Big Bad Cowboy by Carly Bloom is book One in the Once Upon a Time in Texas series. This is the story of Travis and Maggie.
Travis has been away from the small town he grew up with for about 12 years. Travis has gotten out of the military about 8 weeks ago. While working to decide what to do next he learns his nephew needs him after the boys mother dies and Travis's brother is in prison. Travis returns home to the family ranch where his nephew, Henry and his mother had lived. Travis plans to settle Henry somewhere and sell the ranch...but things start happening that make that hard to do. Maggie is working to get her business started and figuring out what to do with the land that her grandmother has left her. Then Travis enters into her life complicating things further for her but at the same time dawning her into new feelings toward him and his nephew.
Overall really enjoyed their story and look forward to more books from this author.

I was drawn into this book because who doesn't like a book with a good looking cowboy on the cover. But I quickly fell in love with the characters and community within the story.
Travis Blake is thrown into taking care of his nephew, whose mother has died and father is in prison. He feels like an outsider in the town he grew up in, but quickly starts making friends.
He is instantly attracted to his neighbor and a woman constantly feeling like she is one of the boys. She doesn't like Travis at first, but slowly finds herslef attracted to him and his nephew.
The supporting characters are a great addition to the story, giving you a well rounded view of the community. This story had me laughing, crying, and feeling all warm in the end. This is a great read with a little bit of steam thrown in. This was my first Carly Bloom novel and I look forward to reading more.

Whoever originally called Big Bad Cowboy by Carly Bloom a kinky version of You’ve Got Mail—you’re a genius and 100% correct! My ears perked up right away and shot this book straight to the top of my TBR because You’ve Got Mail is one of my favorite rom-coms ever. Big Bad Cowboy is the first book in the Once Upon a Time in Texas series.

As a scrawny, nerdy kid, Travis Blake had a rough childhood. When he became old enough to escape his alcoholic father, that’s exactly what he did. He left his family’s Texas ranch in favor of the Army.

Now he’s fresh out of the military and being called back home. Travis’ brother, Scott, is in jail and Travis is the only next of kin to care for Scott’s young son. Travis agrees to help out with his nephew long enough to fix up the family ranch, sell it, and move to the city. He doesn’t plan on crossing paths again with Maggie Mackey.

Travis and Maggie went to school together, but Maggie’s stunned when she sees Travis again. Gone is the skinny nerd from high school and in his place is a big bad cowboy. There’s a super hot setup involving a Halloween party, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Big Bad Wolf. When Maggie and Travis are forced to work together on a landscaping job, what starts out as enemies in business turns into friendship and lovers.

So, I am in love with this book! Maggie is a spirited heroine who works in a male-dominated industry. She has to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously, but she takes no crap from anyone. She’s very much an independent woman and I liked her right away.

Then there’s Travis. 🔥 Let’s just say that he’s basically a cinnamon roll hero in the streets and a big bad wolf in the sheets, know what I mean? He’s the best of both worlds! He’s one of the best romance heroes I’ve read in a long time.

I can’t say enough good things about Big Bad Cowboy and highly recommend it to fans of romantic comedy who enjoy plenty of steam! This one is a keeper for sure. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Holy tumbleweed, Ms. Bloom, you had me at “Henry.” I’m a sucker for a romance with a kid. And a cowboy and a kid? Swoon. Travis is fresh out of the military and suddenly has custody of his five-year-old nephew, who is the last resident of the family’s rundown Happy Trails ranch. His plan is to find another relative to care for Henry, sell the ranch and take a job with a friend in Austin. In the meantime, Travis does landscape work, inadvertently stepping on the toes of the local company, Petal Pushers, and its owner, Maggie. Actually, Travis and Maggie are intertwined a lot more than that with his cows constantly getting into her apple orchard, and most notably, when The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood escape from socialite Anna’s Halloween costume party for a hot interlude in a garden shed. Now they’re sharing a landscape job at Anna’s house and Maggie has no idea Travis is her Big Bad Wolf.

Sometimes a reader takes a chance on a new author and it doesn’t work out, and sometimes it pays off spectacularly. The early copy I read of this book paid off in a big way! It’s clever and quirky, sweet and charming, and hilarious and hot! Bloom is definitely an author to watch in the rom-com genre. She seriously did have me at Henry, and the book just exploded from there. It had me in a delightful stranglehold from the beginning and I was a willing passenger on this exhilarating, hysterical, touching ride, reading the book easily in one sitting. The author’s quick wit and cleverness is only overshadowed by the poignant, heartfelt storyline. And did I mention the great chemistry and the smexy scenes? Any author who can inject humor in the midst of hotness successfully is always a winner in my book. With a vivid small-town setting and supporting cast of quirky, endearing, larger-than-life characters, this heartwarming, humorous, captivating read will give you hours of entertainment while its characters live on in your heart long after the last page.

*I reviewed this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

Small town, former 'ugly duckling' girl, and the town's black sheep family collide in Big Bad Cowboy. Maggie is just 'one of the guys' and she is tired of it. Travis is only in town long enough to sell the family farm and get his nephew settled with an appropriate caregiver. Turns out, neither of them are gonna be happy with whats in store.

Travis' father was a ne'er do well right up until his death and his brother is currently in prison, so the Blake family isn't exactly the crown jewel of the town. Travis wants to sell the farm and get back to Austin FAST. He hates the gossip and drama of the tiny town. Maggie has created a successful business for herself and she is proud of it. She just wants her BFF JD to see her as more than a friend. Of course, he crushes that dream quick leading Maggie to engage in a one night stand with a stranger....who later turns out to be Travis!

Travis is a bit of a disaster. He just got out of the army and now he has a farm and a child to care for. Henry, his nephew, just lost his mom to cancer and his dad (Travis' brother) is in prison. These two together are just a ticking time bomb! Neither of them knows what the heck to do. However, despite Travis' hesitation and initial desire to settle Henry with someone else, they bond. Its sweet and endearing in a way to see these two battle it out.

I had a harder time liking Maggie. She is so determined to 'prove' herself. She's uptight and rigid. Perhaps that is why she was good for Travis-they are opposites in a lot of ways. She has nothing but drive and direction and he is a lost boy raising a boy!

Big Bad Cowboy combines the small town romance with a bit of enemies to lovers and a dash of a fairy tale vibe to give you a sexy read! Fans of cowboy romances and single dad tropes will love this!

ALL THE STARS!!!

I went in expecting a steamy romance but what this book gave me was so much more!!! Yes you have the steamy sex but you also have witty banter, sexting, hard working cowboy, and sweet romance. I seriously loved these characters and am so excited that it'll be a series so I can visit them again.

I highly recommend this book!!!

“Get some coffee and sit down. I’ve got a story to tell, and it begins with Once upon a time there was a Big Bad Wolf.”

Once upon a time…there was a headstrong landscaper who would do anything to protect her business from her new competitor. She never expected to be swept up in a romance with said competitor. Neither did she know that he was the Big Bad Wolf to her Little Red Riding Hood at the Halloween party where they had actually met for the first time.

A retelling of both Little Red Riding Hood and You’ve Got Mail, Big Bad Cowboy mixes all the right ingredients together to create a sexy and swoon worthy western romance. It took me a while to warm up to Maggie because she came across as super judgemental in the beginning. Travis himself was not perfect – he kept too many things to himself as a defense mechanism and this sometimes led him to making poor choices. But the beauty of this book is how you end up falling for both Maggie and Travis despite their flaws.

What I love about Travis is that unlike most romance heroes, he’s not overly confident in himself. He has his insecurities, but those insecurities made him more relatable and more real. He’s hot as hell, but he’s also kind of shy and puts his foot in his mouth once in a while. But I love how patient and caring he is with his nephew, Henry. As for Maggie, like I said, she was extremely judgemental at first. But here’s the thing: she eventually realizes how wrong she was for judging Travis. Nothing like self-realization and self-growth to warm me up to a character!

Carly Bloom nailed the small town setting and feel. I truly felt as if I was part of Big Verde – one of the reasons why I tend to enjoy small town romances and western romance in general. Big Bad Cowboy obviously makes you think of a kinky retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood and while this book had a decent amount of steamy kinkiness, it was also adorable, emotional, and heartfelt. I felt so warm and fuzzy reading this book – it was like drinking a nice cup of hot cocoa. I also really enjoyed the humour – it is fresh and unique to Ms. Bloom’s writing style. I might even go so far as to say that she is the Julia Quinn of western romance. There are some hilariously epic moments in this book that will forever stay with me and that’s quite an accomplishment for a debut author!

P.S: I adore Bubba LOL

4 Huff and Puff your love Down Stars
* * * *
This was a delight. Little Red Ridinghood didn't know what hit her... and Oh this Big Bad Wolf was all that and a bag of chips!
This had every element needed... Lots of Heart, a solid plot and storyline and yummy connections between the characters.

Big Bad Cowboy is a fantastic book. The characters are easy to relate to, and I like the modern day circumstances that the characters have to deal with. Great story line, didn't feel like your regular "Cowboy story" It has the perfect mix of a good story line, hot and sexy characters and a perfect ending. This is a book I can easily read again. It will grab your attention from the begging and doesn't let it go until the end.

I was provided an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Great story with realistic characters. Maggie and Travis were competing for the same project. Although they were rivals, getting to know each other brought them together. This is a great small town romance and I would recommend it.

Great story and I loved Travis and Maggie. Travis comes home from the military to find he's now guardian to his young nephew after his sister in law has just died. She and her son were living on the family ranch and the boy's father, Travis's brother is in prison. Travis hadn't planned for this, he wanted to sell the place and start his new job in Austin. Maggie is a Landscape Architect and pretty much has the corner market on things in town. Travis does a little landscape work here and there just trying to make some money until his final pay comes through from the Army. Meanwhile he's got his young nephew to look after. When Maggie and Travis are thrown together working on the same job for large project things heat up, both between them and on the job. Maggie's whole life is her flower shop/nursery and her work. Travis refuses help to the point of being a pain in my pointy toe cowboy boots. Stubborn doesn't cover it. Then through in the steam factor and what you get is a great story with a lot of heart and plenty of twists and turns. Great read and not to be missed! I look forward to the next book in the series!
4.5 stars

arc from NetGalley and Publisher for an honest review

I am not sure where to begin with this review. I am not a huge fan of this book at all, I felt like in the beginning Maggie was this independent store owner who had it all together the in the next moment she was whiney and annoying "I'm a women" and I should get special treatment. I like Travis a little but they both came off as victims instead of one being a heroine. I loved, Claire, Henry, Lupe, JD and Bubba and Gerome they all seemed like the hero's in this book to me. I loved how from one page to the next you never knew what was going to be coming out of Henry's mouth it made for interesting read he sure was a pistol throughout. Just a heads up to all those readers out there this book is a totally adult read and contains a ton of adult language and scenes, I would say in my opinion its an erotic style book, that being said not suitable for all ages.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Not me....and definitely not Little Red Riding Hood in this fun twist on a fairy tale. Travis, what big....teeth you have....hehehehe. Oh boy, he is a great character, and a real one in my opinion. You fell the struggles he is having trying to come to turns with the new life he has been throw into. Learning to be a father to a five year old who just lost his mother, trying to take care of a ranch, picking up all the pieces that were left behind for him by a family that were the town screwups. And you could fell him falling for the spitfire Maggie.

Maggie is a Tomboy who desperately wants to be seen as a woman, not Mighty Mack. but she has grown up around the boys in this town and they all see her as one of them. When the Big Bad Wolf comes around and see's her for the beautiful woman she is...Little Red Riding hood may be the one to get goobled up :)

Oh, and I can't forget Ms. Garza was a guardian angel in disguise, just loved her too. It really show's how small town's can work together for one another. There was feels, there was family, there was coming together....oh there was dirty talk and sexy times, and honestly I just enjoyed this book. So, if you aren't afraid of the big bad wolf, and you like a hot cowboy with a heart, dirty talk, and big.... teeth....give this one a try.

I really enjoyed this sexy spin on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale! It had lots of laughs, tender moments, and a wonderful cast of characters. I loved the nods to Little Red Riding Hood and the play on words/situations. It kept the story fun and entertaining.

Travis and Maggie were sexy together and I loved their banter and innuendo. They don't have a traditional meet cute, but it's a moment where they can be free to want and do what they wish without being burdened by the chains of their realities. They both want so badly to be more than who everyone thinks they are. I did find Maggie a little too ornery at times though and she tended to overreact with Travis and her friends. Carly Bloom did an excellent job with the enemies to lovers trope though, and the back and forth was so delicious, especially as the walls started to come down. The epilogue brought everything full circle and left me feeling happy and smiling.

I really liked the residents of Big Verde, especially Claire and JD (though his story was a little too predictable and cliche). The small town gossip and colorful characters added some wonderful comic relief and kept the story lighthearted (book club was hilarious!) I loved how the town all rallied together to help each other when needed. I'm hoping that we see a book for Claire (and Ford?!) in the future. Overall, this was a sexy and fun read and I look forward to reading more from Carly Bloom!

*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*

I love a fairytale retelling and this one hit all the marks for why I like them. With its original storyline and the intense chemistry between the hero and heroine, I am one happy reader.

I loved that the big bad wolf wasn’t completely revealed right from the start as I thought it might be. The mystery of the wolf and the angst of wondering when he would be revealed kept this upbeat and sexy even as Travis is struggling to solve life issues that are weighing him down. (It’s known to the reader that the hero is the wolf but the heroine is completely in the dark about his identity.)

Travis was an interesting hero. He wasn’t the type who had everything under control. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was lost as to what to do. There were moments where he was completely human and reacted in a very real manner, even if reading those moments and/or thoughts made me flinch a bit because it’s not something we see our heroes do. All of that made him human and I could identify with him.

Maggie is quite the firecracker and I loved that she was feisty and independent even when inside she felt vulnerable and isolated from what “normal” women have. The Big Bad Wolf was great for her self-esteem and I loved her reactions to his texts.

Add in some great additional characters that helped to generate the humor, that wasn’t lacking to begin with, as well as truth that only a five year old can speak, and this book was elevated into absolutely charming. This was low on sex, high on fun, relatively fast paced and involved a kind of want to be cowboy who knew how to play wolf perfectly.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a great sweet funny romantic love story this was. As I was reading it I was smiling, laughing, giggling and just so impressed with Carly Bloom the author. Big Bad Cowboy was such a great love story that took place in a small town. Both Maggie and Travis grew up in Big Verde, Texas. Maggie was always just one of the guys that everyone wanted to be friends with but nobody wanted to date her. Travis was a loner. He had really only experienced heartbreak in his life. When Travis and Maggie first meet it is at a Halloween party and they hook up and then go their separate ways but neither knows who the other is. Travis is the first to figure it out but he never lets on to Maggie. At first Maggie is annoyed by Travis but he slowly grows on her. It isn't hard when you see him interacting with his nephew Henry who is so funny by the way. Travis and Maggie slowly develop something but what will happen when she finds out the truth? This book has so many side characters and even though they were side characters you got to know them really well. They were small story lines inside of the bigger story line. It was a very well written book. I spent my Thanksgiving weekend sneaking away so I could read this book. I was hooked from the very first chapter. I cannot wait to see whose story is next. I just finished reading this book and I already miss the people in Big Verde, Texas. Thanks Net Galley. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher**

Big Bad Cowboy is the first book in Carly Bloom's "Once Upon a Time in Texas" series and it was a great opening novel for this new series. Bloom is also a new author to me, and I very much enjoyed her writing.

Travis Blake moved away from his hometown of Big Verde, Texas a dozen years ago and while gone, he served in the military and just recently left the the armed forces. Like most people, he had a plan for when he got out, but as they say, best laid plans don't always pan out. One phone call changed everything.

Growing up, Travis came from a family where there were more problems than not. His father was a drunk, although the one thing in life he managed to hold on to was the family's ranch. Not to mention his brother, Scott who ended up in jail. Travis is bound and determined that he is not going to follow in their footsteps and he is going to make something of himself. When the mother of Scott's son passes away, Travis is left to be the five year old's guardian, and he also needs to prepare the ranch for sale.

Maggie is the local landscaper and owner of Petal Pushers and she's also had a crush on Travis since high school. Since he was a few years older than she was, she wasn't on his radar, so that crush got pushed to the back of her mind. When she learns he's back in town to settle his father's affairs, the crush resurfaces, well, that is until she finds out that he will be doing some landscaping work around town. She's fully convinced that he is going to be stealing clients right out from under her and she won't stand for it! He is completely off-limits in her mind.

When these two are near one another, the sparks fly, but will their professional entanglement douse those sparks prematurely?

I really enjoyed this book - it was fun, flirty, sexy and fabulous. Not only were the main characters great, but I loved the members of the community as well. They were all around good people and they came together and helped their fellow citizens in their time of need. And, I would be remiss if I didn't mention little Henry. He was fantastic and totally stole my heart!

If you like alpha cowboys and small town romances, this book is for you. I'm now a Carly Bloom fan and I'm looking forward to what is next in this series!

The author delivers a great read in this Big Bad Cowboy. I would describe it as a kinky cowboy version of You've got Mail.



Carly Bloom is a new to me author and I was pleasantly surprised with Big Bad Cowboy. This book could have gone bad so many times but I thought Carly does a great job with the characters and the story.

Travis is truly the sweetest cowboy you'll ever meet. Travis is back home in Big Verde after the military. He has his hands full raising his nephew and trying to keep a roof over their head and keep the family ranch. He's doing a good job juggling but he is trying to find his passion as landscaping isn't it. He does find someone to keep him occupied for a little bit.

Maggie is a feisty and takes no nonsense from her crew and Travis. She's built a successful business and isn't looking to share the marketplace with him. However, she is looking to share her dirty mind with the Big Bad Wolf. I loved the secret crush these two has with the other. It was a cute retelling of You've got Mail. I was definitely waiting for the "I was hoping it was you " line.

There are so many other characters that help round out this book. One being his nephew, who was as sweet as his uncle but contained the levity needed only a 9 year old can provide.

Big Bad Cowboy is a charming read and I loved every minute of it! The fact that this is a debut from Carly Bloom blows my mind! She brought these characters to life and made them so relatable that I would have thought this book was written by a seasoned pro in the romance department! That being said, this is an author to watch out for because I can only imagine these books getting better and better!

BIG BAD COWBOY by Carly Bloom is a fun, laugh out loud small town romance! I haven't enjoyed a book more in ages, my boys kept asking what was so funny. The characters were yummy, I especially loved JD! You ABSOLUTELY MUST read this book!