After a bad break up, Sarah Murphy takes a leave of absence from her doctorate program and returns to her family ranch in Colorado. Meanwhile, local cowboy superstar Tyler Bailer is devastated over the theft of his champion show horse, My Texas Streak. When Tex ends up at the Murphy ranch to be rehabilitated, the two headstrong horse lovers clash. If Tyler wants the stallion to recover from his trauma, though, he’ll have to learn to trust Sarah’s methods—even if the feelings she evokes make him feel uncomfortable.

Author Lindsey Cowherd’s passion for horses is front and center in MY TEXAS STREAK and is filled with in-depth knowledge about roping, riding, and training horses—but readers who don’t know anything about such matters need not worry. A background in horses isn’t required to enjoy the story that Cowherd has crafted and her descriptions of Sarah’s desensitization process, Tyler’s roping competitions, and the Murphy family colt starting techniques add engaging details to the story for aspiring cowgirls and full-fledged equestrians alike. Cowherd’s inclusion of horses in the narrative of MY TEXAS STREAK isn’t just for flavor, though. She cleverly uses the process of gentling Tex as a plot device that advances the romance between Sarah and Tyler. Her understanding of romantic pacing is strong. The dates that Sarah and Tyler share are charming, and the attraction between the two characters is written in a tasteful yet appealing way.

However, while the plot and the romantic pacing of MY TEXAS STREAK is strong, the characters aren’t always clearly developed. Likewise, some of the character dialogue comes off as awkward or stiff. Cowherd relies on Sarah’s description as a “cute girl-next-door” to carry her characterization. Part way through the novel, Sarah’s point of view fades into the background and Tyler takes center stage. However, Tyler’s flaws aren’t always consistently depicted or fully explored, which means that both of Cowherd’s point of view characters could use improvement.  Also helpful would be a professional proofreader to correct the many typos and grammatical errors found throughout the novel.

MY TEXAS STREAK is a solid and well-written cowgirl romance and while its overall appeal could be improved with more character development the story itself is worth reading for fans of the genre.

~Stephani Hren for IndieReader