The Boss's Daughter

by J.T. Marie

Once the daughter of a prominent dentist in Philadelphia, Natalie Allen wasn’t happy with the life she was expected to lead, so she left society behind and headed west. Now, in the little town of Junction, she’s known as Nat, a cowboy working on Boss Daddy’s cattle ranch. She keeps to herself, renting a room in a local boarding house instead of staying in the bunk house, and with her dungarees and short hair, no one realizes she’s living as a man.But Boss Daddy’s pretty daughter Miss Lucille takes a notice to “Mr. Nat,” and the closer the two become, the more conflicted Nat grows. She likes Miss Lucille a lot more than she knows she should, and it’s easy to forget who she’s pretending to be around the boss’s daughter.Then Miss Lucille surprises everyone, Nat included, by announcing their engagement. Nat knows they can’t marry, and if she tells Miss Lucille why, her ruse will be up. Her only choice is to leave Junction behind, even if it means breaking Miss Lucille’s heart.But will Miss Lucille let Nat go so easily?

Genres: Historical, Romance, Lesbian, Westerns, Butch Femme, Historical Fiction, LGBT

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2014

About the author

J.T. Marie is a pseudonym for author J.M. Snyder, who publishes gay erotic and romantic fiction under her full name. For those curious, the initials stand for “Jeanette Thomas” and Marie is her middle name. She also writes gay young adult romance under the pseudonym J. Tomas.

A graduate of George Mason University, Jeanette worked as Fantasy Editor of the school’s sci-fi and fantasy journal, The Fractal, for two years. After college, she created and maintained an online webzine, Disenchanted, to further a love of fantasy fiction. For more information on her non-gay fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, please visit her website.

Reviews

[Netgyrl (Laura) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars - Short and sweet historical romance. Low angst. Western. If you a a fan of the disguised as a man trope, I recommend.

It only took a few hours to read, but I enjoyed from start to finish. My only complaint is, I wish it was longer. I would have loved an epilogue, so we could see them as a couple for awhile.

[AnnMaree Of Oz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting Kindle Unlimited read, under 2 hours. A good little historic fiction with the typical storyline, but I wasn't bored. The prose and writing was very well done.

Nat is a woman who is pretending to be a man and ranch hand, only to catch the eye of the ranchers daughter.

It sadly ends before anything really hot and heavy can ensue, which was a little disappointing lol. But the story was interesting as were the character. I really enjoyed the feisty determined Lucy who went after exactly what she wanted, and Nat was so shy and concerned about her interest and advances- it was cute.

I would have loved more from these two!

Check it out.

[~ * K E L L I E * ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant way to spend a couple of hours! This was a quick and easy read with strong leading ladies based in a time deemed "a man's world". I would love to see a sequel to this novella.

[MaxDisaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars
If I'm generous.
Simply put I didn't like it. It was basically a short story about pressuring someone until they give in.
Not my cup of tea in the slightest.
I'm willing to not bash this completely because it was presented as "Nat wanted her too, was just scared".
But it still left a bad taste to me

Apparently I can't pick a decent book today

[Natsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick read. Surprisingly adorable leads.... :D

I can't say I was surprised by Lucy's reaction on Chapter 30... I guess I already had an idea that she... hmm.. isn't clueless. Nat is funny when she's all nervous and bothered by Lucy's advances. haha

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie and Lucille two very interesting and unique leading ladies. Natalie, wow, way to run, hide in plain sight and be your own person. Lucille, wow, way to go hard after the person you want because you know that the two of you are made of the "same fabric".

[XR · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a cute and quick story. One of those feel good ones with the perfect ending.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nat and Lucille made an interesting couple..

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light, short read. Wish this was longer.

[Pin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick enjoyable read.
3.5 stars

[Joon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of book I needed – short, simple, and sweet. Of course, the scene is a magnet here: chiffon dresses, cowboy hats, and swinging doors. Also, women's position in the society described here brings a blot on the landscape here.

I really enjoyed the story. Although it is a one-go read, I put it down a few times just to have fun for more than one evening. It is worth it since it provokes imagination and creates images that linger under the eyelids for a long time.

RECOMMENDED

[Bib · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly enchanting

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute and short; a super sweet romance. It has the ‘disguised as a man’ trope which is one of my favorites and it was done really well. Really loved the ending. It was lighthearted and a fun read.

[Celina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice

For a minute there I thought baby girl was crazy but she was just being in love. Also, parents in historical books express love like my parents.

[Rae Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes sugary sweetness is what you are looking for, and you'll find it here. It's not too deep, it didn’t leave me shook. But it's a fantastic short escape into the tiny little nothing town of Junction, and the vast BDT ranch. It's light on angst and heavy on adorable.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read... Enjoyable, no surprises. 3.5 stars

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give her a quick glance and like what I see, so I look again, furtive, then let my gaze get drawn back to her. Now who’s the moth, and who’s the flame?

This was cute. One of the few f/f westerns that I've read, and I enjoyed it. I liked the setting and the details of life on a farm and the historical titbits (though there were a few modern-seeming words and phrases that threw me off a little). The characters were likeable (mostly; Nat got a little mean, though not to Lucy), and I'm a huge sucker for cross-dressing in romance. Our protagonist, Nat, is living as a cowboy, and finds herself falling for and being wooed by the boss's daughter. Not a particularly unique premise, maybe, but a very fun one.

It is, alas, a novella, so the romance was very quick and surface-level, and things wrapped up extremely abruptly. Still, a fun way to pass some time.

[introvertedranjue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is adorable and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it but it was too short, like this was just a teaser or a very lengthy prologue. I loved the characters and I really wanted to know more about them. The chemistry is there but the romance could've been developed more. I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed.

If this book made you crave for more then I'd suggest reading, Backwards to Oregon by Jae and Heart of Gold by Luci Dreamer.

[J Kuria · Rating 2 out of 5]

You had me in the first half, it was a pretty OK read back then but then you lost me with how the engagement was handled and the ending did nothing to salvage the situation for me.

[Lesbian Romance Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I really wish there was an additional chapter or epilogue. I really wanted to see how this ended.

[Joelenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick story although it had the makings for a 5-star read. I felt there was a lot more story to be told and I definitely would have liked to know more about the characters and what happens next.

[Azura75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read

A quick, well written read. Don't except too much. Just enough background to get the story going. Simple love story.

[Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars, good I just wish it would have expanded on the end a little.

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, nice sweet story about our hero getting pursued by the boss's daughter.

I don't know how realistic it is though. Our hero is biologically a woman, very tomboyish as a child, ran away as an adolescent and has lived as male ever since.

The heroine flirts with him and pursues him, and eventually announces to her father that she's decided she'll marry the hero. The hero is attracted to her, but knows nothing can come of a relationship between them without his secret coming out.

Right at the end, after the hero has said again and again that he can't marry her, he strips off his shirt to show her that he's got a woman's body.... and the heroine says that she's known all along.

That's the end, so not much time to enjoy the relationship from the reader's point of view, but also... why didn't she ever address this issue with the hero if she knew all along? It doesn't make sense. She could've been saying "I know why you're worried. We'll talk about it in private. So long as you want to marry me, we'll work anything else out."

The hero might not have known whether to believe she really knew what the issue was, but, would've had a reason to be brave and find private time with her, rather than to book a ticket on the next train out of town to protect his secret.

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

This story is meh.

I hate reading stories in the first person but I thought I’d give it a chance because it’s my favorite genre. So getting over that and all the small mistypes/editing issues was kind of annoying. However, the story was really boring in general. There was really no conflict, there was a sort of “villain” but that never went anywhere. And the ultimate problem of the story is solved in less than a single chapter.

Something that really bothered me was that even though Nat has been living as a man for 20 years, it seemed like she really didn’t even know how to live like a man. Like, after 20 years you’d think she’d cover herself better - like no type of binding seems reckless - and how has none of this has come up yet? She’s never realized she likes women? No women have ever been interested in her?

Idk, overall, I was really underwhelmed. I wish it had been better.

[Merb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little queer novella set in a historical western setting. The protagonist Nat was born female, but never felt like they fit that mold, and ran away to live as a man. So things do get complicated when the boss’s daughter shows an interest in them.

The positive representation was lovely to see, especially in this setting. Nat was such a wholesome and kind character, and their gender fluidity was lovely to see. No actual labels are given due to the time period, but we are led to believe Nat does not identify strictly to either gender, and is comfortable just being Nat. The romance with Lucy is really cute, and the reveal at the end was so sweet! Lucy was a bit demanding towards the end, but again, the resolve was great. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a queer romance on kindle unlimited.

~ I read this for Becca’s Bookoplothon 2021 ~

[Char Dafoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short but sweet story.

No big dramatic scenes or sizzling plot, but still held my interest. I really am enjoying stories where the female MC lives as a man. Reading about their day-to-day goings on and how their thought process plays out when trying to remain low key, fascinates me. I was a tad bummed when the two women didn't have their moment in the hay, but I was satisfied with the HEA.

[Huh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well thought out short story

I liked this short story because the storyline was believable and as a lesbian growing up in Texas that is what I would have done to stay under the radar and the meeting up of these two women would have had to occur as it did in the book. As for Lucille I had a great aunt exactly like her and other strong willed female relatives.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Boss's Daughter needs more

The title reflects a story about one character Lucy but is told in first person by another character Nat Allen. This is more about Nat's character and circumstances. Lucy needs to be fleshed out and character developed with more insights and revelations. The story is promising but I would like more.

[Leah Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, tame romance between a ranch hand and the titular boss's daughter. The ranch hand has a secret though, Nat is short for Natalie, and she has been living a secret life as a man after escaping the prohibitive gender roles of the time and place.