Romance-novel-obsessed Luna Starr decides to turn her cowboy fantasies into reality by purchasing a tiny farm in Celestial, Texas after life throws her a curveball. Enter Tate Jacobs, the town’s handyman and high school football coach who ironically hates cowboys despite his family owning the largest ranch in town. As Tate helps Luna fix up her disaster of a property, unexpected chemistry bubbles to the surface under those vast Texas skies.
If you love Friday Night Lights, this one is for you. Celestial is the kind of small town that feels like every girl’s Hallmark dream. The kind of place where you show up and immediately find your people. I loved Luna. She’s spunky, whimsical, obsessed with pink and all things girly, and she really shines as a lead character. She’s sweet and caring without being one-dimensional, and her energy carried the story for me.
Tate I liked but didn’t love. We get his ‘trauma’ but I didn’t feel he was as fleshed out as well as Luna. I wanted more from his relationship with his family and it felt like that whole dynamic just got brushed over when it could have added so much more depth. Without spoiling too much, I’m also really glad we didn’t get a love triangle, that would have been an easy trap to fall into and Martin avoided it. This also feels like it easily sets us up for a series in Celestial and I would absolutely go back for more.
My biggest issue is that the moments that should have hit the hardest didn’t. The piece with her uncle and the actual ‘tense ‘climax’ point of the book (what should have been BIG moments) felt like afterthoughts. The story would have read almost the same without them, and that kept it from landing with real emotional weight. It’s open door but the spice is medium with really just one or two scenes, so if you’re looking for something steamier this might not be it.
Overall this is an easy, cowboy-light romance that goes down smooth. Extra points for being set in Texas because a lot of the stereotypes written in are genuinely accurate and made me smile. It landed at a 3.5 rounded down to 3 for me. Cute and digestible but missing the emotional punch that would have taken it higher. If you’re looking for something light and feel-good with small-town charm, this is a solid pick.
By the Bootstraps is out now. Huge thank you to Berkley Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books.
