SmeXmas 2012 – REVIEW: Darn Good Cowboy Christmas by Carolyn Brown
Darn Good Cowboy Christmas (Spikes & Spurs #3)
by Carolyn Brown | Sourcebooks Casablanca (Oct 2011)
Paperback, 378 pages | Western Romance
Darn Good Cowboy Christmas contains two elements every woman should have in her books at least once a year – cowboys and Christmas! This was just my type of festive treat!
Set in small town, ranching Texas, it’s the third book in Carolyn Brown’s Spikes and Spurs series. I’ve read books two and three, but not the first and I personally didn’t think that it mattered. Brown portrays a fun and cosy community that is easy to sink into whether you’ve met the characters before or not.
Our heroine is Lizelle (Liz), traveling carnival fortune teller and belly dancer or ‘carnie‘ for short. Fed up of life in a trailer she wants a house and some roots. Happily she is given a house by her uncle, which also happens to be right next door to the cowboy she has the hots for as a teenager, the rather delicious Raylen.
Liz is kooky and funny, I loved her carnival background and her unusual family. She is completely obsessed with Christmas, and I couldn’t help but grin as she determined to decorate her house up like so brightly it would attract people from far and wide.
The story is cute, there aren’t many books you would read where in the first scenes the hero and heroine end up having a ‘fiddle off’. Now, now, don’t let those minds wander! A fiddle off with violins… what else did you think it was?! 
Raylen has the whole earthy, sexy, cowboy thing going on. In my mind you can’t really go wrong with a ‘darn good cowboy’ and Raylen doesn’t fail to deliver. The book has lots of stories inter mingled with hints at romances for other characters. I was particularly fond of Blaze’s, Liz’s best friend who is unable to commit to any woman. I do love it when a rogue falls in love!
The story has a great, feel good, festive vibe. At its root, it’s a simple, first love story finally being requited. But the setting, the supporting characters and the great chemistry between the two leads make it a thoroughly enjoyable book.
My one little disappointment with the book is the ending, oh don’t worry it’s all rosy and happy… of course! But, I felt like there was one big part I would have like to have actually seen rather than heard about. You know that whole narrative, epilogue style where you see the characters after the event has happened, well that.
VERDICT:
A perfect little Christmas stocking filler. Hunky cowboys, lots of crazy Christmas decorations, cute characters and a cosy happy ending. I do enjoy Ms Brown’s funny, light writing style.
RATING: 
CAROLYN BROWN ONLINE
Website | Goodreads
BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER
- Love Drunk Cowboy
- Red’s Hot Cowboy
- Darn Good Cowboy Christmas
- One Hot Cowboy Wedding
- Mistletoe Cowboy
- Just A Cowboy & His Baby
BUY YOUR COPY
4 Comments
uh-oh! I’ll be interested to see what you think of my review for MIsteltoe Cowboy. I just didn’t like that one at all. I’m unsure about this author and her writing style so I may give this a pass. (Though I wouldn’t mind a Cowboy for Christmas!
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Who doesn’t want a cowboy for Christmas?
This Is the second book I’ve read by Ms Brown and I really quite enjoyed it. Look forward to your review!
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I love a good Christmas story, but I still haven’t got into the whole ‘cowboy’ thing. But two of us into cowboys is probably enough
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You can’t go wrong with a good cowboy Carolyn
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