NEAR MISSES & COWBOY KISSES

A quiet Nebraska cowboy and an unhappy California transplant are inexplicably drawn to each other in this wholesome enemies-to-sweethearts debut.

Seventeen-year-old talented artist Riley Thomas’ world has been turned upside down. Her parents’ new jobs require her family to relocate to small-town Nebraska from Southern California the summer before her senior year. Even worse, Mom and Dad are dragging Riley and her younger brother on a week of forced family fun with the Oregon Trail Adventure Co. Cowboy Colton Walker is the reigning 18-and-under solo lasso champion and the strong, silent type, whose family’s business is guiding wagon trains along the trail. When the teens first meet, they feel an instant mix of attraction and annoyance. But throughout the laid-back days and starry nights on the Nebraska plains, they’re drawn together as they begin to realize that there’s more to the other than meets the eye. Emmel does a beautiful, unhurried job of drawing out the transformation of Riley and Colton’s relationship from awkward tension to tentative friendship to budding romance. Readers will root for these two stubborn souls to let down their guards and get out of their own ways. The family relationships are realistic and nuanced, and Riley’s fury and frustration toward her parents is relatable to anyone who’s ever had to relocate against their wishes. Fans of Jenny Han and Kasie West will especially enjoy the innocent portrayal of first love. Main characters are cued white.

A sweet, slow-burn romance with a swoon-y payoff.