A strong woman, raising a preteen son and running a dude ranch? Skye is pretty much like Wonder Woman without the invisible plane, but even Wonder Woman has a few struggles. Adam Clark, self admitted nerd and video game owner/developer, is about to have is techie world turned upside down. No WiFi, no cell phone and his buddies are stuck in London but he manages to find an inner strength to power through nature, with Skye's help. Two complete opposites have found each other on a ranch in Colorado and the two couldn't be more perfect. Exciting, creative and romantic Marts has written a standalone for everyone. It's not often women are written with strong minds and independence while the men are willing to show a weakness, lovely to read a different take. My copy was given through Netgalley and my review written voluntarily.

I love the way Jennie Marts tells her stories. She gives readers a perfect "picture" of the setting, making it feel like you are there and experiencing it with the characters. She also adds the right qualities to her characters allowing them to be life like and downright sweet. I feel like I may have even caught the accent of the heroine in this one. She's too darn cute! With that, this is a really sweet and lighthearted read with the perfect amount of romance. It's low on drama, has the sweetest and most lovable characters, and is just plain charming.

Jennie Marts is my "go to" author when I need a sweet and light read and I always know that I am going to have a smile on my face when I finish one of her stories. If you like stories that will do this to you then I strongly suggest giving Catching the Cowgirl" a try . You will be enchanted with this story. And you may even want to take a vacation to a ranch just like the one portrayed in this story too.

Rating: 4 stars

Loved this book! Great characters with city guy Adam Clark, single mom Skye Hawkins and her wily son Cody. The three make a great little unit. The story is simple, light, and fun. Perfect for a lazy afternoon read.

Adam Clark finds himself on a Colorado Dude Ranch where he is suppose to be meeting up with his friends and partners for some relaxation and a little research for their upcoming video game. When his buddies get delayed he decides to make the best of it and go ahead with the research on his own. Falling for the high spirited, independent owner Skye Hawkins wasn't in the plan but she grabs his attention right away and he won't be deterred. Bonding with her 12 year old son doesn't hurt his chances either!

I highly recommend this one!

I loved this book from the first page and found it to be a fun, romantic read. Skye is running a dude ranch and raising her son on her own. Adam co-owns a video game company with two of his friends. Because of the development of a new video game, they end up doing research at the dude ranch that Skye manages. She quickly makes the men feel like teenagers, not business owners, who are far from their comfort zones. This book is about family, friends, love, hope and determination. Even though this book is a part of a series, it can be read alone as a stand alone novel. Overall, I highly recommend this book. I plan on reading the rest of this series.

Catching the Cowgirl is book three in the Cotton Creek series by Jennie Marts.

Adam Clark designs video games. He and his two best friends started a business right out of college and developed one of the most popular video games around. They believe that for the game to be authentic, they have to experience the world they are trying to create. Their latest game will be centered in the Wild West. So, they make reservations to spend a week at a dude ranch in Colorado to experience the life of a cowboy. Adam lives in California and has never set foot in Colorado so this will be a brand new experience for him. A delay, though, keeps his two friends from arriving so Adam is on his own. His first step off the bus and he is face to face with the ranch owner, a woman who instantly somehow calls to him.

Skye Hawkins is doing her best to keep Hawkins Ridge Ranch from going under. She’s on her own, having lost her dad a few years before. Skye is a single mom to a pre-teen boy who is starting to resent having to be stuck all summer on the ranch helping out instead of spending time with friends. Skye doesn’t date. When her son’s dad left, she has dedicated her life to raising her son and making a good life for him. That’s all she has time for. But when she sees the newest client get off the bus with his glasses and hilarious snake skin boots, something in her stirs, something that’s been asleep for a very long time.

“Who would have thought that a guy who’d never even been on a horse would be the one to finally jumpstart her heart?”

Adam is a successful game developer but also a geek and he knows it. He doesn’t know the first thing about life on a ranch. And, his life and livelihood is in California. Skye is a cowgirl all the way to the tips of her boots. Their lives couldn’t have been more different, more far apart. But that thing between them, that connection, that spark, wouldn’t be denied.

“You strode into my life in your cowboy boots and snug jeans and turned everything I know on its head.”

Adam sees that Skye is struggling with finances not to mention that there has been a string of unfortunate things happen that have set them back even farther. He wants to help but Skye is not having it. She takes pride in what she has accomplished and she does not take hand outs from anyone.

These two together were adorable. Let me tell you, Adam was so swoony. This geeky gamer had all the right words. He melted my heart time and time again. Skye, though, didn’t trust easily. Over and over she misjudged Adam’s actions. But, Adam was not going to be deterred. He knew Skye was for him and he would find a way to make her see it as well.

I really did enjoy this. Most know that I love my cowboys so this was so much fun to have the roles reversed. I loved Adam from the start. I do have to say that at times I felt frustrated with Skye. I knew her actions hurt Adam but he was not giving up. I did understand why she felt the way she did. And her isolated life on the ranch had to have toughened her up some. But when she was with Adam, she found the part of her that had been missing for so long. It just took awhile for her to finally accept that she needed that part of herself as much as she needed the rest. This is the second book I’ve read in this series and I love it. Well done, Jennie Marts. I can’t wait to go back to Cotton Creek again soon.

I liked Adams character, but not Skyes so much. She really needs to learn to just say thank you and get over it. Adam is so sweet, constantly looking for ways to help and or make Skye's life easier. She says she doesn't need help from anyone. There's a difference between being independent and just stubborn. But then again if she gave in too easily then we'd have a completely different book.

3.5 stars

Cute story about a single mom, Skye Hawkins, who is trying to keep her family's ranch from sinking. They there is a video game designer Adam Clark, who was supposed to meet his coworker's there for a retreat and do work on their game. His coworkers are held up in London, leaving Adam all alone at the ranch. Not really an ideal work/retreat for Adam. He is a gamer, without internet!

Adam and Skye are complete opposite who are attracted to each other. Can you find love when you are a gamer in the backwood with no internet to a cowgirl who doesn't know anything about video games???

The answer is a sweet yes!

Loved this book! It's sweet, fun, and full of charm! Skye is struggling to raise her son and run a dude ranch and is barely keeping her head above water. Adam is a video game designer that co-owns his company with his two best friends. As part of the prep for their next game, the three friends are meeting a dude ranch to spend a week learning about it so they can inject realism into the game. However, the most appealing thing about the ranch is its proprietress, Skye, who makes him feel like a tongue tied teen instead of an accomplished business owner.

This is a fun novel that pokes fun at the computer nerd who is a situation very far outside of his comfort zone, yet finding himself smitten with the rancher. She is equally as smitten, but, while opposites can attract, what comes can come next for two people from drastically different worlds?

Full of charm, this is a must read for fans of the genre. While is is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel. The author is on my must read authors' list.