Justin has watched first his brother and then his best friend get hitched up and now his brother has a baby on the way. For the first time, this honky tonk loving cowboy starts to feel that maybe he's ready to plant some roots and end his tumbleweed ways. But, is a woman set on city-living his match? Loved my trip back to Longhorn Ranch and seeing all my favorite ranch folks!

Cowboy Brave is book three in the Longhorn Canyon series and, in a pinch, can get by out of order, but it is best enjoyed following the earlier stories so the references to earlier events and the returning cast of characters make sense.

Cowboy Brave jumps in when Emily Baker contacts Justin about the possibility of the Longhorn hosting five seniors from the home where she's employed. The plan is a go and Emily finds herself back on a ranch where she said she'd never be and letting a flirting cowboy turn her head. She tries to resist the lure of ranch life and Justin's home and really tries to call a halt to the attraction forming with Justin himself, but by the time the week is over, she is well on her way to a confused, unsettled feeling that only feels better the more time she spends with Justin who point-blank tells her he doesn't want to change her , he's not against compromise, he isn't just flirting, and he wants to explore what they have together. Can Emily let go of her big secret and her issues and trust Justin with her heart?

Cowboy Brave will probably end up being my least favorite book in the series. I didn't hate it and I enjoyed some of it. I love this series and was eager to see the final Longhorn bachelor get his story. Justin was just a generous, hardworking good old country boy and I liked him as much as his brother. I was glad to see him getting his own romance, seeing where things are at with the two previous couples and the whole Longhorn Canyon family. Justin's mom was being a pistol most of the time and his dad was a laid back salt of the earth type that were fun when they were in the scenes.

I had a deja vu feeling in that a Maguire brother was wooing a city girl who was also a country girl while a group was staying at the ranch. That isn't a complaint, but an observation. In this case, it was an elderly group calling themselves the Fab Five. The Fab Five seniors were a hoot- strip poker, skinny dipping, bullriding at the Rusty Spur Honky Tonk, and of course, a bit of matchmaking on the side for a certain young couple.

The reason I could not get into this story was my so-so feelings about the heroine, Emily. Honestly, I still can't figure out her issues- or should I say the dept of her issues- even after the story. Oh, she didn't get overly angsty, but it was more her reason for being so adamant against ranch life. I didn't buy it. She spends nearly the whole book pretending, lying by omission, getting short and cranky with her family for calling and wanting her to visit (you know, loving her and being concerned when she didn't call like she promised?).
And why was she this way? She didn't want to get stuck with doing the paperwork back home on the family ranch and preferred the active outside jobs. And, she had the desire to work with people so that leaves out living on a ranch. She felt her family was pressuring her to conform to their plans for her. And, they were, but not in a mean way. Then she didn't want to date a cowboy because he would be associated with a dreaded ranch and he couldn't possibly be telling the truth that she's beautiful to him. The thing is, five minutes with Justin relieved the reason she was outright lying about who her family was and a few days with him made a liar of her about the other stuff like she hates ranches and cowboys. It was obvious she loved the life and she really liked Justine. Justin made it crystal clear that she could do whatever made her happy for work if they were together and that he thought she was the most amazing woman he'd met. His family and friends corroborate this, but she still doubts it all.
The book is literally her denying the truth and Justin starting to settle down and plan a future that might include Emily. Not sure how he worked it out since she wasn't being honest. And when he calls her on it? She blows up and says he's making a mountain out of a molehill as she flies off in a pelter and he ends up mutually apologizing. I got fed up with it, but I didn't hate her. I couldn't like her or respect her until the end when she finally got her head screwed on straight realizing she'd made a tempest in a pot of tea.

I'm glad to know that Emily's younger twin brothers are getting the next two books. The were fun in the scenes they were in. This might not have been a favorite, but I love the Longhorn Ranch world with Skip and Mavis, Benji, Cade and Retta, Levi and Claire, and Justin. It's possible Emily will grow on me now. I hope the Fab Five make more appearances.

Those who read my reviews know that I will always recommend this author and her books for those who enjoy cowboy romances and a strong down home country feel with an uncomplicated story.

I loved this book so much, I hated when it ended. This is the third book in the series but the first book I have read in the Longhorn Ranch series and I am asking myself how I missed this amazing series. I already got ahold of the first book in the series. Emily and Justin's romance has sparks and undeniable chemistry. While I was reading this I kept telling Emily to just say yes. One of the best parts of this book was the Fab Five who had me laughing through the whole book. Although I am glad I wasn't Emily and Justin walking in on strip poker. All I can say is you must read this book!

I’m usually a big fan of Carolyn Brown, but this one just didn’t quite work for me. It was, as always, sweet and with a vein of southern heart that I consider Ms. Brown’s trademark, and the characters were—for the most part—very likable. The inclusion of the “Fab Five”, a group of hilarious and gregarious seniors, was inspired, but Emily I found difficult to understand. Not that she wasn’t likable in her own way—I love how she was with her seniors, and so many of her interactions with Justin made my heart flutter. Unfortunately, her motivation for concealing her past and denying her future wore a thin for me fairly early on and it was tough thereafter to get invested in her outcome.

All in all though, despite the fact that Cowboy Brave wasn’t my favorite, this series has been very enjoyable and I am happy to note that Ms. Brown has plans for Emily’s brothers, which hopefully means touching base with Longhorn Canyon again in the future.

Another heartwarming story about life on a Texas ranch. This book grabbed my attention right from the first chapter and never let me go.
The relationship between Emily and Justin builds slowly over her job at the local assisted living facility and his as a rancher. The reason this connection between them is slow is mainly due to their past experiences. Over the course of time, and thanks to angels watching over them, they begin to realize what they really want and need in their lives.
I received an arc of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

DNF'd this early on. I'm starting to think modern cowboy romances just aren't for me. I didn't like either character and their interactions felt weird and stilted.

Brown always writes wholesome, down-to-earth stories full of cowboys, ranch life, family antics, drama, building relationships, sharing lives and romance. Her books will make you smile, laugh, sometimes shed a tear and leave you with a feel-good, happy feeling when her characters’ journey comes to an end. These are some of the reasons I enjoy reading her stories, as well as the fact that the storylines are always well-paced and engaging from start to finish. The characters are also enjoyable and there are usually always some extra antics thrown in for a few extra laughs and excitement from some of the side characters; in this case, it being the Fab Five, a group of seniors living in a retirement center where Emily works and shares in their day-to-day lives. Some of the things this group comes up with are hilarious and these guys alone will have you turning pages in the book to see what they will do next. From skinny dipping to strip poker to matchmaking and more…they were a fun addition to the read and I hope they make appearances in future stories.

Justin was a good character; he was a cowboy through and through. He enjoyed working on the family ranch, was happy with his life and set in his bachelor ways; he had no desire to settle down like his brothers, he enjoyed his freedom and lifestyle too much. That was until Emily came along. There was something about her that drew him in and had him wanting to get to know her more. Maybe it was the fact that she was different than the other women he was attracted to or the fact that she did not swoon or fall at his feet when he flirted with her…whatever it was she was a mystery that he intended to solve. I enjoyed his interaction with his family, the Fab Five and with Emily. He was laid back, caring, and had a heart of gold. I liked that he always told Emily she was beautiful and perfect the way she was and did not try to change her but tried to help reassure her and help her be more confident in her own skin.

Emily, on the other hand, I had a harder time truly liking her character. She was a total contradiction and her excuse for not wanting to have anything to do with a ranch or the lifestyle because of possibly being stuck in the office doing paperwork instead of actually working on the ranch doing what she enjoyed was really flimsy. She skated around this with her family who was always trying to get her to come home and do her duty on the family ranch and in evading answers from Justin and his family’s questions regarding her life. Even though she did not outright lie, she lied by omission every time Justin asked her about her past and her life and then flew off the handle when the truth came out and blew up at him for something that was her fault. It was an overreaction and just seemed childish. She was portrayed as a strong, extremely independent character who was sweet and nurturing and loved her job but never felt settled or at home and longed for what she really wanted…to enjoy the ranch life, sans paperwork, but was very blasé about making her dream a reality; especially when Justin came into the picture basically offering her exactly what she wanted and she pushed it and him away because...again...paperwork and if she told him the truth about her true identity she might be stuck in the same boat again. So, I do not know, I just had a hard time completely wrapping myself around her character.

With that aside, I did enjoy the book. It was nice catching up with the rest of the family and getting a glimpse of what lies ahead for them all; as well as meeting new characters that hopefully will become part of the mix in future stories. The Fab Five was definitely the highlight of the book and though I was not fond of all the interaction between Emily and Justin, I was glad to see everything work out in the end and hope to see more of them in future stories, as well. Though this book can be read as a stand-alone, it would be best to start with the beginning of the series to fully enjoy the characters and the family dynamics since they overlap through the stories. Overall, Cowboy Brave was a nice addition to the series.

*I received an ARC via the publisher thru NetGalley and am providing my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own.

I loved this story! Not only are Emily and Justin incredible characters but the "Fab Five" made me laugh all the way through the book. This book is the third in the Longhorn Canyon series but it's the first one I've read. I had no problem not having read the prior books so reading as a standalone is fine. Emily left her farm girl roots long ago but she's having fun finding them again when she goes on a week long "field trip" with the unruly, matchmaking seniors that make up the Fab Five. They are staying at the Longhorn Canyon ranch and Emily's having a good time getting to know the very sexy cowboy Justin who's in charge of keeping an eye on them during their stay. Will Emily fall for the cowboy or will she return to her hard fought for city life?

I definitely recommend this one.

I love the concept of this book as I always enjoy the antics of elderly characters! However, this book had so much that bothered me, I just couldn't enjoy it. The heroine keeps shying away from a relationship with this great guy, even though there really is no reason why. She is so overprotective of the elderly residents when they are in independent living. Independent living. The mom has issues she brings up with no reason to even think the way she does. It was a long book that didn't have a very advanced plot.

Another fantastic book in the Longhorn Canyon series!

Brown starts out with a letter to the reader letting us know not to worry that this is not the last of the Longhorn Canyon series but there are more Cowboy love stories in the works!

I really enjoyed Emily and Justin’s romance. Emily with her ranching background enjoys the hard work but refuses to be stuck with the “women’s work” of keeping the books. While Justin has never considered a serious relationship he can’t seem to get Emily out of his thoughts after she spends a week on their ranch overseeing a group of seniors.

This couple was adorable but I have to admit. The Fab Five seriously stoke the show. They are definitely a hoot and I hope to see them pop in throughout the series!!

Justin has watched both his brothers find their perfect match and its made him realize there is something missing from his life. So, when Emily Baker comes strolling in, he doesn’t want to say no to anything she asks for…

Emily Baker works for the local senior housing as the activity director. Following the request of a few seniors called “the Fab Five”, Emily sets up a week at the Longhorn Canyon Ranch. The Longhorn Ranch normally runs a camp for children, but Justin is up to some more time with Emily and agrees to host the senior crew.

The Fab Five are hysterical and their antics sure bring some blushing moments to both Emily and Justin.

I wasn’t a fan of Justin’s mother’s response to Emily. It just seemed off from the rest of the series.

Brown write characters you’d pick as friends. They are real and fun, creating a strong connection to the plot. I found Cowboy Brave fast, fun and filled with a ton of laugh out loud moments.

My review copy did not include the second book.

I received this ARC copy of Cowboy Brave from Forever (Grand Central Publishing). This is my honest and voluntary review. Cowboy Brave is set for publication Jan. 08, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Carolyn Brown
Series: Longhorn Canyon
Sequence in Series: Book 3
Mass Market Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
ISBN-10: 1538744937
ISBN-13: 978-1538744932
Genre: Western Contemporary Romance

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Brave-b...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cowb...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cowb...

Want more check us out on Tome Tender Book Blog or on Facebook

7 likes

Cowboy Brave is the third book in Carolyn Brown's Longhorn Canyon series, a series I've been following all along, having only read the second novel in the series about a week ago, and absolutely loving it. I wish I could say the same for this novel, but I can't, and while it was an enjoyable read for the most part, it simply didn't measure up to either of the two previous novels and I can only give it a 3-star rating.

Cowboy Brave is Justin's story, the last single man on the Longhorn Canyon Ranch and the youngest, at just 30 years of age. His only romantic relationships so far have been a long, long string of one-night stands with the pretty, slender, blonde bar bunnies he picks up on Saturday nights at the local honky tonk, the Rusty Spur, brings them home, has sex with them, and that's about it until he picks up another one the following Saturday night. But he's just seen his two brothers find the loves of their lives in the past two novels, and suddenly begins to feel like a fifth wheel on the ranch. While this novel works just fine as a standalone, I strongly suggest you read the previous novels in the order written, as it will enhance your understanding of the family dynamics.

The heroine in this novel is Emily, a size 18, "big girl", as she is often referred to in this novel (and kudos to Ms. Brown for including a heroine who isn't a size 4). She's from a ranching family, but wanted more out of life, left her family ranch, got her degree and is employed at a retirement/nursing home, where five of the residents, all 70-somethings, without family, children or grandchildren, have bonded with one another and now call themselves the Fab Five, and they want to get away for a week. None of them are seriously ill, and most grew up on either farms or ranches and miss that lifestyle. They bargain with Emily to arrange a one-week getaway for them at the Longhorn Canyon Ranch after reading the publicity it received for taking in inner-city kids for the summer to give them the ranch experience (read Cowboy Bold for that story).

When Emily meets Justin and arranges for the trip, Justin, used to flirting with every woman he meets, starts flirting with her, and soon she and the Fab Five arrive for their week on the ranch, and what a week it is. The Fab Five are the feistiest, wackiest, most fun-loving seniors you'd ever want to meet, and their ongoing shenanigans, from playing strip poker, to joy riding on ATVs, to wanting a chance to do some bull-riding, and the scenes of Emily's attempts to rein in some of their enthusiasm are absolutely hilarious and were a joy to read. Justin, and the rest of the family on the ranch welcome the Fab Five with open arms and open hearts, and for this reader, that was the best part of this novel.

What didn't really work for me was the relationship between Justin and Emily. While his family liked and accepted her, (all except his mother, who was totally bitchy to Emily, thinking her nothing but a gold digger), and Justin found himself wanting more than a one-night stand with her, Emily simply wasn't buying his flirtatious ways at first. Justin sure did try his best though, and he eventually succeeded in getting Emily into bed, and getting Emily over her inhibitions about showing her less than perfect body to him, a body he things is perfectly curvy and sexy as it is. Again, kudos to Ms. Brown for realizing that most big girls tend to be shy about revealing bodies that would never make the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

However, what seemed to be missing from this romance, although there were quite a few romantic gestures from Justin, was the feeling of a deep, emotional connection and understanding between these two characters. Emily wanted to get away from her own family ranch and live in a city, and she clearly resented her mother and grandmother constantly trying to get her to come back home to their ranch, and then there's Justin, her exact opposite, who loved ranching, and felt that it was his true calling. They seemed like two people who had little in common, although they were certainly compatible sexually, but Emily was keeping a secret from Justin, and when he accidentally discovered what that secret was, he didn't handle it well, nor did these two characters spend much time really getting to know one another on more than a superficial and physical level.

While I didn't miss a ton of drama, character development and angst in the previous novel in this series, Cowboy Honor, I certainly missed it in this one, and by the time we arrive at the expected HEA ending, I still felt that I really didn't know either of the main characters well, or why Justin was suddenly attracted to a big gal when he'd only ever pursued perfect 10s before meeting Emily, or learning that the driving force that drove Emily away from her family ranch was the fact that she didn't like doing paperwork? Really? It seemed a flimsy excuse, and yet there's plenty of paperwork involved in her job at the retirement home, not to mention her complete about-face and willingness to return to ranching life at Longhorn Canyon. I found that I kept trying to connect the dots in their relationship, but that some of the dots were missing, and I've clearly been spoiled by the previous two novels in this series, this one being by least favorite so far.

Since Emily's two brothers were introduced in this novel and are considering buying the ranch that adjoins Longhorn Canyon, and Emily's friend and co-worker Nikki, another secondary character we meet in this novel, has been unsuccessful at love, I'm assuming that some, if not all, of these characters will appear in upcoming novels in this series, and hopefully Ms. Brown will give these characters a bit more depth in those novels than she did in this one.

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

Cowboy Brave by Carolyn Brown was an enjoyable story that I highly recommend! This is book three in the Longhorn Canyon series.It was so well written and had numerous characters. This is Justin and Emily's romance story. I loved Justin and the senior home's "Fabulous Five" group. Emily took awhile for me to enjoy as she had so many uncertainties about relationships and her body image that it was a bit annoying. But after awhile she won me over...as she did Justin. Carolyn Brown is such a good story teller and one of my favorite authors! Read this story and I am sure you will agree!

Once again Carolyn Brown has brought us a story that brings a smorgasbord of characters that make us want to be friends with or love. Her heroine is a strong and a get it done kind of gal. She works as the entertainment director of a nursing home and her fav residents are lovingly known as "The Fab 5". She takes them for a week at the Longhorn Canyon Ranch in the off season and lets them enjoy all the ranch has to offer and brings them back to their days when they lived on one. Justin Maguire is the head of the retreat and lets the these five residents live their youth again. They get into some high jinx that make you want to join in with them. They made me lol and cry at the same time. And they headed Justin and Emily towards one another and set them both on a new course in life..
For me this was the best book in the series, although I loved them all. Carolyn Brown never disappoints me and I can't wait to see what she has for us next.
I was given freely a copy of this book to review by Netgalley.

Another great story by Carolyn Brown! The characters just pop out of the book and you fall in love! Justin is one sexy cowboy that loves the ladies, never met one that he wanted to stay the morning after until a group of fun loving senior citizens and their chaperon rented the bunkhouses on his ranch. Emily had moved away from her ranching family but once she stepped foot on Justin's ranch it was feeling more like home than she wanted to admit. Corralling her elderly charges was harder than containing monkeys on a barrel, Emily wasn't ready for her reaction to the sexy cowboy but the attraction was sizzling! Fun read! Great humor, fun characters and just the right amount of steaminess!

A heartwarming tale in the continuing Longhorn Canyon series.
When Activity Director Emily Baker meets with one of the owners of the Longhorn Ranch to try to book a week for 5 of the residents in the nursing home / independent living center, she succeeds in scoring them a week long field trip, that they desperately wanted.
Always a feisty and fun group, they give her a run for the money. Emily and Justin hit it off and grow very close, despite his misconception she's a city girl..
This is a sweet, sexy cowboy romance full of humor, good friends and loving family. The love story is fantastic, and the seniors......their story is a mix, I felt bad they ended up at the home, but find their spirit and friendship adorable. Their characters were so complete, the scenes ran like a video in my head. I was so happy with the resolution Ms. Brown gave them
Hallmark Channel.....this would be a Great movie.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC much to my delight and recommend this book to all my friends. You don't want to miss it.

3.5 stars. First off, I enjoyed this story, in part due to being a Recreation Therapist (which means I did Emily's job in a nursing home). The Fab 5 were very funny, and really helped carry this novel along. The romance itself was decent, and the chemistry was great. I would have liked some feeling behind Emily's past issues - it felt like it was stated as a fact and the reader had to assume how she would have felt. I also thought that Emily's protest against ranch life was based on one comment from her brother saying she would be in charge of the ranch paper work after college - where as she only had to say- nope that's not the role I want on the ranch. So Emily herself was really difficult to grasp as she really didn't seem honest with herself as to what she wanted with her life. The H Justin was pretty good, I quite liked him. Overall, this novel while having some funny parts it fell flat in the conflict aspect as I just had issues seeing Emily's point of view, and found the plot moved a little slow. This is the third book in the series, and can be read as a standalone without confusion. *I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This book had me laughing so hard! I absolutely love Carolyn Brown. She is a wonderful story teller and I was actually introduced to her books on my trip to FL this year. I love Emily and she is a lovley, strong and independent lady that has been burned by cowboys before. It seems like Emily is always comparing her own parents to the type of relationship she strives for. Honestly my favorite part of this book is when we are introduced to the "fab five. (The elderly group) Emily got a job as an activity director at a senior home. These elderly people act young at heart and will do some of the darnest things. . Justin on the other hand is a single, good looking cowboy that must prove himself to be with Emily. You will fall in love with these character's from the very beginning and this author will never disappoint you!

Carolyn Brown novels NEVER disappoint. I recently found her via Kindle Unlimited and have found myself loving her easy to love characters and great storytelling.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't impressed with this cowboy romance. Very clichéd and uninspiring. Emily is staying at Justin's board house with several of her senior citizens that she takes care of for a weekend. The senior citizens are hilarious and always getting into trouble but that's as funny and engaging as the novel gets. Emily and Justin circle around each other for a bit with Emily afraid to commit to anything. Justin falls quickly in love and convinces her to give them a try. If you want a simple, cowboy love story with a bit of humor try this one.

Here’s the thing. I can have a dozen or more books on my tablet but when I get a new one by Carolyn Brown it always jumps to the top of the list. Simply put Carolyn Brown is one of my go to authors when I want a feel good story that will make me smile. And so I expected nothing less from the latest in her Longhorn Canyon series COWBOY BRAVE. My daughter and her friends ask if I’m reading another mom book and I tell her – yes I certainly am. Carolyn Brown has brought me a lot of joy over the years. Welcome to COWBOY BRAVE.
Learning to separate yourself from your past is a difficult part of growth. Sometimes it’s an event that triggers a feeling of inadequacy or self-consciousness. Or a word or deed that leaves an indelible imprint on who you are. Why is it so important what people think of you. When is it okay to look at your own reflection with pride and confidence. Does it take being loved. What if secure in the love of your family shouldn’t that provide a great measure of confidence.
Smart women know better than to judge themselves by other people’s standards. Emily Baker is smart with a warm inviting personality. She is also gorgeous. But and isn’t there always a but – Emily is a woman with a large build. Tall and curvy. So her luck with dating hasn’t gone that well. The creeps had agendas. And Emily was left doubting herself because of them.
Justin Maguire has been a very busy single guy. Has kept to mostly one night stands. Doesn’t make promises except for a good time. Meeting Emily has made Justin take a good long look at himself.
Part of Emily’s memories is a moment when all she wanted was that special Valentine card. She is a true romantic at heart and it is so important to be the love of someone’s life. She sees that in her parents’ marriage. And she isn’t really willing to accept less. Big boots to fill and it’s going to take a big guy to fill them. Emily is finished with cowboys. Her job has brought her to town working in a senior center with some pretty terrific people. In particular a group she calls the Fab Five. Older than dirt but as spry as they come the Fab Five keep her on her toes and they have become her extended family.
No one would guess that Emily is actually from a ranch. Her family has a large spread in Texas. In fact larger than the Longhorn ranch. But she is determined to make her life away from places like her family home although it is very obvious there is a lot of cowgirl in Emily. It would seem you can take the girl out of the ranch but you can’t take the ranch out of the girl.
Justin sees just how amazing Emily is in all so many ways. She is great with the Fab Five. Loves people and animals. Not afraid of hard work. Just about perfect. And let’s not forget the fact that Justin thinks Emily is gorgeous. Justin is going to have his work cut out for him if he is going to persuade Emily that he is a very special cowboy. Justin already knows that his Emily is special. Now he has to show her just how special she is.
When you read how Justin decides how to show Emily how special she is to him you will surely sigh.
Vintage Carolyn Brown at work.