I loved the first book in the series but this book. Oh, I did not like this book. At all. This was all about the heroine. She is lying a lying b****. Tessa (the heroine) is secretly writing an article on Mason's brother Rockford and is using Mason to get closer to Rockford. Yeah, I could not finish the book. Mason is a wonderful hero and does not deserve being treated this way. He deserves so much better than her. I'm not sure how the book ended up but I just couldn't finish it.

3.5 stars

You Had Me at Cowboy by Jennie Marts is a beautifully written and entertaining read.
I enjoyed the storyline, Mason and Tessa are likable, relatable characters that warmed my heart watching them fall in love.

Overall this was a heartwarming read and I highly recommend it.

*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

Oh boy, what a dreadful day Tessa Kane is having at the start of this fun story! Having finally agreed to go on a date to the wedding reception for a local professional hockey star, her date rings to cancel. That’s bad enough but then her boss rings to fire her from her job as a reporter . . . . until he learns just whose wedding she’s invited to! He wants her to go in undercover to discover something about the bride and groom to write about. Now, you’d think that’d be enough but no, then a bird poops on her dress and she’s locked herself out of her car . . . . and there’s more – but you need to read it yourself to find out just what happens next! A clue is that it involves the groom to be’s cowboy brother, Mason James, mutual heated attraction and not quite telling all the truth….

I loved escaping into this fun, intriguing romance. There are great characters, including Tessa’s grandmother and Mason’s Aunt Sassy. There’s also a delightful lost puppy that will win a place in your heart. Both Mason and Tessa are loyal to those they love, always doing their best to help them, sometimes to their own cost. However, through it all there’s one thing that Mason can’t stand and that’s lies, so what will happen when he discovers just why Tessa initially wanted to continue to attend his brother’s wedding? Can love find a way to bring these two together?

This is another great read from this talented author and one that I have no hesitation in highly recommending to anyone who enjoys escaping into family dramas and romance with well developed characters and plenty of humour. I am really looking forward to reading more in this series in future!

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and have chosen to read it; this is my honest review after doing so.

I am just loving this series after reading and enjoying the first book in the series I could not wait to read this one and what another great read it was. I just adored Tessa she was such a klutz but she was just perfect for Mason these two were just great together and the chemistry between them is hot but she is keeping a secret and that HEA.

Fun and flirty, with a likable female protagonist who loves her grandmother.
The book starts with Tess taking a huge risk, agreeing to a blind date to help out a friend, only to get stood up, and worse, at a wedding full of celebrities and no one she knows. She gets fired from her job, and if home wasn't down hill, her car wouldn't have the gas to get there. An ultimate bad day.
She does meet a handsome cowboy, just not while looking her best. They agree to help each other out of an awkward situation. Tess is given the opportunity to make some money, although it requires her to step further out of her comfort zone. Even at her lowest, Tess does what she can to help others in need, including an adorable, if scruffy and smelly, dog. Ok, this book pulled my heartstrings.
Tess and her cowboy end up getting to know each other better. While still clean, things get very steamy. As it seems there is a true love connection being made, the situation gets more complicated. However, the author gives us reason to smile even as the tension remains vibrant, expecting the uncomfortable information to be exposed. When it finally happens and you think that is ALL Tess has to handle, my heart was nearly torn apart with more about the dog! Tissue Alert!!
Don't let that stop you from reading because there is more to the story.
She may have had me pick up this book promising hot cowboys, but she kept me with a strong story, wonderful characters and an amazing ending.

Awesome book! I didn't read the first in series, but now I'm going looking for it. Mason was the perfect combo of cowboy and sweetheart, and Tess, though she went about things wrong, entered his life at just the right time! I laughed out loud a few times and cried too. I will definitely be searching for the next book in the series!

You Had Me at Cowboy is book number two in the Cowboys of Creedence series by Jennie Marts. This is Mason James and Tessa Kane's story.

Tessa and Mason meet accidentally at a wedding function for his brother. Their first meeting was hilarious. There was definitely chemistry between these two but how will Mason react when he finds out Tessa's secret?

The characters and this book were so much fun. Tessa was a mess but once you meet her grandmother you will understand. This story will hook you from the beginning to the end with humor, hot chemistry, and a fun and entertaining read.

Another great read in the start of this series. A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. This is about Mason and how he feels about his older brother Rock. Mason meets Tess who wins his heart from the start but they encounter a ruff patch and learn how to work their way through that. I cannot wait to read the next one when it is finally written.

Loved this book from the first page. I fell in love with Tess and Mason, so perfect for each other. Tess is on the verge of loosing her job unless the can the scoop on Mason's brother's wedding. Mason has always been in the shadow of his his brother, Rock a professional hockey player. There is no denying the chemistry between Mason and Tess, but the secret Tess is keeping might ruin everything.

This is a story that I could not put down. Loved the characters, great chemistry and humor. Tess's grandma was a hoot. Loved Dewey too!! Hot cowboy alert!! I highly recommend this book!

his book was a treasure to read from the title and cover to the very end. While I did not read the first book in he series, the author provide in the narrative what was needed to understand this one. Tessa Kane is having a really horrible day. On her first date in over a year, after her boy friend had humiliated her in front of her coworkers, she was doing a friend a favor by being her brother's plus one for a wedding weekend for a professional hockey player. She arrives at the lodge in Creedence, Colorado, to receive a phone call that he is not coming, a bird poops on her top, her boss calls to fire her and she locks herself out of he car. When her boss finds out why she is there, he offers her one last chance- to get the dirt on the groom, Rockford James and his bride and write a hard hitting piece. She needs the money because her grandmother, Mimi, who raised her after her parents were killed in an auto accident when she was 9, fell for a Nigerian scam, and is about to loose their home. While that is not the kind of story she writes, she has no choice if she is to save her grandmother. But her she has a turn of luck, when she goes into the lodge to change her top in a broom closet and the brother of the groom, Mason, walks in. He has been used by several females to get to his brother and is weary of friends and town folk trying to fix him up. He is attracted to Tessa and asks her to be his date for the weekend. She is attracted to the cowboy and feels guilty about why she is really there, but she needs to safe her grandmother. As they spend more time together, and become more attracted to each other, will Tessa confess and will Mason forgive her?

I received a free, advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review. The characters are artfully developed into appealing people. The dialogue is amusing, the plot is captivating and the narrative skillfully written. Cute dogs are added to the mix. I highly recommend this book.

To Thine Own Self

Obviously this is a great cover and title; it made me want to read the book. And of course I've enjoyed other stories by Jenny Marts, so I knew it would be funny and real. Well, I'm delighted to report that this tale lived up to and exceeded every expectation. I laughed out loud, I teared up, I swooned, and I swept through the novel as if it were past due at the library. The blurb tells you all you need to know about the plot. And I'm telling you if that if you like cowboys and strong women (who may not believe in themselves but come to), and laughter and love, you have come to the right place. Happy reading!

The second Cowboy of Creedence romance is full of depth and emotionally gripping which tugs at the heartstrings. Mason and Tess are two strong, compelling characters that draw readers in to their story and refuse to let go. The romance is on the sweet side and the chemistry is electrifying but this relationship has a few downs before it can be called a relationship. Tess is torn between a rock and a hard place and due to Mason’s past, he wasn’t really wanting to take a chance on love, but all of this changes when the two meet in an unorthodox but charming way and the feelings escalate into them making a deal. The readers can’t help but get caught up in all the events that take place as the author brings her characters to life in a realistic way and the relationship proceeds in way that is believable. While the story may have a few moments that make readers leak a few tears, the story also has readers erupting in a few chuckles and grins and falling for all the characters.

The story is set a steady pace that adds to the suspense of the story, so that while everything happens in a short amount of time, so much is lived in that time. And the romance has quite a few extras that add fun and to help further the relationship along; sudden rainstorms, a cute little stray that steals hearts, and a Grandmother who adds incredulous trouble to the story, so there is now way not to enjoy this charming romance with sexy cowboys.

I like this author very much, and this book is, as always, an enjoyable and well-written story. However, I’m so very tired of the “deceptive journalist” trope, that I was never able to fully immerse myself in Tessa and Mason’s HEA.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance

This is the second book in this series and while it's not necessary to read book one to understand, it will help with character development.

Mason is a rugged, true-to-form cowboy. He loves his ranch. He loves his family. What he doesn't love is feeling like he's being used as a stepping stone for people to reach his famous, NHL star brother. Mason loathes liars. When his brother gets married, Mason has to hear from everyone around that he will be next... that there will be someone out there for him. There's only so much Mason can take before he's ready to leave the festivities.

Tessa is down on her luck. So down on her luck but hoping to catch a break. With her grandma accidentally sending away their entire savings to the Nigerian prince scam, Tessa knows that she needs to figure out how to save their house. Also, Tessa isn't the most confident woman. When she finds herself stood up at a party, she thinks it can't get any worse. Then she loses her job... Just great. As she is pondering how much worse the night could get, she happens to wander into Mason.

The sparks that fly between these two are amazing. I loved how they bantered back and forth. Tessa is nervous because while she is not outright lying, she is lying by omission. She also knows how much Mason hates liars. Mason can't help but be overjoyed that he found Tessa. Could this be his luck turning around?

I loved how this story unfolded. The secondary characters were hilarious and helpful when necessary. I also really enjoyed watching Tessa and Mason get to know each other. They both had some growing to do and in the end, had to figure out if what the felt for each other was worth fighting for.

I really hope there is another book!


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆
This is Mason's story. Mason has a classic case of what I like to refer to as "middle child syndrome." Not as a good as his older brother and not as a cute as his younger brother.

Granted, Rock is a pro hockey player and has lived a life outside of their small hometown in rural Colorado. Mason is running the ranch, doing everything he can to keep it operational with the help of his mother and younger brother. He's always felt that he has lived his life in Rock's shadow. Especially when it comes to women. More than once, a woman has used him as a way to get closer to his brother.

When he meets Tess, he's open and honest about the fact that he hates reporters and being lied to. And of course, Tess is lying to him. She has to if she wants to keep her job as a reporter for a magazine. She has to get the scoop on Rock's engagement or she's out of a job – for good this time.

Tess is fighting demons of her own, and trying to save her grandmother's house from foreclosure by doing something that she truly hates: infiltrating a nice family all so she can keep the roof over her head.

I enjoyed the book, but I felt the ending drama with her grandmother was a little far-fetched and rushed.

Maybe I was in a mood (and NOT a good one, at that) when I started reading this book, because I was just not amused by the story at all.

Our heroine is one of those down-on-her luck, too-sweet-to-be-true, pushover types. She lives with her grandmother (who lost all her money to a Nigerian Prince email scam), drives a really old car, and is about to lose her job - unless she is able to get some dirt about the groom at a pre-wedding dinner party she’s about to attend. Only, her date is a no-show, and on the way into the dinner she gets pooped on by a bird. 🙄

Of course, in the middle of changing out of her shirt in a closet, the best man (and brother of the groom) walks in on her, because he’s looking for a mop. Or maybe it was a broom. I can’t remember.

At any rate, they hang out at the dinner party, have a good time, get soaked in a rainstorm...and because the best man is tired of everyone asking when he’s going to settle down and get married, he asks the heroine to hang around in town and pretend to be his girlfriend for the rest of the pre-wedding festivities over the next three days. Because, of course, the groom is rich and there’s a whole bunch of group activities

She agrees, but doesn’t have any place to stay in town (nor can she afford the gas to drive back and forth), nor any money to get a hotel room. So she decides to stay in her car. And during a terrible rainstorm during the night, rescues a stray dog, and gives him the last of the food she had with her.

And that was the last silly, ridiculous straw for me. The hero may have been sweet, but paired with a heroine prone to slap-stick catastrophes and tired, cliched descriptions (what exactly does it mean that “Mason’s face seemed to be chiseled from a fine block of marble”?), I just couldn’t keep reading. The over-the-top ridiculousness isn’t something I was in the mood for, and I doubt I ever will be. So I’m tapping out at 26 percent.

I’m thinking this may not be an author for me. I read the first book in this series because I was approved for the ARC of You Had Me at Cowboy, but didn’t really care for that one, either. I know not every author is going to be my cup of tea, or perhaps just not this series. Maybe I’ll give Ms. Marts another try. But I’m fairly certain I’m done with this series.

*thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Jennie Marts’ You Had Me at Cowboy is the second book in the Cowboys of Creedence Series. I may like it even more than the first because Mason James brother to Rock is a true cowboy. He is a wonderful brother and man, though not perfect. Tessa Kane the female lead is also likable, but one with a secret agenda that makes her not so perfect either. Their story is one of heart, family, and loyalty as well as soul searching.

I fell in love with Jennie Marts books when I found Romancing the Ranger, then the rest of the Cotton Creek series. Her writing has humor, style and complex characters who are also irresistible not to completely love. I would recommend any book by Jennie Marts bur especially You Had Me at Cowboy.

You Had Me at Cowboy by Jennie Marts
Cowboys of Creedence #2

Light easy romantic read that is predictable from beginning to end. If you are looking for a story with likable characters that are almost too nice this might be the book for you.

Down on her luck Tessa is in need of a big story to retain her job and make money to bail her grandmother out of financial woes brought on by scam artists. Meeting Mason, brother to a wealthy famous hockey player, might provide the opportunity for her to get a scoop, write it up and sell it.

I have to admit I skimmed this book rather than reading every word. I have had mixed results with this author’s books but will give one more a try. It was okay but not my favorite by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley an Sourcebooks-Casablanca for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars

After reading Caught Up in a Cowboy, I really wanted to know how the other brothers of Rock would get their HEA. And in this part, we see older brother Mason getting caught up in a whirlwind called Tessa Kane. Rock is getting married with his Quinn and there are all kinds of festivities planned. As the older, responsible brother, Mason is taking care of the range. Having been burned too many times by women, who weren't interested in him, but in his famous brother, Mason is wary of female attention. But when he bumps into Tessa on the pre-wedding party, he seems to have finally found a woman, who doesn't know Rockford the famous hockey player. Little does he know, that Tessa has just been ordered by her boss to find dirt on his little brother in order to save her job. Tessa has had a rough life, loosing both her parents in a car accident and living with her grandmother. Who happens to be a little too trusthful, by supporting a Nigerian prince in need. So, when Tessa finds out, her grandmother is swindeled out of all her savings, she is desperate to keep her job.
But after a few days with the James' family, she realizes she will not be able to write dirt on these lovely people. And how will she be able to come clean to Mason about her job? Because Mason really, really hates reporters. Find out for yourself how this story will play out. And keep an eye out for the third part of these Creedence cowboys: It Started With a Cowboy. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

This series was a draw for me due to the first book being about a hockey playing cowboy. Sounded like a terrific combo. I was not able to get into the single mom aspect of that one, but I wanted to go ahead with the next book because I liked the writing. This book I did like better because I really liked the characters. This is one of those books where the MCs are written so lovable that you really dread the impending conflict that is coming....because you know it is coming. I could easily see what their trouble was going to be and I didn't want them to have to suffer through it. But I watched them do it anyway, because I knew my HEA was coming. So at the end, I did like the book and feel there is a definite audience that would enjoy a sweet romance with adorable characters.

You Had Me at Cowboy is the second story in the Cowboys of Creedence series. Although you don’t “have” to have read the first story, Caught Up in a Cowboy, I’d certainly recommend it for it’s a really good story that shouldn’t be missed, in my opinion.

Mason is a kind-hearted man who loves his ranch, his family and is simply waiting for that right woman to come along. And if he wishes she’d hurry up no one can blame him for that. Yet Mason has been used in the past to get closer to his famous hockey playing brother, Rock. Being lied to is probably his number one deal breaker in any relationship. He simply wants what we all do, to be loved and valued for himself alone.

Tessa is in a heap of trouble. Stood up at the pre-wedding activities of a wedding she didn’t even want to attend has left her embarrassed, fuming and fired by her boss at the magazine she worked for… fired until it’s discovered exactly where she is right now – at the wedding of a very famous hockey player and the scoop of a lifetime. Caught in the most irritating situation ever Tessa can walk away from the job and the wedding and start over – except for one small detail. Her grandmother has made yet another bad decision and will lose her home if Tessa has no income to help her. She sees no other choice but to search for that “scoop of a lifetime” and tell more than a few lies to some very good people. Trouble is, she’s going to break the heart of a very good man, and her own, if she follows through with that plan. Talk about backed into a corner with no way out.

You Had Me at Cowboy will break your heart, and eventually mend it back again. Mason and Tessa are so easy to like, and to even understand their situation from both sides. I loved their story, it’s full of banter, laughter, steamy moments and a growing love that can be crushed if they make the wrong decisions. It’s always a treat for me when given the chance to catch up with a previous couple, and being at Rock and Quinn’s wedding certainly qualifies. This one is full of secondary characters who will have you in stitches, an adorable dog who steals hearts and scenes, and a good man, a good woman who belong to each other… if they can get past how they started.

If you’re in the mood for a good story that will touch your heart, give you a few laughs and fill your need for a cowboy… then You Had Me at Cowboy is perfect for you. I’d recommend this story, the entire series – and we have another brother’s story to look forward to in April of 2019.

*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.*