Wanted to love this one after enjoying the other books in this series. It went downhill super early on because of Adam. He had the audacity to be mad at Holly because she just wanted to make a living. He made assumptions about her and treat her like crap because she turned on the charm to get tips at her job. I never got over how he treated her and that made this romance something I didn't want to root for.

This was a little too much of a standard romance, no deviations, for my taste. I appreciated the holiday setting and think it would be great for folks looking for a Hallmark movie in book form!

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro

Review:

Holly Dawson works as a waitress at Wades’s saloon, Painted Barrel’s lone restaurant, but her passion is baking. As the only breadwinner in her family, Holly provides for her younger sister Polly and all her college expenses. Holly became an orphan at eighteen and has been taking care of her sister ever since. Holly is determined to become a full time baker, but so far none of the local bakeries are looking to hire, and the only place she can showcase her baking abilities is at the restaurant baking everyday’s sandwich bread, which is a great success with the customers, but not enough for Wade to let her sell more of her baked goods.

Adam Calhoun works at the Flat C Ranch owned by the town’s mayor Sage and her veteran husband Jason (A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe). His first encounter with Holly did not go well and ever since, Adam has been leaving one dollar tips for Holly, which infuriates her. To Adam’s surprise, Holly is hired by Sage to cook and clean while the family and other workers are away for the holidays, leaving Adam alone with Holly. Once more, nothing starts off good between them, clashing immediately and earning Adam simple brown paper bagged lunches. Anger gets the best of Adam, making him sabotage Holly’s contest cake by adding salt. This cake was going to be Holly’s big breakthrough at a chance to get noticed by bakeries with possible job offers, but Adam’s prank went too far. Now, Holly has lost the desire to bake for fear of repeating a salty cake. Adam is feeling guiltier than ever when he finds out baking is Holly’s dream.

Holly Jolly Cowboy was such a sweet holiday story! I loved all the past couples that made special appearances, especially when we get to read what they have been up to! Such as knowing that Sage and Jason are expecting a third baby! I also loved the Great British Bake Off show vibes and all the new baking tips I learned from Holly.

Holly and Adam have a very spicy and sweet relationship throughout the book. I was so nervous when Adam ruined Holly’s cake. She had put all her hopes in it to win. Not only for her sister’s tuition, but for herself and her baking dream. Unfortunately for Adam, he buried himself too deep in the prank, lies, and fell for Holly, her baking and cooking, making him confess and pay for his wrong doings.

We’re into the seventh book in the series and every time I think I have my top favorite books, one comes and ruins my list. Same goes with top favorite couples! The Wyoming Cowboy series has been such a delight to read. All the books have been too sweet to pass by, with stories full of charming characters, not to mention dashing cowboys. If you haven’t started reading this series, it’s not too late to start. You’ll fall in love with the Wyoming cowboys!

Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7). By Jessica Clare. Berkley Books. 2021. (ARC eBook).

Holly is a hard working waitress who desires to be a successful baker in her hometown, Painted Barrel, WY. After an acrimonious divorce, Navy veteran Adam Calhoun has been working as a ranch hand at the Flat C Ranch. The two go together like oil and water, but slowly, Holly cooks her way into Adam’s heart. Adam is no sweetheart (like my series favorite, Caleb Watson from book 5), but Clare has a knack for keeping readers invested to the end for the happy ever afters. Holly Jolly Cowboy is another entertaining and solid installment to the series.

The snow gently fell and covered the pasture outside the window as she breathed in the aroma of a fresh pie baking in the oven. It was a serene scene, painting a picture of the holiday season upon them. As she continued to watch the peaceful snowfall… he came into view… corralling the cattle. Her heart sped up, but not because she liked him… she actually vehemently hated the man.

Holly Jolly Cowboy was an enemies to lovers tale with all the baked good sweetness and fuming hate and angst between two people who can’t get along. Holly works as a waitress doing her best to scrounge up tips to survive, but her true dream is to bake. And Adam is the rude cowboy who blatantly leaves her a dollar tip to spite her. She can’t stand him and he certainly can’t stand her. This book has the perfect ingredients for an enemies to lovers battle and a dash of Christmas magic.

If you like your holiday reads with steam and a feisty enemies to lovers showdown… then you’ll want to get your hands on this book!

TW: Divorce, Infidelity, Death of Parents.

I stayed up way past my bedtime reading this book and I don't regret a thing! I have enjoyed this series so much and this particular installment did not disappoint. The characters, the story, the pacing, all of it just really hit the spot! Of course I wanted to grab the hero by the throat and shake him a couple of times in the beginning but man, when he found it, and trusted it...chef's kiss. And our heroine's reaction to the beginning betrayal was perfectly pitched. Great story, will definitely recommend!

Jessica Clare is a favorite and this book was a gem. I absolutely adored it. The cover drew me in and honestly it fit the story perfectly. Highly recommend it!

Nothing quite puts me in the holiday spirit like an asshole cowboy and the sweet-as-pie waitress who hates him getting it on.

I love Jessica Clare's holiday books so much.

Potentially mild spoilers because it’s a rant.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely adored the heroine - Holly. But oh my word, the hero - Adam, was one of the most annoying, childish, petty characters that I’ve read in a while. He was intentionally mean and rude and infuriating. While Holly is hardworking and determined, Adam is a pain in the ass. He intentionally ruins one of Holly’s baking projects because he asked Holly to do something and she did but then he didn’t like that. He never tells her and makes her question her abilities. He’s an absolute ass to her but somehow she falls in love with him? This was the most justified third act break up that I’ve ever read and I didn’t want them to get back together. Holly deserved better. Adam did pull it together for some pretty A+ grovelling, but it felt rushed and intense. I both loved and hated this story all at the same time.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-galley. All thoughts are my own.

Such a sweet fun story. I loved Holly and her passion for everything she does. A sweet fun romance and a dash of enemies to lovers makes this holiday romance a perfect holiday read.

What could have been better?
Literally the whole reason Adam (the main man) didn’t like our man girl Holly was dumb and I kind of hated him at first, so it made the first 50 or so pages harder to get in to. Also some of the enemies to lovers felt like the characters should be younger than I think they were. Also, there wasn’t a bunch of character development, just a bit static.

What I enjoyed?

I thought it was sweet and fluffy.

It gave me lots and lots of Christmas vibes.

I loved the main character Holly, she was dependable, caring and had a heart of gold.

I liked to watch the two characters fall in love.

The steam scenes were excellent!

It was a very quick read.

If you like hallmark movies and enemies to lovers stories? I would try this one out!

WARNING: This book May make you hungry!

I was a little hesitant about Adam at the beginning of this story. His poor treatment of Holly because he was bothered that her freindly flirting as a waitress wasn't reserved for only him and the pettiness and anger that he dragged out for far too long was not a good look. Yes, Holly gave him a hard time as well, but only in response to his behavior. When his anger and pettiness get the best of him and he sabatoges her without knowing exactly what he was messing up for her, I really thought there was no way he could redeem himself. Yet, somehow, the way that he fought so hard to get Holly to take care of herself first for once and the way he supported and encouraged her to follow her dreams really resonated with me and won me over.

Holly was a strong and loyal character who devoted her life to making sure that her sister got through college and enjoyed her time while there. Mostly at the expense of her happiness and dreams. I love that loyalty but I'm so happy that she was able to realize that she needed to put herself first once in while.

I absolutely loved Adam and Holly together. This was a great addition to the Wyoming Cowboy series!!

*I received an ARC from NetGalley for voluntary review

HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY is the seventh book in Jessica Clare’s “Wyoming Cowboys” series. This story is a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Readers should keep that in mind before starting this book. The story is told from alternating perspectives so that the reader gets the insight into the two main characters that they wish they had when it comes to understanding each other. Local waitress Holly Dawson is a hard worker with dreams of using her love of baking to make a living. Adam Calhoun is a former soldier and current cowboy who has a huge chip on his shoulder due to his cheating ex-wife. These two characters clash in a big way before eventually making peace and falling in love.

Adam is a big bag of unresolved emotional issues and landmines. He doesn’t consider himself to be a jerk, but that’s what he comes across as to Holly. I was initially unsure if I could continue reading this book after seeing how prickly Adam was to Holly. I usually prefer charming heroes or those who are sweet but shy. If part of the story wasn’t told from Adam’s perspective, I wouldn’t have been able to keep reading. His ex-wife sneaky ways and insincerity colors how he views relationships and women like Holly that he may be attracted to. He has a difficult road to self-awareness, but he does realize how unfair he was to Holly. He messes up in an epic way, but he makes good in an equally big way. More importantly, Jessica Clare shows the development in his thought process, his emotional growth, and the genuine pain and guilt he feels for his words and actions while he was under the wrong impression. I hate when a hero is a jerk in a story, has a sudden epiphany late in the book, and expects one grand gesture to make up for everything. That’s not how things work in real life, and that’s not how it works in this story. Apologies without self-awareness and growth ring a little hollow. Thankfully that’s not the case here.

Holly isn’t perfect, and spending time with Adam after they become friendly helps her learn to take time for herself rather than remain always the selfless big sister. Most of Holly’s decisions revolve around helping support her brainy younger sister while she’s at college. Holly is a mother figure to Polly and the weight of that financial and emotional responsibility can be suffocating at times. It’s amusing seeing Adam and Holly’s relationship from the perspective of their friends and fellow citizens of the small town of Painted Barrel, Wyoming. Others are quicker to pick up on the attraction than this couple is. Getting an extra job cooking and cleaning for the cowboys at the Flat C Ranch puts some extra cash in Holly’s pocket. What follows is a battle of wills between Holly and Adam until Adam realizes Holly’s not the woman he thought she was, and tries to make up for his previously horrid behavior. Once they’re feeling more friendly toward each other, sexy times soon follow.

HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY is a complicated love story about two complicated people who have to work for their shot at happiness. It was nice seeing characters from other books in the series. I look forward to Jessica Clare’s next book.

Holly Jolly Cowboy was entertaining story for an enemies to lovers’ story. The transformation these two to go from snarking and bickering to being in love took some time, but how they got there was a true feat. Holly Dawson was a waitress on a mission to becoming a baker and did her best to make good tips. Unfortunately, Adam Calhoun didn’t like this particular trait and saw it as ingenuous and only tipped 1 dollar. The nerve! When she becomes the temporary cook at his ranch for the holiday season, sparks truly fly between them until his sabotage goes awry and he needs to make amends.

I have to hand it to the author for taking a very unlikeable hero and developing him into a decent human being and someone deserving of love. There is one thing I hate is when patrons don’t adequately tip their waitstaff and are cruel to animals. Adam is guilty of both and in my book, it is a big no. Adam had to think about his actions and how they were be tainted by his past relationship and move on from his pettiness, to make amends with Holly. Once he does that he truly is thinking of someone else and their happiness before his own.

Holly too had to change from thinking of others and start putting herself first for a change. It wasn’t easy to let go of the reins of raising her little sister now that she is in college. Holly also had to see herself in a different light and not the young high school dropout. She had to let her friends help her. Once Holly and Adam see these things about themselves, things really steam up between them. I like the big gesture he makes and I did a 180 about Adam.

Holly Jolly Cowboy is a really good story and I loved how the characters truly grew into wonderful individuals. A little bit of heat and spice, along with cute dogs, it was a wonderful holiday read to get you in the Christmas spirit.

HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY is the seventh instalment in Jessica Clare’s contemporary, adult THE WYOMING COWBOY, erotic, cowboy, romance series. This is waitress/baker Holly Dawson, and rancher Adam Calhoun’s story line. HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Holly and Adam) HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY follows the enemies to lovers relationship between waitress/baker Holly Dawson, and rancher Adam Calhoun. For months, Adam Calhoun and some of the local ranchers have visited the café where Holly works but for some reason Adam has takes an immediate dislike towards our story line heroine, and continues to humiliate her at every chance he gets. When Holly is offered a job to cook for the cowboys at a local ranch, our heroine jumps at the chance only to come face to face with her nemesis Adam Calhoun. Refusing to bow to Adam’s games, Holly one-ups Adam only to become the focus of the ultimate failure and betrayal. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Holly and Adam, and the potential fall-out when Adam reveals the source of Holly’s mortification leaving a stunned and heart broken heroine in its’ wake.

Holly Dawson had to give up her dreams with the death of her parents, leaving Holly to raise her younger sister by herself. Working two jobs to pay for her sister’s education, Holly is hoping to one day open her own café or bakery but struggles in the aftermath of a humiliating failure. The only bright spot is her relationship with Adam which has turned friendly and sexual, a relationship that is about to royally implode. Adam Calhoun has disliked Holly Dawson from the moment they met believing our heroine is a phony and a fraud but Adam has no idea as to the extent of Holly’s need to thrive, and in this, Adam continues to push at Holly every chance he gets. Arrogant and infuriated, Adam crosses a line from which Holly may never step back.

The relationship between Adam and Holly begins acrimoniously as Adam spends months embarrassing Holly at her place of work but Holly refuses to break every time. Holly is a generous, hard working heroine who must do battle with the local bully, a bully who has set his sites on our story line heroine. Holly doesn’t understand what she did to make Adam hate the very ground upon which she walks, and with it, Holly must walk the walk in order to survive. Working at the ranch, Holly must face Adam on a daily basis but never expected to fall for the man that is about to destroy her dreams. The $ex scenes are passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters include several ranch owners Sage Cooper and Jason Clements ( A Cowboy Under The Mistletoe 3), Becca Loftis (The Cowboy Meets His Match 4), Caleb Watson (Her Christmas Cowboy 5), as well as Holly’s younger sister Polly, and a cameo by Adam’s brother Mike.

HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY is a story of betrayal and vengeance, misunderstanding and heart break, forgiveness and love. The character driven premise is captivating and engaging; the romance is affectionate and tender; the characters are strong-willed, independent and determined.



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The holiday season comes back to Painted Barrel, in the fourth Christmas-set romance in Jessica Clare's Wyoming Cowboy series, and this time, it comes with a grumpy, grouchy grinch. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to forgive Adam for his early treatment of Holly but giving it that enemies-to-lovers benefit of the doubt was rather smart, because my persistence paid off. In spades. Holly Jolly Christmas grew into a wonderful—and wonderfully sexy—story. The star of this show is undoubtedly the hard-working Holly, who is relatably exhausted by gestured vaguely life but who carries on, nonetheless. Her reward is a redeemed nemesis who gives good grovel and gifts, while my reward was a Christmas visit to one of my favorite small towns and an interview with author Jessica Clare, which you can check out next week!

Holly lost her parents at seventeen and had to drop out of high school to support her thirteen-year-old sister, Polly lest she be put into foster care. Holly’s barely scraping by even though she works six days a week at the local bar/grill. She loves to bake and would love to find a way to make extra money doing it. Money is stretched tight with Polly off at college and Holly paying tuition so when she’s offered a job to cook for the workers at the Flat C Ranch she jumps at the chance. There’s only one problem: Adam Calhoun is one of the ranch hands, and while he’s gorgeous, he’s grade A jerk. Rude and cheap every time he visits the bar.

Adam left the Navy because he got tired of being away from his wife only to find out she’d been cheating on him. With nothing holding him back he left the state for ranch work in Wyoming. When Adam first laid eyes on Holly he thought she was beautiful and enjoyed her flirty service while dining, but got the impression she was only nice for tips. He felt like a fool, so since then, he makes is a point to ruffle her feathers at every opportunity, and they get off to a rotten start when she’s starts working at the Flat C Ranch.

Adam was a total jerk when this story started and even though Holly gave as good as she got, he, IMO, was mainly responsible for their petty exchanges. When a particularly nasty prank ends with Holly being devastated, Adam feels terrible and determines to make a change. Even though I wanted to smack Adam, I understood his history with his wife influenced his behavior with Holly. I was thrilled when they started to let go of their animosity and started to see the true person underneath, falling a little more in love with every dinner spent together.

I admired Holly so much with the way she worked so hard to take care of her sister and everyone else around her. She was positive had a kind spirit even if she did get a bit petty with Adam, he deserved it. I was annoyed with Adam, but he quickly won me over when it was apparent how sorry he was. His care and deep feelings for Holly came through loud and clear, she definitely deserved to have someone taking care of her for a change! I loved how desperate they were for each other, and their time together was hot!

I’ve been loving The Wyoming Cowboy series, eagerly anticipating every new installment! Holly Jolly Cowboy sucked me in from the very first page and it seemed like the story just flew by! So much to love here: A spicy enemies-to-lovers romance, delicious food, and baked goods (I was salivating throughout!) and an ending that’ll leave you warm and fuzzy all over!

HOLLY JOLLY COWBOY returns us to the small town of Painted Barrel, Wyoming, and this time it is Holly and Adam’s story. She’s a waitress in their small town and he’s a ranch hand. They have a history and seem to dislike each other. She doesn’t like that he only tips one dollar every time he’s in the restaurant, and he doesn’t like that she’s grumpy with him but smiles at everyone else. They’re forced to be together when she’s hired temporarily to cook for Adam and another ranch hand when the owners go on an extended vacation around Christmas.

While this is the seventh book in THE WYOMING COWBOY series, I was disappointed that many of the characters we’ve met before were only mentioned in passing. In such a small town, I would have thought they would have been featured more prominently.

The book is chock full of emotions and but has characters who grow and a plot that comes to a satisfying conclusion with a lovely romance. Note, this book is a little steamier than I expected. There is a beautifully portrayed happily ever after that culminates a year after the story ends and is a very sweet moment, though.

Ms. Clare is an author whose books I’ve enjoyed, whether they feature cowboys or billionaires. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Should I be reading only Spooky books? Yes
Am I a mood reader? Also, yes
Did I spend the weekend reading Christmas books mixed in with Spooky books ? Also, yes
Did I cry like a baby at the end of this Christmas book? Absolutely!
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I loved this one. Holly Is a local waitress in town, an avid baker, a hard worker trying to take care of her sister in college. Adam is the town Grinch and her arch nemesis. He works at the Flat C Ranch where she was just hired to cook and housekeep for a month over the holidays.
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They may hate each other but with just the two of them at the ranch, with Christmas spirit all around them they find there is much more then hate between them.
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This one was such a fun Christmas read and I absolutely loved the ending. Warning, though do not read this book hungry!!
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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This book comes out tomorrow!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Holly Jolly Cowboy by Jessica Clare
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC of this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this advance reader copy of this book all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Enemies to lovers is one of the best romance reads out there. Holly grew up in the small town of Painted Barrel. When she was just 17 she lost both of her parents and took on the parent role for her 13 year old sister Polly. Now a sophomore in college Polly is away at school and Holly busts her butt working as a waitress to make up the tuition that her financial aid does not cover. Shocking $10,000 a semester.
Adam Calhoun is a newly divorced recently discharged Navy semen who has moved to Paint Barrel to work at the Flat C Ranch. When he first arrived he flirted hard with Holly until he came in one night and she was doing the same with someone else. He then started tipping her one dollar.
Holly is always looking for ways to supplement her income and when she is asked to cook and clean for the month of December for her enemy Adam and his coworker Carson while the owners are out of town she couldn’t pass up $1000 a week. The big question is can they survive a month together? Get lost in this quick read to find out! You can pick up Holly Jolly Cowboy by Jessica Clare 11/26/2021.