The subtitle on the cover “A Romantic Showdown in Small-Town Arkansas” summarizes “Along Came a Cowboy” perfectly. Dr. Rachel Donovan is a successful chiropractor living in Shady Grove, Arkansas. She tries to keep to herself and away from the southern scandals until one of her patients, Alma Westwood, brings along her son Jack to one of her appointments. Alma tries to be the matchmaker, but Rachel doesn’t have it. Come to find out, Jack lives and runs his ranch right next door to her parents. Because of something that happened in her past (we won’t mention it here), Rachel shuns the very idea of “cowboys” which Jack is. Sadly, Rachel is also an outcast with her parents from this event which makes their interactions very awkward. Her pregnant sister Tammy and her husband Rick do not live in town. Their teenage daughter Jennifer, who mistakenly finds out she’s adopted, decides to spend the summer with Rachel so she can help her find out where her real mother is. Throughout all of this, Rachel is trying to harbor her real feelings for Jack. She doesn’t want to get involved with a cowboy, nor does she want her niece to either, since Jennifer likes her parent’s ranch-hand Dirk. Rachel starts to feel more at ease with Jack after she is nominated and starts working on the Shady Grove Centennial Rodeo Committee. Whew!
Since this is a romantic cowboy story, the ranch elements (bull riding, barrel racing, etc.) were really well written and easy to understand for those of us (like me) who are not familiar with the ranch life. I particularly enjoyed the part where Rachel’s niece wanted to train become a bull rider.
Although there were a lot of characters and subplots to keep track of, it was a moving Christian love story that focused on the importance of being in God’s grace at all times. There were many lessons that could be applied to everyday life especially the fact that you need to overcome (and be thankful for) the past to move on with the future. “Along Came a Cowboy” was a very romantic, uplifting story suitable for those who enjoy a great Christian novel.
Along Came a Cowboy
Christine Lynxwiler
Barbour Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781597898966
Reviewed by Wendy Cleveland for Reader Views (5/08)
Comments