Getty Lucky by Carolyn Brown

After being the center of nasty gossip in her last hometown, all Julie Donovan wants in Saint Jo, Texas, is a quiet, uneventful life for her and her daughter, Annie. But when a sexy cowboy walks into her classroom with a daughter who looks like Annie's twin, suddenly the whole town is looking for explanations...

Devoted single dad Griffin Luckadeau will do anything to protect his own, and no sassy redhead is going to get in his way. When he thinks Julie is scheming to steal his ranch out from under him to benefit her own daughter, sparks really begin to fly... Julie and Griffin can't seem to cross paths without a scuffle. But when the dust settles, these two Texas hotheads may realize they've actually found something worth fighting for...

 

Series: Luckadeau/Lucky #3 | Publisher: Recorded Books | Narrator: Brain Hutchinson | Length: 10 hours, 19 minutes | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Won | Rating: 3.5 Cups

Challenges Read For:  -  Literary Pickers  - Saddle

 

I’m always delighted when I pick up a new-to-me Carolyn Brown romance. This was the first I read in the Luckadeau/Lucky series and, while it had it’s share of problems, I still enjoyed it.

 

The premise of this was a bit different—Julie’s starting over in a new town to protect her daughter, Annie, from the gossipers but when she discovers a little girl in her class is the spitting image of her daughter right down to the white streak in her hair, she’s left with more questions and problems than she had before. Although Griffin’s attracted to Julie and curious about Annie, he’s leery about why they’re in town and he’s not about to let Julie into his life or his daughter’s life without a fight. Yet as the two little girls grow closer and event throw Julie and Griffin together, he soon starts to realize just what an amazing pair they make.

 

I thought that Griffin and Julie were interesting. They were both distrusting of each other, but that’s to be expected given what they had both been through. Both were amazing parents and seem to be good people who stepped up when they needed to. But they both had major flaws. Julie was constantly going on about how she was older and wiser than Griffin so she knew what was best for him and the girls. Griffin was determined to hold the sins of his ex-wife and his cousin’s ex-girlfriend over all of womankind so, in his mind, everything that Julie was doing (even the fact she had Annie) was just her way of getting her hooks into his family’s ranch.

 

While Griffin and Julie were interesting together, I didn’t really see much chemistry or a developing relationship. Sure, there was attraction but their relationship went from distrust/anger/distrust/sex/arguing/distrust/ignoring each other to bickering/sex/let’s get married. There was no relationship growth or even a getting to know you period. I would even classify this as instalust/love as I didn’t see much of that either.

 

I wasn’t a massive fan of the bit of drama in this one provided by Griffin’s ex. It just seemed a bit odd.

 

What saved this for me were the spunky little girls, the spirited secondary characters, and the sense of family and community Carolyn Brown’s books always offer.

 

This was my first time listening to Brian Hutchison narrate and I found him to be enjoyable.

 

Overall, this one wasn’t a bad book but it wasn’t one of my favorites. It was lacking in the romances department but still a worthy read.

Lucky/Luckadeau Series

Lucky in Love

One Lucky Cowboy

Getting Lucky

Talk Cowboy to Me