When Your Love Life Is Washed Up, ‘Only A Cowboy Will Do’ [REVIEW]

Getting older is for the birds. Rather than dwell on the inevitable, sometimes a girl simply wants to escape, unwind, and forget about everything for a while, including men. But wouldn’t you know it? That’s just when a really cute one swaggers right into your life! Maybe that’s why A.J. Pine’s third Meadow Valley novel is titled, Only A Cowboy Will Do. Because sometimes, a cowboy is just what the doctor ordered.

Jenna Owens is 41 years old and lives in a small town on a farm selling eggs. Her prospects are slim to none when it comes to finding her soul mate. That’s when her family surprises her with a two week vacation to Meadow Valley.

A family friend who lives in Meadow Valley, Colt Morgan, will take her up north for her two week getaway. Little does Jenna know this trip will change her life in ways she has never thought possible.

With Jenna, Pine creates an often likeable—yet sometimes infuriating—character with more than her share of insecurities. She’s the type of woman I find myself totally understanding one moment, but disliking in equal measure the next.

Maybe this is because she seems too darn wishy washy. After all, she wants a lasting, meaningful relationship with Colt (who is 10 years her junior), but she doesn’t want to commit when it counts.

Colt, on the other hand, is stable, charming, smart, handsome, and ready for the next step. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t be ready to hog tie him and drag him to the justice of the peace before he can change his mind?

Of course, this story mirrors a good friend’s relationship currently, so Jenna’s head space is authentic. So it isn’t that this story is implausible. But sometimes you know what people should do before they work it out in their head themselves, if you know what I mean.

Either way, the storyline rings true on multiple fronts and the characters are fun, and whether you or your friends are currently working through a similar crisis or not, Only A Cowboy Will Do will make for a great beach read this summer. Who knows, maybe Pine’s story will serve as the perfect wake-up call for any woman who has just been watching from the wings.

This edition features the bonus novella Sealed with a Kiss by Melinda Curtis.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A librarian for teens by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

When she finds that 25th hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV when she nourishes her underlying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopathic detective. She hails from the far-off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.

For more information, visit AJPine.com, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

ONLY A COWBOY WILL DO
By A.J. Pine
384 pp. Forever. $8.99.

Purchase Only a Cowboy Will Do direct from Jathan & Heather Books or from one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, Target, or Walmart.