Welcome to Reading Under the Covers, a romance novel podcast, in today’s episode, we’re saddling up to explore cowboy romance — one of the most versatile, trope-rich subgenres in the game. From emotionally repressed ranchers to alien husbands with glowing eyes, cowboy romance delivers everything from small-town sweetness to wild paranormal heat.
We’re breaking down what defines cowboy romance as a subgenre, a character archetype, and a bundled trope cluster — and sharing all the must-read recs across the spectrum, including historical cowboys, queer cowboys, and international settings like Canada and Australia.
Whether you're here for the flannel or the feelings, this episode has a cowboy (or alien, or werewolf) for you.
