Why we’re excited
Mia writes a popular column about her life on a ranch, from a tiny city flat. When a film crew wants to shoot her cowgirl lifestyle, she has to learn ranch work fast from her friend's grumpy older brother, Dane.
Lynn Painter's rom-coms, including Better Than the Movies and Happily Never After, have made her a reliable name for banter and fake-relationship plots. This one, which appears to stand alone, adds a Western setting. Anyone who likes a city-meets-country romance with a lie at its centre should look out for it in April.
On our most-anticipated list since 22 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Cowboy Like Me
We have reviewed 8 of Lynn Painter’s books, with an average score of 4.0 out of 5. Our highest-rated so far is Trust Fall (4★).
At 352 pages it is about the usual length for a romance release this month.
From the publisher
“Fake it ‘til you make it” has never felt so real for a writer who’s forced to play cowgirl with a rugged pretend-boyfriend in this dazzling, banter-filled romantic comedy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter.
In a world dominated by bite-size videos, Mia Hollister somehow found the perfect writing about life on her ranch. Her column details her zoo of animals, farm-to-table recipes, endless outdoor chores—and people are eating it up. It’s gotten so popular that an entire feature is being produced about her cowgirl lifestyle, complete with a camera crew and director. Which would be fantastic…if she actually lived on a ranch.
In reality, Mia writes from her tiny city apartment. She’d been desperate for a job and loves to write, so why not provide some escapism into a dreamy cowboy world? She may have zero ranching experience, but her friend Arianna’s family owns Copper Creek Ranch, the very place that inspired Mia’s column. With Mia's dream job on the line, Arianna encourages her to head to the ranch early to prep her lie for the feature.
Enter Dane, Arianna’s older brother. He’s been enlisted to teach Mia how to be a cowgirl, though he finds the whole situation preposterous. But Mia isn’t the helpless city girl she appeared to be at first, and Dane isn’t the alpha country boy Mia thought he was, either. Then the unthinkable the crew arrives early. As Mia and Dane scramble to pull off the ultimate ruse, putting out fires around every corner, their own sparks turn into a flame they may not be able to quench.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Cowboy Like Me yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
