Book Review | Her Cowboy Blind Date by Narelle Atkins

Hi, Dienece Darling here today to review Narelle Atkins’s latest release Her Cowboy Blind Date.

Book Blurb

He’s a small-town guy, a cowboy at heart. She’s a city girl from the other side of the world. Will a blind date lead to a love that lasts a lifetime?

Farm mechanic Sam Williams is on the cusp of realizing his dream of being a rancher after inheriting a share in his family’s Colorado ranch. He’s keen to make plans and leave Gilead in the dust after his friend’s Easter Saturday wedding. First he needs a plus-one for the wedding, to avoid a super awkward encounter with his high-school girlfriend who has just married the best man.

After a devastating public betrayal by her high-profile ex, Bek Montford is hiding out in Kansas. She’s calling herself Becky, licking her wounds and focusing on the things that make her happy. Drawn to the annual passion play at Gilead Bible College where she’s living, she volunteers to work behind the scenes.

Since Becky is only in Gilead until June, a blind date with a suitable plus-one before the wedding seems like the perfect solution for Sam. No strings and no commitment.

But the blind date turns into a not-so-fake relationship when Sam and Becky must work together on the passion play. Can they overcome past emotional wounds and geographical distance to create a future together?

An opposites attract, different worlds, blind date and fake relationship contemporary Christian romance.

Dienece Darling’s review

My favourite bits:

What really hooked me in this story was its fresh take on a cowboy.

I think we’ve all read the cowboy working on a ranch or a rodeo (and they are nice). Then you get the fake cowboys who just dress the part (I hate those), but Sam was authentic and unique. He grew up working a ranch and plans to return to the ranch but currently works as a farm mechanic.

Oh, Sam wears the cowboy garb (a must in my books) and also gives his uncle a hand on the family ranch so the girl can see him in action (who doesn’t like a cowboy on a horse?). Having something fresh to read about a cowboy’s typical day was great. I absolutely loved the farm mechanic cowboy twist to this story!

Becky is an Aussie studying at Bible College in America and planning to return home. She has her Aussie moments (especially toward the end), but she comes off as any modern-day, Western girl most of the time.  Well, as long as you like vegetables! 😊

Speaking of which, watching Sam and Becky good naturedly banter about food choices (he’s a meat only kind of guy and she’s very into vegetables) was delightful. Plus, I was curious how this would turn out. Would they keep respecting each other’s choices, or would one of them convert the other? That was a fun dynamic to the story.

And while I like vegetables, I’m going to side with Sam. If you order pineapple on pizza, you have to add ham. Sorry, Becky you lose that round in my books!

What made this story for me:

Her Cowboy Blind Date has a great opening scene. They get stuck in a lift together. There is tension, secrets, and the main couple together of course. All I want from an opening scene.

I kept reading because their world came alive and pulled me in.

This story was well paced and thought out to introduce new twists at just the right moment to keep me reading.

If you haven’t read the other books in the series, don’t worry. I haven’t read all of them either. This works as a standalone just fine.

I read this as my end-of-day relaxation read, a great way to unwind and lose yourself in another world.

There is an uptick in energy and tension just after the halfway mark, but the ending allowed me to mellow back out and enjoy seeing how their world turns out. So, over all a lovely relaxing read.

I recommend Her Cowboy Blind Date to anyone who loves modern day cowboys with old-world cowboy charm.  Plus, there’s an Aussie, secrets, and a wonderful fake-oops-it-just-became-real! romance. 😊

What’s your favourite cowboy story?