Review: ‘Kiss Me Now, Cowboy’ by Dylann Crush
Kiss Me Now, Cowboy
by Dylann CrushSeries: Cowboys in Paradise #1
Published by Berkley on August 23, 2022
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 318
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Professional bull rider Justin Forza might have to trade his cowboy boots for flip flops to win the woman he loves.
Forzas aren't quitters. That's the motto professional bull rider Justin Forza's dad has drilled into his head since the first time he climbed into the bucking chute. After a serious injury, doctor's orders are to stay out of the arena. But if Justin can win one more championship, he'll be able to continue the family legacy, set himself up for life, and finally confess his love to his best friend Emmeline.
Emmeline Porter lives by one rule: never date a bull rider. She's seen the damage a bad ride can cause. As a last resort to stop Justin from returning to the rodeo circuit, she convinces him to take a trip to Paradise Island, a tropical haven off the coast of Texas. She hopes cutting Justin off from the pressure his dad is laying on him will give her best friend the clarity he needs to walk away for good.
The close quarters and island adventures put their friendship to the test, and it's not long before real feelings surface and threaten to sweep them both away.
Kiss Me Now, Cowboy is the first book I’ve read by author Dylann Crush. The cover and the synopsis drew me into reading this book, and luckily, my library had an ebook I could borrow.
I’m a big-time fan of Enemies to Lovers storylines, but Friends to Lovers will always hold a special place in my heart and be a favorite, too. I love reading books in which the hero has been harboring feelings for the heroine for years but is afraid to tell her how he feels. He doesn’t want to risk his friendship, and he also wants to make changes in his life before he tells her.
I’m glad the story was told with a dual POV so that I could read both characters’ points of view. The FMC, Emmeline Porter, does have feelings for the MMC, Justin Forza, but she doesn’t like the idea of him being a professional bull rider. Justin has been a bull rider for years, and he has goals of winning the championship one more time. Then he’ll consider what he plans to do afterward, and one of those is to finally tell his best friend his feelings.
Justin was such a sweet guy who was being pushed and pulled from all sides in this book. Not only by Emmeline because she didn’t want him bull riding anymore, but he had his father and brother pressuring him to get back it because he was at risk of losing his chance at another championship. Justin had a lot on the line, and I felt for his character. He took in to count Emmeline’s feelings, but I didn’t think she did the same with him. I understood why she didn’t want to be with him while he was bull riding because she had someone in her life who had a bad experience with it. But she really should have taken into consideration Justin’s feelings, and there were several times they could have just communicated with one another instead of lying.
I did like Emmeline’s character and how she was the only one really stepping in as a voice of reason when it came to Justin’s healing from an injury. She knew he needed time away from the people trying to push him back into riding, and she needed some time with her best friend. Things ended up going haywire at first when they got to the island, but then things fell together.
One thing I noticed while reading was that the characters constantly repeated themselves. There were several times that Justin shared his feelings about Emmeline and how he was scared to tell her, and the same went for Emmeline, and I found myself skipping over the repetitive lines. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read, and I loved how everything eventually came together in the end for these two characters. The best parts of the book involved a rock that went on adventures with the characters due to it being Emmeline’s class pet rock and how Justin was helping Emmeline with taking pictures and being involved with it.
I give this book 3.5 stars and recommend it to readers who love to read Friends to Lovers and Unrequited Love stories. The bull rider finds love with his best friend after so long, but there are obstacles along the way before that happens.
I definitely plan on reading the next book in this series, especially since the main character in that book was introduced in this book. I will also be checking out Dylann Crush’s backlist.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
✔Cowboy Romance
✔Friends to Lovers
✔Unrequited Love
✔He Fell First (Years Ago)
✔Professional Bull Rider Hero
✔Teacher Heroine
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About Dylann Crush
Dylann Crush writes contemporary romance with sizzle and sass. A romantic at heart, she loves her heroines spunky and her heroes super sexy. When she’s not dreaming up steamy storylines, she can be found sipping a margarita and searching for the best Tex-Mex food in Minnesota.
Although she grew up in Texas, she currently lives in a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul with her unflappable husband, three energetic kids, a clumsy Great Dane, a rescue mutt and a very chill cat. She loves to connect with readers, other authors and fans of tequila.
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