"A refreshing story of young love."

Texas, 1866 When sixteen-year-old Samantha Reynolds sees a notice tacked on a wall advertising for boys fourteen and older to work as cowboys driving a herd of cattle to Missouri, a job that pays $100 at the end of the drive, she is upset at how unfair it is that she isn't a boy. After all, she has worked as hard as any boy to keep her family from starving during the war by plowing and planting the crops, and tending their cow. Times are bad and getting worse, her mother and younger siblings are going hungry, debt is mounting at the general store, and her older brother came back from the war missing an arm and his self-confidence. The more she thinks about it, the more she knows she can do this job! So she takes the chance, cuts her hair, dons her younger brother's clothes and goes to apply for the job.

Eighteen-year-old Matthew Hart is on this cattle drive to learn the ropes of being trail boss. He plans on driving his own herd to market some day. Ever since his experiences of watching men, and boys younger than he die during the war, he has kept to himself, not allowing anyone to get close to him. But there is something about young 'Sam' that causes him to go out on a limb, hiring him over the objections of trail boss Jake Vaughn. This generous impulse backfires on him when Jake assigns him to see that the kid stays out of trouble during the drive, He doesn't want to get that close to anyone again, but now he has no choice.

Sam is determined to prove her worth, make it to Missouri and collect that $100. The problem is that she is having trouble hiding her growing feelings for Matt. When Matt discovers her secret he is torn between her obvious need to earn that money, and his desire to protect her and everyone else from the obvious hazards of a girl taking part in a cattle drive. He has a tough decision to make.

Samantha and the Cowboy is a wonderfully simple and uncomplicated story of growing up, facing up to your responsibilities, and first love. It is a perfect book to introduce new, younger readers to the romance genre, as well as a refreshing break from the complicated mysteries, super villains and intricate plot lines of today's romances. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Reviewed by Janice Bennett
Posted May 9, 2002

Summary

When she manages to get herself hired for the cattle drive, Samantha believes all her prayers have been answered. The money she'll earn will help her family with their struggling farm. But keeping the cowhands convinced she's a boy becomes harder than she'd expected where one particular cowboy is concerned.

Matthew Hart wants to forget the tragedies he witnessed during the War and reclaim his cowboy life. The last thing he wants is the responsibility of a tagalong youngster on this cattle drive. His hardened heart is best left unexplored until a fateful moment turns his world upside down. When he discovers what and who "Sam" really is, he's furious. But soon a stronger emotion takes hold, and bound by Samantha's secret, Matt is torn between revealing her identity and his own sudden, frightening love for her.