I had a hard time with the deception in this book. I understood why Tess thought she had to lie to get what she wanted but did not like it. I almost quit reading but powered through and I am glad I did. I won't ruin the story but it all worked out in the end.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read this title for an honest review.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

I recently bought a new kindle after my old one broke. For some reason I was unable to download this title from the cloud onto my kindle, therefore I will be unable to review this title. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Was a slow read for me a lot going on and not a lot of romance. But grandma did offer some funny parts.

I am not going to review this novel as I was declined for book 3 and I prefer to read series in order. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this title.

A love like their could not be denied. An excellent story that will make you fall in love with the characters.

I honestly had a hard time with this book. I felt, right from the beginning, that I knew what was going to happen. It was predictable but sweet and sassy with a little fun thrown in. Now, don't get me wrong, the characters were interesting and a little quirky … it was the storyline that was predictable.
Mason is a real cowboy. Working the family ranch, he's a little distrusting of any woman that comes into his life. They usually want to get close to him just to get close to his all-star brother. But, there is something different about Tessa. She's fun, interesting, isn't afraid of a little hard work and looks fantastic in a black lacy bra. He knows she is hiding something from him but can't figure it out. After one big misunderstanding, he thinks he finally figured out her secret and can't help but fall in love with her.
Tessa is hiding a big secret but not the one that Mason thinks. Yes, she lied to him but knows that, when he finds out the truth, he'll have nothing to do with her. But, her grandmother is in dire straights and she has no choice but to perpetuate the lie. Unfortunately, her heart is fighting with her head and she decides that it's time to come clean with the family and with Mason. It's also time to give her boss what she wants … not what he is demanding. But, is it too little, too late? Enter Mimi and her outrageous way of solving her problems. Will Mason forgive her? Will Mason give her a chance to explain and understand why she did what she had to?
Yes, You Had Me at Cowboy had an inevitable ending. What happened between the beginning and the end was actually very good. Besides Tessa and Mason, there were several sub-characters that played equally important roles throughout the story. From Rock to Quinn to Mimi, Aunt Sassy and the wonderful Vivienne James, I could help but smile when they were included in the story. And, of course we can't forget Dewey and Watson who just added joy to the story.
So, Jennie Marts may have let us know, right from the beginning, what was going to happen in this story but she did a wonderful job of filling in the blanks and giving us a cute and fascinating story. She showed us the meaning of forgiveness, of overcoming our fears and taking chances.

I absolutely love series...it helps me get to know, and love, characters better. What I love better than series is books in the series that can be read as a stand alone. "You Had Me At Cowboy," was one of those fabulous books!!
Mason is used to being in his brother, Rock's shadow and losing girls to him. But when Tessa tumbles in to his life he thinks the streak has stopped. Tessa sees herself as a clumsy (she is!!) very average girl who doesn't deserve love. After some major missteps and partial truths and hard headedness they find their HEA.
Ms. Marts is an expert in writing small towns both in describing the town and the life that happens in said town, making the town and it's residents a wonderful secondary character. Her writing of secondary characters overall is brilliant!! Even after a few short sentences I could picture Dewey, the library puppy and Mimi, Tessa's grandma with great clarity!!
I can't wait for book 3!!!

Contemporary romance with characters dealing with poverty, elderly scams, and famous family members. This novel is a mish mash of romantic themes and Grandma adds the humor.

Tessa Kane is working two jobs to help her grandmother. She does not want her to lose her home after she was duped by some on line scam. Now on the verge of being fired from her job as a writer. She is in a parking lot in a town she does not know when she finds out that she has been stood up for at the luncheon she arrived for. When she receives a call from her editor and he finds out that she is in the same place as the wedding for Rockford James the hockey star she is to stay and get a story if she wants to keep her job. Just a few minutes later she meets Mason James, Rock’s brother and the one who has stayed to run the ranch. The thing is that is what he loves to do. What his bigger issue is that most girls, woman use him to get to his brother. They want to be with the big hockey star, so that makes Mason leery of any woman he meets. There is something about Tessa though and the two of them start too bound just in that one afternoon and she agrees to be his date for the entire weekend. The bigger issue comes into play is what will he do when he finds her living in her car, not eating, and when she is a writer looking for a story? Will he remember that she was right next to him in the rain helping him pulling a tree away from a fence and then helping fix the fence? Will he remember the time they spent together talking under the stars, or just that she is a writer. Read this wonderful story of the James brothers’ to see what happens. Good characters and a very good story.

You Had Me at Cowboy by Jennie Marts is the second novel in her Cowboys of Creedence series, and since I enjoyed this novel even more than the previous one, Caught Up in a Cowboy, it gets a 5-star rating from this reader.

Tessa Kane, the heroine of this novel is a big, beautiful, curvy woman, who hasn't been lucky in love. Her parents died while she was young, and she was raised by and now lives with her slightly eccentric grandmother, Mimi. Unfortunately, Mimi fell prey to an Internet scam and bankrupted both herself and Tessa, sending money to someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince in need of financial aid--a really ill-advised move. Now, Tessa and Mimi are way behind on bills and mortgage payments, and Tessa, an aspiring magazine reporter, is about to lose her job because her stories aren't filled with enough dirt and scandal.

When she's asked by a friend to be a plus-one date for her brother at the wedding of NHL star, Rockford (Rock) James, she begs her editor for another chance to get the dirt on the famous hockey star, and she accepts the date, but sadly, in addition to being stood up by her date, her blouse is damaged and soiled by a low-flying bird, and she enters the cloak room at the pre-wedding celebration to change into a fresh one, but the blouse she chose doesn't fit, she'd accidentally locked her keys in her car, and suddenly the cloak room door opens, putting her and her well-filled out black lace bra on display to Mason James, Rock's brother and best man at the wedding. Tall, handsome and gorgeous, he comes to Tessa's aid more than once that day and the two seem to hit it off, although Mason and Rock loathe reporters, Tessa thinks she's in the perfect position to get the story her boss wants and save Mimi's home, and as the fill-in date, Mason can get her close to his brother during the pre-wedding festivities and although she feels guilty about it, she keeps her job and her mission a secret.

Mason James, Rock’s brother, is a cowboy/rancher through and through, but having been involved with women in the past who lied about their interest in him just to get close to his famous star athlete brother, he's not the most trusting guy in the world, but he's both attracted to and interested in Tessa, who seems to like him for himself. Since they live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else's business, he's sick of being told that there's the right girl for him out there somewhere, and being repeatedly asked why he isn't already married and raising a family. Tessa too has low self-esteem because of her size, and some bad choices in men, but her voluptuous figure, her sense of humor, and the fact that she seems to be totally uninterested in Rock, all pique Mason's interest in her, and although there's a lot of humor in the situations they get into, to two seem to fall for each other fast--if only Tessa wasn't forced to keep her reason for being there a secret.

Also a secret is the fact that Tessa and her grandmother are broke and will soon be homeless if Tessa can't bail them out of their financial crisis. She's been promised a large bonus for getting the goods on Rock's hasty wedding, never expected to stay in town, and can't afford a cup of coffee, let alone a hotel, so she's been sleeping in her car, hidden behind the town library, where she finds and rescues a small dog, soaking wet, hungry, and caught in a thunderstorm. She has a good heart, a kind and caring nature, and as she and Mason become even closer, she's totally guilt-ridden about her subterfuge, especially when the James family all seem to approve of, like her, and treat her as a member of their family. But what to do with her secret mission when she learns that the gentlemanly, handsome, sexy escort for this wedding weekend, for whom she's quickly falling, absolutely loathes liars? It's easy to see that if this romance has any chance at a happily ever after ending, Tessa will have to come clean and hope for the best.

There's a lot more to this well-written and sometimes zany cowboy romance than just the sexy scenes between Tessa and Mason--there's a basic underlying theme of the value of honesty, with oneself and with others, forgiveness, second chances, accepting one's own failings, conquering one's fears, and putting it all on the line for love. I often complain about the lack of depth in the characters who people romance novels, but every single character in this novel was so fully and completely fleshed-out, that I haven't a single complaint about any of them, and I'm looking forward to reading more about them in Ms. Marts' upcoming novels.

In short, I simply couldn't put this novel down, reading it from cover to cover until 5:30 a.m.. It was an excellent, warm, emotional, sweet, sexy, charming, and romantic read and I cannot recommend it highly enough. And kudos to Ms. Marts for having the guts to not make her heroine a stunningly beautiful, blonde bombshell. As a curvy gal myself, that touch was very much appreciated.

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

This was a story that had believable characters in Mason and his family, they were realistic and relatable. The only part of the story I found too unrealistic and disappointing was Tess’ grandmother Mimi. For a grandmother she was not realistic and was selfish, without consideration for the sacrifices that Tess was making on her behalf.

The loan sharks were way over the top and too stereotypical, just too unbelievable. Mimi was so ungrateful for what Tess and Mason did for her, she paid to the loan shark, as well as the money Mason give to help her out the predicament that she created for herself. She then left without a backward glance and a thank you to Mason or his family. I understand that the elderly can be taken advantage of, and frequently are, but the Nigerian scam is a very old one and too well known about for even an elderly woman to fall for. Of course this is just my opinion, other readers may not agree with me, but it was the part of the story that struck a discord for me.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

The romance was sizzling, the characters were 100% unique, and the storyline was flawlessly written. Please, PLEASE pick up this book. Absolutely recommend as I loved it!

This was a pretty good read. The writing flowed well, and I liked (most of) the characters. I liked Tess and Mason as a couple when I forgot about the whole deceit thing. While she did have a good reason for HER, that didn't mean it was good for everyone else. The whole thing with her grandma irritated me really. I didn't know people actually fell for the whole Nigerian prince thing, much less gave their whole savings to them. I loved that her grandma took care of Tess when she was young, but it doesn't excuse her actions now. Mimi (grandma) came across as pretty selfish and not caring what her actions did to anyone else. Mason was a genuinely good guy, who took care of everyone else and put himself last. I loved all of the James family, and they all added to the story. The ending was sweet, and I liked that Tessa faced her fear for Mason. I can't wait to find out what happens with Colt!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

Sweet western romance with the story that slays. There’s a lot of humor in the dialog. The grandmother is so funny. Mason is the best cowboy ever!

Journalist Tessa Kane’s life has turned crazy, helped along by her grandmother’s madcap schemes. She finds the only way to help dig herself out of the hole is to go against her instincts and write an exposé about Rock James the famous bad boy hockey player. The problem is she’s starting to fall for his brother Mason who has already been burned by women using him to get closer to his famous brother. Enjoyable if a bit predictable, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tessa is having one of the worst days ever. The one shining light is when a knight in a cowboy hat comes to her rescue towards the end of it. Mason is happy celebrating his brother’s upcoming wedding. What he isn’t happy about is everyone treating him like he’s a wallflower who will never find their soulmate. When he meets a damsel in distress in the utility closet, his life is about to take a turn for the better.
While this was a fairly standard contemporary, I really enjoyed this book. I really liked both Tessa and Mason. I felt they were both really well written. It was nice and quick with a satisfying ending. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

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

3.5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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