn’t let me go! I’m seriously obsessed with Dakota and Wyatt’s story, and I have never read a cowboy/western romance and now i think they are my favorite types of reads! This was definitely a slow burn read but worth it!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳
𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳
𝘏𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵
𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 + 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺

This was my first Meredith Trapp book and I am absolutely in love with it!

This is the second book in the Boundless Players Series and it follows Dakota Cutler and Wyatt Patterson. They have been best friends since they were kids and he was her 'summer boy.' But when Dakota gets engaged, and Wyatt can't stand to watch her marry another man, he leaves town without another word for years. Now, he's back in town with his little girl, Vienna in tow.

Dakota is the ultimate black cat. She loves her people fiercely, but she gives zero f*cks and does what she wants to do. Her nickname is literally "Cowboy Killer" if that tells you anything. She is a female bull rider which is SO AMAZING. There aren't many female bull riders in the reading space, so I loved seeing it from a female point of view. Wyatt is a NHL player who is home for awhile. His daughter, Vienna, is his whole world, but he couldn't let Dakota get away again, so he's back to keep her for good this time.

I absolutely adored the dynamic of these two. They balanced each other so well and it was so refreshing. I adored how much Dakota fell in love with Vienna and would've done anything for her. And the nickname "little devil" was so cute. And Wyatt was so cute being nervous for the first half of the book. I love a cute, little blushing, down bad man. He only wanted to do the best for his daughter and he knew Dakota would be the perfect person to introduce his daughter to.

Thank you to Atria for the copy!

tropes:
-childhood friends
-forced proximity
-second chance
-golden retriever x black cat
- single dad
- he falls first
-strong FMC

Overall I enjoyed this book.
I really like Wyatt and his relationship with his parents and daughter, but I felt he deserved better for most of the book. Dakota could be very frustrating because she “didn’t see Wyatt in a romantic way” even though he ALWAYS showed that he had more than friendly feelings for her. Then suddenly half way through Dakota decides that she does have feelings for him.
I also felt like there was a lot of “telling and not showing” in the first quarter of the book and it made it hard to get into.
There was also quite a bit of repetition throughout the entire book, with several entire phrases being included multiple times. (Ex: Dakota mentioned she liked “rugged men” three times in the first 30%.)
It was a good book, and I would recommend it to people who also enjoy some of the tropes that were included, but I felt like it could’ve been much better with some extra editing/polishing

i will be posting my review on instagram this weekend, but i wanna start with thank you for the opportunity of reading this book! i quite loved it! who doesn’t love a cowboy romance?? i LOVE that! it was good and quick to read.

thank you again to Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author!

Homebound by Meredith Trapp is a heartfelt small town romance set against the rugged charm of Granite Falls, Texas. It follows the journey of Dakota Cutler, a fierce, determined bull rider chasing her dream of going pro in a sport where few believe she belongs. Enter Wyatt Patterson, her childhood best friend, now an NHL hockey player, who returns home for the summer with his young daughter and one goal: to finally win Dakota's heart.

When circumstances force them to share space in his family’s barn, unresolved feelings and past heartbreak bubble to the surface. Dakota still hasn’t forgiven Wyatt for cutting off contact and leaving without a word. Can their friendship survive the tension? Can love bloom where trust has been broken?

With unforgettable chemistry, emotional depth, and a refreshing blend of grit and tenderness, Homebound is perfect for fans of friends to lovers, forced proximity, and grumpy sunshine dynamics, with a gritty cowgirl and a cinnamon roll hockey player you’ll fall hard for.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to review this book!

Tropes: Small town romance, cowgirl, hockey player x bull rider, forced proximity, friends to lovers, cinnamon roll MMC x grumpy FMC, second chance romance

This novel follows the story of Wyatt and Dakota, lifelong friends whose bond began during Wyatt’s childhood summers spent on his family’s flower farm in Texas. Wyatt has always quietly harbored feelings for Dakota, but when she becomes engaged to someone else and an unexpected baby enters Wyatt’s life, their friendship naturally fades into the background. Years later, Dakota is no longer engaged, and Wyatt returns to Texas for the summer with his young daughter—this time determined to finally express his true feelings.

While the friends-to-lovers trope isn't typically my preferred genre, this story handled the transition with sincerity and depth. Rather than a sudden shift in emotions, the novel thoughtfully portrays Wyatt’s personal growth and how he evolved into the kind of partner Dakota needed. His quiet yearning, emotional maturity, and clear communication were a refreshing portrayal of male vulnerability and commitment.
Dakota’s journey is equally compelling. Her emotional development—particularly her recognition of the importance of self-worth and connection—added meaningful depth to her character. Watching both protagonists grow individually while also learning how to be together made their romance feel earned and authentic.

My only critique is that the pacing lagged slightly around the 80% mark, making the story feel a bit drawn out. However, overall, it’s a heartfelt and rewarding read that delivers on character development and emotional resonance.