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Oaks Crossing #1
Her Small-Town Cowboy
A Family for the Teacher
Lily St. George dreams of marriage and a family of her own. But as a temporary kindergarten teacher, she can't get too attached to anyone in Oaks Crossing. When a student brings in her single father for show-and-tell, Lily is drawn to charming cowboy Mike Kinley. Working overtime to save his struggling horse farm, Mike claims to have no room in his life for love. But when they team up to start a riding school for children at his ranch, Lily knows she'll have to help Mike see their partnership is meant to be permanent.
Lily St. George dreams of marriage and a family of her own. But as a temporary kindergarten teacher, she can't get too attached to anyone in Oaks Crossing. When a student brings in her single father for show-and-tell, Lily is drawn to charming cowboy Mike Kinley. Working overtime to save his struggling horse farm, Mike claims to have no room in his life for love. But when they team up to start a riding school for children at his ranch, Lily knows she'll have to help Mike see their partnership is meant to be permanent.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 15, 2015
14 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Mia Ross
40 books110 followersMia Ross loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times, and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she's the proud mom of two amazing kids whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can't imagine trading her life for anyone else's--and she has a pretty good imagination.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 8, 2015
I kind of went into a major sulk after I finished Mia Ross's Barrett's Mills series. They were serious perfection and I didn't want to leave the Blue Ridge Mountains or the Barrett family. And even though I knew she was working on a new series I still suffered reader melancholy something fierce. Happy to say I'm out of my blue funk now that I've become acquainted with the Kinley clan and Oaks Crossing, Kentucky.
Seriously creative first meet. I'm grinning just thinking about it. In fact -- hold on a sec while I go and reread a few pages 'cause it's that good. Okay, I'm back and still grinning. It's just as good as I remembered. Why? Damsel in distress (sort of), cowboy gallantly comes to the rescue (sort of) and a team of horses with 'tude.
Speaking of which -- this book is full of stellar animals. From old Sarge the terrier whose story brought tears to my eyes, to the young upstart pup, Charlie. Then there's patient Gideon the Belgian draft horse and Chance the troubled Thoroughbred. And did I mention there's an animal rescue centre on the ranch? My animal loving heart is full to overflowing.
Okay, back the humans. Mike is a little gnarly (maybe more than a little...at times), but even so, Lily's smitten though she hides it well. Not. Mike's daughter, Abby, brings them together in some surprising ways and a sweet love story ensues.
Of course there are a few bumps in the road on the way to happily ever after. Ross delivers angst in measured doses resulting in nail-biting bliss. And a poignant faith thread on forgiveness rounds out the tale and makes Her Small-Town Cowboy a pretty near perfect read.
Seriously creative first meet. I'm grinning just thinking about it. In fact -- hold on a sec while I go and reread a few pages 'cause it's that good. Okay, I'm back and still grinning. It's just as good as I remembered. Why? Damsel in distress (sort of), cowboy gallantly comes to the rescue (sort of) and a team of horses with 'tude.
Speaking of which -- this book is full of stellar animals. From old Sarge the terrier whose story brought tears to my eyes, to the young upstart pup, Charlie. Then there's patient Gideon the Belgian draft horse and Chance the troubled Thoroughbred. And did I mention there's an animal rescue centre on the ranch? My animal loving heart is full to overflowing.
Okay, back the humans. Mike is a little gnarly (maybe more than a little...at times), but even so, Lily's smitten though she hides it well. Not. Mike's daughter, Abby, brings them together in some surprising ways and a sweet love story ensues.
Of course there are a few bumps in the road on the way to happily ever after. Ross delivers angst in measured doses resulting in nail-biting bliss. And a poignant faith thread on forgiveness rounds out the tale and makes Her Small-Town Cowboy a pretty near perfect read.
February 19, 2017
2.75 stars
This book caught my eye because the hero runs a horse farm. How could I say no to that? The Love Inspired line doesn't always work for me, and this was a case were the results were definitely mixed. I enjoy them more when they are less preachy, and more about finding inner strength and acceptance.
Mike runs his family's struggling farm. He's been having a hard time since the unexpected death of his father, a renowned thoroughbred trainer. He's also carrying a huge chip on his shoulder after his wife abandoned him and his infant daughter. He's done his best to raise her and his world revolves around her, as well as the rest of his family.
To make extra money, the family rents out their carriage and horses to weddings. While working a wedding, Mike meets Lily, a runaway brides maid. Lily is suffering from some issues of her own, but she doesn't let them control her. She is from a wealthy family, and most of them don't understand why she would go to college to earn a teaching degree. This causes friction with her parents.
I loved the first chapter. The introduction of the two characters was natural and a great setup for the rest of the book. It contracted Mike's grumpiness with Lily's overwhelming optimism. When it turns out that Lily is the substitute teacher for Mike's daughter, Abby, he's not sure how he feels anymore. Lily is a danger to his carefully constructed indifference for the rest of the world, and that was my major problem with Mike. He really isn't a likeable guy. He's gloomy and non-communicative, and when he discovers that Lily has been "lying" about her financial position, he has a complete fit. He, in fact, had several tantrums, and instead of acting like an adult and expressing his feelings, he takes out his anger on Lily. Meh. No thank you. Once I could have lived with. Twice? Nope.
The kids were cute, as were all of the animals, but unfortunately, the hero did not charm me as much.
This book caught my eye because the hero runs a horse farm. How could I say no to that? The Love Inspired line doesn't always work for me, and this was a case were the results were definitely mixed. I enjoy them more when they are less preachy, and more about finding inner strength and acceptance.
Mike runs his family's struggling farm. He's been having a hard time since the unexpected death of his father, a renowned thoroughbred trainer. He's also carrying a huge chip on his shoulder after his wife abandoned him and his infant daughter. He's done his best to raise her and his world revolves around her, as well as the rest of his family.
To make extra money, the family rents out their carriage and horses to weddings. While working a wedding, Mike meets Lily, a runaway brides maid. Lily is suffering from some issues of her own, but she doesn't let them control her. She is from a wealthy family, and most of them don't understand why she would go to college to earn a teaching degree. This causes friction with her parents.
I loved the first chapter. The introduction of the two characters was natural and a great setup for the rest of the book. It contracted Mike's grumpiness with Lily's overwhelming optimism. When it turns out that Lily is the substitute teacher for Mike's daughter, Abby, he's not sure how he feels anymore. Lily is a danger to his carefully constructed indifference for the rest of the world, and that was my major problem with Mike. He really isn't a likeable guy. He's gloomy and non-communicative, and when he discovers that Lily has been "lying" about her financial position, he has a complete fit. He, in fact, had several tantrums, and instead of acting like an adult and expressing his feelings, he takes out his anger on Lily. Meh. No thank you. Once I could have lived with. Twice? Nope.
The kids were cute, as were all of the animals, but unfortunately, the hero did not charm me as much.
April 22, 2022
I've read Mia Ross before and must have liked those well enough to recognize her name when a friend sent me a box of Love Inspired books. This is the first book in the sub series Oaks Crossing.
The author does a good job creating characters that I care about and pulling me into their story. Lily St. George is a rich girl who wants more out of life than being a trophy wife. She's been burned in the past by others liking her only for what she can give them so she doesn't tell others about her family connection. Mike Kinley is a single parent who's moved back home to help his family keep their family business running after his father passed away. His wife walked out on him and their daughter, Abby, when Abby was very young. For Mike, the life lessons are learning to forgive and learning to trust in love again.
My biggest complaint about the book is one that is common to Love Inspired stories: how short a time the couple has known each other before they end up engaged and married. In this book, they meet in early May and become engaged sometime during Lily's summer break from teaching (a span of at most 3 to 4 months). The epilogue has them getting married--not sure how much time elapsed between the engagement and the marriage but it didn't seem like too long of a time had passed. For real life, I'm not sure such a short time span would lead to the happily ever after romance these books imply.
The author does a good job creating characters that I care about and pulling me into their story. Lily St. George is a rich girl who wants more out of life than being a trophy wife. She's been burned in the past by others liking her only for what she can give them so she doesn't tell others about her family connection. Mike Kinley is a single parent who's moved back home to help his family keep their family business running after his father passed away. His wife walked out on him and their daughter, Abby, when Abby was very young. For Mike, the life lessons are learning to forgive and learning to trust in love again.
My biggest complaint about the book is one that is common to Love Inspired stories: how short a time the couple has known each other before they end up engaged and married. In this book, they meet in early May and become engaged sometime during Lily's summer break from teaching (a span of at most 3 to 4 months). The epilogue has them getting married--not sure how much time elapsed between the engagement and the marriage but it didn't seem like too long of a time had passed. For real life, I'm not sure such a short time span would lead to the happily ever after romance these books imply.
April 3, 2023
A lovely read! If I could give it 4.5 stars I would!
This was a very sweet romance, ideal for folks who love horses and small town life charm and don't care for spice in their romance books. The story was interesting and I enjoyed following along. And the characters were really great (a very nice grumpy x sunshine lead couple) and I was genuinely rooting for them the whole way through!
Also I won't lie it was so cute that Mike (leading cowboy) went so quickly from, 'i hate weddings, I'll take horses over people any day, none of that romantic nonsense for me thanks' to 'ok so maybe a little romantic nonsense, just for her, since she's so nice and is being so considerate and sweet to my horses 🥺'.
The timeline was a little confusing in places, the very ending was sort of sudden, and the gender stereotypes were a bit too thick for my tastes, but overall nothing that took too much away from the story.
This was a very sweet romance, ideal for folks who love horses and small town life charm and don't care for spice in their romance books. The story was interesting and I enjoyed following along. And the characters were really great (a very nice grumpy x sunshine lead couple) and I was genuinely rooting for them the whole way through!
Also I won't lie it was so cute that Mike (leading cowboy) went so quickly from, 'i hate weddings, I'll take horses over people any day, none of that romantic nonsense for me thanks' to 'ok so maybe a little romantic nonsense, just for her, since she's so nice and is being so considerate and sweet to my horses 🥺'.
The timeline was a little confusing in places, the very ending was sort of sudden, and the gender stereotypes were a bit too thick for my tastes, but overall nothing that took too much away from the story.
May 14, 2017
This is my first book I read by Mia Ross, and I enjoyed it enough to finish it in one day. I enjoyed getting to know the Kinley Family and all their hopes and dreams, love and lost, and how the syory wove into their lives. This series will be enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next one.
November 30, 2015
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Lily St. George is a wealthy young woman fresh out of college who is trying to live her faith and make a difference in the world as a teacher in contrast to the lifestyle of her well known and powerful family. The only family members who support her decision are her philanthropist grandparents. Lily has just watched as her ex-boyfriend married her younger sister and while taking a breather from her duties as bridesmaid, she meets Mike Kinley, the carriage driver for the wedding party. Mike has built walls around his heart after his wife walked away from him and their baby girl and the subsequent tragic death of his father. He's a wounded man who's turned his back on his faith. Though he spends a little time with Lily, he has no intention of ever getting involved in another relationship. He doesn't realize that Lily has accepted a temporary kindergarten teaching position in Oaks Crossing but quickly finds out that she's his daughter's teacher on Lily's first day at the school. She quickly becomes involved helping Mike run a riding school during the summer as a means to save the family horse farm. Over the next few months, Lily's kind nature and faith break down the walls and help him to heal. This is a sweet love story about a man who has lost his way and the woman who helps him find his path back to God. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next Oaks Crossing book.
Lily St. George is a wealthy young woman fresh out of college who is trying to live her faith and make a difference in the world as a teacher in contrast to the lifestyle of her well known and powerful family. The only family members who support her decision are her philanthropist grandparents. Lily has just watched as her ex-boyfriend married her younger sister and while taking a breather from her duties as bridesmaid, she meets Mike Kinley, the carriage driver for the wedding party. Mike has built walls around his heart after his wife walked away from him and their baby girl and the subsequent tragic death of his father. He's a wounded man who's turned his back on his faith. Though he spends a little time with Lily, he has no intention of ever getting involved in another relationship. He doesn't realize that Lily has accepted a temporary kindergarten teaching position in Oaks Crossing but quickly finds out that she's his daughter's teacher on Lily's first day at the school. She quickly becomes involved helping Mike run a riding school during the summer as a means to save the family horse farm. Over the next few months, Lily's kind nature and faith break down the walls and help him to heal. This is a sweet love story about a man who has lost his way and the woman who helps him find his path back to God. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next Oaks Crossing book.
June 8, 2016
Mia Ross is the queen of small town inspirational romances for me. I love her characters and her places. Her Small-Town Cowboy definitely delivered on the fun characters, but it fell just a tad short on the small town itself. Lily and Mike meet in a very unexpected way. It had me chuckling to see them interact for the first time - and what they both thought was the only time.
Both are surpised to find each other again when she begins to substitute teach for his daughter. His daugher was such a charmer. She was everything I could have wanted from her character. The perfect little mix of mischievousness and sweetheart. And she's determined to keep Lily in her life somehow.
Now this isn't a case of a little girl getting two people to fall in love. What I liked best was that she was just one of the forces pulling Lily and Mike together. There were so many more, and was mixed very well. But....yes, the dreaded but....the town just didn't shine in a way that I've come to expect from Mia Ross. The other people in the town were fun, especially the school kids, but I wanted to see more of the places and sights.
Both are surpised to find each other again when she begins to substitute teach for his daughter. His daugher was such a charmer. She was everything I could have wanted from her character. The perfect little mix of mischievousness and sweetheart. And she's determined to keep Lily in her life somehow.
Now this isn't a case of a little girl getting two people to fall in love. What I liked best was that she was just one of the forces pulling Lily and Mike together. There were so many more, and was mixed very well. But....yes, the dreaded but....the town just didn't shine in a way that I've come to expect from Mia Ross. The other people in the town were fun, especially the school kids, but I wanted to see more of the places and sights.
January 8, 2016
Oaks Crossing is a new series from Mia Ross and I love it! Her Small-Town Cowboy is the story of Lily, a teacher, and Mike, a horse trainer and single dad. Lily has stepped away from her wealthy family to begin her teaching career in a small community. Mike is raising his daughter, Abby, with the help of his mom and large family on the family's horse farm. He returned to the farm after his dad's death and has taken over operations but the farm is failing. Lily becomes Abby's kindergarten teacher. Lily decides to learn to ride at the farm and also helps come up with the idea of starting a riding school at the farm. She is awesome at working with kids and animals. This makes her a great partner with Mike who excels at working with animals. Mike has been emotionally hurt by Dana, his ex-wife, who walked away from the marriage when Abby was a baby. Mike needs to work on forgiving Dana and trusting Lily to not hurt him. Great story with kids, horses, and love that I had trouble putting down. I can't wait to read more books in the Oaks Crossing series!
January 9, 2016
Oaks Crossing is a new series from Mia Ross and I love it! Her Small-Town Cowboy is the story of Lily, a teacher, and Mike, a horse trainer and single dad. Lily has stepped away from her wealthy family to begin her teaching career in a small community. Mike is raising his daughter, Abby, with the help of his mom and large family on the family's horse farm. He returned to the farm after his dad's death and has taken over operations but the farm is failing. Lily becomes Abby's kindergarten teacher. Lily decides to learn to ride at the farm and also helps come up with the idea of starting a riding school at the farm. She is awesome at working with kids and animals. This makes her a great partner with Mike who excels at working with animals. Mike has been emotionally hurt by Dana, his ex-wife, who walked away from the marriage when Abby was a baby. Mike needs to work on forgiving Dana and trusting Lily to not hurt him. Great story with kids, horses, and love that I had trouble putting down. I can't wait to read more books in the Oaks Crossing series!
September 1, 2020
This book was so sweet and adorable. I loved all the characters and the storyline. This was the first 200 page book that I've read in less than a week. It usually takes me a month to read a 200 page book. This book made me feel like this book should be a movie, and this was probably the first boon where I've read the epilogue. This book made me feel all of the emotions, I will definitely continue with the series.
June 4, 2016
Nice story of a kindergarten teacher falling in love with the single father of one of her "kids" and his reluctance to committ to a new relationship after being burned by his ex-wife.
Lots of cute kids, horses and family.
A very nice relationship story...
I received a free copy through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest opinion.
Lots of cute kids, horses and family.
A very nice relationship story...
I received a free copy through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest opinion.
January 5, 2016
Her Small Town Cowboy a Oaks Crossing series by Mia Ross. This is a Must read book. Romance, funny, had a hard time putting the book down. Two hearts mending and throw in there a smart six year old girl and you have a great story. Strong willed and stubborn. Also two smart horses and two special dogs. Yes I would recommend this book.
January 29, 2016
cute story story. loved abby and lilys grandfather
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January 2, 2016Miniseries: Oaks Crossing
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January 2, 2016Miniseries: Oaks Crossing
August 8, 2016
I received this book as a give away. Good book. Quick read.
January 3, 2017
Wonderful way to start my year!. A sweet and lovely story, i recomend it. :)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews