Early Review: Billion Dollar Cowboy by Carolyn Brown

Billion Dollar Cowboy
by Carolyn Brown
Series: Cowboys & Brides #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication date: June 4, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository 
Source:ARC provided in exchange for unbiased review
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Colton Nelson was 28 when he won the Texas Lottery and went from ranch hand to ranch owner overnight. When women started lining up wanting some of his millions, even going so far as to drug his beer, his family asks the lovely new ranch assistant to help out by pretending to be his girlfriend. They make her an offer she can't refuse, so even though she doesn't like it one bit, Laura agrees to help. Laura Baker and her sister, Janet, had been raised in foster homes. Though she was the younger of the two, Laura was always bailing Janet out of trouble. Janet thinks Laura should take advantage of the billionaire cowboy but Laura is getting to know Colton intimately and she doesn't give a damn about his money. True love isn't for sale.

Billion Dollar Cowboy is the first book in Carolyn Brown’s new series Cowboys & Brides. While the plot isn't new and there were some cliché moments, Brown offered up a fun romance that kept me entertained.

The tale takes place in the heart of Texas at the ranch of now billionaire Colton Nelson. His best friend and financial consultant Andy hires his cousin Laura Baker to help him in the office. Laura is an enabler and continually bails out her gambling addicted older sister. When Laura is laid off and her sister has two days to pay back ten thousand dollars, Laura is forced to seek Andy’s help. So she ends up living over the barn and helping Andy with the ranch books and investments to work off the debt. He sets conditions for both sisters and one is that they have no contact. Colton has his own share of problems since he won the lottery and those include woman trying to catch him. When ladies at a club slip him a mickey his grandmother and Andy come up with a plan and the tale that unfolds was fun, sweet, and I quickly consumed it. 

Colton and Laura both have trust issues so watching these two get to know each other was fun. I liked Laura she has a big heart and we see transformation in her throughout the tale. Colton has issues when it comes to women and their love of his money. He is smexy, rugged, and down to earth. He loves his ranch and sees fit to help others and make a difference. Laura is refreshing and he teeters between being in awe of her and wondering if she is scamming him. The situations they find themselves in led to humor, a little heat and plotting all of their own. Their chemistry felt genuine and while the plot was predictable the characters made it enjoyable. Andy, the grandmother, townsfolk and Laura’s sister all added to the plot and forced the characters into situations. I found them all to be interesting and I would love to read their stories.

Boy and girl forced together by a plot and love is born, yep we have all seen this every which way to Sunday, but Brown added her own touch and I enjoyed the ride. There were some aspects that felt unrealistic or convenient and made me wince or roll my eyes but they were minor and did not affect the flow nor my enjoyment of the tale. If you are able to go with the flow and appreciate the warm characters that Brown creates you will enjoy this story. I liked that we saw growth in the characters and that they had depth. The overall tale left me with a smile on my face. I have always had a soft spot for heroes in cowboy boots and denim and Brown offered me a fun escape. 

Fans of small town Texas romances with a little heat will enjoy Billionaire Cowboy. Carolyn Brown has over ninety-three distinct works and her most popular ones feature cowboys. The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby is the next book in the series due out October 1, 2013 and I will certainly pick it up.

Three cups of coffee out out of five