One Step Over the Border    by Stephen Bly Order:  USA  Can Center Street, 2007 (2007) Softcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Kerrily Sapet Hap Bowman and his rodeo roping partner, Laramie Majors, are cowboys through and through - from Hap's well-worn hat to Laramie's quiet chivalry. They search from Wyoming to the Mexican border for Hap's long lost childhood love and to find an escape from Laramie's childhood memories. Between herding cattle, rodeo contests, and roping villains, Hap meets as many Juanitas as he can, hoping to find the special Juanita he promised to marry when he was twelve years old. Stephen Bly's One Step Over the Border tells the tale of Hap and Laramie's adventures. They take on a crooked park ranger in the Chisos Mountains, capture a raging bull, herd wild mustangs on a desert military testing ground, and thwart a cattle thief. They sleep beside campfires under the stars, eat grub such as cans of beans, and live in their saddles. Along the way they meet countless women named Juanita, looking for the one who has a horse head shaped birthmark behind her right ear. The cowboy duo comes across one Juanita who steals Hap's money, another with an abusive boyfriend who slashes the tires of their truck, and one who calls Hap's Juanita search the most pathetic thing she's ever heard of. Eventually the two modern day cowboys find what they are looking for. Except, sometimes what people search for isn't always what they expect. Author Stephen Bly fills the pages of the book with cowboy exploits, both tough and tender. While this reader sometimes chuckled at the corny cowboy stereotypes, the story captured the imagination as the characters were likeable and engaging. Readers got a sense of the true friendship that went beneath the men's rough exterior. Predictably, but happily, the cowboys ride off into the sunset, both having gained what they were searching for on their long quest. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Travel books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews