e-ALC, 07:46:43
Narrated by: Abigail Reno & Marwan Salama
Release Date: December 9, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: December 12-14, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received this ALC free from the publisher and their app. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: N/A
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Sparkly Cover, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Stand-alone, YAA swoony, sweet YA rural romance between a rancher and the Hollywood hotshot she’s tasked with turning into a cowboy—perfect for fans of Kasie West, Erin Hahn, and Kristy Boyce!
Sixteen-year-old Cassidy Sterling can’t imagine life beyond her family’s Wyoming ranch. Her days are filled with colt breaking, cattle rustling, and an online Intro to Astronomy class. Seventeen-year-old Wilder Nash also has his sights set on the stars—the ones on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A teen heartthrob, he’s now he’s ready for the big time. To land a lead role as a cowboy in a prime-time mini-series, he must convince the casting director he’s an experienced horseman. The problem? He’s all hat and no cowboy.
With less than a month to learn to ride, Wilder heads to Silver Stallion Ranch.
Cassidy’s quiet life is disrupted when Wilder arrives. As he mucks out stalls and grooms horses, Wilder begins to see there’s more to life than his looks. And Cassidy starts imagining a future beyond the ranch. The growing spark between them threatens to ignite into something more, but Cassidy must decide if she’s brave enough to take the reins of her own life. Meanwhile, Wilder faces a the glamorous life of a star or a simpler life under the stars.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was a sweet story! I’m not usually a fan of cowboy/cowgirl romances because I’m a Texan and country usually equates to people making fun of us lol But good thing this isn’t about Texans. These kiddos were cute and knew so much about running a farm that I was impressed. I really enjoyed it.
So I think the cutest thing about this is the romance. Not only did Wilder work to get to know the farm, but he also worked to get to know her. And that made the romance mean so much more in my opinion. And I think I liked this more than others because he didn’t lie to her. They both knew how this was going to end and they were ok with that. They never had to go with the miscommunication trope. And I was like dang even adults can’t do that lol
I also liked the humor in this. The way I laughed with the goats omg I almost woke my kid up laughing so hard. I would have paid good money to see that happen in real life. And when he tried to act like he knew how to feed the chickens. And her grandpa was a little annoying and way too old school for my taste, but I thought he was funny too. I was glad that they had that comedic relief between the two of them. Especially since Cassidy always seemed so serious. But I guess you have to when you’re taking care of all those animals.
And lastly, I really liked the setting. My grandpa owned a farm where he lived when I was growing up and I remember going with him to feed the cows and the pigs. Reading this and seeing all the things she was doing really took me back there. My grandpa passed away in 2010, so it was nice to feel a little closer to him through this. Emmel’s writing style really transports you there, so even if you’re new to the farm life, you’ll be sure to learn a thing or two while you’re reading.
I did think the ending was a little abrupt tho. Its what made me rate this what I did. Like it was time for him to leave and then he did and then she was back. It was like BOOM BOOM BOOM. All back to back. I would have preferred to see her prep. And how she did. Or how she was when they got some time together later. Idk I kind of wanted to see them more as a couple. We spent all that time trying to get them together and then being too tired to do anything besides pine away for each other. And still we got nothing lol
This was a lot of fun. I hope there’s more to come from Katrina Emmel. Her debut was also really good. I can’t wait to see what country person is next from her!
Overall, I give this
