Nell's Cowboy

Heart of Texas #5

by Debbie Macomber

Nell Bishop, the widowed mother of two children and owner of the Twin Canyons dude ranch, houses Travis Grant, an Eastern wannabe cowboy, who seems intent on stirring up the town--by revealing the mysteries of its past. Original.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Westerns, Contemporary, Western Romance, Chick Lit

219 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

Reviews

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debbie Macomber just knows how to catch her readers,also let be this series and the happy ending too

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell Bishop, widowed mother of two children, is turning her property into a dude ranch. And one of her first guests is Travis Grant, an Easterner known for his books about the West. Her kids adore him--and she has to admit she's drawn to him, too. But Nell isn't ready to fall in love again. Or is she?
I've never wanted two people so different, to get together as badly as i did these two.
They are both characters, and strong in their own rights. This was a fast moving,
plot twisting book, i thoroughly enjoyed. 5 stars.

[Teresa Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given it 4.5 stars if I could. It was a quick and interesting read. Since it is a serial read, it answered a lot of unanswered questions from the previous books.

[Donut Cat (Leah) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story about the ghost town and the mystery surrounding it. That gives this series a hint of Nancy Drew which is really fun. The relationship between the two main characters could have been much more developed, and I found the detailed characterization quite lacking in this novel. Are we expected to believe Nell is attracted to Travis because he's the same height as her former husband? Her reasons for being drawn to him were not much developed and that part seemed shallow. otherwise I enjoyed it. It was fun reading about a time (1998) when people didn't know much about computers and they weren't part of everyday life.

[Brenda McDearmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first four books in this series were fun to read, but this one didn’t grab my attention in quite the same way. Perhaps that’s because I listened to the audio version instead of reading a printed copy. The narrator used some pretty monotone voices for some of the characters, and it became hard to stay engaged after a while. I’m looking forward to finishing the entire series, however, as is always true for me with Debbie Macomber’s books.

[brenda janowiecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell is a widowed mom of two living on a cattle ranch in Texas and decided to start a dude ranch to help make ends meet. Nell’s first guest Travis is a writer and he is determined to find the hidden ghost town he heard about. They seem like a perfect match but he lives in New York and she couldn’t possibly leave the family farm. I loved this heart felt novel and how the characters work together.

[Amanda Hash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw, I loved Nell. I was so excited to see she was going to find her HEA, and I thought it was cool to see how Macomber continued Richard's story through Travis. Also, the beginning of this book cracked me up, so I appreciated meeting Travis that way.

[Debbie Scacco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was right it's a great story.

I really enjoyed it, as I've been a widow for 15 years. It was nice to be reminded that Love can come around, when you least expected. And work out just fine. So Thanks, I'm on to book # 6.

[Kathryn Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light and fluffy read.

[Di Schlenk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this next book in the Heart of Texas series.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Some intrigue, some mystery, history revealed, finally justice served. Looking forward to the next books in the series. As always a happy ending.

[Teresa M Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book

Another awesome read from Debbie. Great story line. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Love Debbie as a writer.

[Tracy Marlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first one of her books that I ever picked up. I was hooked on her novels from then out.

[Rachel Sides · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite in the series. Nell is an interesting character; tough enough to manage a ranch on her own but afraid to risk her heart.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heart of Texas #5 - 1998

[Gwen Susanek]

Book 5 of 6 of the series. Very good!

[Jessica Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute and finally solved the mystery of Bitter End

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Nell. I like her kids. I really enjoyed the story.

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet way to end 2021! Now I’m curious about the other books In this serious!

[Cathie McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! Great story. Finally find out what happened in Bitter End. Nell finally stops mourning.

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!!!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An answer to the ghost town Bitter End, Nell Bishop gets her tenderfoot cowboy writer Travis Grant

[Virma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this installment of the series. Looking forward to more from the Promise residents.

[Jo Erb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Tongia Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

So glad that the mystery was solved about an evil town and by someone that did not have a history. Nell finally finds someone worthy of her love.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a recent fan of Macomber and this isn't my favorite. I do like that we discovered more about Bitter End but the romance between Nell and Travis was really rushed.

[Kym McNabney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one. There were not enough encounters with Nell and Travis, though I did like them and liked the idea of the story. The author just spent way too much time on going over what was in the first four books. That might have been good if I hadn't read them, and especially if I hadn't JUST read them. The writing was well done, just the story of the two main characters was so brief, it was hard to get into it.

I did like what she did with the results to the Bitter End Town. Very creative.

I just had to add the next review, especially since it goes along with this one in the, Heart of Texas Vol 3. I hate giving a bad review, especially when all the others in the series were good. As is the other books I've read by, Debbie Macomber.

Lone Star Baby:

Now this one was MUCH better. This one really got into the story of the two main characters, not hitting so much on the other characters from the previous stories or over doing it about what happened with Bitter End. The author really developed these two characters relationship.

This one made me laugh, often and brought about that "good feeling" about the characters, too. I really like this one.

I also like how the story of Bitter End played out. Very cute idea and very creative. Loved many of the ideas and lines the author came up with.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving on for her children after the death of her husband, Nell Bishop finally decided on a course of action. Opening the family ranch up as a Dude Ranch, teaching greenhorns, like in ‘City Slickers’ to ride, rope and herd cattle. Arriving in the town of Promise during the rodeo left Travis Grant with no where to stay until the Bed & Breakfast owner told him that Nell might make an exception and open the bunkhouse early, if he asked really nicely. The fascination of the ghost town sitting undiscovered for a hundred years had brought him to this small Texas town, but he was quickly finding more reasons to stay.

Book 4 …..Another stranger romance, like ‘Lonesome Cowboy’ (book 1), the character is new to everyone in town and there is no history - which I usually prefer. I liked finding out things about each of them and “watching” them fall in love (sorry if that was a spoiler, but it is a romance). Sweet, gentle and predictable from the start, but still a light romance that I enjoyed enough to re-read. Will defiantly continue with this series, the next one will be Lone Star Baby.

[Michelle Molinari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell’s Cowboy, part of the “Heart of Texas” series, was a cute story about a widow that gets a second chance at love. I like that she was plain looking and not the super gorgeous leading lady, sometimes that gets old. I liked this installment because it was fast paced and both characters were strong, stubborn and yet hopelessly in love with each other. I found myself skipping the rehashing of the first few books in this series. I understand you can’t leave out your new readers but somehow there needs to be a reward for the loyal series regulars.

[Yekaterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travis Grant, a writer, comes to Promise to uncover their best kept secret- Bitter End. He managed to convince some locals to help him and the secrets poor out. What he doesn't expect is the feelings he develops for Nell.
I liked this book, however, the fact that the story behind Bitter End is a replica of a Bible Story was odd. I'm religious and like the religious inclination, but it was almost plagiarism. Still, a good, simple read.