Steamy, sexy, and laugh-out-loud funny, THE TRUTH ABOUT COWBOYS is a new contemporary novel that will pull your heartstrings and steam up your e-reader… While I was off pitching in the big leagues, my family was back in the small town of Sweetwater, Texas, running the family ranch. Then tragedy hit and I discovered there were secrets that my family kept, problems they hid. I went home, left … went home, left behind the money, women, and fame. I took over the ranch and took care of my grandmother. I took over hiding the secrets. Then she came to town. A smart-mouthed, clumsy, too-smart-and-too-pretty-for-my-own-good city girl hiding out to write a book. She’s right here, on my property, in the cottage my grandmother rented her without my permission, and she sees too much. She knows too much.
Now suddenly my world is spinning, and she’s shoving a baseball back in my hand while baking cookies with my grandmother. She’s the devil and an angel all in one fiery little package. I decide I’ll wait her out. She’ll go back to the city. Only suddenly I don’t want her to leave, and everything I’ve settled for in my life isn’t enough. I want to play ball and I want her, but there’s that secret that won’t let go, but neither will she.
Each book in the Texas Heat series is STANDALONE:
* The Truth About Cowboys
* Tangled Up In Christmas
more
Jessica and Jason are from two very different worlds…or so he thought. When his grandmother puts an ad to rent a cottage on his ranch, Jessica , a divorce attorney from the city responds. Jason doesn’t know about this, but realizes his grandmother is trying to hook him up and get his life back off the ranch. At first Jessica and Jason don’t mesh well at all and they seem to hate each other. As time goes on the chemistry gets hotter and tension grows thicker. This is a wild ride that will keep you going until the end…and then you won’t want it to end!
I received this as an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving a review of my opinion.
THE TRUTH ABOUT COWBOYS by Lisa Renee Jones is the 1st book in the Sweetwater series. This is Jason and Jessica’s story.
This is a sweet and funny story that tugs at your heartstrings. I found Jessica and Jason to be wonderful and engaging characters that kept me hooked on their entertaining love story. I will say the back and forth bickering got to be a bit much at times but overall, great first start to a new series.
My Rating: 4.5 stars ******
The Truth about Cowboys is the first book in the Texas Heat series by Lisa Renee Jones. I have read around ten books written by Lisa and I have to say this one is my favorite! I could stare at the cover all day. But, that’s not only reason. I loved the characters and their banter.
Jessica had to run. Runaway from her life in Dallas. The one she thought at one point was the one she wanted. Almost partner in her law firm. Almost engaged. It was an almost life and now she was going to the middle of nowhere to write a book and to find herself in the process. What she didn’t expect was him. An asshole cowboy with so much swagger it both pisses her off and turns her on. She wasn’t here for a rebound. She wasn’t here to find love. She was here to learn to be alone. But what if? What if she just had a little fun? It’s not like he would care when she left.
Jason knew she was trouble from the moment he saw her on that country road. She was a city girl with attitude. He had a city girl once and he was not about to go there again. He was back on his family ranch to take care of business and his grandma. That was it. Then she had to go and rent a cottage on his land. He definitely knew she was a pain in the ass. One he wanted to get behind…no, he definitely couldn’t go there. No distractions. And she was a big one in a small package.
I loved this one!!! Jason and Jessica might be cowboy and city girl but they both know the feeling of not knowing what’s next. She was there to find herself and maybe she was also there to kick Jason’s ass in gear and find himself. Together, these two have the best hate/love/lust banter. It made me swoon, get hot and bothered and mad. That’s what arrogant cowboys do, right?
Overall…it’s my favorite Lisa Renee Jones Book to date and I can’t wait for the next one!! Who is it going to be!? I really have no idea and I am excited about that.
Quotes:
“Jessica and I need to have some girl-talk time.” Jason doesn’t accept the invitation to leave.
“Grandma—”
“Grandson,” she counters, leaning on the island to fix him in a stare. “Go. Or we’ll start talking about PMS and cramps. The next thing you know, you’ll be doing a tampon run for us.”
“I can’t give you proper, Jessica. If that’s what you want—”
“I’ll walk you to your truck,” I suggest.
His lips quirk. “I don’t have time to pull you out of the mud.”
“I told you. I only fall on Tuesdays.”
The Truth About Cowboys is the first book in Lisa Renee Jones new Texas Heat series. Divorce attorney Jessica had her life in order. She was a high power, high demand attorney that would soon be offered a partnership. That is until she walked in to find her equally high power almost fiancé in a very compromising position with his secretary. She also learns he has tapped her savings account almost wiping her out. Not herself when she arrives at work, Jessica may have made a few choice comments about a thieving, cheating client, at least enough to be put on a six week leave of absence.
Now she has left the condo she shared with Craig. Thanks to an offer to write a how to book as a guide to divorce she has some future income to count on, now she needs a quiet place to work. Jessica goes on Zillow to find a small home to rent and finds a rural retreat offered by a sweet older lady named Martha. Leaving the hotel where she has been staying, Jessica heads to Sweetwater, Texas, on a rainy evening. Between the rain and the dark, Jessica can barely see the road as she follows her GPS to her destination.
A ditch, a puddle, a broken heel, and a pour down prove to be her introduction to her new landlord’s grandson, retired pitcher Jason Jenks. His immediate reaction is to try to throw her off the property. He has had it with city girls and does not trust that she isn’t just another city person there to dig up salable information. But Jason’s Grandma Martha is quite taken with the new tenant and he would do about anything to bring that smile to Grandma as the anniversary of his parents’ death approaches.
However, the sparks that fly between Jessica and Jason are not of repulsion but of attraction. As the weeks go by, Jessica becomes more comfortable in her new place, working slowly on her book, but developing a strong relationship with Martha quickly. And along with this new relationship, things are rapidly changing between Jessica and Jason even though they are each working on their own trust issues.
This is a lovely story of two unlikely people coming together in most unlikely ways to help each other heal while also helping each other to realize their dreams. I enjoyed this book with its rich characters and setting and do recommend it,
Entertaining and sexy, The Truth About Cowboys is a fun opposites attract romance. Jessica is done with men and looking to recover from a bad breakup and escape her life in the city. Jason is running the family ranch while determined to stay away from women and baseball. Jessica and Jason are like oil and water. They don’t see eye to eye as she’s renting a cottage on his ranch. She challenges him and he rescues her time and again. Both are trying to forge a new path and need the push each other provides, along with some not-so-subtle nudges from his well-meaning yet meddlesome grandma and best friend. Lisa Renee Jones provides humor, banter, and sizzle.
This was a wonderful read and it was well written. I truly enjoyed the story line. The characters Jason and Jessica I thought was wonderful. I was hooked from begging to end. I look forward to reading more books from this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for letting me read this story.
Loved Jason and Jessica’s banter. Jessica’s fiancee cheats on her and she leaves town to lick her wounds. Jason lost his parents and is working hard to keep the family ranch going. Jessica comes to rent the cabin on the ranch when sparks fly.
Can Jason and Jessica put their issues aside to make it work?
Can’t wait to read more about this cowboy hotties in this town.
love it
Granny has a plan and darn tooting she intends to see it come to fruition!
This was such a fun read.
The cast was colorful with a solid story line that had me laughing and sighing form the opening scene to the closing HEA.
Right out the gate, I was invested in Jessica. Her life was like a domino parade – one hit after another and they just kept coming. Her tenacity though was something else. I think she needed the edge that battling with Jason gave her to keep her mind occupied as well as the comfort that Martha provided to keep her from feeling alone and lost.
Jason is just a stubborn old cowboy! I get life threw him a few curve balls but IMO he is wallowing in a bath of ick that is his own making.
This two definitely provided hours of amusement
And the friction between them – blazing!
#TheTruthAboutCowboys #NetGalley
This entertaining contemporary romance brought me an afternoon of reading pleasure with engaging characters and a story that immediately pulled me in and kept me totally immersed in all that was happening from beginning to end.
I really liked smart-mouthed, cynical Dallas divorce attorney Jessica who is hiding out in Sweetwater, Texas to write a book after she catches her now ex-fiance in bed with his secretary. I loved her attraction, undeniable chemistry and repartee with Jason Jenks, owner of the Flying J ranch and retired Yankees pitcher who had come home after a family tragedy to take care of the family ranch and his feisty Grandma, Martha, who rented the cottage to Jessica and loves baking and matchmaking.
If you enjoy steamy, sexy, laugh-out-loud, well crafted romances that will also warm your heart, don’t miss “The Truth About Cowboys” the first book in the Texas Heat series by gifted author Lisa Renee Jones. I look forward to more books about Sweetwater, Texas.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
Jessica, a divorce attorney, needs to get away from the city. Her ex not only cheated on her, but took her money, promising to return it as soon as he can…right! She rents a cottage in Sweetwater, Texas and plans to write a book called “A Girl’s Guide to Divorce”. She arrives after several disasters including getting her car stuck in the mud only to be accosted in her cottage. Jason, owner of the Flying J Ranch and the cottage insists the cottage is his and he did not rent it to her. The back and forth dialog and attraction between the two sizzles throughout the entire story. Jason was a successful pro baseball pitcher who left the team due to the tragic and unexpected death of this parents in order to take care of the ranch and his grandmother. Jessica falls in love with Jason’s grandma and the cookies she bakes and doesn’t give in as Jason does his best to get her to leave. What a joy to read, fun, sexy, great characters and I am really looking forward to the next book in the series! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
This was the first book I read from this author and I absolutely loved it!! Such a fun read!
Not your typical Lisa Renee Jones book, but sssoooo good!!! I’m used to Lisa’s writing in her mystery/crime books, but this one, it is just great!! I love the push-pull of the characters, the hilarity that comes from some of the scenes, and the overall sweetness of the grandma! This is great for a take your mind out of the real world and just get into Sweetwater Texas!
Jason is a cocky ex baseball player turned cowboy. Jessica is a divorce attorney turned author from the city. She is at the cabin on Jason’s ranch to recharge and write her book after she caught her ex fiance with his secretary. Jason’s grandma rented the cabin to her without telling him. The couple have a love-hate pull toward each other. With steamy sex scenes, fighting and a cowboy you can’t go wrong with this romance.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.
Even when Lisa isn’t writing intrigue mystery, she pulls me right in with her characters.
I fell pretty hard for swoon worthy Jason and quirky Jessica.
Their interactions had me laughing and even crying. I felt every part of the story. Sweet and endearing! Can’t wait to read more of this series.
3 stars. The Truth About Cowboys was a pretty good book, although it’s not my favorite book by this author. This is Jessica and Jason’s story. Jessica is a successful divorce lawyer who catches her fiance sleeping with his secretary. She snaps at work, calling her VIP client a cheater, and getting put on a leave of absence. Jessica leaves the big city of Dallas and moves to a small, country town to regroup. There she plans to write a book on divorce while renting a house on a ranch. But things go sour as soon as she gets to town with a rental mix up, a jerky cowboy, bad weather, mud and car trouble. Jason is the grandson of the home owner of the house that Jessica rents. He is a former pro baseball player who quit playing to run the family ranch. He is a big jerk to Jessica, as he holds some preconceived notions about her based on his past experiences with “city girls”. Yet sparks still fly between them every time they meet. They manage to become friends and then lovers despite their differences.
The Truth About Cowboys is a different writing style than Ms. Jones other work. I normally really enjoy her signature soapy, emotional style. But this book was totally different. There is much more dialogue, but less emotion and internal thoughts. I would never guess that Ms. Jones wrote it. I kind of hope that she goes back to her previous style. It took me quite a while to get used to this new style and begin enjoying the book.
Jason and Jessica have a volatile relationship. Their relationship is enemies to lovers. The two of them fight for the entire book. Jessica starts to like Jason, but he pushes her away many times and hurts her over and over. I thought he was a jerk a lot and felt bad for Jessica. There is little relationship progression until the end of the book. It’s one step forward, one step back. They fight, have a truce, become friends, rinse, repeat. Through most of the book, they don’t want to like each other, they judge each other harshly, and they can’t imagine a future together. All of that lasts until past 95%. Then the ending felt too rushed. Jason’s apology for his behavior was weak. I had a hard time believing that their HEA was permanent and that they were finished fighting.
Overall, though, this book was entertaining and a fairly easy read. I enjoyed the small town, Texas feel and the fun side characters. I really liked Jason’s grandmother and her sweet relationship with Jessica. I also enjoyed Jessica’s character progression from a cynical divorce lawyer to a romance author who is open to love. While this book was kind of a mixed bag, I enjoyed quite a bit about it, even if the relationship progression fell short for me. I was entertained by the book and I can see the potential for other stories if this becomes a series. I am still a fan of Ms. Jones and look forward to what she comes up with in the future!
This is not a typical Lisa Renee Jones book so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. But when you give me a cowboy, I can’t resist.
Girl gets embarrassingly dumped by her fiancee, flees to small Texas cabin to recoup and start a new “chapter” (literally she was going to write a book), gets stuck in mud, saved by hot mysterious cowboy who scowls with perfection, turns out he owns the cabin, she’s not welcome, grandma is a matchmaker who charms her way in, push and pull encounters and finally make it work.
It wasn’t my favorite read but I love the snark and the meddling grandma enough to try another cowboy story if the town of Sweetwater has another hot cowboy….let’s face it….nobody turns down a hot cowboy.
Jessica has a day that just seems to be going from bad to worse. Jason Jenks does not put his best foot forward when we first meet him. There’s a third main character just because she’s important to our couple and her name is Martha. She’s is both an experience and a woman who will make you hungry – she may even have you wanting to get into the kitchen. We have a short introduction to a friend of Jason and he had me wondering what his problem was but he also becomes important to their story.
Our author does a great job in getting the reader to feel the emotions that Jessica and Jason are feeling. I loved the attitude that Jessica had. She’s been burned and not willing to take any BS from just about anyone. Martha is the one that seems to diffuse things when they are all in the same space at the same time. Jason seems to have a chip on his shoulder and seems to have more in common with Jessica than he can see. You do have to feel sorry for Jessica though because at times it seems Murphy’s Law is laughing at her.
The author is known for her hot and steamy reads but this could be considered sweet compared to others. That’s not to say that you won’t feel the heat building when our couple is in the same space. You won’t be able to hold back a laugh or a chuckle with their behavior when they’re out in public – can hear my mother in my head making a comment on that one. It was nice that it took the whole story to see if Jason could change his ways. That’s what made it my page-turner story. I loved that the Epilogue was done in Jessica’s point of view. Since we start the story from her pov why not end the same way so you can see how far she’s come.
I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
The Truth About Cowboys is the first book in Lisa Renee Jones new series, and it has one of my favorite tropes in it, which happens to be Enemies-to-Lovers. I love this trope and can’t get enough of it.
The book starts with Jessica heading to Sweetwater, Texas to get away from the city since she caught her fiancé in bed with his secretary. The break-up has her without any money and giving her up to her job as a divorce lawyer. She’s decided to rent out a cottage on a ranch and write a guide to divorce book. Unfortunately, she ends up stuck, and a very mean cowboy assists her. That same cowboy Jason finds out that Jessica is staying at his cottage thanks to his grandmother renting it out to her without his permission. Jason knows that his grandmother has a secret agenda, but he doesn’t want anything to do with Jessica and having a relationship. He has his painful past, and he has to take care of the ranch that his parents used to run. He has a lot on his plate, and now he has to deal with the beautiful, clumsy Jessica. Jessica will continuously put Jason in his place, especially when she finds out the truth about Jason and why he’s the way he is in the book.
Jessica is one character I liked in this book because she didn’t let Jason scare her away. He was a complete jerk to her in this book. I couldn’t stand his character, but I also couldn’t get enough of him. He’s a former baseball pitcher, and everyone wants him to go back to baseball, but he thinks he needs to be at the ranch to help his grandmother. His grandmother wants him to live in his life. His grandmother was my favorite because she was witty, feisty, and funny. I loved her. She put her grandson in his place at times. Between his grandmother and Jessica, these two knew how to put Jason in his place.
Now on to the relationship between Jason and Jessica. These two had an explosive relationship together. It was off and on and then on and off several times, but that’s what happens with an Enemies-to-Lovers book. I love it.
This book fed my love of Enemies-to-Lovers and Cowboy Romance. I look forward to the next standalone novel in the new series by Lisa Renee Jones. Be ready for two characters that can’t stand each other, but then have a connection that they can’t deny.
Story Rating: 4.5 stars
Steaminess Rating: 3.5 stars
Standalone or part of series: Part of series, but each follows a new couple, so can be read as a standalone.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes. She’s one of my auto-buy authors.
Tropes/Elements: Enemies-to-Lovers; Western Romance
Hero: Former Baseball Pitcher; Jerk; Cowboy who is running his family ranch; Lost both of his parents in an airplane accident
Heroine: Former Divorce Lawyer; Soon-to-be Author; Entrepreneur; Broken-hearted due to what Fiancé did to her; Clumsy
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Cozy, fun and so good it makes me want to settle down in a cowboy-filled ranch.
Admittedly , I am not a fan of cowboys in general, but this author appeals to me enough to overcome that. And oh my, what a treat I gave myself.
Jason and Jessica are combustible together. They are that kind of storm out in the open beneath huge skies, overpowering and electrifying. I loved the raging encounters between them filled with confrontation and wit and strong passion. From the way they meet which is a mix of comic and traditional, to the combative but irresistible attraction they hide under a shield of suspicion and distance, the scenes spark with chemistry.
I felt close to the characters because their lives are an interesting mess. She is running from a ruined life while building the foundation of a new one. He is fighting to avoid being sucked under the past. And wow, he is a brooding, sexy beast of a man. Fantastic on paper, seems hot in the flesh too
I loved the grandma character, her resilience and the touch of family warmth she added to the story yet also to a lonely Jessica.
As I carried on reading, the story turned more hilarious and steamy by the page. There’s a scene involving a grandma, cowboy dating and a cat that was priceless!
This couple is really hard on the making. He’s too stubborn and prideful, so she gets quite bruised in the process emotionally speaking. Sometimes I I wanted to hit him on the head because she’s so good and nice and funny and she didn’t deserve so much rejection. It’s quite emotional in the middle of all the humorous situations and the wonderful ideas she has for her career and the ranch. I loved those so much.
The cowboy and the city girl go through many bumps in this second chance romance that is also a second chance at life dreams and self-worth. I loved Sweetwater and the cowboys there, and this couple inspired me a lot. Finally he comes to his senses despite his villanous baggage and he makes his woman all hot and bothered and happy-hearted.
I do hope I can get a chance to revisit the place and all its lovable inhabitants.