Well-Spoken Wednesday--Cowboy Fever by Joanne Kennedy Review

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Summary from goodreads: Miss Rodeo Wyoming Jodie Bryce is back from the big city to find that her childhood friend Teague Treadwell's rugged cowboy charm never looked better. But Teague thinks Jodie's success lifted her out of his reach, and now he's got to shed his bad boy image to be worthy of the girl next door.

Praise for Cowboy Trouble:

"Joanne Kennedy's debut novel will put the honky tonk back into your life...a lot of fun." -Love Romance Passion

"Refreshing and different...a little romance, a little mystery, good looking guys and wide open spaces."

Cowboy Fever by Joanne Kennedy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In most ways, this book definitely delivers what is promises.  This is a hot and heavy cowboy romance--my first ever.  I loved the main characters, Teague and Jodi, and I appreciated the way the author dealt with Teague's brother, Troy, who has Down's Syndrome.  In addition to this, the author throws in a little mystery and a lot of steamy sex scenes.  For the majority of romance readers, this is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.

For the first half of the book, I was pretty impressed.  There was very little detail in the bedroom scenes, and the language used in the book was fairly mild.  The author had an easy-to-read style, and I genuinely cared about what happened to the characters.  Jodi seemed to want to please everyone else rather than living her life, and I was glad to see how the author showed the true growth and maturity in the character.  It was also nice to see Teague beat the odds.  And as for Troy, I am always glad to see people with disabilities accomplishing so much.

I decided to give this book three stars for two reasons.  First of all, while I can't fault the story too much, it is just a basic romance.  The addition of suspense and mystery probably would bump the rating up to a 3.5, but it is still what it is--a cowboy romance.  Secondly, as I approached the second half, I found myself skimming the rather descriptive bedroom scenes.  I do not mind some description, and thankfully the author did not go into the kind of detail that usually causes me to put it down, but I wish that the characters had not gotten so hot and heavy over and over again with no thought of marriage in sight.  But that is just me.  I was glad that some foul language was avoided, but the increasing use of the "s" word amongst others got old pretty fast.  I also did not find the character of Courtney very believable.

While this book may not have been high in my list, I still appreciated the author's style, and the story never failed to hold my interest.  So depending on your individual tastes, this book may or may not be for you.  I might hesitate to read another book by the author due to the issues I raised, but I cannot say I would refuse with certainty.


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A Few Words:

(from her author site)

“After 25 years in the business of selling books, I finally decided to sit down and write one. Five years and a lot of hard work later, I’m looking forward to the publication of my first novel, Cowboy Trouble, coming from Sourcebooks March 2nd.”

“Cowboy Trouble combines humor and suspense in a romance written for women whose interests range beyond high heels and hairstyles–readers whose idea of high fashion is wearing their Wranglers in “slim fit” instead of “cowboy cut.””

A member of Romance Writers of America and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Joanne Kennedy won first place in the Colorado Gold Writing Contest and second in the Heart of the Rockies contest in 2007. Her first novel, Cowboy Trouble, was released by Sourcebooks Casablanca in March 2010, and will be followed by One Fine Cowboy in September 2010. Two more contemporary western romances are scheduled for release in 2011. Joanne lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming."