Here we are at the third Wednesday of the month again, and it’s time to roll out my April pick for TBR Challenge 2011, hosted by @SuperWendy. Wendy blogs The Misadventures of… SUPER LIBRARIAN here.

Today is the fourth month, the third Wednesday, and the theme is Western (contemporary or historical).

Yippee and yeehaw!

This is not a problem for me. There is always going to be a cowboy story in my TBR. That’s a given.

Sourcebooks | October 1, 2010 | Mass Market Paperbound

Christmas in April. I can deal with that. Actually, my favorite time to read a good Christmas story is in the heat of the summer. I’m perverse that way.

One cowboy, one bar, one hell of a holiday!

She Means business…

Sharlene Waverly is determined to have the “new and improved” Honky Tonk up and running before the holiday. For that, she’ll need Holt Jackson, the best darn carpenter in the state. But his warm, whisky-colored eyes make her insides melt, and before she knows it, she’s sharing her darkest secrets and talking about the nightmares…

He’s determined to keep things professional…

Holt Jackson needs the job at the Honky Tonk, but is completely unprepared to handle the beautiful new bar owner he’s working for.

Sharlene and Holt try like crazy to deny the sparks flying between them, but their love may just be the best Christmas present either one of them ever got. (From The Publisher)

This is the fourth and final installment in Brown’s western romance series — I Love This Bar, Hell Yeah, My Give a Damn’s Busted and this.

I’m thinking Cheers for the cowboy set, where everybody knows your name and every bit of your business.

There’s a small Texas town — Mingus. There’s a bar — the Honky Tonk. There’s a juke box that’s as much  a character as anything walking around in boots (two actually). Oh, and there’s a curse and a Circle, and the Waverly Round Table. And more testosterone and sass and grit than any small Texas town can handle.

I have read an enjoyed the entire series, but I particularly loved this story because of Sharlene Waverly’s back-story and the cast of secondary characters scattered across two states, a couple of counties, and small-town Corn and Mingus.

If you don’t have country roots, you will when you’re done.

Carolyn Brown has a strong voice and a down-home flavor.  She’s written strong characters struggling with who they are and what they want, and how to have that and each other.

A heartwarming and entertaining read.

Elen