Lara, who is South African, has some questions about contemporary cowboy romances that she’s trying to puzzle out. I (Sarah), who have a lot of stock image credits, added some to this post purely for the lols. Enjoy.
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Iâve been feeling adventurous lately. Maybe not in my real life where I favour pattern and routine, but in my reading life Iâve been reaching for new-to-me things.
It started with my quest for indie- and self-pubbed historical romance. Not a massive adventure I grant you, but an important mind shift for someone who, with an exception here or there, shied away from anything not traditionally published. I had two thoughts.
1. Were there rigorously edited self- and indie-pubbed books? Yes! An obvious answer in hindsight. I was letting my bias show.
2. I had no idea where to start as the indie- and self-pubbed world seemed massive and intimidating to me. You can read the rec league and the follow up post.
This next quest is informed by two similar questions:
- Are there cowboy romances with progressive politics or at least hidden moderate ones?
- Where on earth to find these books?
I write for Smart Bitches so the second question answered itself: search the archives. I know the siteâs perspectives match many of my own.
My cowboy contemporary romance experience is rather limited. I read three historical romance westerns a few years back but have shied away from contemporary cowboys for fear itâs all US flags and MAGA hats.
I decided to branch out on my own, and tried a few books that seemed like contemporary cowboy romances I might like. But I noticed a few things, and I donât know how they fit into cowboy contemporaries more broadly, so Iâd like to pose these queries to the Bitchery.
First, are all cowboy heroes stubborn and boneheaded? Is this a feature of the genre?
Further to that, do all of them have caveman-like protective instincts?
Itâs not necessarily something Iâm opposed to in fiction (in real life, I abhor it) but Iâm curious how widespread the phenomenon is.
Second, do all cowboy contemporaries focus on men and women who I can either categorise as âgood upstanding member of society with down-home valuesâ or as a reformed âwild childâ who is now an âupstanding member of societyâ?
In one book I read, the characters who have their HEA already are in the former category. The hero of the book was in the latter with a brief stop in âangry and reclusiveâ and is turned into the former through âthe transformative properties of love.â
The heroine starts off a ditzy mess but ends up as the former category. Think big family meals on the family ranch which is the family business. Everyone has their quirks but itâs all âgood clean familyâ stuff. By that I mean, family comes first, gentle ribbing at the dinner table, with expectations of loyalty and reliability amongst family members.
Iâve put some phrases in inverted commas because Iâm not unquestioning in my use of these terms. They are political in nature and using them feels like very gingerly handling bombs.
Next question, in cowboy contemporaries, if there are âenemiesâ, who are they?
In one novel I read, the intruders are âdrug addicts who are up to no goodâ. There is no nuance to them at all. Which I suppose is fair as villains can be pretty flat characters but it is their step into caricature that I noticed. How they talk. How they act. Itâs clear that as the reader weâre supposed to abhor them for their selfish, criminal and cruel actions directed at those good upstanding citizens. Iâm not saying the author needed an in depth breakdown of how they came to have substance abuse problems and resorted to a life of petty crime. But in a world where billionaires are the actual problem (IRL that is), it feels strange to pick on a few âdrug addictsâ.
I canât quite shake the feeling that I read a book that reflects specific values which would be enjoyed by a Trump supporter. Which let me tell you is deeply concerning but are all cowboy contemporaries the same that way? And how do I find the ones that I might enjoy?
Oh, and is kinky sex (including butt stuff) common in the genre? I doubt it but I have to ask. One of the books I read featured it heavily.
I should add that Iâve only visited the States twice, all my US-based friends are somewhere on the democratic socialist train, and while Iâm immersed in US media, there are absolutely going to be nuances that I miss. Sometimes those nuances are going to be blindingly obvious to a resident of the States so maybe nuance is the wrong word.
Over to you, Bitchery: what are your thoughts?
Dare I continue my cowboy contemporary quest? I look forward to your answers to my numerous questions!
Vivian Arend has written some contemporary cowboy books. They are set in Canada though.
Also, Lane Hayes has written a couple of MM ones. A Cowboy Holiday being the latest
> At least this guy is perched right in her V.
Haw! I hope they’re not wearing those white boots after Labor Day. And I look forward to the actual discussion from people who have read cowboy contemporaries!
I live in southern Alberta (Canada) near a city with a very large rodeo + fair (large used relative to other rodeos/fairs, 1.4M attendees over 10 days, not all those actually go to the rodeo) and because what I see of cowboy culture is pretty toxic still, with a heavy emphasis on masculinity, itâs a genre Iâm not heavily invested in. The ones Iâve hit have had that very strong emphasis on family and community, with evil developers wanting land (like a Hallmark movie!) or a family member who is TOO controlling or stuck in the past as the opposing for es in the story.
That said, I read a TON of Linda Lael Miller im my 20s and her contemporaries had those very alpha males, and I ate that up. I do not recall butt stuff in her booksâŠ
I don’t read a ton of cowboy books, but I enjoyed Night Rider by Sloane Fletcher. Wholesome, single dad cowboy hero. Heroine who is a victim of SA. Properly bad baddie. Side quest into *Metoo (the hashtag doesn’t work on my keyboard).
Cannot resist flagging Emma Hollyâs Top of Her Game, which I read many years ago.
I’m busy making curtains like a good little frugal housewife but can’t stop thinking about your questions. If it makes you feel better, my sister-in-law married into a family with thousands of acres of ranch land in South Texas. We’re talking oil and gas and cows and coyotes and rattlesnakes and pumas and horses and big hats. They are sooo liberal. Staunch Democrats. The men in the family, including my nephews, exhibit the most old-fashioned manners you can think of. They’re charming and protective and make you feel like you’re just the most special thing they’ve ever met. And they like their women kick-ass and independent. My husband’s family is the same, with fewer acres. So when you read these books, try reading them through my lens. There are a lot of decent “cowboys” out there.
I know that you’re looking for contemporaries, but “Bitter Springs” by Laura Stone is a historical m/m cowboy romance where the MCs are Mexican and African-American, respectively. It was published by Interlude Press about 10 years ago, which is (was?) a small publisher.
Kathleen Eagle was my intro into contemporary cowboy romance, and she knew about rodeos and rural life from first hand experience as a teacher on the reservation and as the mother of Lakota children. She is in her seventies now, so her books are older and I have not read them in a while. I do remember that she tackled some subjects that were not common in romances at the time. She had heroines and heroes with serious health issues, like breast cancer or MS. She has liberal politics and is outspoken about them.
And then there was the late Kari Lynn Dell. Her books are among my all time favorites. They are more modern, of course, and seem extremely realistic in their descriptions of ranch life. Very gritty. Her main characters are well written, fully developed people with real depth. I still have not read one of her books, as I know there will never be another one by her. What a loss. I do not know about her politics, but the books read pretty liberal for their setting to me. Assholes are called out, values discussed.
Just want to follow the conversation!
Following this thread bc growing up my dad used to watch old TV westerns and I had a big crush on Rowdy Yates (played by young Clint Eastwood) and Gil Favor from Rawhide, and Lucas McCain in the Rifleman. Those shows were definitely of their time however!
I think Lorelei James deserves a mention. The McKay family saga has its share of stubborn, bone-headed and protective types. But they’re generally more nuanced and grapple with how the changing economics of ranching, intergenerational tensions, the necessity for rugged individualism to make way for community support, and women’s leadership. It’s been a good while since I read any of them but I recall them as being pretty spicey and open door.
Rebekah Weatherspoon has a Black cowboy trilogy, Cowboys of California, that I enjoyed quite a bit.
There’s a reason Elsie Silver is so popular, though her books are not so much about cowboys as about people living and working in ranch country. In Canada, though.
I would say both are progressive for sure. Though I wouldn’t say their heroes aren’t stubborn–aren’t most heroes? But they’re not MAGA coded in any way.
I have read a few other authors with Western themes that I think are also progressive but I didn’t love them quite so much: Lyla Sage, Maggie Gates.
I’m not a huge fan of the genre myself, but I will inhale anything Elsie Silver writes and love most of Rebekah Weatherspoon’s writing, too.
Molly O’Keefe has a couple of Westerns in KU: The Cowboy’s Wife for One Night & The Cowboy’s Unexpected Family. I thought I had most of her stuff, but can’t find these, so yay for finding new-to-me Molly O’Keefe. I have a bundle of her Crooked Creek Ranch series (Can’t Buy Me Love, Can’t Hurry Love, Crazy Thing Called Love) on my Kindle, but they may be out of print. I read the latter series a number of years ago, pre-MAGA, but I can’t guarantee they won’t have dated tropes. What I can promise is excellent writing, emotional relationships, and spicy sex scenes.
Sarah Mayberry, an Australian author who is another of my favorites, has some romances set in the contemporary West, the Carmody Brothers Ranch series and a rodeo romance called Irresistible Cowboy. There may be others, butI don’t have them. Mayberry, like O’Keefe is a hell of a writer who writes emotional & steamy relationships and has a gift for creating realistic characters in believable workplaces.
I’ve also read Lorelei James Blacktop Cowboy series. The best one was Hillbilly Rockstar, 6th in the series but an excellent standalone, about a c&w musician who speaks out against homophobia iirc and hires a woman bodyguard at the behest of his management. So not MAGA coded either. I subsequently read a few others in the series but the heroes tended to be aggressively alpha, so I ran out of patience after maybe two & a half books.
To be honest, contemporary Western romance isn’t usually my thing, cuz I’m not that into all that home on the range crap, even pre-MAGA. However, no subgenre is a monolith.
Apparently I really like contemporary cowboy romances because I’ve got a huge list for you. They’re all a little different, some mystery, danger or just day to day life on a ranch. I’ll start with the traditional publisher list. All of these are series and I’ll list them as such. Three to five books in each series.
Caitlin Crews-
Cold River Ranch
Kittredge Ranch
Megan Crane (pseudonym of Caitlin Crews)-
Carey’s of Cowboy Point
The Cowboy’s Least Likely Bride (new series out 2/26)
Julia London-
Princes of Texas
Maisey Yates-
Prolific writer of cowboy books. I’ve enjoyed Four Corners Ranch and Rustler Mountain.
Self-published
Devney Perry-
Calamity Montana
Edens
Haven River Ranch
Bluebird Gold (new series out 12/30 excited for this one!)
Elsie Silver- (Canadien location)
Chestnut Springs
Rose Hill (I’ll call this series cowboy adjacent)
These aren’t in any order of favorites. I’ve really liked them all. I do really like Devney Perry’s books. I was shocked when I decided to comment and realized how many I read and liked. Hope you enjoy a few!
Elsa Winckler is an author from South Africa and she writes in both English and Afrikaans. Some of her books have magical realism. A lot are set in Montana.
Vicki Lewis Thompson went indie after Harlequin dumped the western categories. She still writes in a similar vein as the categories.
Tule Publishing has an imprint devoted to cowboy romance, Montana Born. Mostly contemporary, but it has some historical romance. They also have a Texas Born imprint with cowboys set in Texas. đ
Thank you so much for all the comments and recommendations! Pursuing this cowboy contemporary project feels doable now!
Late to the party, but in addition to the previously mentioned Megan Crane/Caitlyn Crews & Maisey Yates (between them, theyâve written so many cowboy romances, youâll be spoiled for choice), Iâd recommend cowboy romances by Kelly Hunter (she has a series set in Montana, along with a number of others) and Genevieve Turner. For m/m romances, look for books by Emmy Sandersâespecially the very good antagonists-to-lovers BRIM OVER BOOTâalong with Rachel Emberâs Wild Ones series.
Gosh, cowboys are just the last place I’d look for romance! Twenty years ago, my heart was broken into tiny pieces (by a psychiatrist, for pete’s sake), and it was about a year before I could bear to read *any* fiction that hinted at love. I specifically found solace in some Louis Lamour books where there was not a drop of relationship to be seen, but the writing and stories were excellent.
It feels like cowboys are everywhere in contemporary gay romance. My favorite author for this is BA Tortuga – I’d suggest starting with The Cowboy Contract, the first in her Foster Ranch series. Another favorite is Cowboy’s Law.
I am also late to this post, but have a few suggstions. Kate Pearce has two series about ranches and ranchers set in Northern California. They are linked and some of the characters work in the small town and not on the ranch. Some of the characters are ex military and returning home. She also has a short series (I think 3 books) about found family (3 ex military men working on the farm that belongs to one of them). The first book is titled Three Cowboys and a Baby.
Lexi Blake has ranches and cowboys in some of the books that she wrote as Sophie Oak. I discovered these books through her Masters and Mercenaries series (which was written later) and also read them many of them out of order, but I think at least 2 of the Sirens books and two of the Bliss books are set on ranches and or have cowboy heroes. These books all involve triads (two men and one woman) and the plots are bonkers! They are a fun read. If you like Lorelei James books, I think you would like these.
I also enjoyed Vivan Arend’s cowboy books very much.
I am personally wildly liberal, and I canât stand alpha heroes, so when I decided to write a cowboy series, I put my own spin on it. They are good guys, supporting their spirited women who mostly save themselves. They’re all trying to do good in the world and figuring out how they want to live after winning a huge lottery. (The family establishes a charity, and the brothers do things like build a wind farm and explore alternative meats that donât require as much land and water.) These are sweet, so no on page sex.
Quick pitch: In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a billion-dollar lottery. Theyâre advised to go into hiding, but they have animals needing care. They’ll have to stay and fend off envious friends, scammers, and fortune hunters. Can they build new dreams and find love amidst the chaos?
5 books, about 4 brothers, and their widowed mother stars in book 5. Plus lots of animals, from rescue kittens to ostriches! https://tulepublishing.com/series/the-accidental-billionaire-cowboys/
Readers say, âWhat a wonderful book! The characters are very well portrayed, as are the difficulties of becoming a billionaire overnight. Josh is … an absolute sweetheart, his Christmas present for Carly is perfect. I loved every word of this book and highly recommend it.â (book 1)
âI loved this couple, the dialogue, the supporting characters, the humour, and the feels. Overall, a great romance.â (book 2)
âI had fun with this story and if you love a well-written, realistic, and believable romance between two people who arenât always perfect but right for each other⊠then youâll love this one.â â Happily Ever After Romance (book 3)
Want to second @DiscoDollyDeb’s Emmy Sanders rec. I’m extremely late to the party, but it took me a while to find the books I as thinking of.
I lived in the northern Rockies during my early adulthood and there are a lot of âwesternâ romances that I canât tolerate for social-cultural-political reasons. I second the recommendation for Kari Lynn Dell (RIP). She was from Montana and her books (set in Texas, Oregon, and Montana) reflect her real world experience in rodeo and ranching. I bought her final book but havenât been able to read it yet – she wrote with such authenticity, grit, and heart that Iâm saving it for a time when I can do a special deep dive back into a full series re-read.
I’ve been reading contemporary cowboy romance off and on for decades and have enjoyed several of the authors mentioned by other commenters here. I grew up in a liberal New England family but also spent a couple years as a wrangler on a ranch in Wyoming, so often I’ll read these books with a certain amount of criticism as someone who has seen how the sausage is made, as it were. But if the main romance is compelling enough, I’ll put those aside and (try) not to let them override my enjoyment and suspension of disbelief.
Often, to me, it comes down to author intention. Do I, as a reader, believe the author was trying to portray accurate situations and information? Did they do their research and try to represent things honestly (albeit with the understanding that the romance is always the main concern)? Did they at least have the character mention and acknowledge to themselves (and therefore the reader) “gee, it sucks that my town is this white” or “xyz situation is unjust or problematic and I wish I knew what to do about it” because, let’s be honest, sometimes that exactly the way life works. It doesn’t have to impact the romance in the story, but it shows that these contemporary characters are self aware. Even a brief mention can show the author’s intention and acknowledgment of issues that are problems all over America. And with those mentions,I hope-as an author myself-that readers will give me that kind of credit or grace as well.
Having said all that, I recently ready Wild Wild Cowboy by Elizabeth Bright for my romance bookclub and was very impressed by how modern the hero was, and how many different modern issues were thoughtfully touched on in the story (the horse for meat market, cults and teen marriage, social class and more) without detracting from the romance. It’s the third in the Lodestar series, apparently, and I now have the rest of the books on my TBR.
You might enjoy Patricia McLinnâs Caught Dead in Wyoming mystery series as part of your journey. It has a strong romantic arc.