The Littlest Cowboy

by Maggie Shayne
Book 1 of The Texas Brands

Rating:  No Rating
Progress:  7% into book

 

 

I had a bad feeling about this book after reading the first chapter.  On a whim, I started skimming the rest of the book and found that I probably wouldn't like what came next.  From the short snippets I read here and there, we've got a bunch of cavemen-like alphas, and one irrational TSTL heroine.  There's also a lot of telling instead of showing.

There was one particular scene I decided to read, somewhere mid-book where we find out that there's a very dangerous man out there trying to find the heroine and her baby nephew.  A very dangerous man who might have killed her sister.  A very dangerous man who has resources and other dangerous men working for him.  So what does she do?  She decides that she's just going to go straight home where she lives, all by her lonesome, with a child in tow... where said very dangerous man already knows how to find her, and can just waltz up to her home and snatch the baby... maybe killing her while he's at it.

To be fair, to her, however, at some point in the book, the men all decide together that they need not tell the womenfolk just HOW dangerous this very dangerous man truly is.  They don't need to know.  No need to worry the fragile hearts of the little ladies, right?

......

There's entirely too much testosterone going on in this book for me.  Since when is NOT telling someone how much danger she (or even he) is in a good idea?  Ever?

I've read a lot of crap books lately.  I'm too tired to put up with another one.

I loved Maggie Shayne's Brown and de Luca series and have been hoping for another great from her.  But I suppose sometimes you just cut your losses where you can.  This is an earlier Maggie Shayne work, though, so maybe I should stick with her newer stuff.

I picked this book as one of my Reading Assignment Challenge books, and just as well, it was a Kindle freebie.  So I'm glad I got this book out of the way.

Moving on to something else now!

 

 

Sheriff Garrett Brand wakes up to a baby on his doorstep and note that says its his. Having raised his younger siblings on his own, he is no stranger to have young ones around the house, but this little one’s mama is in trouble.

Chelsea, grew up in home filled with violence. It is a past her sister hadn’t escaped. As Chelsea identifies her sister’s dead body, she once again is certain that she will never allow a man to have control over her life. She wants to find her sister’s son and make his father pay for what he has done.

I have a soft spot for rancher romances. Garrett Brand, of the Texas Brands, should be a cliche. He is a large, soft spoken, gentle man with a big heart, who has already proven himself a capable family man as he has raised his young siblings. In other words, too good to be true. Truthfully though, he isn’t. Instead he is the perfect hero for a story like this. He is just the right amount of swagger and confusion when dealing with the fairer sex. Chelsea should be a typical man-hating cynical heroine… wait, that is exactly what she is, though she comes around nicely in the end. Her character is a bit formulaic, but there is plenty of character in the Brand family. Each sibling is fascinating in his or her own way, and a story waiting to be told. The interaction between themselves and Garrett is heartwarming. It is obvious that little “Bubba” will have a place in that family if his aunt can get herself set straight The story itself was terrific. The great blend of cowboy, suspense and romance. I picked up this book as part of a set and I am looking forward to reading about the Oklahoma Brands. I actually have a few books from this author on #TBRList. She obviously can craft a story, she deserves a read for her Goodreads bio alone.

Read and enjoyed while Thanksgiving meal was cooking in oven and finished after nap from over abundance of yummy stuffing.

This beginning book to the series was a wonderful intro to a magnificent fictional Texas family and Little "Bubba" stole the show!

From my point of view this was a perfect read for the day we give thanks as it shared all the reasons why we should be thankful in the family, friends and loved ones who enrich our lives.

A great contemporary romance for its main hero and heroine Garrett and Chelsea.

This is the first book by Maggie Shayne that I have ever read. I know she writes romantic suspense and paranormal books now. That being said, I enjoyed this early work by her. It was a nice set up for a series of books featuring the Brand family, 4 brothers and 1 sister all raised by the oldest, Garrett after their parents were killed in an accident. Being Texas, they live on a cattle ranch outside of a small town.

"The littlest cowboy" refers to baby Ethan who is left on the Brand's doorstep one night. His aunt shows up looking for the baby and danger follows her. I liked Garrett's character. He was very sweet and such a gentleman. It was amusing watching his siblings try to get him to make moves on Chelsea to get her to stay. I'm not all that sure I liked Chelsea in the beginning as she was pretty cold to Garrett. But I warmed to her by the end. I loved their HEA. Being the first in the series, you can see where the author sets up for future books involving the rest of the Brands finding their own HEAs. I look forward to reading them all. I think I will also look for some of her more recent works as well.