Synopsis:
Can true love overcome a bad hide day and a series of unfortunate events?
Disillusioned in love, Jen Tremaine is done with men. So when her best friends dare her to wear a cow costume to their reunion at an Outback Bachelor and Spinster Ball, she’s all over it. Who would have thought dressing as a heifer would make her irresistible to a bunch of lasso-twirling, drunken cowboys?
Maybe you should have thought this through, says the sexy security guard who keeps finding her at the center of trouble. Even though Jen’s always dismissed soul mates as a load of bull, the sizzle between them is making her wonder: What if you met The One while wandering lonely as a cow? Would you find the courage to become a believer?
When ex-Special Forces soldier Logan Turner is roped into helping out with security at the B&S ball, he isn’t expecting to find love – but after months in all-male company he sure is hoping for lust. He certainly isn’t expecting to fall for a feisty, funny, trouble-making Cowderella. Only problem is, she’s leaving Australia tomorrow. Convincing Jen they can still have a future together may wind up being the toughest mission of his life.
Review:
Jen’s story! Totally adorable–and full of cow puns. Total win 🙂
Loved, loved, loved Jen and Logan. I was a little confused at the beginning, when Jen’s talking to her just-became-her-ex about how she wasn’t leaving her job, since we know from book one (Win Me) that she does leave her job, and I couldn’t imagine from what she was saying to her boss/ex that she would be leaving–what would make her change her mind?
It ends up being a darn good reason. Heartbreaking, but the right decision…
Sigh. Poor Jen.
Fortunately, though she doesn’t know it, Logan is just around the corner.
Sexy, helps-his-baby-sister-out-in-a-pinch, former special forces, white knight in a tuxedo Logan.
“There could not be two siblings less alike than he and his ‘it’ll all work out with fairy dust and positive thoughts’ sis.”
(Sorry–I loved that quote. It had to go in.)
Jen and Logan’s story is a clever twist on the Cinderella theme–“Cowderella”, if you will–where our prince is left with a cow onesie named Clarabelle instead of a boring old shoe. (Okay, so Cinderella’s shoe is anything but boring–I’d totally go for the killer shoes any day. But the cow costume is a welcome twist nonetheless; and anyway, heels and the Outback don’t mix, or so we’re told.) I loved how Logan kept coming to Jen’s rescue, without it being a “look at the poor, helpless heroine” type of deal.
I also loved that they both recognized from the start that they’d barely just met each other and though they were willing to take a chance and see where their relationship was going to go (or at least they were willing eventually, after the near-panic wore off), they also knew that instalove isn’t exactly realistic. Or, as Logan puts it, “It’s impossible to fall in instalove with a cow.” (Sure, buddy. Keep telling yourself that until you believe it.)
Their black moment feels achingly real, and is nicely resolved–and the “three months later” epilogue was very cleverly written. I had to re-read parts of it to assure myself of Ms. Bliss’s cleverness. Yep, she totally is.
And did I mention this story’s adorability factor? 🙂
The three books in the Outback Ball series all happen concurrently, but there’s only a minimum of repetition, which I really appreciated. Since you’ve only got the space of a novella here to work with, you want each story to focus as much as possible on the couple in question–which they do. They’re also surprisingly spoiler-free; sure, you know who each heroine’s going to get involved with, but since you could figure that out from the book’s blurb, that’s not a problem.
I also love that each book in this series gives us just enough of a glimpse of the next one to totally hook you–sneaky, yet effective, ladies! Totally looking forward to Beth’s story now…(not that I wasn’t already, it’s just that much more now, thankyouverymuch).
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.