I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Kissin' Tell
by
Lorelei James
erotic romance in eBook edition that was published by Samhain Publishing on June 26, 2012 and has 327 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Corralled, Saddled and Spurred, Rode Hard, Put Up Wet, Wrangled and Tangled, Long Hard Ride, Cowgirl Up and Ride, Rough, Raw and Ready, Tied Up, Tied Down, Wild Ride, Branded as Trouble, Shoulda Been a Cowboy, All Jacked Up, Raising Kane, Cowgirls Don't Cry, Chasin' Eight, One Night Rodeo, Casanova Cowboy, Gone Country, Mistress Christmas, Miss Firecracker, Bound, Redneck Romeo, Unwound, Turn and Burn, Hillbilly Rockstar, "Schooled", Wrapped and Strapped, Unraveled, What You Need, Just What I Needed, Racked and Stacked, Hang Tough, Spun Out, All You Need, I Want You Back, Want You to Want Me
Thirteenth in the Rough Riders kinky Western erotic romance series based in Sundance, Wyoming.
My Take
Wow. It’s a tale of growth and expectation, misperceptions and points-of-view, and the trauma of losing a child.
What’s odd about this one is Tell. Yeah, he’s got a hard-on, he’s a McKay, and Georgie is practically screaming for him to take her to bed, so to speak. And yeah, it’s all date-night stuff with, as Georgia calls it, a little grab ass, but no follow-through. And she’s frustrated to hell and gone. Yet, women are high-fiving Georgia for “Tell’s sexpertise”, and it sure sounds like he’s slept with every woman in Wyoming. So, what’s the hold-up she wants to know?
And just like that, the switch is flipped with the woman as the aggressor and the man as the one saying no. Who knew?
“My morning after conversations are more along the lines of, Hey, darlin’, have you seen my pants?“
No one knows what Georgia had to survive in high school, nor that her shyness was so inhibiting. It sure didn’t help that she had a jerk of a jealous boyfriend who was too possessive for words. As for her dad…ugh… It’s also a case of how different the view is when a teen gains some maturity and discovers the world does not revolve around him or her, however close you are to someone who dies at too young an age.
After Georgia’s tirade, I gotta wonder just what bug crawled up inside Leah and Roxanne that they’re so nasty to her…?
Oh, wow, Brandt’s fears about turning out like his dad. It’s a legitimate fear, but the fact that he’s aware of it is good. That he asks for help is even better.
The big scene where all those wires get crossed? I wasn’t seeing it the way Georgia did, and it took awhile before I understood what her problem was. Another case of misperception, although it is fed by her experiences in high school and from her former classmates today. Then the boot slips over to the other foot, and Tell is angry with Georgia doing her job…he just kinda forgets that’s what she’s doin’. Yep, another misperception ridin’ through town.
Whoa, all kinds of airing out in this story. Including her dad’s regrets!
Ya can’t help but laugh as Georgia makes her way down the sidewalk selling her ads and meeting McKays. They all have but one response: Tell’s Georgia? And Chase McKay is doing his bit for the family during a special appearance for a rodeo and thinks he’s doing Tell a favor.
What is with Casper?? He gets to cut everyone else down for using bad language, except himself? WHAT a hypocrite! Almost as big a one as Tell when he bails on Georgia.
The Story
Tell has a hard time keeping it in mind that Georgia Hotchkiss is a user while Georgia is having a hard time reconciling this hot cowboy with the cute, but dorky kid from high school.
Somehow she’ll have to talk Tell into being her class reunion date, if only to not let Deck “win”. Only, Tell remembers high school too well, and he demands a quid pro quo: she’ll sign him up as a PRCA judge for events.
He also insists that they play lovers for real…so it’s convincing when they show up for the reunion.
The Characters
Georgia “Hot Lips” Hotchkiss was a hot cheerleader in high school; now she’s got a sneaky secret. RJ was her twin brother. Robert and Irina are her divorced parents, who don’t seem that divorced!
Jamie is a friend who tips her off that Tell McKay is the hot cowboy du jour. Stephanie Blackstone is another friend from high school. One of them smart girls.
Tell McKay has been in love with Georgia since high school. His nephew, Landon, is four now; he’s the son born after their brother Luke died (see Cowgirls Don’t Cry, 10). Samantha is his mama and has agreed to an informal custody agreement. Dalton, Ben (he’s married to Ainsley), and Brandt are his brothers; Brandt’s wife, Jessie, is very pregnant. Gavin is their long lost brother. Their parents, Casper and Joan, got divorced, and Mom lives in Casper nowadays with her boyfriend, Bart. Grandpa got religion, “switching his allegiance from Jameson to Jesus”, and he’s incredibly obnoxious with it.
McKay cousins include:
Ky McKay is getting older; he’s Cord’s son. Cord and the pregnant AJ — she’s snubbing Georgia too — also have Foster and baby Beau. Keely McKay Donohue is married to Jack. Domini McKay runs Dewey, the café in town, and she’s married to Cam McKay, a deputy. India is a tattoo artist and married to Colt McKay with two kids: Hudson and Ellison. Then there’s the ranch business meeting which brings in Kane and Kade, Coby, and Quinn. Chassie West shows up at a community event with her men: Edgard and Trevor with their kids: Westin and Sophia.
Friends of Tell’s include Thurman Watson; Ned with his wife, Roxanne; and, Warner and his wife, Leah, and do they ever bash Georgia!
The Reunion
Denille Swedlund was a cheerleader as well, and she’s organized the entire reunion. Declan “Deck” Veldekamp was a super jock (and jerk) in high school and Georgia’s steady, possessive boyfriend. Tara-Lee is Deck’s second wife and pregnant. Eugene “Smitty” Smith is his tale-bearing best friend.
Barbara Wyrelinski is Georgia’s boss at Barb Wyre PR, a promotions and advertising firm, and she’s insisted on Georgia heading up the Wyoming office.
Rory Wetzler is known by the McKay brothers as Little Miss Know-It-All-Ecologically-Sustained-Agriculture after she queered a land deal.
The Cover and Title
The cover has James’ signature leather carved border with a very forward lass in a denim bustier dress with smocking on the back. I’m not sure if she’s going to kiss him…or eat him!
The title is all about Kissin’ Tell, and he loves it.
