The Reluctant Cowgirl

Title: THE RELUCTANT COWGIRL
Author: Christine Lynxwiler
Author: Barbour Books
2009
ISBN: 978-1-60260-150-5
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Crystal McCord, and her twin dreamed of being actresses. But Cami died prematurely, and now Crystal is a wanna-be actress in Broadway, looking for the big break. The play that she has managed a role in didn’t do as well as she’d hoped, and they are closing early. Crystal, along with two of her friends, plans to hit the road, auditioning for new roles early the next morning. But when Crystal skips the closing night party to go home and rest, she finds her boyfriend and her roommate in a more than compromising position.

Angry, Crystal packs her bags and catches a cab to the airport, going back to Arkansas to visit her family. She doesn’t want them to know that she lost her job and her boyfriend in one swoop, but rather that she just wanted to make a surprise visit. The surprise works, everyone is glad to see her, and when Crystal’s parents plan to leave for a two week trip, Crystal volunteers to help run the cattle ranch while they are gone, since none of her siblings are available. The next door neighbor, Jeremy Buchanan, volunteers to help Crystal.

Jeremy is in limbo since his ex-wife ran off with their young daughter. He’s hired a private investigator to find his little girl, but so far, all they’ve had are false leads. His dreams of starting a cattle ranch are on hold until his family is back together. Will his family ever be together? Or will he be forced to realize a new dream? Will Crystal realize she’s been working towards someone else’s dream all along, and find a new one?

THE RELUCTANT COWGIRL is the first book in Ms. Lynxwiler’s newest series The McCord Sisters. I couldn’t really relate much to Crystal at first, since as a simple country girl, I don’t have much in common with a beautiful New York actress. But when Crystal goes home to her roots and starts working with the cows and interacting with her family I found her much more realistic.

I enjoyed reading THE RELUCTANT COWGIRL and getting to know Crystal and the other McCord sisters and I look forward to reading the other books in this series. Set in northern Arkansas, in the imaginary town of Shady Grove, the story is actually set in the part of the state where both the author and I live. I enjoyed reading about my locale in a story. 284 pages.