Near Misses & Cowboy Kisses / Katrina Emmel / Book Review

NEAR MISSES & COWBOY KISSES

Riley Thomas doesn't want to be here. A weeklong Oregon Trail excursion with her family is not her ideal summer vacation. And knowing that she'll have to stay in Nebraska even when the week is done, since her parents decided to uproot the family when the school year finished up? Well, it's definitely not the senior year she had in mind, either. Plus the airline lost her luggage, so she'll be spending the week in rural gas station clothes--yippee.

Colton Walker, on the other hand, is no stranger to long treks into the Great Plains. His family runs guided tours, pioneer wagons and all, every summer. Colton tolerates the tourists. But there's nothing better than a night out alone under the stars, just him and his horse. So when he runs into Riley Thomas the day before they're set to head out on the trail, he isn't impressed. He knows a prairie princess when he sees one--California tourist girls like her are all the same.

But Riley isn't exactly the damsel that he thinks. And Colton might not be as much of a lone wolf as everyone assumed. With nothing but open land and wide country sky before them, these two might end up closer than they ever would have thought. Whether they like it or not.

THOUGHTS

Hey, it's a cowboy romance. It's exactly what it promises to be. While I'm not sure a Wild West romance will ever be my favorite, I really enjoyed this book for what it was. It's a great addition to its little romance niche.

PROS

Tropey	This book is tropey, but not in a bad way. It's got all the hallmarks of a cowboy romance. You've got "tall, dark, and irksome" as the stoic and aloof cowboy love interest and the not-from-around-here but more-competent-than-she-looks leading lady. While there's another, more charming man thrown into the mix, Riley's too smart to fall for him. She likes herself a rugged, handsome type after all--not the cowboy swindler.
Presumptive Mansplaining	Mansplaining is irritating, so I feel Riley there. But, I mean, Colton does have a reason to over-explain. He works as a tour guide, after all, and he's seen more dumb tourists than he can count. That assumption might not hold up with Riley, but he couldn't know that. It's frustrating on both sides, but it's more of a misunderstanding on initial acquaintance than anything else. And I don't mind this type of misunderstanding to kick off a stuck-together-against-their-will romance.
Nebraska Contempt	This book does a pretty good job of displaying the natural beauty of the Great Plains... while also having characters parrot back the pretty ignorant (and all-too-common) contempt outsiders have for Midwestern landscapes. Any American who has lived somewhere outside of the coasts has heard similar sentiments, and it's so frustrating... and so real.

CONS

You know a trope I hate? Miscommunication. Like, somebody overhears something they don't have the full context for, and then they act in a ridiculous way, potentially ruining a relationship, instead of just asking questions about it. And luckily, that trope doesn't play out here--at least, not fully. But boy if this book isn't frustrating anyway! They're not really misunderstanding each other. They're just not understanding each other, because nobody asks any dang questions! Like, she's here for a whole week. Ask her something about herself already. Don't just make assumptions when you don't know! A lot of the tension in this book could have been solved if these characters were less focused on their chemistry and more focused on actually talking to each other.	Communicate, Communicate!
I don't know if I've ever rolled my eyes so hard as when this book introduced a rival in the middle, right after Riley and Colton get over their initial misunderstandings. Like, was this really necessary? Sure, the trope doesn't fully play out, but it was so clichéd anyway that I would have written the book off there if it wasn't slated for this review. And kicking off the third act with an almost-misunderstanding induced quasi-break-up (if you can call it that, when they weren't even together) just feels... tired.	Ridiculous Rivalry
There were some passages in this book that felt like the author was really trying to impress upon the readers that she has, you know, been to Nebraska. I don't doubt that the author has been to Nebraska, but I shouldn't be so overwhelmingly aware of that. There's no need to scream at readers that "I know what the Great Plains look like!" because nobody, not even a know-it-all cowboy like Colton, is casually thinking about the different types of prairie grass his horse might decide to eat while out on the trail. Sure, he can know the types, but he's not just thinking about them all the time.	Try-Hard Know-It-All

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10

Those who enjoyed Christina Lauren's Something Wilder will love stepping off the beaten path in this Great Plains romance. Those who need a bit more wilderness adventure in their life after J.C. Peterson's Lola at Last should check out this new romantic trek through the wide, wide wilds.

Details Publisher: Delacorte Romance Date: July 23, 2024 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.