Hold Your Horses! The Cowboy Romance Trope and What Recent Releases Do It Oh So Well
For the better part of the last year hockey romance (and other various sports romance) has dominated large swaths of Booktok. And with rugged, brooding love interests in uniforms on the menu, it’s a no brainer why. But if you’ve nearly had your fill of this kind of athlete romance, you may find your next five star read in your next cowboy romance!
Featuring ranchers, bull riders and all manner of farm hands, these male main characters couple rugged outsides with deep wells of emotion and commitment. The hat, the boots, and the southern charm are absolutely swoon-worthy!
To get you started on your next binge sesh, here’s 5 standalones and series that other readers are absolutely loving:
The Chestnut Springs Series by Elsie Silver
This entire series of books is perfect for those getting out of a reading slump. Each book offers different tropes depending on what you are looking for at the moment, and do not require reading in order!
Flawless is a small town, close proximity bull rider romance that puts opposites together in the notorious ‘one bed’ trope. Reckless is again a small town romance with a rough and tumble bull rider, but this time we’ve got a secret pregnancy and a grumpy x sunshine dynamic. I reccomend these two as starters but definitely check out her entire body of work, as there’s so much more to be enjoyed!
The Rebel Blue Ranch Series by Lyla Sage
As the first book in a multi-book series, Done and Dusted has captured the hearts of readers who enjoy the slow burn. The book is a dual POV and puts the brother’s best friend trope to use, taking us on an enemies to friends to lovers joureny worth every page. And thankfully the author is releasing multiple installments featuring different couples, with the newest title releasing this November.
The Bunkhouse Series by Lainey Lawson
Showering with your brother’s cowboy best friend? Friends with benefits in close proximity? Sign me up. Fresh off of medical school and determined to support herself and her family, the female main character ends up living in a bunkhouse for three weeks with her brother’s best friend. Despite their differences, tension leads to, as the publisher describes, both “steam and swoon”! Check out future books in this series, all of which will be interconnected but standalones.
The Edens Series by Devney Perry
Expect all of the small town charm, rugged male energy, and delicious tension in this one, with the added intrigue of a murder case. Here, a first responder and the granddaughter of the town’s mayor have a one night stand, and the ensuing grumpy x sunshine goodness pairs with the fast-paced tension of solving an unexpected murder in such an enjoyable way! And if you’re noticing a trend here, this series also boasts multiple standalones with similar tropes and themes, perfect for a readathon.
The Runaway Ranch Series by Ava Hunter
A grumpy rancher saves our main character in a bar fight, but wants nothing else to do with her and whatever she’s got planned for his small Montana town. Forced to work together in his home for three months, the couple can’t help but draw together but vow to keep it casual. This cowboy, age gap, boss and employee dynamic is the perfect read going into summer.
Which cowboy romance sparks your wild side?
