Review - Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane

Shirlene Dalton has it all: a dream marriage to a man who spoils her rotten and the most outrageous mansion Bramble, Texas, has ever seen. But when her husband unexpectedly dies, Shirlene finds herself right back where she started-in a rundown trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. Never the type to let a little bad luck and a whole heap of heartache get her down, Shirlene is ready to prove to the local gossips she can make it on her own... until she ends up living next door to the most tempting cowboy in town.

Billy Wilkes has a score to settle and a plan to wipe Bramble right off the map. But when his sexy, redheaded neighbor figures out what he's up to, his good ol' boy charm won't be enough to save him. With the town on his tail, Billy will have to come clean quick -- or kiss Shirlene goodbye.

I finished Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane the other day. It's the 3rd book in the series and definitely did not disappoint. I wasn't sure how I'd like it without the main characters from the 2 other books being more front and center, but Billy (Bubba) Wilkes and Shirlene Dalton were definitely great leads.

Not only did poor Shirlene lose her husband but due to some bad financial management, she loses her house as well. Now, part of me didn't feel sorry for her. She had all that money that she just spent and spent and spent, knowing there wasn't anymore where all that came from. And yet she didn't stop spending. Part of me wanted to say, "Well, it's your own fault." But I know that sounds heartless. Another part of me feels sorry for her. She was depressed after the love of her life died and tried to fill the void with material things. And it just didn't work.

Bubba has let a family legend sour him on a group of people who've come to love him and trust him. People who didn't know they didn't have a chance as far as he was concerned. Or at least... that's how it started. Bubba didn't plan to have them grow on him. He didn't plan to become friends with them. And he didn't plan to fall in love with the spitfire living next door to him. Or the baggage that she picked up when she went home.

I loved Shirlene. She was definitely down and out, but put her heart and soul in to not letting anyone find out. She was determined to right the situation she was in no matter the cost. You've gotta give her credit for her guts and her persistance. And Bubba. He's full of surprises, some good some not, but his heart is the size of Texas. Even if he refuses to believe it.

This was a great book. A quick read and a fun one. I can't wait for book number four to come out later this year (I think)! I would recommend this to anyone over the age of 18 as it is an adult romance novel. But especially for adults who find themselves wanting to be swept away by love... or an incredibly good looking cowboy.

Teaser Tuesday #40

Thank you to MizB of Should Be Reading for giving us Teaser Tuesday every week!
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser comes from Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane.

"Watch it Jesse." Bubba's deep voice had Shirlene's heart thumping against her ribcage. It lodged there when he suddenly appeared around the side of the trailer in all his shirtless glory. Since the air conditioner didn't work, she had figured he'd given up. Obviously, Bubba was more dedicated than she thought. Dedicated and wet...   p 134

Can't wait to check out ya'lls teasers!

In My Mailbox #34

Thanks to Kristi, the Story Siren, for hosting In My Mailbox every week.

I know I said I wanted to get a week's worth of reviews up before doing anymore memes, but I've got 4 in the last couple of weeks so I think I'm ok for now.

This week I got book number three in the Deep in the Heart of Texas series, Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane. The first two books were wonderful. You can read my review for Going Cowboy Crazy: here, and for Make Mine a Bad Boy: here.

Shirlene Dalton has it all: a dream marriage to a man who spoils her rotten and the most outrageous mansion Bramble, Texas, has ever seen. But when her husband unexpectedly dies, Shirlene finds herself right back where she started-in a rundown trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. Never the type to let a little bad luck and a whole heap of heartache get her down, Shirlene is ready to prove to the local gossips she can make it on her own... until she ends up living next door to the most tempting cowboy in town.

Billy Wilkes has a score to settle and a plan to wipe Bramble right off the map. But when his sexy, redheaded neighbor figures out what he's up to, his good ol' boy charm won't be enough to save him. With the town on his tail, Billy will have to come clean quick -- or kiss Shirlene goodbye.

Review - Make Mine a Bad Boy by Katie Lane

I finished it! I finished Make Mine a Bad Boy by Katie Lane. If you remember my review about book one, Going Cowboy Crazy, I won this in a cowboy giveaway from Sarah, The Brazen Bookworm.

It was wonderful. I wasn't sure that after "falling in love" with Slate Calhoun I'd be able to read this when he wasn't exactly as prominent a feature. I also wasn't sure I'd enjoy reading about the other twin's life. She hadn't made that great an impression on me in the last book so I was wary when I picked this up.

I was wrong on both counts. I loved Hope Scroggs. And to be honest, I'd take Colt Lomax over Slate Calhoun any day. Slate was football coach who always did was expected of him until Faith came along. But Colt is a bad boy with an enormous heart of gold, he's just afraid to show anyone. We see him transform in this book from someone who just doesn't give a rat's butt to someone who seems to just be exploding with feeling. ::sigh::

Reading this I found myself getting angry at Hope for not just melting into a puddle as soon as Colt looked at her. But it wouldn't have made for a very long book if she had. Not to mention I probably wouldn't have liked it half as much as I did.

And now a quote from Colt:

I heard you, but that doesn't mean I understand what she has to do with my hangdog look - not that I have a hangdog look - but if I did, she wouldn't have anything to do with it.

Poor thing was trying to backpedal. As if it wasn't obvious to everyone.

I love how redeeming this is. The surprise twists. How the town may seem clueless, but maybe some of them aren't completely. I do like Faith's role in this book, even though it's small as Hope is the main character. I love Hope's fire and determination. And Colt's heart. It's just wonderful.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone (over the age of 18). I think it may have made it on to my favorites list. I just wish I'd had book three in the Deep In The Heart of Texas series, Catch Me a Cowboy, so that I didn't have to wait to read it. I hate waiting. I'm really impatient.

Check out Katie Lane on Goodreads, Twitter, and her webpage, Katie Lane Books. You won't be sorry you did!!

Goodreads blurb:

THERE'S A NEW BRIDE IN TOWN!
Hope Scroggs is finally ready to get hitched. After years of sowing her wild oats, the former head cheerleader and homecoming queen has returned to Bramble, Texas, to marry her high school flame. But her perfect wedding plans are stomped to smithereens when her adoring cowboy two-steps down the aisle with someone else. Now Hope is stuck with the one man from her past she can't shake: Colt Lomax, an irresistible bad boy whose sultry kisses are hotter than the Panhandle in August . . . 

Colt lives for freedom and the open road; he never gets attached, never looks back. Still, he can't forget the night of passion he once shared with Bramble's sweetheart—a night he wouldn't mind repeating. So, he piles on the Texas charm to tease the feisty beauty back into his bed, while she tries her darnedest to resist. But something unexpected is about to tie their fates together . . . and oh, baby, will it ever!