Best Cowboy M/M Romance Books
Cowboy M/M romance books are so sweet. They take rough and rugged men who work hard and do some of the toughest jobs in the world and make them fall in love. This is one of my absolute favorite subgenres of M/M romance.
That being said, I have a hard time finding cowboy/western books that feel authentic, have a great story line, and aren’t too cheesy. That’s why I decided to put together this holy grail of best cowboy M/M romance books so that you can read the absolute best that this subgenre has to offer.
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11 Best Cowboy M/M Romance Books
At twenty-five, Hank owns a small parcel of land in Australia’s rural southwest where he supplements his income from the property with seasonal shearing. Hank is a “shearing gun”—an ace shearer able to shear large numbers of sheep in a single day. His own father kicked him out when his sexuality was revealed, and since no one would ever hire a gay shearer, Hank has remained firmly closeted ever since.
Elliot is the newbie doctor in town—city-born and somewhat shell-shocked from his transplant to the country. When a football injury brings Hank to Elliot’s attention, an inappropriate sexual glance and the stuttered apology afterwards kickstarts their friendship.
Romance and love soon blossom, but it’s hard for either of them to hope for anything permanent. As if the constant threat of being caught isn’t enough, Elliot’s contract runs out after only a year.
This is such a classic, sweet read. The Shearing Gun is one of those books that just feels very authentic. Everything in it is natural and honest. Hank is the perfect (closeted) cowboy.
You really feel for these two men who want to be in love so badly, but who fear what would happen if anyone were to find out. Their circumstances really add an urgency and desperation to their relationship. You need to check this one out.
Ranch hand Roe Davis absolutely never mixes business with pleasure—until he runs into his boss, Travis Loving, at the only gay bar within two hundred miles.
Getting involved with the ranch owner is a bad idea, but Roe’s and Travis’s bedroom kinks line up against one another like a pair of custom-cut rails. As long as they’re both clear this is sex on the side, no relationship, no interfering with the job, they could make it work.
Shut out by his family years ago, Roe survived by steadfastly refusing to settle into so much as a post office box. As his affair with Travis grows into more than just sex, Roe’s past catches up with him, threatening the thin ray of happiness he’s found, reminding him it’s well past time he went on his way.
But even a loner gets lonely, and at this point, there’s nowhere left to run. The shame and sorrow of what he’s lost will stay with Roe wherever he goes—until he’s ready to let love lead him home.
This is easily one of the steamiest books I’ve read. Heidi Cullinan really brings the heat with this BDSM filled cowboy book.
The first half of Nowhere Ranch could easily be described as erotica. However, just like for the cowboys in the book, the heat only lulls you into a false sense of security before you get hit with all the feels. These two are in love before they know it. This is a highly recommended book for anyone looking for a spicier cowboy read.
Ever since Cambridge-bound Colin Lancaster spied on stable master Patrick Callahan mastering another man, he’s longed for Patrick to do the same to him. When Patrick is caught and threatened with death for his crime, Colin speaks up in his defense and confesses his own forbidden nature. They’re banished to the faraway prison colony of Australia.
Patrick never asked for Colin’s help, and now he’s stuck with the pampered fool. While it’s true that being transported to Australia is a far cry from the luxury Colin is accustomed to, he’s determined to make the best of it and prove himself. Patrick learned long ago that love is a fairy tale, but he’s inexorably drawn to sweet, innocent, optimistic Colin despite himself.
From the miserable depths of a prison ship to the vast, untamed Australian outback, Colin and Patrick must rely on each other. Danger lurks everywhere, and when they unexpectedly get the chance to escape to a new life as cowboys, they’ll need each other more than ever.
This historical cowboy book is such a cool read. I love Colin so much! He is both so dumb and so brave at the start of this book. Sticking with him as he grows up, matures, and falls in love is the best journey.
Patrick doesn’t want to fall for the soft, rich kid that keeps following him around, but soon he isn’t able to help himself. The action and adventure in Australia is a lot of fun, and this book wraps up so nicely.
Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.
The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run–all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn’t ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his “intended”, Robby’s only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is — and can’t resist him.
Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again.
This is a wild one. It is hilarious, ridiculous, and so freaking good. Trace and Robby are so sweet together. I love that Robby has to stay in character with Trace’s zany family. Pick this one for a lot of belly laughs and a sweet happily ever after.
His broken bones could finally mend their broken bond…
Bull riding was the only thing that calmed the thrill-seeking, self-destructive beast inside of Calvin Craig. It allowed him to escape a small-minded town and the pain of his troubled youth, fleeing to bright lights and big city fame without looking back.
One trip on the horns of the wrong bull changed everything.
Cal is forced to come crawling back home for the first time in ten years, his body broken and riding days behind him. But not everyone is happy for the return of their local celebrity.
Eli Jackson was once the tall, dark, and sinful preacher’s son who had Cal wrapped around his little finger. Now the steely-eyed sheriff of Sweetwater, Eli is hell bent on running him right back out of town. He’s never forgiven Cal for the spectacular implosion of their relationship. Even though the lingering tension soon has them burning up the sheets, he refuses to be tamed.
Cal is surprised to find himself rising to a new challenge: breaking the bull that is Eli Jackson.
He might have run out of luck, but he’s not out of miracles… yet.
This book is on my Best M/M Romance Books of All Time list, so you know it’s going to be good. The entire Down Home series is absolutely fantastic and full of cowboys.
This is second chance love done so well. Cal and Eli have so much to work through, but once they do it is just pure magic. Eli is such a strong personality and just a great guy as the sheriff of Sweetwater. Cal pulling himself together for Eli is everything. Run don’t walk to check this one out!
Welcome to Sutton Station: One of the world’s largest working farms in the middle of Australia – where if the animals and heat don’t kill you first, your heart just might.
Charlie Sutton runs Sutton Station the only way he knows how; the way his father did before him. Determined to keep his head down and his heart in check, Charlie swears the red dirt that surrounds him – isolates him – runs through his veins.
American agronomy student Travis Craig arrives at Sutton Station to see how farmers make a living from one of the harshest environments on earth. But it’s not the barren, brutal and totally beautiful landscapes that capture him so completely.
It’s the man with the red dirt heart.
Literally anytime there is a book about a station in Australia, I say shut up and take my money. What’s better than a cowboy? An Australian cowboy! This book is also on my Best M/M Romance Books of All Time list.
Charlie and Travis are one of my favorite couples of all time. Charlie doesn’t realize how lonely he is until he meets Travis. Once they get together there is no turning back. This book, and the subsequent four books in the series are near perfection!
A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn’t seen in years.
On a quest to deliver the letter, Jimmy travels to Rattlesnake, a small town nestled in the foothills of the California Sierras. The centerpiece of the town is the Rattlesnake Inn, where the bartender is handsome former cowboy Shane Little. Sparks fly, and when Jimmy’s car gives up the ghost, Shane gets him a job as handyman at the inn.
Both within the community of Rattlesnake and in Shane’s arms, Jimmy finds an unaccustomed peace. But it can’t be a lasting thing. The open road continues to call, and surely Shane—a strong, proud man with a painful past and a difficult present—deserves better than a lying vagabond who can’t stay put for long.
Rattlesnake is one of those books that will stick with you for a long time. Both Jimmy and Shane are such great characters. Shane is so deep and understanding. Jimmy always has one foot out the door, but something (someone) keeps pulling back in. You will cry a lot, but it will be so worth it.
Best friends. Unrequited love. A story that spans decades.
Wyatt
At twelve, he was my best friend. At sixteen, he became my crush. And now, at thirty-four, he’s the man I’m still pining after.
Falling in love with Easton was never part of the plan. But now that I’ve done it, I can’t seem to stop. It doesn’t help that we’re living under the same roof. Or that Easton is so dang sweet I want to lick him from head to toe.
But Easton is straight, and all the cattle in Texas won’t change the fact that he’ll never look at me the way I see him. I want someone who can love me back. And I won’t be able to find that while I’m hung up on my best friend.
It’s time to find a way to say goodbye.
Easton
I always knew I was a little bit different than everybody else. When kids my age were hooking up, all I wanted to do was sit on the ranch with Wyatt and plot out our future. I didn’t need anyone else.
When Wyatt leaves Plum Valley, he takes a piece of me with him. When he returns at the moment I need him most, he helps me to heal and feel whole again. We have a good life now, Wyatt and I, best friends still after all these years.
So when I happen to catch my friend down on his knees in the barn, I don’t understand why, all of a sudden, I’m thinking things I shouldn’t be. Now, I can’t stop wondering and wanting.
But would taking that chance with Wyatt risk the best thing in my life?
This friends-to-lovers cowboy book is so sweet. These two men have loved each other for so long, just in very different ways. Easton never really thought any further than Wyatt being his best friend. Once his eyes are opened to a new possibility, things really heat up.
Julian North
My whole world changed with one roadside bomb and an honorable discharge. Not even the city I used to love can ease the restlessness inside me. I don’t expect visiting my cousin Sienna’s farm to do the trick either, but the change of scenery can’t hurt. Wyoming isn’t what I expected—from the mischievous pig following me around, to the rescue horse I’ve become strangely fascinated with. And then there’s Kerry, the handsome, brooding cowboy, who somehow calms the storm inside me—and just happens to be Sienna’s ex-husband.
Kerry Carmichael
I’ve had a rough go of it since I came out—disappointing my family, the divorce, and the blow of my daughter’s illness. Things are settling down now, my kiddo is healthy, and Sienna and I are finally on solid ground. Not everyone accepts me, but I’ve owned my truth, even if I spend my life solo. Only, now that Julian’s here, I’m not so lonesome anymore. He’s a kindred spirit. First as someone to talk to, then as…more. The first time I hold him through one of his nightmares, I feel a rightness I never expected to find.
We know this’ll end with the summer, but with every stolen kiss against the stable walls, with every heated or tender moment, I fall deeper. The reality is, I can’t risk my family or the business by going public with him. I know this can never last and that Julian doesn’t belong here. So why does it feel like he already does?
Soldiers and cowboys! Kerry is the brave farmer who has decided to live his truth. Julian is the injured veteran just trying to heal. Once the men meet, they quickly start a passionate secret relationship.
Things are complicated by Kerry having a young daughter and being the ex-husband of Julian’s cousin, but these two are just too good together to stop. They finally realize that what they have is truly special and worth any backlash. This book is a winner.
Micah Avery has called Split Rock Ranch home for most of his life—it’s one of the few places he can be totally himself without worry or judgment. The ranch, the horses, and the people are Micah’s future, and he couldn’t be happier. The fact that it’s also home to the ranch manager he’s determined to marry one day is icing on the cake . . . all he needs is for Ryan to notice him.
Ryan Astor came to Split Rock Ranch at a time when he was desperate to start over. It was just supposed to be a stop on the road, but instead he found a home and a family—that family includes Micah, the sweet kid who’s been the ranch mascot since before he was tall enough to see over the stall doors. Ryan’s finally found his place, and he can’t imagine wanting anything to change.
Then little Micah Avery grows up. And Ryan’s suddenly confronted with a whole mess of feelings and desires he never expected. Now he needs to decide if he can give in to what they both want without jeopardizing everything they have.
Something Undeniable is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. This is actually a prequel for an MMM story involving Micah, Ryan, and a third man not mentioned once in this story. That being said, this book very much so works as a stand alone for Micah and Ryan.
Micah has always known that he and Ryan should be together, he just needs Ryan to wake up and notice. When Micah comes back from college all grown up, and with plenty of experience under his belt, Ryan is out of excuses and these two fall in love. This book ends on the perfect note. If MMM is your thing (I completely understand), you should check out the next book in the series, Something Unexpected.
When Fergus Galloway takes on a research trip to a tiny mining town in the far Western Australian outback, he’s as far from Sydney as he can get.
Which is entirely the point.
He arrives in Pannalego totally unprepared for the baking heat, unprepared for the people who call it home, unprepared for the craziness and the laughs. And absolutely unprepared for the man he meets there who steals his heart.
Davo is a mining man, as rugged as he is gorgeous. Loves his found family, loves where he lives, and loves his life. He also loves the feel of soft fabric on his skin.
What was supposed to be a short field trip changes Fergus’s life. Going to a place many call uninhabitable might turn out to be the only place he wants to live.
I love Davo so much. He is unapologetically himself. He isn’t going to change for anyone. He embraces the part of himself that enjoys typically feminine clothing despite the fact that he works a rough job in one of the hottest places on earth. This is a really special guy.
I snuck this in my cowboy romance list because miners in the Western Australian outback are cowboys in every sense. Davo couldn’t be missing from this list. You need to check this book out purely for him!
Hey, I’m Heather!
I read M/M romance books exclusively, and I help other readers find their next great M/M romance read.
