By the Bootstraps

Author: Alexa Martin Title: By the Bootstraps Publisher: Berkley Date Published: 05/26/2026

Read Dates: 04/17/2026- 04/18/2026
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 📖 I received a gifted e-book ARC. The following is my honest review✍🏻

By the Bootstraps is a single POV small town romance. Luna is determined to liberate out her cowboy romance dreams, and outrun grief, by buying a house sight unseen in a tiny Texas town. She isn’t expecting to find the town so welcoming, or to run into the most attractive man she’s ever met her first night in town. Tate turns out to be the local high school football coach and, much to Luna’s relief, a part-time handyman. He’s just the man she needs to help with her disaster of a house, and to convince her to put down roots in Texas!

This was my first Alexa Martin romance and I’m so glad she has a backlist for me to explore because I loved it! Luna’s character was written with so much humor and energy. Absolutely nothing like me but I still wish she was real and would sweep me up in her shenanigans! I loved Tate, how reserved he was and how much he was willing to share of himself with the ones he cared about. I loved the small town, friends, neighbors and found family. I thought the topics of grief, loss and addiction were handled well. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

A cowboy romance enthusiast discovers that everything’s bigger in Texas—even love—in this swoony novel from beloved author Alexa Martin.

Fueled by a love of romance novels, Luna Starr was destined for a life with her head in the clouds. Her delusional tendencies serve her well…or at least they used to. When life throws her a curveball, she decides it’s time to turn her cowboy fantasies into reality and purchases a tiny farm in Celestial, Texas. After all, don’t all heroines try to outrun grief?

Tate Jacobs hates cowboys, which is a small problem, considering his family happens to own the largest ranch in Celestial. Life might not have gone the way he wanted, but as head coach at his old high school and the town’s best (and only) handyman, he’s figured out how to stay busy and keep his head down—until the new girl in town shows up. Luna’s new property is a bad accident waiting to happen unless someone helps her with her DIY home renovations.

As Tate and Luna spend more time together fixing up her house, unexpected feelings and undeniable chemistry bubble to the surface. Luna might’ve moved to Celestial to make her cowboy dreams come true, but somewhere beneath the vast Texas skies, she discovers that love in the real world can be far better than she imagined.