July 2011

Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She is a rural Eastern Oregon transplant into the oh-so-large city of Colorado Springs, where she lives her dream stalking—er visiting with her favorite Colorado authors. Taking the stories God has placed on her heart is one scary and invigorating journey, but one she wouldn’t want to trade for something more mundane and boring like cleaning her apartment (which is in part of a home built in 1904—not to make anyone jealous though). Casey is a member of ACFW and their Carol Award Coordinator. You can connect with her through her personal blog, Writing for Christ, or her group blog, The Writers Alley.

Read more about Casey Herringshaw.

Title: A Cowboy’s Touch (A Big Sky Romance)
Author: Denise Hunter
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 978-1595548016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release date: March 2011
Reviewed by: Casey Herringshaw

In August, the ACFW Bookclub will read two books. One of them is A Cowboy’s Touch by Denise Hunter. Join now to read this book with Casey Herringshaw and other bookclub members.

Denise Hunter’s A Cowboy’s Touch is romantic, heartwarming, and packing a message sure to reach the heart and soothe the spirit.

Wade Ryan was once named the “Sexiest Man Alive”, but Abigail Jones isn’t aware of that when she arrives in Moose Creek to care for her aging aunt, as well as ease her hypertension. She gets more than she bargained for in the idyllic setting—that proves to be anything but a hundred percent peaceful.

Can I get a sigh from the female population? If you haven’t read a Denise Hunter book, you need to pick one up. Wade and Abigail may be filled with confusion as their love grows, but as the reader, I loved the conflict and climax. I could feel the pull of their magnetic connection through the pages.

Abigail’s journalistic ambitions often get in the way of her good intentions, and though she tries to ease her hypertension, it can’t be done on her own terms. (And on a personal note, I don’t think Wade helped any, either. Wink.)

Wade is a hunky cowboy with a heart as big as the Montana sky—but with a lot of problems. A Cowboy’s Heart goes beyond the superficial and delves into the spiritual aspect of Abigail and Wade’s lives. There is growth and definition in both of the main characters, and as the book ended, I appreciated the changes they made.

Romance novels often can be a straight shot to the ending, but Hunter does a great job with the last climactic scene, and her plot is fresh and enlivening.

I would have liked to see more of Wade’s point of view, but aside from that, A Cowboy’s Heart is a thoroughly enjoyable read with a great setting I wouldn’t mind living in; characters, unique and flawed; and a romance that did my heart good. But that’s Denise Hunter for you.