Review of ‘Cowgirl 101’ by Laina Villeneuve
This was an enjoyable lesbian western romance book. This is my fourth book by Villeneuve but easily my favorite by hers. I don’t know what it is but horses and cowgirls just go really well in WLW romances. While Villeneuve has written about the wilderness and mountains of California before, this book clicked much better for me than her others have.
The setting of this book is wonderful. You feel transported to a working guest ranch and then into the mountains on horseback and mule. The book just sucks you in and you wish you could actually be there to see what the characters are seeing. Now, I do have to mention that this book starts out a little slow, but once it gets going you don’t want to stop reading until the end.
This book takes place on the same ranch that ‘Take Only Pictures’ does. It has been a while since I read that book but I actually remember it pretty well and there are a few secondary characters that are in both books. I think chances are very high that if you enjoyed ‘Take Only Pictures’ that you will enjoy this one too and maybe even enjoy it more. Also, Kat and Wendy from the book ‘Kat’s Nine Lives’, are celebrating their anniversary by taking a trip to the mountains so it was nice to catch up with those characters too.
While this book is very connected to other books that Villeneuve has written, this is not an actual sequel, they just take place in the same universe. I think that is nice because you don’t have to worry about reading order and can start with this book even if you are totally new to reading Villeneuve’s stories. And if you have read her before, it’s fun to see past characters again.
I enjoyed the romance but it did have a bump or two. This is a slow burn, enemies to lovers, or at least dislike and annoyance to lovers. I’m a big fan of this trope so I liked seeing the sparks of conflict between the mains. The more they bickered, the more the tension grew which then turned into sexual tension. So I enjoyed the build-up and the pairing quite a bit. However, I was not as crazy about the angst. I felt it was too small of an issue for such a big blow-up. I agreed with the character who was angry and wronged to feel that way, but if you’re falling in love with someone a little communication should not be hard, on both sides. I get why Villeneuve needed to do this story choice. One of the characters still had some growing to do, but it still drove me a bit nuts. On the good side, I thought the ending was nice and sappy sweet.
If you are into westerns and stories that take place out in the wilderness, and if you want to see what it takes to become a cowgirl, this book is for you. I had a lot of fun with this and it was nice to enjoy one of Villeneuve’s books so much. I would actually like to read another book with these characters. I feel like their story together is just beginning. 3.75 Stars.
An ARC was given to me for an honest review.
