Cleo promised her friend that if anything happened to her she would take care of her boys and keep them together. that day has now come and with the social worker coming down on her and she is fearing losing the boys she turns to her friend Judd. He a sheriff was really not looking at a family but he has always liked or loved Cleo so he has agreed to help her. will that include marriage? A good story with good characters.

Love was the last thing on this untamed cowboy’s mind…until she stole his heart away.

Cleo Delaney will do anything to keep her promise and raise her best friend’s sons — even if it means telling a little white lie to the state to keep them. So Cleo turns to the only person she can trust to help her - her first love, Judd Laramie. If he fosters the three young brothers in name only, she’ll do all the heavy lifting. It’s a foolproof plan…but she never imagined that the feelings they once shared would return. With a vengeance.

Texas deputy Judd Laramie is stunned by Cleo’s request. Being a dad—even on paper—is the last thing this cowboy needs right now. But no one knows better than Judd how flawed the foster system is and how much these brothers need Cleo’s protective love. What starts as a simple lie becomes so much more, and soon it’s clear Judd needs Cleo and the family they’ve created as much as they need him. Now he’ll do whatever it takes to win Cleo’s heart and claim the future they all deserve.

I loved this book! I mean Judd is just swoon worthy! The characters are engaging and you can feel the chemistry between them.

I received a digital arc from NetGalley for an honest review

Hot Texas Sunrise is the second installment in the Coldwater, Texas Series. Judd is a Deputy in Coldwater and his life is about to implode. Cleo was also a foster child that was there when the Laramie brothers were their but she ended up leaving. Now she is back in Judd’s life after Buck’s health scare but that is not the only reason Judd is back in her life she would like for him to foster her best friend’s children. They were 3 boys and they had a rough life living with their grandmother and it had not been long since their mother died. Judd knows that he can’t take them in because of his situation and Cleo is not able to take them in also because she has a record so Judd’s older brother decided to step up. They are going to go through a roller coaster ride with grandmother but also they are going to have to deal with the emotions of the children. The children have a lot of trust issues and the oldest is the one that takes care of his baby brothers and will do anything to protect them. Judd is going to be tempted into drinking and Cleo will be there to help him out but in the end I love how Judd steps up. Cleo and Judd are going to go through many ups and downs with the children but they are both going to learn so much of what they are capable of doing.

This is a must read and I can’t wait to read the next book which is Nico’s turn to have his happily ever after.

This book from Delores Fossen is pretty entertaining!!!! I mean who would have the guts to raise three kids and rope in a Texas Deputy to be their Father so she doesn't lose her best friend's kids? That's Cleo Delaney for you. Just the plot alone gives an inkling of how this story would go - kids, a deputy and of course humorous situations and a dose of love.

Warm hearted read!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

Heart-wrenching, but sweet and sexy at the same time! Cleo and Judd were a slow burn, almost second chance story. They had history, and both had not so good childhoods, but they definitely worked together to figure out how to take care of the boys. Even if Judd was reluctant, he was in from the first.

Hot Texas Sunrise is the second book in Delores Fossen's Coldwater Texas series, and the second book in the series I've read and reviewed, but it certainly can be read as a standalone novel. First, the title of this novel had absolutely nothing to do with the content of this novel whatsoever or the serious issues with which it deals, and while I loved that Ms. Fossen took a good hard look at alcoholism as well as the realities of the foster care system and its lifelong, negative effects on some of the children placed into the system and fostered by people who should never be allowed to be foster parents, I felt that the romance part of this second chance at love story gave romance short-shrift, and seemed to confuse lust with love, which felt somewhat contrived. Additionally, the the happily-ever-ending was far to abrupt and desperately in need of an epilogue, which is why I was unable to give this novel more than a 3.5 star rating.

The story centers on Cleo, herself a product of the foster care system, Deputy Judd Laramie and his brothers, who all met while growing up in the system, and finally ending up at a good foster home, but as for the Laramie brothers, especially Judd, the nightmares and PTSD caused by his previous placements at dreadful and appallingly violent and abusive foster homes left its scars on his soul, and eventually led him to drown his nightmares and memories in a whiskey bottle for over a decade, and, as the novel opens, he's managed to stay sober for one year, but as is true for most alcoholics, they're lucky if they can manage to stay sober one day at a time.

Suddenly, into his life walks Cleo Delaney, who shared his foster home at the ranch for several years, and whom he deflowered at her request when she was just 16. She knows all about his issues with alcohol, but she's desperately in need of his help. Cleo's best friend, Miranda, was diagnosed with cancer, and died within weeks of that diagnosis, intending to leave her 4 sons to Cleo, but the paperwork was never signed or notarized. The four boys are currently living with their only other relative, their alcoholic and abusive grandmother, Lavinia, and they have the bruises to prove it, and Cleo wants them out of her clutches before she can do more harm to the boys or place them in the foster care system. Cleo knows that her having a juvenile record, as well as an arrest at 18, and currently owning a bar would be huge stumbling blocks in her path to foster her best friend's children, so she's there to ask Judd if he could possibly be their foster father in name only, but he's unwilling to step in--fearing it might affect his sobriety. Luckily, Buck and Rosy, who own the ranch, and Judd's brother, Kace, open their hearts to these boys, and everyone in their circle of friends is willing to pitch in and help raise them in a loving environment, but Lavinia wants them back (heaven knows why) and isn't above making trouble, especially for Cleo, whom she hates for no reason I was able to discern.

To further complicate matters, Beckham, the eldest brother is a runner, and he knows that if fostered out, he and his brothers will be separated. That's exactly what happened to Judd, whose 2 younger brothers were so badly beaten at the foster home they were sent to that they nearly died--something for which he still feels guilty about but which he couldn't possibly have changed. It also seems that in the 17 years since Judd last saw Cleo, the lust he felt for her and the lust she felt for him have never gone away, and while they are back together again, these two can't keep their hands off one another, although Judd wants recreational sex only (rec sex), not a relationship, and Cleo is willing to comply. While I love a second chance at romance story, this wasn't really it--while the steamy scenes were fine, there was no romance involved, and Judd castigates himself immediately after each encounter, and still wants nothing to do with the orphaned boys, now living with his foster father, Buck and his brother Kace.

There are some lighter moments in this novel too. The youngest of the four orphans is Little Leo, a total charmer, and Judd's AA sponsor, Mercy, who is a hoot and a half. It was hard not to fall in love with these 4 boys, and Beckham's protectiveness of his siblings, as well as all the other characters at the ranch, and despite the rec sex between Judd and Cleo, at no time was the welfare of those 4 boys put on the back burner. Slowly, Judd and Beckham become closer because Judd sees himself in Beckham, and doesn't want to see him experience what Judd and his brothers experienced in foster care. Cleo keeps trying to get Judd involved in their care, but he still doesn't want the pressures of parenthood, which might possibly send him back to the bottle.

There are plenty of triggers in this novel, abandonment, domestic abuse, child abuse and neglect feature prominently, but all are handled with sincere kindness and concern. There is also graphic sex, so I'd place this novel in the adults only category. While it was hard not to feel sympathy for the sexy, tortured, self-doubting, and closed off Judd Laramie, his unwillingness to open his heart to the 4 boys, and to Cleo, made him somewhat less of a sympathetic character than I had hoped he would be. Yes, there's an HEA ending in the last few pages of this novel, but as I stated at the outset, it was far too rushed and incomplete, and far less emotionally satisfying than it might have been, and frankly, I was rather disappointed by it. While the novel had it's problems, kudos to Ms. Fossen for tackling such a serious and real issue as the downside of the foster care system and the children stuck in nightmarish foster homes.

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

Hot Texas Sunrise by Delores Fossen is the second book in the Cold Water Texas series. I love this work by Fossen. She always seems to keep me so entranced in her work that nothing else seems to be of importance. Judd and Cleo are absolutely no different. I loved this story.

Another book that is written by Delores Fossen. She has a way of writing that keeps you focused from the first sentence to the last word. Thank you for allowing me to read it.

This is a second chance romance that will tug at your heartstrings. Cleo Delaney and Judd Laramie have a history. Cleo is in a tough spot and needs Judd’s help in fostering three boys. Unfortunately, Cleo has a few strikes against her so she can’t foster her friend’s boys. Judd also has an issue that he has to work through as well. Cleo, Judd and Judd’s family work very hard to keep the boys despite all of the obstacles facing them. This story touches on many issues as well; alcoholism, foster care, child abuse, mistakes made in youth, and adoption. Ms Fossen touches on all of these topics throughout the story. She also shows that there is room for forgiveness in order to achieve your happily ever after. Enjoyed this story.

There are few authors who can get me as enamored with a story as Delores Fossen does with her excellent, engaging storytelling talent and her way to use the English language. And Hot Texas Sunrise -- I just loved it, every word, scene and moment of it as I was simultaneously sobbing, laughing, swooning and falling in love.
Prepare yourself for an emotional ride that will pull all the feels into the surface.
Even with the mighty serious subjects of child neglect, abuse, and foster care challenges, and alcoholism, through the tale, there is a tiny line of hope following each challenge that the life throws at the brothers. There is that faith that things will turn better, that everything will work out, as long as we stick together and have each other's back. And that they do. They might have shown some tough love at times, but they are always there for each other.
Judd Laramie was so delightfully easy to fall for, completely. His humble kindness, his sense of humor, his way to look at life and the people he interacts with, he won me over from the start, no doubt about it. He struggles with his demons from his challenging childhood, yet he is honest about them and doesn't hide behind the troubles, but is trying to move forward.
Cleo Delaney is a feisty, spirited, determined, and brave, a true heroine doing her best to save the kids of a friend who passed away. Her passion for life and everything she engages with is admirable and fiery, as she gives her all every waking moment.
The connetion between Cleo and Judd goes all the way to their teenage years, as does the burning chemistry between them, the attraction that has been there for always. It is a tangible force, that takes off like a hurricane, and there is nothing they can do to stop it, so they just enjoy the ride (the pun intended.)
Hot Texas Sunrise is a story of survival, a family of heart, the strong bonds of brothers, and about resurrection and love. It is a tangled mess, it is fervent and intense. It has such hilarious unexpected humor in the most serious situations, and it has the feels, all the emotions on the surface as the story unfolds. I savored each moment of the tale, pacing myself, so I could catch each nuance and twist, take pleasure in a story while getting to know Judd and Cleo, and the whole wanton bunch at the Coldwater ranch.
~ Five Spoons!

Cleo's best friend past away leaving her son's in her care. Thing is the unfit grandmother is putting up a fuss. Cleo also hasn't had the best past and has a criminal record from when she was young. So she turned to deputy Judd who had a similar past with foster care and see if he can care for the boy in name only because shed be doing the work. But the grandmother is looking for ways to discredit the two and get her grandchildren at whatever means necessary.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting seeing the lengths that Cleo would go to to make sure the boys where in her care. Shes not above asking for help and she really trusted Judd. Judd has his own issues with the bottle and really doesn't need this stress but will also do everything he can to help Cleo and make sure these boy's stay together because in foster care they take the risk of being separated and these two know what its like. I loved seeing the romance and there was plenty of steamy scenes. I loved that there was plenty of drama going on to keep things interesting as well because that grandmother wasn't' going to go away without a fight. Overall it was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.

This enjoyable read is filled with emotions and some deep issues. The well crafted story pulls you in and has fully invested in the outcome. I liked Cleo a lot and I hated what she was going through. I felt for Judd but many of his actions (or inactions) really annoyed me. A very emotional read.

3.5/5 stars

[I received a digital arc from NetGalley for an honest review]

Hot Texas Sunrise is the second book in Delores Fossen's Coldwater Texas series but can be read as a standalone novel.

Deputy Judd Laramie was greatly impacted by the negative experience he had in foster care before he found a good home. It turned him into an alcoholic, and he is one year sober when a blast from his past turns his world upside down. Cleo spent the most memorable part of her childhood living alongside Judd in foster care but it's been a long time when she shows up asking him for a favor. With her spotty record, she's having trouble gaining custody over her late friends three children. Cleo will do whatever is necessary to keep the boys together, but she has an up hill battle ahead of her. Through all the chaos Cleo and Judd have trouble ignoring the chemistry that's still between them, but all the stress and tension may be too much for Judd to handle.

The main focus of the story is Cleo keeping the three boys out of the foster care system. The romance tends to take a back set to these adorable boys, which was fine because it made the story realistic. Yes, Cleo and Judd give into their carnal desires but it never once took priority over matter with the family.

The characters in Hot Texas Sunrise were a wonderful crew. They were honest and there was plenty of playful banter. Cleo was strong and caring and didn't play games with Judd. She expressed her feelings without regret and wasn't bashful when it came to intimacy. Sometimes I felt like she was too much for Judd to handle, and he was scrambling to keep up. Judd was the sexy, tortured cowboy who hide his feelings. He was really great with the boys though because he could relate and didn't want them to go through what he had gone through. Those three boys mad the entire story for me, they broke my heart and put a smile on my face.

Overall, Hot Texas Sunrise was a nice addition to the Coldwater Texas series. I have my hopes set on Nico being my favorite, so I can't wait for his story.

Big hearted Cleo takes in a friend's 3 boys after she dies with a promise to protect them and give them everything possible. Problem is, the state foster system won't allow Cleo to care for the boys, whose grandmother is neglectful and hateful to the children. She goes to her long time friend and love, Judd Laramie, who agreed to temporarily foster the boys.

Never did either one of them expect to fall in love again and the complications that would arise from their feelings.

No one, absolutely no one writers sassy women and sexy cowboys like Delores Fossen. She's the Queen!
I highly recommend this book.

This was a cold hard look into the realities of the foster care system. When Cleo is trying to raise her beset friends kids, she is denied because of her past. So she tries to recruit her old friend and one time fling. He was a product of the system so he understands how important it is to find someone who cares. The threat that the boys won't stay, the mean drunk grandmother threatening them, and the foster system itself. I could feel the fear and pain that the boys displayed which is telling of a well written story. Bravo!

This was an extremely touching story about a man and a woman with troubled pasts who had bonded when they lived together as foster children. Now they’re trying to make something of themselves, but Cleo, who has a minor arrest record and owns a bar, needs help getting custory of her best friend’s three sons. She asks Judd for help, but he’s a recovering alcoholic and doesn’t think he can take on the responsibility. Luckily, his brothers and their former foster father step up to collectively take care of the three troubled boys who have suddenly lost their mother.

Throw in an evil grandmother and an unsympathetic Child Protective Services bureaucrat who can’t seem to understand that, sometimes, an irregular household filled with love is better than any other sort of foster home.

As they struggle to work out a solution to keep the boys, Cleo and Judd come to realize how much they mean to each other. I enjoyed the whole dynamic of this extended family and their friends in the small Texas town. And the three boys will win your heart.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

What do you do when your best friend dies and wants you to raise her children. That is the dilemma driving the plot in Hot Texas Sunrise. The kids are interesting, the adults helpful, and the problems are many. I loved the way Cleo and Judd react and how they work together. It was also great to see how they worried about how events would affect the other. Great characters, interesting plot and some fun moments kept this a hard to put down story.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Coldwater Texas series. I thought this was a good addition to the series. I enjoyed the first one and this one. This was a quick read for me, I didn't want to stop reading. Highly recommended!

Cleo Delaney is the kind of woman I'd love to have as a friend.  Funny, feisty, and loyal to a fault, she's the person you'd call in a pinch.  She's also the perfect person to wrangle her friend Miranda's three orphaned sons.  Her promise to Miranda coupled with her love of the boys made me really want to root for her to gain custody.  Her business partner, Daisy, was an amusing addition as well, always supporting Cleo and helping to guide her in the right direction.  

Judd Laramie is one hot cowboy deputy.  In addition to being Judd the Stud, he's also an upstanding man with a history of alcoholism.  I think that his sobriety is approached in a realistic way with real worries.  His sponsor, Mercy, was one of the brightest spots of the book.  Although she was a little over the top, she was often needed comic relief.  Judd's relationship with Cleo as well as with the boys was sweet and heartfelt, but I wish he'd have stepped up sooner.  There were a ton of opportunities, but he never did.  I have no doubt he was probably feeling cut out of the situation as well as doubting his ability to help due to his past, but he really could have said, "Wait, I want to help!" long before he actually did.  That said, the way he reached out to Beckham was wonderful.  He saw a lot of himself in the kid and it showed.  

As a parent, the blurb caught me hook, line, and sinker.  Who can resist three young boys who have not only lost their mother but are also about to be thrown into foster care because their only living relative doesn't want them?  The way Cleo, Judd, and the entire Laramie clan came together to keep these boys together was truly heart-warming.  Although this is only my second book by this author, it's definitely not going to be my last.  She's proven to me that she can write varied and enjoyable romance novels with characters that are not just likable, but relatable as well.