REVIEW: The Bull Rider and the Bookworm by VL Locey (Snow Creek Ranch)

- July 08, 2026

THE BULL RIDER AND THE BOOKWORM

Snow Creek Ranch - Series

by VL Locey

Release Date: July 8, 2026

Review

Cowboy poet…yes please!!

Fantastic addition to the Snow Creek Ranch series. A beautiful small-town cowboy/bookish romance, with two men starting anew and finding their future.

Hoyt has had a hard life trying to make it on his own and bullriding. His father was beyond toxic. But now he’s injured and needing to regroup, so he heads home to the brother he barely knows now, with a trailer and a love of poetry.

That’s where he meets Aubrey. A cute, new-to-town guy opening up a bookstore, with a passion for cowboy poetry.

As they bond over their love of words, they also develop a friendship and romance that, though tentative, is clearly meant for forever.

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Synopsis

Sometimes the wildest ride isn’t in the arena - it’s falling in love.

Bull rider Hoyt Knox has spent his life chasing applause, adrenaline, and the next eight-second ride. With his body starting to break down and sponsors pulling out, he finds himself facing a possible life change. Confused and hurting, he heads to Snow Creek Ranch to try his hand at something a little easier as he heals while trying to figure out what’s left for him besides a sore back and a fading spotlight.

Enter Aubrey Lancombe, a quiet, bookish man who’s just moved to Chance to escape the city life – and the loss of his beloved grandmother followed by a bad breakup - and finally open the bookstore of his dreams. Aubrey has always preferred words to people, quiet to chaos, and certainly has no time for cocky cowboys with something to prove.

When their worlds collide over a shared love of poetry they strike up a friendship that teeters on the edge of something else entirely. But Hoyt’s not out and Aubrey is scared to fall again. As his time at Snow Creek Ranch passes Hoyt must decide if he’s ready to hang up his spurs for good – or risk his heart on the bookworm who’s rewritten everything he thought he knew about love.

The Bull Rider and the Bookworm is a 58K opposites attract, age gap, gay MM contemporary western romance with a weary rodeo rider, a shy bookhound, a ranch that heals all manner of hurts, a gentleman rooster, a plethora of romantic poetry, and a shiny as a gold buckle happy ending.

Content Warning: This story has references to past sexual abuse, death of a parent, and suicidal thoughts.

About VL Locey

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, Dr. Who, Torchwood, belly laughs, yoga, reading and writing lusty tales, walking, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)

She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, and a flock of assorted domestic fowl.

When not writing lusty tales, she can be found enjoying her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, fresh cup of java in hand.

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