ARC Review: One Lucky Cowboy by Carolyn Brown

Series:	Lucky #2
Re-Release. Date:	March 6, 2018
Publisher:	Sourcebooks Casablanca
Length:	352 pages
Source:	NetGalley

I have been on the hunt lately for a good solid cowboy series that I could sink my teeth into... but so far I'm kinda striking out in this trope. I don't know if being a southern girl makes me overly picky when it comes to these stories, or if I just haven't found the right fit. But this one didn't work for me at all. 

Slade Luckadeau is a moody cowboy, living with his granny and running the Double LL - the Luckadeau Ranch. It seems that Slade does not have the best taste in women, and he's a little bitter and distrusting of gals in general. Slade jumped to a lot of (wrong) conclusions about our heroine, and he was hostile toward her for a good part of the book. One thing that he did have going for him - he was a pretty good cowboy. There was some honest-to-goodness ranch work happening, not just playing at being a cowboy like I've seen in some other books. And once Slade let go of his hangups, he was a decent hero. I just wish there had been more character development so I could have gotten into his head a little more.

Jane Day is a runaway bride and is determined to stay in hiding until her 25th birthday (about 6 weeks time in our story). She was picked up right off the bus in Ringgold, Texas and taken home by the Luckadeau matriarch and given work as a maid and driver. She is full of sass and determined to stay no matter the thoughts of Slade Luckadeau. She did work hard and fit well into the ranch life, but I just could not connect with her character. She was a bit too prickly for my tastes.

The romance in this one was almost in the enemies to lovers realm, with our couple bickering for a good portion of the book. Once things do get more friendly, there wasn't much time for relationship building as our couple was on the run. What we did get was mostly PG-13 some fade to black action happening off page. 

Overall, I think I just did not prefer this writing style. It seemed overly simplistic and trying to hard. The over-the-top southernisms threw me out of the story. I mean, I have heard people use the word underbritches before... but they were my grandparents age, not a hot young cowboy. The only time I find these types of colloquialisms to fit into a story is if its a comedic effect. That was not the case here.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca.

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