I picked up this book solely because it's by Carolyn Brown and I love her books. I didn't read the blurb and had no idea what I was getting into. What I got was a roller-coaster ride that was totally unexpected. I went into the book looking a western romance, and while I got that, I also received a very snarky, funny, romantic suspense. I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen next.

If you read my reviews, you know that I give 5 stars quite sparingly. So that in itself speaks volumes on how much I enjoyed this story. Jane and Slade were interesting characters apart, but together there were just crazy mad sparks flying. The way they goaded each other was fun to watch. Throw in a couple old ladies and then the reason that Jane is on the run and it was a wild ride.

I can't wait to revisit this family and series and have to back track to book 1 and hope that it's as good as this one. Well done Ms Brown!

Fun book. The day before her wedding, Jane overheard her fiancé, John, and his sister, Ramona, plotting her death so that her stepfather can retain control of her property. Now she's on the run, looking for a safe place to hide out until her birthday when that property becomes hers. After laying a false trail, Jane took a bus west and got off in a small town in Texas, hoping to find a job. There she met Nellie Luckadeau, who is the answer to her prayers. The feisty old lady hires her to help cook on the ranch and be her driver, which suits Jane just fine. Unfortunately, Nellie's grandson, Slade, disagrees with his grandmother.

Lucky can't believe his grandmother brought some stray woman home from the bus station. He is sure Jane is a con artist looking for a way to part Nellie from her money, and he won't stand for it. But Nellie is adamant that Jane stays: "I hired her. You can't fire her," so Slade tries rudeness and intimidation next. I understood that Slade was worried about Nellie, but she's a sharp old lady, and it would take real talent to pull the wool over her eyes. It bugged me that Slade didn't trust Nellie enough to give Jane a chance.

The sparks that flew between Slade and Jane were fierce but mostly antagonistic. He is flat-out rude to her, but Jane fires right back. He's convinced she's a useless city girl who will turn and run at the first sign of hard work. Jane delights in proving him wrong at every turn. For the first couple of weeks, they can't be in the room together five minutes before they're slinging barbs at each other. When Nellie gets the bright idea to visit her sister, Ellen, leaving Jane behind to manage the cooking for a week, things start to change a little. I loved seeing Jane pitch in on the ranch work, showing Slade that he's wrong. The antagonism begins to fade a little, though the snark and sniping continue.

By the time Nellie and Ellen return, there is a different kind of spark mixed in with the sniping, though neither one wants to admit it. Those two ladies have matchmaking on their minds, and nothing is going to deter them. It was fun to see them find ways to throw Slade and Jane together. Their big chance comes when Jane's past catches up to her. After spotting John and Ramona at the July Fourth celebration, Jane confesses all to her friends. Nellie wants Slade to take Jane and hit the road, keeping her moving until her birthday. Once again, Slade allows his cynicism and suspicion free reign and is a total jerk. Nellie wins the battle, though Slade takes some steps of his own to try to discover the truth. I wouldn't have blamed Jane if she'd clunked him on the head and shoved him out of the truck.

The next part of the book ranks right up there as some good romantic suspense. Slade and Jane barely keep one step ahead of their pursuers, even with the help of the FBI. Jane finally gets to the point where she's had enough of running, and they decide to turn the tables on their pursuers. I loved their plan and had to laugh at some of their antics as they pulled it off. I found it hard to believe that John didn't recognize her, but it worked. Things get a little intense when John escapes custody, and then Slade and Jane barely escape a safe house with their lives. There are a few more twists before Slade delivers Jane to her home just after her birthday.

By this point, both Slade and Jane have realized that their hearts are involved, but neither talks about it. Slade can't see why someone in Jane's position would be interested in him, so he slinks off back home to Texas. I felt like he'd earned his misery, though I did feel a little sorry for him. Meanwhile, Jane faces a slew of decisions to make regarding her future. I cheered for her at the oil company office that first morning as the new-and-improved Jane took charge. A little more self-examination showed her what she needed to do to be happy. I loved the ending and seeing Slade's reaction to her purchase. More sparks - of both kinds - fly as they work their way to settling their future together.

I loved Nellie and Ellen. Both of them have big hearts, and I liked how they took to Jane. It was fun to see them try to wiggle information out of her, though what they did with it came as quite a surprise. I was bothered a bit by their ease with Ellen driving after drinking and Nellie driving with her vision problems. At least Nellie took the steps of hiring Jane to do the driving for her. Though she only appeared for a little while, I loved the little girl, Lizzy. I liked how Jane helped her deal with the two bratty girls and loved the bit with the leprechaun's gold. That Kristy woman who tried to claim Slade was a real piece of work, and I enjoyed seeing Jane take her down. I haven't read the other three books in the series yet, but I want to read Beau and Milli's story and see what happens with Griffin and Remington.

A pretty good book. Lots of dialogue for me whereas I would’ve liked it to get straight into the plot sooner. However I still loved it and always enjoy her books. Never would I pass on a Carolyn Brown book. She’s such a talented author and never disappoints her audience.

Jane Day is on the run from the paid assassin who had been her fiancé. In Wichita Falls, Texas, she meets Nellie Luckadeau, a spitfire of an old lady who desperately needs someone to work on her ranch. But Nellie's drop-dead gorgeous grandson "Lucky Slade" is sure he can spot a con artist a mile away. He's determined not to let some upstart like Jane fleece his granny.
This story had a lot in it with some really good characters. The story reminds me a lot of one of my favorite RomComs, Mrs. Winterbourne. However, The arguing between Slade and Jane throughout the entire book knocked it down a few pegs for me. Overall, though, for a book that was released almost ten years ago I thought it held up pretty well.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I really enjoyed this book it is a super read for a lazy afternoon. This is Jane and Slade's story and they had me laughing out loud at times the banter between them was fantastic. Jane is a great character you cannot help but like her whereas Slade is a bit of a jerk and was just horrible to Jane, to begin with jumping to conclusions about her. For me, though it was Nellie and Ellen that made the book for me those two just cracked me up

I like the story about Slade and "Jane". Slide was a sexy cowboy who didn't trust women and never wanted to give his heart to anyone. He was still bearing the scars of his mama leaving him behind as a young boy.

Jane was one the run from a stepfather who wanted her dead to gain full ownership of her oil company and her the assassin hired to do the job, who happened to be her fiance'. One the eve of her wedding, she overheard her fiance and his accomplice discussing their plans to kill her. She left basically with the clothes on her back and whatever money she had in her purse. She was a wealthy heiress but she landed in Texas working for a grandmotherly type on the Double L Ranch. Slide became her protector, not because he wanted to but because his grandmother and aunt kept setting him up. She was keeping her real story close to the vest and he didn't trust her. In time, he would discover that he might be developing feelings for his imposter.

My one complaint about the book was the foul language. That grew tiresome for me but might not bother others who read the book. I was given a complimentary copy of the book and I offer my review.

3.5 star

I was pulled right into this story. The story has laughs, pain, anger, secrets, and heartbreak.

If you have not read the below I would recommend reading those books(s) first
Lucky in Love (Lucky, #1)

This is Jane and Slade (Lucky Slade)’s story. Jane is on the run from her ex fiancé who happens to be a paid assassin. She never planned on staying in one place long. When she meets Nellie who is an older woman that needs help on her ranch Jane agrees to stay and help out. Jane knows she does not want to bring danger to Nellie so she needs to stay under the radar. Lucky believes that Jane is a con artist right from the start. He is determined to uncover all her secrets. He knows that Jane has secrets and he wants to know them all. Jane needs help and a break from all the running. If she has to put up with the cowboy who is always bickering with her to do it she will. Will danger find Jane? Will Lucky protect her if need be? Or will he finally have his proof that Jane is bad news? What happens when all the intimidation does not work? Can he seduce all her secrets out of her? What happens when they start falling for each other? Is it fate or will he just be pulling off an act to get all his answers?

I loved these characters and the side characters. I felt I could connect with the characters and the story was a great read.

I recommend this book.

This is book 2 in the Lucky series and it features Slade and Jane. I laughed, cried and held my breath many times throughout this book. The action was exhilarating. The sex was HOT and it all fell into place perfectly from cover to cover. The verbal sparring between these two was HILARIOUS! Nellie and Ellen were fabulous. Even though they weren’t the main characters, the story wouldn’t have been the same without them or Jeannie and Myra.

This is a highly entertaining story full of intense action, suspense, family, love and some truly amazing characters. I can’t wait to read more of this amazing series.

One Lucky Cowboy is the second novel in Carolyn Brown's Lucky series, and a re-worked reissue of a novel she originally released in 2009, but since I hadn't read the earlier version, I'm uncertain as to how many changes were made in this edition. While I usually enjoy her cowboy romance novel, I found myself feeling more than a little ambivalent about this one, and for that reason I can only give it a 3-star rating.

My first issue is that the story doesn't flow very well. It opens with Slade Luckadeau, the supposed hero, hating the heroine, Jane Day, at first sight. She's in his grandmother Nellie's ranch kitchen helping to make breakfast. He automatically assumes she's a con artist, even more so when he learns that Nellie, who shouldn't be driving at all because she's sight impaired, picked her up at the bus station in town and offered her a job, plus room and board. Rather than give the apparent down-on-her-luck young woman the benefit of a doubt, he treats her like something the cat dragged in and is both rude and obnoxious to her--even trying to fire her on the spot, but Nellie hired her, likes her, and Jane has no intention of leaving.

We soon learn that Jane is more than just your average runaway bride, she's running for her life, after overhearing her fiance, John, and the woman posing as his sister, Ramona, on the night before her wedding, discussing their plans to kill her once Jane marries him, for the $1 million dollar life insurance policy they've taken out on her, having been hired by her stepfather, who is now in control of the multi-million dollar oil company she's due to inherit on her 25th birthday, just 6 weeks away. Jane hits the road as soon as she thinks everyone is asleep, with very little money, a couple of changes of clothing, and not much more, leaving her ID, her credit cards, her lying, murderous fiance and everything else behind. It was sheer luck that she was sitting on that bench outside the bus station in this small town, wondering what to do next when Nellie sat down next to her. She needs to hide out for the next 6 weeks until her birthday, and what better place to hide than a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

While Jane is an incredibly likable character, smart, sassy, hard-working, kind and spirited, Slade is a rude, obnoxious, and overbearing jerk--yes, he's handsome, but he's been dating an absolute bitch of a woman who has two rude, bratty, and obnoxious daughters, but Jane is more than able to hold her own despite both of them. She certainly has Nellie's support, and soon she also has the support of Nellie's sister, Ellen, and these two feisty old women are the best thing about this novel--they are absolutely hilarious, act like teenagers high on hormones, and they are laugh-out-loud funny. The best thing is that they are quick to realize that Jane is a good person, perfect for Slade, and one who won't won't take any guff from him, or anyone else either, and yes, they are also into matchmaking.

Slade, however, acts like a total jerk for most of this novel. He automatically assumes that Jane is using a fake name (she is, but not for the reason he thinks she is), that she's a gold-digger out to steal his grandmother's money, or on the run from the police. To say that he's unwilling to give her the benefit of a doubt is putting it mildly, despite the fact that his grandmother and great-aunt accept and trust Jane implicitly. While I generally enjoy verbal sparring and sass in a romance novel as the two main characters get to know one another, in the case of this novel, it became far more of a minus than a plus, and even when Jane proves herself to everyone else on the ranch, Slade isn't buying what he thinks of as her act. Frankly, in the thousands of romance novels I've read over the years, Slade is one of the least likable "heroes" I've ever come across. I disliked him from the beginning to the end.

Once Jane's cover is blown and the lies her stepfather tells about her escape from a mental institution are believed, Nellie, who doesn't believe it for a second insists that Slade take Jane on the run and keep her safe from her would-be assassins until her 25th birthday. He's certainly unwilling and lets Jane know that he doesn't believe her for a second, and is only doing this to appease his grandmother. By this point in the novel, I couldn't find a single thing I liked about him, and although he's trying to keep her safe, and although there's a sexual attraction building between these two, Jane is right to be wary of all men since her ex-fiance's lies and betrayal, and Slade does little to endear himself to her.

There's far more to this story, attempts on Jane's life, and even FBI involvement, although they've been brought in to apprehend the supposed mentally unstable runaway, it's clear that she's not unstable, she's running for her life, and even when they believe her story and try to help protect her, keeping her safe is more of a problem than they realize, since they have a traitor in their midst.

While Slade eventually does accept what Jane's been telling him all along, that people are trying to find her and kill her for her money, he still acts like jerk, and I found him an impossible character to like, which basically ruined the HEA ending for this reader, because I couldn't imagine that Jane's life with him would be anything but non-stop bickering and verbal sparring. Jane seemed to find it appealing and exciting, but this reader most certainly did not.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book had honest characters with feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. They were snarky and funny all the while drawing you into their story. It was a quick one sitting read the I thoroughly enjoyed!!!!

This story not only has sexy cowboys, strong female characters and meddling grandmothers, it also has a hint of suspense and mystery, which I found refreshing. This is the story of Slade and Jane.

Jane Day is running from her past. Engaged to a man she thought she knew, she runs away on the night before her wedding after overhearing that her soon to be husband and her stepfather are planning her death before can inherit her families Oil Company. She only has 6 weeks until her 25 birthday, and if she can lay low until then she can go back and claim her birthright and throw her stepfather out on is ear. When she is offered a job on the Double L Ranch she knows that it is the perfect place to hide, the one place that she will never be found. And despite the protest of the sexy cowboy wanting nothing then to ship her as afar away as possible, it is the closest she has felt to home and family in a long time.

Slade Luckadeau does not trust Jane Day. Really what kind of name is that anyway? He has a feeling that she is nothing but trouble, no matter how well she cooks, and how hot she makes his blood boil. He wants her off his land, and away from his grandmother. But as Jane and Slade keep getting thrown together, they form an unlikely friendship. Just as Slade begins to put his misgivings aside, Jane’s past comes roaring into town.

As Slade is forced to take Jane and run, keeping her safe until her birthday, they give into the desire that it building between them. But danger is closing in and they don’t know who to trust. When it is all said and done, will Jane and Slade find their HEA or will they be forced to walk away.

What I loved about this story is the element of suspense. I mean yea they were on the run, and they had no idea who they could truly trust, but some of the funny things that they experienced, their impromptu road trips and sight seeing were laugh out loud funny. And the feelings that they had for each other were real, they just needed to have faith in themselves and in each other. And amazing addition to the Lucky series.

One Hot Cowboy, One Sassy Hell Cat… Things are about to get interesting on the Double L Ranch.

Slade is an easy-going cowboy who loves what he was born to do. Ranching. He defiantly loves the ladies and the ladies loved him, or so he thought. That is when Jane Day happened into his life. So full of sass and gumption, Slade found himself trying to decide if he liked her or if he wanted to strangle her.

Jane is a on the run from trouble, that is when she meets up with Nellie Luckadeau at a bus station and this is where Jane life takes a different turn. The question is will trouble find her before her twenty-fifth birthday? Only time will tell.

I enjoyed Slade and Jane so much they had me laughing at every turn. Talk about sparks, these two could set a field unfired. Slade doesn’t trust Nellie’s new worker, he is out to prove she is up to no good. Jane is trying to stay one step ahead of those who want to do her harm. What better place to hide than on a ranch as a cook.

Supporting characters have added so much to One Lucky Cowboy, suspense, laughter, heart and fun. Nellie and Ellen, I will treasure way past the end of the Lucky Trilogy. I adore these ladies. One Lucky Cowboy is the second book in the Lucky Trilogy, Carolyn Brown never disappoints me, the plot is full of sexy cowboys, strong women and the heart of a family. What shocked me is the suspense part of the story and a few secrets revealed along the way. I will always recommend Carolyn Brown to family, friends and strangers.

Rated 4 Stilettos by Deb!

Slade is one hot cowboy! I like how caring he is especially with his Aunt Nellie.

Jane is a runaway bride who loves cooking. She is a very independent woman who can take good care of herself.

Halfway with the story, I felt bored because of some scenes but I enjoyed reading the novel.

Thank you for the ARC Sourcebooks Casablanca and Net Galley!

I received an arc from Netgalley. This book was conflicting to me. Slade did not believe Jane all the way through the book which was kind of annoying and he was kind of a jerk. I finished the book and while I was glad for the HEA it wasn’t one of my favorites.

A very interesting story about runaway Jane and one hot stubborn cowboy Slade. Jane finds her getaway by interesting Nellie and her grandson whit whom they have instantly collision of character but also attraction that they are trying to suppress. After a few weeks Jane secret comes out and she finds herself again on the run this time with a hot cowboy. Both Slade and Jane are interesting and well developed both very stubborn and determined their pricking is funny and it leads them to hot night between the sheets. The end is so not what I expected but it was in the spirit of the characters so it works. Funny story with suspense action, hot attraction and in the end HEA.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

One Lucky Cowboy falls into that “good story” area for me. While I enjoyed it, for the most part, there were times that I frankly was a bit frustrated. In the end, the enjoyed this story part of me won out, but it was close. This story is a reissue – there is absolutely nothing wrong with re-releasing a book again, let me make that opinion clear. I simply realized that I had read this story years ago.

Jane is certainly a spitfire, and that is putting a nicer name on some of her actions. She’s on the run from a very bad situation so it’s understandable that she’s not too trusting of anyone. Yet the bantering between Jane and Slade often comes off as simply mean and rude. I also, quite honestly, had an issue with the appearance of making light of a drinking problem. I “got” what was intended, but the jokes were grating on something so serious, in my own opinion.

In the end, there were parts of Slade and Jane’s story that I truly enjoyed, other parts no so much. I’m going to go with a good book rating which is kinda in the middle because that’s how I feel about One Lucky Cowboy – kinda in the middle of liking and not. Remember, this is my personal opinion, your reaction may be quite different – the only way to know is to read this one for yourself and make up your own mind.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

I have been on the hunt lately for a good solid cowboy series that I could sink my teeth into... but so far I'm kinda striking out in this trope. I don't know if being a southern girl makes me overly picky when it comes to these stories, or if I just haven't found the right fit. But this one didn't work for me at all.

Slade Luckadeau is a moody cowboy, living with his granny and running the Double LL - the Luckadeau Ranch. It seems that Slade does not have the best taste in women, and he's a little bitter and distrusting of gals in general. Slade jumped to a lot of (wrong) conclusions about our heroine, and he was hostile toward her for a good part of the book. One thing that he did have going for him - he was a pretty good cowboy. There was some honest-to-goodness ranch work happening, not just playing at being a cowboy like I've seen in some other books. And once Slade let go of his hangups, he was a decent hero. I just wish there had been more character development so I could have gotten into his head a little more.

Jane Day is a runaway bride and is determined to stay in hiding until her 25th birthday (about 6 weeks time in our story). She was picked up right off the bus in Ringgold, Texas and taken home by the Luckadeau matriarch and given work as a maid and driver. She is full of sass and determined to stay no matter the thoughts of Slade Luckadeau. She did work hard and fit well into the ranch life, but I just could not connect with her character. She was a bit too prickly for my tastes.

The romance in this one was almost in the enemies to lovers realm, with our couple bickering for a good portion of the book. Once things do get more friendly, there wasn't much time for relationship building as our couple was on the run. What we did get was mostly PG-13 some fade to black action happening off page.

Overall, I think I just did not prefer this writing style. It seemed overly simplistic and trying to hard. The over-the-top southernisms threw me out of the story. I mean, I have heard people use the word underbritches before... but they were my grandparents age, not a hot young cowboy. The only time I find these types of colloquialisms to fit into a story is if its a comedic effect. That was not the case here.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca.

I was given this book by Netgalley for an honest reveiw.

A Hoot of a good read! Jane is on the run from a fiancé that wants her money. Slade thinks she is a con woman! He is going to make sure no one is going to take advantage of his Grandmother. He does everything he can think of to run her off, but she is not going to let some sexy cowboy try and run her off. I had read this book when it first came out and I enjoyed it again the second time around. I recommend this book and series to everyone, I give One Lucky Cowboy 5/5 stars.

“One Lucky Cowboy” is Carolyn Brown” latest tale involving the Luckadeau clan. Slade Luckadeau has felt that he has not had much luck in his life when it comes to life and love and it does not appear to be changing anytime soon when his grandmother brings home a down on her luck woman to help out at the ranch. Ellacyn “Jane” Hayes is running for her life after being betrayed by her stepfather and her fiancé and when she is offered the position as a cook and driver by Nellie Luckadeau, Slade’s grandma, she jumps at the chance to stay hidden until she turns 25. Jane soon realizes that instead of running away from something she may have been running towards the life she has always wanted. Carolyn Brown creates a certain type of magic with the characters she creates and the reader soon feels as if these characters are now part of their family. I was given an advanced copy of this book, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Lucky #2, A Rerelease of Carolyn Brown's Lucky series. This was a little disappointing, I loved her Lucky Penny Ranch series and all the other book I've read by her but this one, I don't know it just didn't flow the same way. The banter between Slade and Jane was fine at first but all their arguing got real old real fast. Slade is an idiot especially there at the end, I swear he's got his head stuck up his ass most of the book. Jane's not that bad she's actually more relatable even though she's uber-rich and has an assassin after her, her attitude and work ethic are commendable and how she handles the situation is understandable. I liked Jane, I loved Nellie and Ellen - Slade's Grandmother and her sister they were a hoot. The book did seem never ending, when I thought it was close to the end Slade acted like an ass and it kept going. Just when you think it's getting close to end with Jane's issue something happens and it keeps going.

Jane Day appeared one day with Ellen at the Double L Ranch, Ellen needed help in the kitchen feeding the ranch hands and keeping up with the housework. Slade automatically hates her, he thinks she's there to rob Ellen blind and he just really doesn't trust her in fact he's pretty sure Jane Day isn't even her real name. He's only partial right on that Jane is her real name but Day isn't. Jane is on the run her step father wants to control her family's legacy and is willing to have her killed for it. Jane's "fiance" is really a hired assassin and plans to collect not just the money from her stepfather but also the life insurance policy they took out on each other. If Jane hadn't of overheard him talking and making out with the woman who was supposed to be his sister she would have never known so she ran, she ditched her phone and went as far west as she could on what money she had on her allowed. Nellie finds her at the bus stop and offers her a job Jane just needed to disappear for six more weeks until her inheritance kicks in and she has controlling interest of her family's legacy and can expose her step father. In the meantime Jane tells no one

Eventually Slade gets over thinking Jane is a con woman and they even kind of become friends and admits to himself he finds her very attractive and likes her, but he still can't shake the feeling that she's hiding something. With two weeks to go flyers start to show up with a horrible picture of Jane on them saying she's an escaped mental patient. Jane is ready to run but at the insistence of Nellie Slade takes her he also calls the FBI, since the people looking for her are saying they are FBI Slade wants to make sure. But they don't get away easily and for the next two weeks they are trying to outrun an assassin who seems to know their every move.

Overall, I think if Slade had been less of an asshole it would have been a much better story, I really can't see how Jane liked him.