One Lucky Cowboy Mass Market Paperback – November 1, 2009

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley (not realizing it was a re-release that I had already purchased but hadn't read.)This was a wonderful story. There were some really great scenes in this book. I just fell in love with the characters. The plot was one that just seemed to enchant me from the beginning. I REALLY have to not start reading in the late evening as I didn't want to put this down. I enjoyed this story immensely. I have noticed that books are being re-released some with even new titles (this one has the same title.) Be careful if you are a Carolyn Brown fan, you may already have this book. I would recommend this story to anyone.

Well, this is a book that I feel failed to live up to it's potential. What should have been a storyline full of pent up passion, humor and a slow simmering romance fell flat. I can enjoy a couple that bickers and spars with each other but this was TOO MUCH! The way that the hero carried on in this book turned him into a real jerk and I never felt he was sorry for any of it and this made me really dislike him. There where some humorous moments in the book from secondary characters. These were truly enjoyable and greatly appreciated. Plot was good, secondary characters enriched the read, this couple for me though didn't work.

Jane needs to run away and get lost for the next six weeks. Things all started when she spotted her fiancee kissing his own sister on her wedding day. Obviously it wasn't the his sister and in fact he had a reason in marrying her and that is because in six weeks, Jane is supposed to come into a lot of money. Which of course the real reason, not love why he was marrying her. Realizing what her fiancee's true motives are she realizes what she needs to do is get lost and as far away and remote as possible. Obviously on the run from her fiancee and not wanting him to find her, she leaves with not a whole lot of cash on her. Which means she is in desperate need for a job and a place to stay. Luckily she gets hired by Nellie who even knowing nothing about Jane sees something in her that she likes and hires her to be the cook for the family and ranch hands on Nellie's ranch.Jane and Nellie take to each other right away. Especially when Jane ends up being pretty adept in the kitchen and at making the kind and size of meals it takes to feed a ranch. Lucky on the other hand is a whole different story as he doesn't like Jane and if it was up to him, he'd fire her from the place. This keeps Jane on her toes a little bit as this means she needs to continue to stay on Nellie's good side because she really needs to stay lost for as long as possible. Of course that mutual hatred masks what is really an unbelievable attraction to each other, which Nellie is wise to see and she even tries her hand at a little matchmaking between the bickering pair.Unfortunately Jane's past comes back to haunt her when she has only days left to go until her birthday and she and Lucky end up going on the run together. Can Lucky help keep Jane safe and will anything come of this growing attraction the two of them feel for each other? And when/if she makes it to her twenty-fifth birthday is that the end of her and Lucky or do they follow their hearts?

Slade and Jane wanted nothing to do with one another. Slade thought she was after his ranch and Jane was running for her life. She trusted no one.Loved all the twists and turns in this story. Building trust is hard, but worth every bit.

This is more of a two and a half stars. This book was entirely too long and drawn out and probably would have done better to end a good 50 pages earlier. I did enjoy the back and forth between the two leads initially because I like banter like that but after awhile it became so repetitious and unnecessary. The jumping between different character's POVs especially the bad guys was also unnecessary and cheesy to boot. Plus the writing while decent at some points, at others seemed to have gotten overtaken by a teenager because of how juevenille the dialect and dialogue was not to mention the explaining of situations verbally by other characters ("Oh who would have guessed that so-and-so was REALLY so-and-so an infamous blah blah"). I love romances and cowboys and I really wanted to thoroughly enjoy this story but honestly I found myself forcing myself to finish it only to find out how it ended. This was just not my idea of a good old cowboy romance novel.

Built on a solid, intricately woven plot, Ms. Brown develops characters that I believe are amongst the most interesting and just plain fun, I have ever read. You'll fall in love with Nellie, Slade's (the hero) grandmother and her "slutty" sister. Two older ladies full of life, joy and charisma that most people, real or literary characters, rarely if ever possess. Slade is a true hero not just in how he protects Jane (the heroine), but also how he loves, cares for and respects his grandmother and aunt. Jane is my favorite heroine of all time! Her sass and spunk is unmatched by any character I've ever read (similar to Tiana in "The Virtual Man" by the way) and Ms. Brown was nothing short of genius in how she used Jane's dialogue to develop her personality. Jane is a hoot! Truth be told, the book's dialog was amongst the most satisfying I have ever read. Caroly Brown, I'm glad I discovered you ... you may count me a fan!!

A bride-to-be discovers the groom-to-be has been hired to kill her. She runs. The runaway bride meets up with Granny and is hired to work at her ranch. Male lead is protective of his Granny and takes instant dislike to what he believes is a gold-digging woman. Sparks fly, danger mounts, and emotional tensions escalate. Characters and events have the makings of a good story. It just didn't quite get there for me.Judicious editing out of some portions may have kept the story moving along at a better pace. I felt it dragged, had unnecessary foul language and repetitive phrases. Excessive references to published books and recordings were basically footnoted within the text (rather like seeing the bibliography contained within the story).

good

Very good

Very good read. Took a. While to get started but worth it in the end. Will be reading more by this author.