The town outcast buys a date with Cowboy Crossing’s own A-List movie star.
Ivory Haines is the daughter of the town’s resident retired prostitute and possibly the town drunk, although her mother wasn’t entirely certain.
She resents her position in the town – and especially resents the teasing she’d been subjected to – and has vowed to show everyone that she is just as good as they are.
She can … to – and has vowed to show everyone that she is just as good as they are.
She can hardly believe her luck when Chandler Hudson donates a month of his time to the highest bidder at the charity auction to benefit local victims of the recent tornado damage.
Chandler wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when he’d offered a month of his time to charity. Maybe for a young woman to buy him and make him her one-month temporary boyfriend. Possibly his brothers would buy him and work him to death for a month. Worst case would be some elderly lady purchasing him just to decorate her dinner table with his presence for a few weeks.
It never occurred to him that Ivory Haines would buy him and drag him out to her run-down, ramshackle, snake-infested bunkhouse for a month of labor on her dirt-poor farm.
But as he gets to know her and sees beyond the reputation the town has given her- undeserved – he changes his focus from one of enduring to one of ensnaring.
Can they put the past behind them and step into a bright new future…together?
Reviews for Sold! In the Show Me State:
★★★★★ “I love Jessie’s books. Her writing style is one of the best out there. She has a certain “voice” in her books that I just love.” – Tiffany
★★★★★ “This book really speaks to the old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover ‘. Great job as usual Jessie!” – Kathie
★★★★★ “This is a great book that shows how acting on wrong perceptions of a person can lead to years of hurt. Yet there is forgiveness and redemption for those who look for it.” – swavelykid
★★★★★ “Great little story about finding yourself. And along the way finding someone to love.” – PJSVB
★★★★★ “An awesome, unique story. Well written and captivating. The author is truly talented and her stories so enjoyable. Can’t wait to read more.” – Elizabeth
Books in the Cowboy Crossing series:
- Best Friends in the Show Me State
- Sold! in the Show Me State
- A Secret Baby in the Show Me State
- The Beast Gets His Cowgirl in the Show Me State
- A Marriage of Convenience in the Show Me State
- A Second Chance in the Show Me State
- A Mistletoe Mishap in the Show Me State
- His Best Friend’s Sister in the Show Me State
- The Cowboy Finds Love in the Show Me State
more
This is a heartwarming story of throwing off biases and choosing a different path than current circumstances seems to dictate. It’s a story where both characters need a redeemer and they might just be that for each other.
Chandler wanted…something…something different than the status quo. He liked farming, but as an arts (drama) major sitting in the cab of a tractor was too cold and disconnected. So, he went to Hollywood.
Now he finds himself so discontented with his life that he allows himself to be auctioned off in a fundraiser in his Missouri hometown.
Ivory is the daughter of the town hooker. At the age of 11 she got her first (non-illicit) job to save for her own farm and have a different kind of life. It’s been years and she still feels pigeonholed, but she finally has her farm. She takes a chance to bid for her former high school bully with money that she was gifted for the purpose. It is a chance to get the help she desperately needs and to give him a little payback.
I received this book as an ARC, and I am leaving a voluntary review.
Jessie Gussman never disappoints!
Chandler Hudson, Hollywood superstar, is back home in Cowboy Crossing for a month to keep his promise to the pastor’s wife. He agreed to be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the Trumbull tornado victims benefit auction. Chandler will be at the beck and call of the highest bidder for 30 days. His biggest fear is that one of the little old ladies in town or one of his fans will win the bid and his time with them will be miserable. At least it was his biggest fear until he saw who actually won him – the daughter of the town prostitute.
Ivory Haynes’s hatred of Chandler Hudson went back to high school days when his taunting made her life miserable. Her chance at pay-back finally came when she was the winning bidder at the auction and now she would have 30 days to make him regret how he treated her back then. I don’t want to spoil the book for other readers so I say more except that I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, clean romance with excellent writing. This is a great series!
This surprised me. I knew a Celebrity auction would be a fun story but this was such a truly good story! Chandler is at a crossroads. Disillusioned with Hollywood, wanting to spend time with his daughter, knowing he’s a disappointment to his family. He also doesn’t like the person he pretends to be for Hollywood. Ivory hides from people. She is tired of the stigma her family left on her and has had to endure her whole life. She takes a chance to punish one of the ones who hurt her the most at the worst time in her life. Will it change the past or her future. I loved watching both Chandler and Ivory grow as people. It sometimes tugged at your heart strings and other times filled you with sheer joy. This story stays with you long after it’s over! I will definitely be getting this one on Audible as well when it comes out! I was gifted this book but I am choosing to leave this review. These thoughts are my own. Not only do I highly recommend this book and the author I also recommend the series Show Me State!
Jessie Gussman has another winner! Sometimes Love is Unexpected and that’s what happens here. This is a sweet, clean read that leaves you feeling good and glad you experienced it.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review.
Enjoyed it! Funny and lively romance destined to capture your heart.
In Sold! In the Show Me State, an anonymous donor gives Ivory $5,000 to buy Chandler at auction. This sweet romance is between the town prostitute’s daughter Ivory, a very poor farmer determined to make it on her own, and disenchanted Hollywood star and hometown heart throb Chandler. It is a great journey as Ivory learns to let go of a long held grudge and Chandler learns to see beneath the town gossip. Come along on this great voyage of discovery with more of Jessie Gussman’s great characters in a story with heart!
Add another win for fans of Jessie Gussman’s stories. This is a sweet story of a match that seems unlikely on the surface, but they are kindred souls beneath circumstances and appearance. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
This is another beautiful story in the Cowboy Crossing Western Sweet Romance Series. Jessie Gussman has woven a story around beautiful characters that are not perfect, have room to grow and find themselves, and that touch the reader’s heart.
I enjoyed reading about Ivory and Chandler and how they were both misjudged unfairly by people in the community and also misjudged by themselves too. It was fun listening to them spar with each other after Ivory had bought Chandler at an auction to benefit tornado victims. She was supposed to get thirty days of hard, farm labor from someone who was used to being an actor and not doing farm work. That is if she does not fire him or if he does not quit. I also enjoyed RaeAnne, Chandler’s cute, five year old daughter. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
Ivory and Chandler are as different as two people can be. She is the daughter of the town prostitute and the town drunk and he is the town’s golden boy, a famous actor. Ivory won the auction for his services for a month. Hard labor it is since she doesn’t have farming equipment. As they both slowly lower their walls they find they can get along. Such a fantastic story that you are sure to love! I loved the last sentence of the book!
I received an advance copy of this book and I voluntarily wrote an honest review.
Awesome book! The whole thing!
To take a movie star and set him up to be auctioned off… then have a somewhat backward woman who purchases him?
Very well written and holds one’s attention throughout!
Endearing, humorous, touching.
Two people are thrown together by circumstance, one an outcast unable to move from under her mother’s reputation, the other is living “the dream” but is uncomfortable in his own skin. Trapped together for a month…that shouldn’t be too long, right… until all of the ‘stuff’ between them gives each reason to run. The only way for them to get through it is for each to back down so they can move forward.
Ivory is so focused on not being like her mother that it takes her time to stop hiding behind her insecurities and let herself be herself. She has tried so hard to build a life alternately hiding or creating a lifestyle so outrageous that no one can ever believe she’s like her mother.
Acting is something Chandler is good at but…just because it comes naturally doesn’t mean it is good for him or that he should make it his life’s work. He’s just not good at sticking with something that gets too uncomfortable. Once he sees that his brother believes in him (more than he believes in himself) he just can’t let him down.
Add a little girl and things get even more interesting. They discover parts of themselves they never knew existed.
I requested an ARC copy of this & believe you will love it as much as I do.
This story held my interest from the beginning. I really enjoyed reading about Ivory and Chandler. If is very certainly not your average romance. Loved it!
I received a free copy of this book and this is my voluntary, honest review.
Wow. This book was incredible. More than I could have hoped for! The characters and their personal growth over the length of this book was amazing. I loved seeing Ivory come out of her shell, all the different work they got done together, Chandler finding something more than he expected, and the experiences with sweet RaeAnne. I can’t wait to read Deacon’s story!
Dyess audios are always so soothing. I hadn’t listened to an audio in a decade before I started listening to these. Then, last week I listened to an audio by a different reader and I was so disappointed. I kept thinking about how the reader’s voice inflections weren’t true to the book and how the voices weren’t as distinct and how I got lost a few times. It made me so much more thankful for Dyess and his superb reading ability and his innate way of connecting with the characters and bringing them and their situations to life. And this one? Gutted. Dyess can just twist your heart by speaking the words Gussman has strung together. I love when Dyess sings. That is something special about his audios.
I’m really enjoying these Hudson brother stories. I loved Chandler and Ivory’s story. These two had a very different beginning and a past to overcome. It all made for an interesting story. I look forward to more books in the series.
If you like to read stories where the poor, hardworking, misunderstood girl wins the heart of the wealthy, handsome, movie star then this is the book for you. These characters were fairly complex and interesting as well as flawed but likeable; they both suffer from the tendency to judge one another without full understanding. I loved this book from its beginning to its happily ever after. Highly recommend! I was entrusted with a copy of the book by the author and this is my voluntary and honest review.
OK, the basic premise that a big time movie star would agree to be sold in a church auction for a month is not believable. A month where he lives with the person who won the auction and he does whatever that person wants. But, for the book, Chandler, the movie star needs time to get to know the woman who won. And time to fall in love. It’s a sweet story and a fun read. I liked it and I would recommend it.
This is the second book in Jessie Gussman’s Show Me State series. I am enjoying this series as it covers different siblings in the Hudson family. I liked how, so far, each of the stories are a second chance at love story. I really like how this story showed us how to not judge people by appearances. I liked how Chandler was forced to help Ivory, who is the daughter of the town drunk and prostitute, and how he came to realize that she is nothing like her parent. I loved how their romance developed. I loved how they had to get to know each other and get over the dislike they had for each other to realize that they could be happy together. I really enjoyed this book.
I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.
This is a sweet romance that flows so well I was finished in no time at all. Jessie Gussman has a knack for making you feel her character’s emotions. You become invested in their story and find yourself hoping their future ends in happily ever after. You experience all the highs and lows each character experiences as if you were standing right next to them. My heart went out to Ivory and Chandler. I just wanted to jump through the pages and rescue both of them.
I received this copy free from the author and am under no obligation to leave a review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am freely sharing my opinion.
This is one of my favorite stories by this author that I have read.
This clean, Christian romance is touchin , at times heartbreaking as well as heartwarming.
The story of Ivory Haines, the daughter of the town’s retired prostitute and likely the daughter of the town drunk, is a thought provoking one.
While Chandler Hudson is the gorgeous and talented actor as well as the town’s gold boy, she walks in the shadows. Until she bids for a month of his services. Little did Chandler realize that the 1. he would be doing hard labor in her farm and 2. that he would end up liking not only the work, but this woman.
Aside from the engaging plot, the story reminds us that sometimes we judge people not by whom they are, but by whom they are related to. Also, that we sometimes assume people are going to be judgmental and by not giving them a chance, we miss out on the opportunity of relating to others. Both can become a vicious circle if we don’t take a risk on life.
This was a great addition to this relatively new series . I am looking forward to the stories to come.
I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
I had an ARC copy of this book, but this is my voluntary and honest opinion. Jessie Gussman writes the best stories and this one is no exception! Wonderful characters and story line! I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it. The concept of a series of books about brothers who are single dads is unique.