Going Cowboy Crazy

Nothing is more shocking than discovering a long-lost twin. Except maybe trying to locate said twin in a small Texan town and falling into a bad case of mistaken identity. The town believes that Hope has finally returned from Hollywood. Before Faith could set things straight, the folks in Bramble are hell-bent on setting her up with Slate Calhoun to bring the town’s favorite high school sweethearts back together. Too bad Slate can tell when he’s kissing the wrong woman, but what if it’s Faith who sets his heart aflame and not Hope who always felt more like a sister?

I am more of a historical romance fan, but lately I’ve been digging a solid western romance with rugged cowboys and the headstrong women who tame them. Going Cowboy show more Crazy tickled my romantic bone in just the right way! Faith and Slate had the perfect degree of sizzle that made me melt – and I loved how they butted heads and eventually fell together in love. It was fun to see how far the entire town of Bramble went to push Slate and Faith together, even though they thought Faith was Hope. Katie Lane has created a fun-loving, sweet-talking book that makes me look forward to find out Hope’s story in Book 2! show less

This was an extremely funny read.

Faith Aldridge shows up in Bramble, Texas to find out where in California her identical twin sister Hope is. Until recently she never knew she had a twin. When she walks into a bar hoping to get answers she is immediately mistaken for Hope who has been gone for 5 years. Faith is a big city girl from Chicago and has no idea how to take all these crazy people and their small town Texas ways. Seems the town wants her (thinking she is Hope) to get back with her high school sweetheart Slate Calhoun.

After a few tequila shots Faith stops trying to convince the town she isn’t Hope. Slate steps in and takes a drunk Faith (who he thinks is Hope but something seems a little off) out of the bar to go for a ride. show more But Slate realizes after a few kisses that this woman is not Hope cause Hope's kisses never made him feel this way.

Bramble, Texas is one crazy town. The secondary characters in this book will have you laughing so hard it'll bring tears to your eyes. There are also a few heartbreaking moments when we find out the reason Faith and Hope don’t know anything about each other.

Hope's story is next in the series.. show less

Done for http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.com

When Faiths dying mother reveals that she is not actually her birth mother, the world she knew came tumbling down. After some investigating into her past, she sets off to a small town in Texas to hunt for the identical twin sister she never knew existed. Problems arise when she gets there, as the entire town mistakes her for their long lost sweetheart, Hope, and refuse to listen to her arguments on the matter. In their enthusiasm to make sure she stays this time, they rush her towards the gorgeous Slade, the town hero who has been pretending to be Hopes estranged boyfriend for years. When he gives her the welcome home kiss they all expect to see, she lights up in his arms and gives him a show more kiss to scorch his cowboy boots. Slade realises immediately that the little spitfire in his arms is definitely not Hope. Once she tells him her story, he realises that the coast is clear for him to try to seduce the woman who quite literally knocked his hat off. Faith soon realises that, although Slade is happy to have her temporarily warming his bed, he doesn’t want her to remain a permanent fixture. She starts to have doubts about perusing any sort of relationship with him, not trusting her ability to keep things casual. He isn’t exactly the best catch on paper either; Commitment phobia past relationship with identical twin sister = non-starter! But, as with all good romance stories, pesky feelings get in the way of the best of intentions. With these two fighting their feelings for each other, the town determined to shove them together and the real Hope on her way back with designs on Slade, how will this mess get sorted out?

The way I will describe this book is sweet and funny. The sex scenes were more sensuous than hot, the humour was a little slapstick and there was no deep heavy subplot to take anything away from the romance. It was like a RomCom in a book; Chick-lit is the best description for it. Slade is a lovely main character. He is the handsome, small town hero who everyone wants to see happy. He tried to make it work with Hope, but the sparks just didn’t fly. I liked that he saw the differences from the second he met Faith; I wouldn’t have believed in the romance if it were all about appearances, as she looks exactly like Hope! He fell for her personality and the way she kissed him; at no point did he deny that she was attractive, it just wasn’t his main motivation for wanting to sleep with her. Faith was an interesting character. At the start of the book, I wanted to smack her upside the head. She was so judgemental of the small town characters, just because they didn’t do things the way that she expected, that I immediately wanted to put down the book. I am glad I persevered; she does grow as a person as she learns to stop taking these people at face value and accepts that they have good hearts. I liked her relationship with Slade and willed it to develop; I understood her motivations for not wanting to get involved. He had a prior relationship with her sister (a bit icky), he had no intentions of ever leaving the small town that she had no intentions of getting stuck in and, most importantly, he didn’t want anything more than a quick lay. Slade was a bit of a dumbass through it all (his reasons for not getting permanently involved were a little pathetic), but it was clear that he had feelings for her; I melted when he stepped in for her against her birth parents. They constantly butted heads as hearts warred with heads; hurt feelings were aplenty in this book as they tried to work through the plentiful amount of personal issues that they each had. Overall, I routed for their HEA.

Now, I don’t live in a small town in America but I can imagine that if I did, some of the stereotypical characters in this book would offend me slightly. They are well meaning, but seriously stupid in some ways. I took it for what it was, a funny book with side characters that were plot devices, rather than main events. I loved that they wouldn’t believe she wasn’t Hope, that they believed her Hollywood sex stories so easily and that they constantly butted their nose into Slade and Faiths relationship. When Hope appears, I thought she was a little bit of a bitch. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to reading her story, as some of the stunts she pulled were mean. She is supposed to be a thirty-year-old woman, but when it comes to the relationship between Slade and Faith, she behaves like a child. I’m hoping she redeems herself, as I really liked the writing style of this author.

A sweet read about the High School Hero finally getting the girl, just a slightly different version of the one he thought he’s end up with. With a fast-paced plot filled with zany characters and small town humour, I enjoyed this one from cover to cover. show less

Faith goes to Bramble TX looking for a twin she never knew she had. What she finds is a case of mistaken identity, a smokin' hot cowboy, who tries everything to seduce her, a small town full of quirky busybodies, said busybodies refuse to believe she is Faith and not her twin, which causes a ruckus and a dog named Buster, she almost accidentally kills,well, almost on a daily basis. Being TEXAS born and bred myself, I was cringing at some of the satirical stereotypes of a small Texas town, but once I got into the first couple of chapters I couldn't help but laugh along with the story, especially when I admit I've come in contact with some of those type people. This is a fast paced, great book with humor, emotions, comedy and just enough show more steam to make me catch my breath and get a little tingly, but not fall in the erotic category (not bashing erotic, cause all my friends know I lurrvvvv me some steamy, erotic stories). Actually, I LOVE the way the intimate scenes are written, because they did make me catch my breath without being erotic, don't get me wrong they are descriptive, just not "boom, chicka, wow-wow" descriptive. As a reference, here are non-erotic authors who are great at writing books with what I consider "catch my breath" intimate moments, Jill Shalvis, Toni Blake, Robin Kaye, Christie Craig, Carly Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Susan Mallery. The best erotic author with "catch my breath" moments is Lorelei James, who just happens to be my all time favorite author, period. Katie Lane is not only a new author for me, this is her debut book, and I look forward to book two, Make Mine A Bady Boy, Hope's story to be released June 1, 2011. p.s. my definition of a "catch my breath" moment - it's one where the H grabs, looks, says, does something that leads up to an intimate moment, which is written so well it just makes my heart jump and me catch my breath. show less

Reviewed by Kim
for Read Your Writes Book Reviews

Katie Lane’s first book in the A Deep in the Heart of Texas Novel Series is hilarious.

I have to admit there was a point in the book, where I got so frustrated, I had to put the book down. I mean really, what kind of town and people in their right minds would do what they did to Faith Aldridge? Yes, the people in Bramble are NOT in their right minds… In fact, I’m sure that they have lost their minds somewhere deep in the Pecos River.

I loved Faith but I wasn’t a fan of Hope. Talk about being identical twins with totally different personalities.

Hopefully, with Make Mine a Bad Boy, I’ll like Hope.

Source: Personal Purchase

Faith goes to Bramble TX looking for a twin she never knew she had. What she finds is a case of mistaken identity, a smokin' hot cowboy, who tries everything to seduce her, a small town full of quirky busybodies, said busybodies refuse to believe she is Faith and not her twin, which causes a ruckus and a dog named Buster, she almost accidentally kills,well, almost on a daily basis. Being TEXAS born and bred myself, I was cringing at some of the satirical stereotypes of a small Texas town, but once I got into the first couple of chapters I couldn't help but laugh along with the story, especially when I admit I've come in contact with some of those type people. This is a fast paced, great book with humor, emotions, comedy and just enough show more steam to make me catch my breath and get a little tingly, but not fall in the erotic category (not bashing erotic, cause all my friends know I lurrvvvv me some steamy, erotic stories). Actually, I LOVE the way the intimate scenes are written, because they did make me catch my breath without being erotic, don't get me wrong they are descriptive, just not "boom, chicka, wow-wow" descriptive. As a reference, here are non-erotic authors who are great at writing books with what I consider "catch my breath" intimate moments, Jill Shalvis, Toni Blake, Robin Kaye, Christie Craig, Carly Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Susan Mallery. The best erotic author with "catch my breath" moments is Lorelei James, who just happens to be my all time favorite author, period. Katie Lane is not only a new author for me, this is her debut book, and I look forward to book two, Make Mine A Bady Boy, Hope's story to be released June 1, 2011. p.s. my definition of a "catch my breath" moment - it's one where the H grabs, looks, says, does something that leads up to an intimate moment, which is written so well it just makes my heart jump and me catch my breath. show less

Cute but maybe a little too cute. It reads almost like a spoof of small-town contemporaries, but the humor doesn't quite get there. I'll probably pass on the rest of the series.