Save a Horse, Keep the Cowboy

Summer Lovin'

by Jessica Peterson

New York Times bestselling author Jessica Peterson’s short story of a ride through first love into forever follows a country music star who returns home for a family affair—and faces the cowboy who once watched her walk away.

Josie Reid abandoned her Texas hometown six years ago, when Weston Jessup chose his family’s ranch over her. Now a country music sensation, she’s back where it all started to officiate her brother’s wedding. Wes is the best man, and he’s determined to make things right. But can he convince Josie to give him another shot, or is their love song played out?

Jessica Peterson’s Save a Horse, Keep the Cowboy is part of Summer Lovin’, a sweet and sultry collection of short summer romances that turn up the heat—and the heart. Read or listen to each short story in one easy, breezy sitting.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Audiobook, Second Chance, Short Stories, Contemporary, Westerns

57 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 26, 2026

About the author

Jessica Peterson writes romance with heat, humor, and heart. Heroes with hot accents are her specialty. When she’s not writing, she can be found bellying up to a bar in the south’s best restaurants with her husband Ben, reading books with her adorable daughters Gracie and Madeline, or snuggling up with her 70-pound lap dog, Martha.

A Carolina girl at heart, she fantasizes about splitting her time between Charleston and Asheville, but currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

Reviews

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 2 out of 5]

idk maybe stick with the horse

[aira · Rating 2 out of 5]

so all he had to do was sing for her forgiveness?

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second chance romances are always a hit or a miss for me, but in a novella, they absolutely do NOT work...
Also, doing a public grand gesture after six years of no contact is simply ridiculous, that scene gave me so much second-hand embarrassment. We love a man in therapy though!!

[chloé ✿]

i didn’t hate this story but it’s also nothing monumental. it’s super short and very easy to read.

what to expect:
• summery
• fmc is a famous country singer
• mmc is a rancher/guitar player
• second-chance romance
• insta-lovey
• mentions of being horny but no open door spice
• small town setting (fmc comes back to go to brother’s wedding)

did i fully believe in their second chance romance? not really. but an author probably isn’t gonna fully convince me to root for anyone in a story this short, anyway.

not bad for a short story and a palate cleanser between books.

i didn't dislike this but it's just a simple cowboy romance novella. no rating because this wasn’t long enough to have any impact on me. i only rate novellas if they are terrible (like S’More of You by Tessa Bailey lol)

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

He chose everyone else over her and ghosted her for SIX years, but he sings a song, says he's sorry, and suddenly all is forgiven? She is a doormat.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

A little too short. He didn’t have the time needed to redeem himself LOL

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3 stars
Narrators: Amanda Stribling & Nick J. Russo
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 1h 22m

[MichelleAriana · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.75⭐️


One night doesn’t erase 6 years of not hearing from each other. Girl, let me hold your hand when I tell you this, he’s a gold digger.

[Kelly Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute easy read

This was definitely a “cute” romance. Just a little too much “cute” for me. A really short read so kind of felt as if the story was crammed to much to quickly for me.

[Vanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is anti-bush #hateit

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars
okay wait pause... this was actually rlly good?? and i think this is officially my sign to read a full length cowboy romance ))even though there wasnt too much of actual cowboy-ish stuff in this, im just enjoying the vibes idk))

[Mai H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I hate 9/10 second chance romances is what do you mean he ghosted you and you took him back

[ashlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

i feel like he just wants her for her money

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

вона не дуже сподобалася тим, що жгг все доросле життя ображалась на чгг, бо той з нею не хотів далі бути коли тим було по 18, вона хотіла поїхати в велике місто щоб стати співачкою, ну він теж гарно співає, але коли всі кого ти знаєш кажуть, що "ти ковбой і що ти там будеш робити", і співаєш ти виключно для них двох, ну оця образа якось дитячою видається, жгг навіть не хотіла слухати спочатку його. але вона коротенька і на тому дякую.

[Celeste Velocci (bookrecs_by_celeste) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable and found the main characters both kind of whiny hate the miscommunication trope like just say how you feel years ago and this could all be avoided lol

[Alya ( 20 comments restriction ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to feel about this one it was cute but nothing groundbreaking

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[Anila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I really liked this one🤭

[Maddie 🫶🏻 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh brother, this guy stinks…

But seriously, though. He ghosts her for six years. Then, when she becomes successful in her career, he suddenly wants her back. He sings a little song and that’s all it takes for him to win her back. Josie, girl, I think we can do better 😭

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.25 ⭐️

So sooo cute! Second chance really is one of my favorite tropes.

[dom☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of boring 😵‍💫

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Save a Horse, Keep the Cowboy is part of the Summer Lovin’ Amazon Originals collection and it’s definitely short (57 pages). It’s a second chance romance between a country singer who returns back home and runs into the cowboy she left six years ago! Josie is back for her brother’s wedding and Weston is the best man. On KU with read and listen!

This one was okay, a quick read and right to it. For a second chance I feel like more time is always better to feel that connection between the couple in past and present, but this collection is filled with just bite-size reads.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

second chance romance

All it takes to be forgiven is to sing a song??? 😐

Maybe I need to try that 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Josie’s (20s) a successful country music singer who’s come back to her hometown so she can officiate her brother’s wedding. Of course, this means that she’s going to see her ex, Weston/Wes (20s) 😬.

Six years before, he abruptly broke up with her took off. They had all these plans to be together and perform, but he knocked those dreams down when he ended things with her.

Thankfully, she didn’t with her away; in fact, she’s famous now 👏🏻. Wes has been watching her career blossom all these years, proud of what she’s been able to accomplish 🫶.

So when Josie doesn’t jump for joy when he’s around, it makes sense 🤷🏻‍♀️. He broke her heart 😑.

This is fine.

It needed more in order to feel complete for me.

Yes, I was rolling my eyes. The fact that he broke her heart yet didn’t do anything to stay celibate 😑.

Talk about swoony 😒🙄🥴 (but she wasn’t so bad, so that makes me happy 🤣🤣🤣).

I needed more initiative from him 🤷🏻‍♀️. So if she hadn’t come back for her brother, he would’ve just been OK with watching her from afar?

Also, I’m never a fan of closed door romance 🙄😒😐😑🙄😒😐😑

I hate when the character will say “ this was the best I’ve ever had”

But then I’m like…

🤔🤔🤔🤔 really??? Seeing is believing 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Overall, this was OK

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-no sex scenes (closed door)
-6 year separation/both with others
-HFN/HEA I guess/no epilogue

[mandie ੈ♡˳ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, easy to read cowboy romance that kept me entertained, but it didn't completely steal my heart. I think that's on me, though. Cowboy/small town romances don't always appeal to me much.

[Olga Rudnitska · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️, а могло бути і менше, бо другий шанс для новели це поганий вибір

[María · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me gustan los second chance romance, siempre me alegran el día y recupero un poquito la fe en la humanidad.

[Heather Bowes-Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well…this story definitely needed saving.

I’m sorry but no. Just because something is a novella or short story does not mean it gets a free pass on having an actual plot. This felt less like a complete story and more like someone accidentally skipped the entire middle section and hoped nobody would notice. There’s a backstory, there’s an ending, and somewhere out on the prairie the actual plot is still riding around lost.

I never became emotionally invested because there was simply nothing to latch onto. No real development, no meaningful journey, no buildup — just vibes in a cowboy hat. And honestly, I think writing shorter fiction well actually takes more skill, not less. You have limited pages, so every scene, interaction and emotional beat has to count. A good novella can still make you swoon, hurt, laugh, or cry in a very short space of time. This didn’t do any of that.

The acknowledgements mention this is the author’s first short story since elementary school and unfortunately… it kind of shows. The pacing felt rushed, the story felt unfinished, and by the end I was left wondering what the point of it all actually was. Which is disappointing because I do still have Cash on my TBR, but after this experience I’m not exactly galloping towards it.

[Destiny Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super quick & cute story! I’ll always eat up a cowboy romance, YEE HAW
We also love a man that goes to therapy

[isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

the fluffiest of fluff, but much needed so no complaints here

[labibliofille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I'm biased becuase I love Jessica Peterson's world and writing, but this is easily the best of the summer novellas so far!

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing sexier than a man in therapy

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

this had to be better than the first one, not much but better nonetheless