#Review: Hot Cowboy Nights by Carolyn Brown - 4 Wine Glasses

Title: HOT COWBOY NIGHTS
Series: Lucky Penny Ranch #2
Author: Carolyn Brown
Format: Kindle, 400 Pages
Published: Forever (May 31, 2016)
ISBN: ASIN: B018S2775C
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses

LET'S GIVE 'EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT . . .

If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by "moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her life.

Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy's pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy-really know her-the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her in private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to heal Lizzy's bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a true romance . . .

Linda's Thoughts:
Dating and getting to really know a woman is a different game. Kind of like the difference in Monopoly and Texas Hold 'Em."

Lizzy, who was slated to become a preacher's wife in most of WILD COWBOY WAYS, the first book in this series, returns with a new lease on life in HOT COWBOY NIGHTS by Carolyn Brown. Even though this is the second book in the author's Lucky Penny Ranch series, this tale can easily be enjoyed as a standalone if that is your preference.

The series is named after the Lucky Penny Ranch owned by three hot Dawsons - Blake, Toby, and their cousin, Jud. Just down the road is Audrey's Place, a former whorehouse; It's the home of the Logans: Allie, Lizzy and Fiona. Blake and Allie found their HEA in the last book. This is the story of cowboy/womanizer Toby Dawson and Lizzy Logan as the author takes us back to struggling Dry Creek, a small town in Texas.

On the morning of her sister's wedding, Lizzy's low-life fiancé dropped her for another woman via a phone call. As siblings to the bride and groom, Lizzy and Toby shared a dance at the wedding festivities, and it seems that they've been sharing much more than that since. Lizzy, however, wants her HEA and Toby still has a slew of wild oats to sow, so Lizzy breaks off their affair and walks away.

Then... Lizzy learns that her ex-fiance along with the woman he dumped her for are returning for the town's 4th of July festival to flaunt their relationship in her face AND Toby is having serious issues avoiding man-chaser Sharlene's unwelcome attentions colorfully described as "like a coyote going after a one-legged chicken." So, the two come up with the brilliant plan of having a fake romance to give Lizzy a date for the festival and to ward off Sharlene's advances on Toby. What could go wrong?

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from this read:

"You like legs?" she asked.
"On you, yes. On a chicken, I prefer wings and breasts."
She picked up both legs with her fingers. "Then we are going to get along just fine."
---

"A match made in heaven?" He chuckled.
"Probably not in heaven but right now you can take me there and we'll check it out." She smiled.
---

"Oh. My. God." he murmured as it all ended in a crescendo complete with beautiful sparks and all the bells and whistles of fantastic makeup sex.
Five full minutes later he propped up on a an elbow and kissed the tip of her nose. "Can we fight again tomorrow?"
She smiled up at him. "I was thinking of starting an argument right now."

Memories! I won't soon forget this memorable scene that occurred at a restaurant where a waitress was suggestively eying Toby and asked about his scar. Jealous Lizzy shut down the waitress' attention quickly in this funny exchange:

"I stabbed him," Lizzy said bluntly. "That's how he got that scar."
"Why? I'm sorry. That's personal. I shouldn't ask that." She blushed. 
"It's okay." Lizzy laid a hand on the woman's arm. "I was mad at a woman for flirting with him and he tried to take the knife away from me. It was an accident."
"I'll be right back with your drinks and appetizer." She turned so fast that she ran into a bus boy with a tray of dirty glasses and he had to do some fancy footwork to keep it all from hitting the floor.

Note to Carolyn: Please give supporting character Deke his own HEA story! He deserves one! Friends, doesn't this short snippet about Deke sound like a challenge?:

Deke met them on the porch and led the way into the house. Taller than the Dawson brothers, he was every bit as handsome with thick brown hair that he wore long enough to be sexy, hazel eyes, and broad shoulders. Women tended to flock to him like a moth to a burning candle. But taming Deke would be harder than training a Dawson cowboy to the halter. He was full of tough cowboy charm, and it would take a special woman to rope him and get him aimed toward the altar.

Lizzy's and Toby's romance was sweet and hot. They made for an adorable couple and came across as down-to-earth, genuine people. Their entertaining dialogue alternated between serious, sexy and humorous. I really enjoyed catching up with Allie and Blake from the first book, too. I wanted to smack some of the self-righteous folks in Dry Creek; they certainly deserved to be whacked! I'm holding out hope that those prudes get their comeuppance sometime in this series so we readers can enjoy their take-downs. I can't wait for Fiona's and Jud's story in MERRY COWBOY CHRISTMAS coming Sept 2016!


Suggested Reading Order: 
Wild Cowboy Ways (Book #1)
Hot Cowboy Nights (Book #2)
Merry Cowboy Christmas (Book #3)... coming Sept 27, 2016
Wicked Cowboy Charm (Book #4)... coming Jan 31, 2017