Book review!!!

So sorry. Am very busy at the moment, so y'all will have to do with a book review I did this week.

The Cowgirl Takes Her Man by Barbara Catlin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Barbara Catlin’s The Cowgirl Takes Her Man

The plot: Life-long neighbors/friends decide for an arranged marriage of sorts, while deeper feelings lurk beneath the surface. A nice concept, that always works out well when the friendship in the story is strong…which it was.

First impression of this story is that it is sweet with a low heat level, which is often (and this time around that was the case as well) a pleasant change of pace when reading romances. I enjoyed the opportunity to read this story, but there are a few points that made me unable to give it more then a 3.5 star review. The main reason for this is taste, I fear, so don’t take it too seriously.

Personally I found that the description of the wedding arrangements were a bit too elaborate. Very unfeminine of me, I suppose, but I don’t get particularly excited about the ins and outs of finding just the right cake, or right color nail polish, hairdo, dress, etc. But, like I said, that’s taste. Loads of women love it, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The characters, protagonists and surrounding casts were likeable and it is clear that the author feels a deep love for the area she writes about. It made for a pleasant introduction into her world with characters that are bound to pop up in the series. The villain was not unexpected, albeit introduced a little late in the story. There were a couple of conflicts based primarily on insecurity, which felt a little…well, I couldn’t get on the bandwagon with them. I can’t really explain why. Perhaps they appeared too suddenly to my taste, and then disappeared again, just a suddenly.

Author Barbara Catlin added some very realistic medical problems that can pop up in relationships/marriages, and though the realism was a pleasant change, it also took away some of the romance for me. Luckily she managed to balance this nicely with how the characters dealt with it, and how they grew closer together because of it.

All in all, and regardless of the points I mentioned, I enjoyed the read, (in fact, read it first, despite my stack of "books to review" and actually finished it before the others, so that speaks for something!) and would aim romance readers in its direction if they’re looking for something just slightly different, but in a nice way.



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