Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In her sophomore novel, Emmel delivers a dual point-of-view romance set against a lush backdrop. Cassidy has always known that someday she’ll help run Silver Stallion Ranch, just like generations of Sterlings before her. Wilder Nash is a Hollywood heartthrob who’s trying to break out of commercials and high school prom-coms. Being cast as the lead in a historical Western miniseries might be his big break. The only problem: He can’t ride a horse. But he hopes that a stay at the ranch with Cassidy as his teacher will turn him into a believable rider. Over the course of their lessons, the chemistry between the teens slowly builds. But can they take a chance on romance when they’re from two different worlds and their time together is finite? Emmel transports readers to Wyoming, with its rolling fields, winding streams, and smells of dry earth and warm grass. Cassidy loves her home and her life, but she recognizes how confining not having choices can be. Wilder wants to be serious, but he doesn’t know what to say when there’s no script to fall back on. Cassidy and Wilder, who are cued white, feel like real people who are acting on their internal motivations and insecurities. While the growing romantic tension is engaging, the ending wraps up a bit too quickly. Still, this novel offers an appealing blend of love story and coming-of-age themes. A swoony romance with a well-developed sense of a place.(Romance. 12-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Seventeen-year-old actor Wilder is hoping to take on some more serious roles. When he's given a chance to appear in a western-themed miniseries, Wilder’s agent secures him the role by saying he’s a horseman and sends him to his estranged family’s ranch in Wyoming for a summer of lessons. Cassidy has only known life on the ranch and dreams of something more, but after her uncle left for a life in Hollywood, she worries about disrupting the family. Wilder has acted in multiple made-for-TV teen movies, and this reads like a script for one, perfect for young teens wanting a gentle and sweet summer romance. Wilder and Cassidy are fairly flat characters, and their romance is surface-level, marked by secret glances and soft hand brushes. The rich details are the highlight of the story, giving a peek into the day-to-day goings-on of ranch life. A movie-like ending wraps things up nicely. Give to readers who want a low-stakes story with romance.

Publishers Weekly
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Sparks fly between a small-town rancher yearning for more and a hot-shot actor on the verge of a big break in this feel-good romance. As an only child, Wyoming native Cassidy Sterling, 17, will someday inherit her family’s Silver Stallion Ranch, along with its cattle, horses, “mini-velociraptors” (aka chickens), and defiant goats. She worries, however, that life on the ranch might not be enough for her. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, actor Wilder Nash, also 17, plans to “break out from kiddy actor fame into the big leagues” with a lead role in a western TV series—but he must first convince the show’s producers that he’s an experienced horseman. Luckily, Wilder’s agent—also Cass’s uncle, whose decision to forsake ranching divides the Sterling family—arranges for Wilder to moonlight as a summer farmhand at the ranch, complete with riding lessons and cowboy training from Cass. Complications arise when starry skies and campfires ignite romantic sparks between the teens. While Wilder struggles to express his own unscripted feelings, Cass frets about their romance’s approaching expiration date—and what it will mean to her family should she follow Wilder to Hollywood. Alternating narration from Emmel (Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses) delightfully wrangles disarming repartee, farm animal hijinks, tight plotting, and an intimate western setting into a swoony love story starring a mostly white-cued cast. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jordan Hamessley, JABberwocky Literary. (Dec.)