A Cowboy's Sweetheart by Crista McHugh Review

Hello Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

Today, I'm here to share with you all a review of a self published young adult title that I read back in May, and unfortunately it didn't end up being quite was I hoping for.

Keep reading to find out why that is.

A Cowboy's Sweetheart by Crista Mchugh:

Source: Bought For Myself

Publication Date: June 25th, 2018

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary

Series: Rodeo Academy

Synopsis:

Pampered New York Socialite and dressage rider, Kensington Pope, has been exiled by her jet-setting parents to her aunt’s Rodeo Academy in Wyoming. She wants nothing to do with the rough and tumble students there, especially one particularly handsome cowboy, Javier. But she won’t be there for long. She has a plan in place to break out after her next international competition.

Javier Cruz takes one look at the spoiled city girl and instantly dismisses her. The school of tough knocks has already educated him on what the important things in life are, and he has bigger things on his plate. He’s counting down the days until his eighteenth birthday when he can pull his younger siblings from the foster care program and reunite his family. But as he gets to know Kensi, he sees a kindred spirit and discovers there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Kensi begins to question her desire to flee the ranch as her relationship to Javier deepens and she learns the importance of family. But when he discovers her escape plan, will he be able to trust her again? And when tragedy comes to the ranch, will Kensi be able to step up and take her place in the family?

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

A Cowboy's Sweetheart was a book that I've been looking forward to reading ever since the author first announced it. I'd bought myself a paperback copy of it quite awhile ago, and finally got around to reading it during all these days of social distancing at home. I was honestly really expecting to love this one as young adult contemporaries continue to be my all time favorite genre. However, while I did end up liking certain components of this one, it ended up not being the story I was expecting, and I ended up not enjoying it as much I had thought I would.

While I do feel the spoiled rich girl falling for the poor boy trope has been used many times before, I still often enjoy reading stories that use it, if it's done well and makes the story seem original. Unfortunately, this one really didn't have any elements that truly made the story stand out. However, the writing was pretty good and the setting was something I really enjoyed which made up for the slightly redundant plot line. I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking Kensington as a character, but surprisingly she grew on me after awhile. Her and Javier ended up making a pretty cute couple, and I found myself actually really enjoying their developing romance. My favorite character ended up being Sierra, and I do hope the author ends up continuing on with this series as I'd love to read more about her in future novels.

However, I basically had three main issues with this novel overall, and that's why it received a lower rating than I had expected it to. First off, the only decent adult character portrayed throughout the entire novel is Tammy. Kensingston's parents are hopeless, Bobby is toxic, hostile and honestly kind of creepy, and Ritza truly encourages Kensington to be spoiled and selfish, and doesn't even acknowledge that she's changed for the better since coming to the ranch.

Secondly, I wasn't a fan of the sexual innuednos that are present throughout the story, and I thought they were extremely out of place in a romance about a sixteen year old. In particular, I was put off when Kensington's describing her dating experience to Sierra, after all she's only sixteen and she makes it sounds like she's been playing a cat and mouse game with guys for years. It seemed kind of inappropriate and weird, and I personally would have enjoyed this one much more without that content included.

Lastly, I really felt this novel was way too short for how many things were occurring throughout. If it were just about Javier and Kensington's romance, the page count probably would have been sufficient. However, the fact that readers are also hearing about Kensington's adjustment to the ranch, Javier's quest to bring his brothers home, the dressage competition, the rodeo training academy, Sierra's journey, etc, etc, made this story seem really rushed, and I didn't feel it ended in a way that truly answered a lot of the questions that had raised for me while reading it.

Overall, I did still enjoy this one, but I'm not sure it's one I'll be planning to reread in the future. I would still be willing to give the next book in the series a try though, as I did enjoy Sierra's character and hopefully if the author does decide to carry on with the series, future stories won't seem quite as rushed.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me and all rights to the respective owners.