The Cowboy's Christmas Baby - Carolyn Brown (Sourcebooks Casablanca - Sept 2013)

Series: Cowboys and Brides (Book 2)

'Tis the season for...

A pistol-totin' woman who's no angel

A tough rancher who doesn't believe in miracles

Love that warms the coldest nights

After a year in Kuwait, Lucas Allen can't wait to get back to his ranch for Christmas and meet his gorgeous Internet pal in person.

When he pulls in, there's Natalie Clark right in his front yard with a pink pistol in her hand and a dead coyote at her feet.

Lucas is unfazed. But wait...is that a BABY in her arms?

Fun book full of sassy romance and quirky characters. Lucas has arrived home from his deployment a couple days early, ready to surprise his family. He's also looking forward to meeting the girl he got to know over the internet in person, when she arrives in a few days. But there are a lot more surprises than he expected when he arrives to find the family gone, and Natalie already there. She's standing there with a pistol in her hand, a dead coyote at her feet, and a baby in her arms, just as stunned to see him. 

Lucas was introduced to Natalie, via Skype, by his tentmate, who was also Natalie's best friend. When Drew was killed by an IED, Lucas was the one who told her and became her friend also. He's spent the last few months building up dreams and hopes that come crashing down when he sees her with the baby. He's angry that she didn't tell him before, hurt that there must be someone she cares for more, and jealous of the baby.

Natalie is stunned to see Lucas show up early. She and the family had big plans for his homecoming and now it's all ruined. She knows she should have told him about the baby, but she hadn't been able to figure out how. She wants to explain, but he won't listen. Now he's just making her mad with his reaction. She's ready to walk away from the ranch and Lucas, but the family housekeeper/cook has been hurt and has made Natalie promise to stay and look after them until she's better.

I loved Natalie. She's a strong, sassy woman who has no trouble standing up for herself. She doesn't take Lucas's attitude for long, and soon pushes back. I like the way she owns up to her mistakes, then moves on and expects him to also. She'd spent most of the last months getting to know Lucas online and falling for what she saw. Lucas in person is even better, and her attraction to him is sizzling.

Lucas was fantastic. I felt for him, with the shock he received when he got home. He's still dealing with the loss of his friend and had been looking forward to holding Natalie. It isn't surprising that he loses his cool for awhile. Once he cools off and he and Natalie have a chance to talk, his true nature begins to reassert itself. He is really quite a gentleman and a romantic too.

The development of their relationship was quite well done. They already knew each other pretty well, but there are some things that have to be experienced in person. Though they start out ticked off at each other, it doesn't take too long for them to move forward. I loved seeing them together, from their cooperation with the ranch work to caring for the baby to acting on their attraction. Both of them were cautious about confessing their feelings, worried that the other didn't feel the same way. I really enjoyed Lucas's efforts for Christmas and how he tried to plan each little detail. The ending is really sweet with them finally having the courage to reach for their dreams.

There is also a great theme of family running throughout the book. Both Natalie and Lucas are close to their families. Though she spends a fair amount of time avoiding her own family, Natalie thinks of them quite often. I enjoyed the conversations she had with her mother, and how Natalie tried to keep control of her own life. Lucas's family was a lot of fun. The three older men were really sweet with the way they took to baby Josh. I loved seeing them fuss over who got to hold him or take care of him. It was also fun to see them try their hands at matchmaking. Lucas has dreams of having his own family, but fears it will never happen, thanks to an ex-girlfriend. There's a great twist at the end that is the direct result of her actions, but it helps bring Lucas and Natalie together.

There are quite a few laugh out loud moments in the book. Natalie's refusal to be intimidated by Lucas's ex was very fun to read. There were several funny scenes involving animals and their determination to get in the house and the havoc they created. I also enjoyed Hazel the housekeeper's long distance interference, and her arrival back home once she's healed. The interactions among characters were fun and moving and just plain terrific reading.

Billion Dollar Cowboy - Carolyn Brown (Sourcebooks Casablanca - June 2013)

Series: Cowboys and Brides (Book 1)

A Billionaire Can Buy Anything...

Colton Nelson was twenty-eight years old when he won the Texas Lottery and went from ranch hand to ranch owner overnight. Now he's desperate to keep the gold diggers away. It shouldn't be too hard to find a pretty girl and hire her to pretend to be his one-and-only.

Or Can He?

Laura Baker's got mixed feelings about this--she's on the ranch to work, not to be arm candy. On the other hand, being stuck for a while in the boondocks with a gorgeous cowboy isn't half-bad.

What neither Colton nor Laura expects are the intensely hard lessons they have to learn about the real cost of love...

This was a really fun book. Colton is a cowboy who is now a billionaire and being constantly pursued by women who are more interested in his money than him. Laura is on the ranch to work off a debt to her cousin, who is Colton's best friend and financial adviser. Colton's family and friends come up with an idea that will give Colton a break and Laura the chance to pay off her debt faster. They want Colton and Laura to pretend to be involved. Colton's desperate and Laura just wants her debt gone, so they go along with it, not expecting their fake relationship to start to feel very real.

I loved both Colton and Laura. Colton was just an ordinary cowboy until he won the lottery. Now he has a ton of money and no peace from being pursued. When someone drugs him, his family decides to step in and help. First they set up Colton and Laura to make it look like there's something going on, then they let them in on the plan. Colton and Laura aren't too thrilled with the idea at first, but they're willing to give it a shot. It isn't too long before the fake relationship starts to feel real, but both of them have some things holding them back.

Colton was raised by his grandmother after his parents died in a crash. His parents were passionate people and fought a lot. The last thing he remembers of them is their fighting, and then they were gone. He associates fighting with separation, and two people together will fight, therefore commitment will bring separation. And that's just too much pain. He also has trouble talking about his feelings. But Laura understands him and being around her doesn't make him feel the same way he does around others. 

Laura and her sister were raised by their aunt after their mother died. Laura never knew her father. She sees that any relationship is headed for disaster because sooner or later someone is going to leave. Why start something that will only end in heartbreak. She feels like she was important enough for her mother to fight for her health and not die, so why would anyone else care for her like that. She feels like Colton really cares for her, but she has a hard time trusting that it's enough.

I loved seeing Colton and Laura getting to know each other. Colton is sweet and kind and hasn't let the money go to his head. He still works hard on the ranch. At first he wonders if Laura is scamming him the way that others have tried to do, but soon learns that she is just as real as he is. It was fun to see his playfulness when he showed her the pool and the gym. He was surprised to see how well she fit into life on the ranch and that added to the feelings that were growing for her. There's also some really hot chemistry going on between them that he has no trouble accepting, it's just that pesky "L" word that is creating problems.

Laura started off just wanting to pay her debt and leave. She's not really comfortable among people she doesn't know and Colton's money freaks her out a bit. She's not happy about her cousin's machinations to get her to help Colton, but she'll do it to have a chance to see her sister. She discovers that he's much more down to earth than she expected, and begins to like him for who he is. I liked the fact that his money means absolutely nothing to her, that it is more of a negative than a positive for her. She's really nervous about a couple of the events she has to attend with him, but has a better time than she expected. She still doesn't feel like she fits in his world. Her feelings grow for him, but she isn't ready to make their relationship real without knowing that he feels the same. I loved the fact that they could actually talk things out when they had an issue.

I loved the secondary characters and the richness they added to the story. Grandma Maudie was a trip of an old lady. She has a heart of gold, raised Colton and is now raising her niece Roxie. She doesn't put up with any crap from either one of them. Roxie was another one that I loved. She's a teenager who also had a less than stellar mother. Laura sees a lot of herself and Janet in Roxie, and relates to her very well. I loved seeing the changes in Roxie that came from being around Laura. I also loved the way that Laura was there for Roxie, especially with the girl's problems with a classmate. Laura's sister Janet was a character that had to grow on me. Her attitude at the beginning made me realize why Andy Joe had set the conditions he had. I really wanted to smack her for the things she said about Laura's relationship with Colton. I was happy to see the changes she started to go through, and for Laura's sake hope she sticks with it. It was fun to see various other residents of the town and their effects on the relationship between Colton and Laura. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.