Yee-fucking-haw

FIVE STARS! I don’t care if the plot and romance was predictable or if Amelia was accident prone and sorta basic!

We got not one, but TWO love stories and there wasn’t an unnecessary third act breakup, five stars alone just for that. Everything was wrapped up nicely and I’m satisfied.

Eric was swoon worthy and his little actions made me giddy. I love a grumpy cowboy who acts like he doesn’t care but everything he does shows he cares.

Amelia was extremely relatable! It was sometimes too much that she kept getting hurt, but who cares? Don’t lie, we all loved Eric caring for her every time an injury befell upon her.

Dean and Penny are so cute! I didn’t expect them to actually happen — maybe thinking they’d get their own book— but I loved it ! IM OBSESSED. Also the way Trevor worships Christine?! I need!

Thank you NetGalley:,)

I love love love a cowboy romance. Amelia is a successful author but has decided that she wants to switch genres. After she gets denied by several publishers, she decides to do some more research on the subject and finds herself in Colorado with her own grumpy cowboy. This is reflected in Andrews writing, as she herself is very knowledgeable on the cowboy/ranch lifestyle.

I loved the banter between Amelia and Eric, the relationships between family, and loved that there was no unnecessary 3rd act breakup or drama!!! The song titles at the beginning of each chapter were also such a fun touch!!

If you are a fan of the Rebel Blue Ranch or the Chestnut Springs series, you will absolutely adore this one too!!

**Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC and the chance to read and review. All opinions are my own**

3.5 ★

This cowboy romance features Amelia, a writer from the city (I always love it when books are about authors writing a book), and Eric, a grumpy and at first glance silent cowboy. This is a fun, light romance without spice.

What to expect:
- 1st person POV
- A song for each chapter
-No spice/clean romance
-No third-act breakup (thank God)

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was a nice easy read with alot of action but very little spice. While reading I could feel myself slowly growing close to each of the characters and at points felt like I myself was right in the book!

Eric is my new book boyfriend. I love him. I love the way he let Amelia find her way to him swoon! Amelia’s decision to do in person research absolutely paid off. And the side love story that we got to see build in the process, I would read a book about them hands down!
I seriously loved this book so much, and for this to be self-published, are you kidding me? Give me a movie about Amelia and Eric and I’d watch it in a heartbeat!

I love both characters. It took me around 30% to fully be invested in this book. It's not your typical city girl settled down in the countryside for love. They both put in the work, effort and communicate properly to get where they are.

I love a cowboy romance but this just wasn’t it for me.
I could t really click with the characters or the plot.
The MMC was tolerable but the FMC really rubbed me the wrong way.

I really enjoyed this book. I love a cowboy romance, so this was perfect for me. I found the fmc to be quite confused about her feelings for the mmc throughout most of the book, which sort of bothered me a bit because he seemed to be straightforward about his yet she was constantly confused about his feelings for her. I really liked the mmc and how he was with his family and the fmc. I feel like the side characters really made this story great. There was no miscommunication, which was nice to see. I loved the setting and I really enjoyed the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC.

Personally, I thought the book was okay. I couldn’t connect with the plot and the characters, and I didn’t really like the fmc. It wasn’t bad a book, I just think it wasn’t for me. Everything felt too fast paced in love which I felt it didn’t make sense because there was barely any relationship development.

Thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy for review purposes!

2.5 ⭐

I really enjoyed the setting of the story, I had a great time for the first 30%ish of the book but then I started feeling like the story was stalling and there was no progression. Things got boring and repetitive pretty quickly, and the very detailed descriptions of random things didn’t help. Tha love story between the main characters is marketed as a slow burn, but I personally felt like there was nothing “to burn” because while the main mmc was trying to move forward the fmc was stuck and didn’t really show any sign of wanting to same things as the mmc.

That being said if you’re looking for a book that is more a journey of self growth than a romance and has cowboy vibes this might be your cup of tea!

"Rider’s Block" is a cozy, slow-burn romance that tells the story of Amelia, a successful author who, after facing constant rejection, decides to take matters into her own hands and immerse herself in the world of rodeos and ranch life in Colorado. She’s hoping a few months in the cowboy-rich heart of the country will inspire the perfect cowboy romance novel to get her career back on track. What she doesn’t expect is to end up under the same roof as Eric, a grumpy cowboy who’s as resistant to her presence as he is to her attempts to get any real research done. Their forced proximity quickly turns into a battle of wills, with Amelia trying to survive the summer without upsetting Eric further (especially since he has this annoying habit of drunkenly admitting how attracted he is to her).

As the weeks roll by, though, their friction starts to simmer into something a bit more complicated, and Amelia begins to question what’s happening between them. Is it just the isolation, or is there really something there with the gruff, standoffish cowboy? The entire dynamic is a slow-burn, with plenty of tension, mixed emotions, and reluctant attraction. While the backdrop of Colorado’s stunning scenery and rodeo culture is beautifully captured, it’s the chemistry between Amelia and Eric that makes the story shine (even if it takes its sweet time to fully come together).

For me, this book hit the right notes for a low-key, feel-good read, but I can see how some people might want more depth from Eric’s character. We only get Amelia’s POV, so Eric’s thoughts and feelings are mostly a mystery, which left me wanting a bit more insight into why he’s so closed off. The romance is definitely slow and steady, which I liked, but it might be too slow for some. The writing does feel a little stiff in places, especially early on, and there are a few small inconsistencies that took me out of the flow at times. But honestly, these are minor bumps in what is otherwise a charming, low-stakes romance. If you’re into feel-good stories with a slow-burn romance and a bit of cowboy charm, this one’s worth picking up.

I love a cowboy romance so I knew I was going to enjoy this!

Pros: not insta love, no miscommunication - in fact very good communication, lots of exploration of ranching and rodeos rather than the same tired stereotypes but still all the tropes we know and love

Cons: chapter 12 the FMC describes a book she read and disliked, fine except for the very victim blaming vibes that came across - I don’t know if this based on a real romance novel or not but there are plenty of plots that could have described the MMCs actions not aligning with their “love” for the FMC without resorting to the victim blaming shown here. Totally fine with badmouthing toxic representations of relationships but to dismiss this example of assault really ruined the remainder of the book for me.

I loved this author's writing style! It was such an enjoyable book and the characters were well developed. The story was also very well paced and sucked me in from the beginning.

this was such a fun read and would absolutely recommend this for any small town/cowboy romance enjoyers
i was not against the closed door spice either! i think it fit this book well
but i did feel like some parts were a rather frustrating with the FMC and her struggle with her feelings
and i was really itching for eric's pov
that is strictly personal preference and was still enjoyable nonetheless

The Rider's Block is a good introductory book for those looking to get into cowboy romance novels. I thought Andrews did a great job of explaining the different rodeo events and helped me to picture better what these events look like when they are completed. I liked how much we got to know the side characters.

I struggled with the writing style, which I think was a personal preference I could have gotten over. However, my main issue is that the main character drives after a night out drinking. Most of her drinks had been watered down, but I still strongly dislike that she drove home after drinking at all, never mind multiple drinks. This is probably not a deal breaker for most people, but it ruined the book for me.

I really enjoyed the setting of beautiful Colorado on a quaint ranch. As a horse girl and lover of cowboy romances I was excited about this one. It started out really well, but fell short for me. The pacing was a little off and I wasn’t in love with the MMC. I just wanted a little more from this one.

This was extremely well written!! The descriptions of the mountains and views, as well as the characters and how beautifully they communicated with each other. This was such a sweet cowboy romance!

The book does a great job explaining the ranch culture and activities in great details. I liked how rodeos and different rodeos games were described. The found family aspect was heartwarming as well.
The romance fell short for me. Though the MMC, Eric was very likeable, the constant push and pull from our FMC, Amelia put a damper on the mood.
I also wanted more tension and build up. There were so many opportunities for having perfect chemistry like one horse, one tent etc. but nothing really happened. The love happened out of no where with minimum to no build up. Furthermore, the FMC was so committed to her book and it would have been nice to see what her actual book was about.
Lastly, the real issue was the pacing. It was so off with so much tell and not show. Combine way too many inner monologues and you kinda get whiplash.
I liked the ending and that there was no third act break up.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy. My opinions are based solely on my reading experience.

Showstopping, I somehow loved it even more than her first book which I didn't think was possible. Eric and Mia are so adorable and I am obsessed. It took him a bit to warm up to her but once he did, he was such a goner. He loved her so much and would do literally anything for Mia. She knew she had strong feelings for him, it just took her a little longer to admit them. The whole family was so fun and Mia just fit right in.

I received an arc through netgalley.