You Had Me at Cowboy by Jennie Marts – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway
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Description:
This cowboy is falling hard
Mason James is the responsible one who stayed behind to run the ranch while his brother, Rock, took off to play professional hockey. Women have used him before to get to his brother–and Mason intends never to get burned again. But after he meets quirky Tessa Kane at his brother’s wedding, Mason discovers he’s ready to take a chance on love.
Tessa Kane is a reporter on the verge of losing a job she desperately needs–unless she’s clever enough to snag a story on the famous Rockford James. But when she falls for her subject’s brother, she’s caught between a rock and a hard-muscled cowboy. What will happen when Mason finds out who she really is?
Review:
Dilemma: Deny yourself a HEA to save your grandmother/family home? Tessa faces such an obstacle, and after you’ve swooned for Mason, you might start packing Grandma’s bags, too. I kid, I kid. You Had Me at Cowboy, book 2 of the Cowboys of Creedence series by Jennie Marts, sets up this complicated situation that is sure to break hearts or build dreams. Based on my experience with this writer, you’re in for a bumpy ride. đ
Now let’s see just how tenuous the situation is. Tess was just fired from her job as a reporter for not submitting “hit pieces”. You know the kind. The salacious, grab-your-copy while-you-can story. Usually exploitative and most certainly damaging to a celebrity. Though not her typical fare, Tess is far from being selective due to the limits afforded by unemployment. When opportunity arises from the ashes of her career, Tess pounces and agrees to expose the real reason why playboy hockey star, Rock James, is rushing to the altar.
“You want to keep your job, Tess? Go in there and get me THAT story” “You want me to go spy on the bride and groom at their own party?” “That’s exactly what I want you to do. Go in there and mingle… Talk to the family, the guests, find the dirt.”
 So far so easy, right? Rock’s notorious reputation has garnered tons of interest so she’ll have to maneuver her way into the pre-wedding events to extract her story. It’s here, however, that a too-tight shirt changes the course of her life. A real life cowboy, a chivalry-isn’t-dead-kind-of cowboy, intervenes on Tess’s behalf, sparing her from a fashion faux pas, and illuminates a path to the festivities. Just so? He happens to be the Best Man. And, oh, yeah…his name is Mason James. He’s the bad boy’s younger brother. Doh!
 Fun ensues and I do mean fun. Mason and Tess genuinely connect and it takes them both by surprise. Burned by previous relationships, neither was expecting the initial moment of lust to linger and downright ignite. The purpose of Tess’s presence can’t be ignored for long, however, especially when there’s a deadline and, worse, her heart is at risk of falling madly in love.
 Love from deception? Crazier things have happened. Even though the Creedence series is not centered in Texas, “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” is apropos to surviving the chaos surrounding Mason and Tess. Is love enough to forgive…but how can it possibly be love when they’ve only just met? Answers, satisfying, deep-sigh kind of answers, await you. Jennie Marts tangles her characters in an abundance of romance and comedy enough to charm the boots off of you!
Reviewed by Carmen
Copy provided by Publisher
Dang it.
She waited a few seconds, then checked the other doors in the hallway. The first one was locked, but the second opened into an odd combination coat closet and storeroom, and she slipped inside. One half of the small room was carpeted and had a rod of hangers along part of the wall, while the other side was tiled and had a tall shelf that held assorted books and cleaning supplies.
The room didnât have a lock, but it would work in a pinch, and she wouldnât need long to change.
She quickly unbuttoned the stained silk blouse and let it fall to the floor, her mind preoccupied with how she was going to get into the party without Mick. This wasnât how her day was supposed to goâespecially the part about locking her keys in the carâbut after a quick round of cussing, followed by a swift bout of self-pity, sheâd rallied, giving herself the kind of pep talk she imagined Mimi would have offered.
This might not have been the original plan for the day, but she was improvising and moving on to plan B.
Shoving her arms into the sleeves, she noticed the shirt felt odd but didnât realize what the problem was until she tried to pull the lapels together. What the heck?
She pulled at the sides again and felt the material stretch across her back.
No. I couldnât have.
She looked closer at the shirt, and her shoulders fell.
I did. Sheâd grabbed the wrong white shirt from the dryer. Instead of removing her roomy, stretch-cotton shirt, sheâd taken her grandmotherâs blouse. Her petite five-foot-nothing grandmother.
Well, shit. She wanted to weep as she looked down and realized there was no way she was squeezing her ample chest into that blouse.
Plan B ruined by a double-D cup!
Dammit.
Please fit, she prayed as she tried again, squashing her chest and working to squeeze the small button into the opposite hole. She cursed the extra weight sheâd put on, knowing this wasnât the first time lately sheâd tried to squeeze into apparel that was just a smidge to small.
She let out a tiny shriek as the door to the utility closet suddenly opened, then froze as she took in the ridiculously handsome cowboy who filled its frame. The hinges of his chiseled jaw mustâve been broken because his mouth dropped open, and his eyes went wide at the sight of her.
Par for the course of her day, the button on her shirt picked that horribly inopportune moment to work free, and her shirt popped open like a can of biscuits.
âOh dang. Sorry,â the cowboy muttered, his eyes widening further as his gaze dropped to the black lacy bra for just a moment before he turned his back and shimmied out of his suit jacket. He passed it back to her. âYou all right there, miss?â
No, she was not all right. She was definitely not all right.
She wanted to cry and stamp her feet and run home to Mimiâs house to curl up on her grandmotherâs outdated chintz sofa and stuff her face with marshmallow cookies.
But that wasnât an option because Mimiâs cupboards were bare, and she may not have her houseâor the chintz sofaâfor much longer. Tess held back a sigh as she slid her arms into the sleeves of the jacket, careful not to mess up the red rose pinned to the lapel.
It was time to admit defeat. To give up on this stupid plan and try to come up with another way to raise the money. She wasnât cut out for this kind of stress. Maybe she should rethink Mimiâs spiked lemonade-stand idea or see if she could get a job as a waitress.
âIâm fine. Mostly. Except that a bird pooped on my shirt, and the one I was trying to change into must have shrunk in the dryer.â She couldnât believe sheâd just blurted out the bird-turd fiasco, and she couldnât bring herself to admit the added stupid mistake of grabbing the wrong blouse. âI just need a minute.â
âIâll leave you to it then,â he answered, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he backed away from the door.
She pulled one side of the coat over the other, thankful the suit jacket covered her exposed chest.
Hmmm. She skimmed the satiny petals of the rose. Boutonnieres were typically reserved for the bridal party. This guy must be one of the groomsmen.
âWait,â she called as the cute cowboy started to walk away.
Plan B had just turned into plan C.
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books âlaugh out loudâ funny and the âperfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.â Fic Central claimed one of her books was âthe most fun Iâve had reading in years.â
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. Sheâs addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you canât have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
