A Cowboy’s Fourth of July

The Cowboy Academy Book 2

Melinda Curtis

Harlequin Pub

July 25th, 2023

A Cowboy’s Fourth of July by Melinda Curtis is the second in the series. What makes the plot interesting is how the dynamics between the characters have changed over the years.  The hero and heroine were high school friends with her having the upper hand but as they grew to adulthood the roles reversed. 

Allison Burns has many responsibilities. She gave up her dream of becoming a singer after becoming pregnant.  Now a single parent she wants to do best for her daughter but is struggling financially.  Allison needs to find a way to keep the family ranch from being foreclosed by the bank owned by Dix Youngblood.  He had a crush on her in high school ever since he helped her pass her math classes.  Because he still has feelings for her, he agrees to help her straighten out the finances.  As they spend time together both realize that their feelings have grown. As with most of her books, Curtis uses either a child or animal to add humorous banter to the story.

“I wrote Allison as someone who set aside dreams for the sake of family.  She had been pursuing her dream to be a singer and then got pregnant. Her music career was put on hold because she decided her baby was more important. She has a lot of responsibilities and is pulled in all different directions, with her life in crisis mode. She is a rancher, single parent, and a baker.  Her family always competed in this baking contest but had a wrench thrown at her by some other character in the story who can be classified as a ‘mean girl.’ Allison is direct and a worrier.”

“Dix is a very introspective person who finds safety in numbers.  You could classify him as an urban cowboy because he does not work every day on a ranch but has the skills to. He chose a different path in banking and finance.  I consider him forthright with a strong character.”

“The daughter, Piper, is comic relief.  Piper is full of sunshine. She is inquisitive, prickly, proud, a tomboy, and in control. She is a little bit spoiled as the only child in the family. Piper is happy go lucky, looking at the world as her oyster.”

As with all Curtis books readers get a good story, great characters, in an atmospheric setting.

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