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    A Heap of Texas Trouble
    Unavailable
    A Heap of Texas Trouble
    Unavailable
    A Heap of Texas Trouble
    Ebook361 pages8 hours

    A Heap of Texas Trouble

    By Carolyn Brown

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    (Originally published as The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off.)

    One woman's quest for chili perfection
    Carlene Lovell is going to hit her no-good, deadbeat, cheatin' ass, soon-to-be ex-husband where it hurts: at the annual chili cook-off, which he's won for 10 years in a row. To win, though, she'll need more than a little help...

    Is another man's second chance at love
    Police Chief Jack Landry has been smitten with Carlene forever. Now that she needs some help keeping the peace (and getting revenge), it's his chance to prove that not all men are dogs....

    "Once I started reading I couldn't put it down...or keep the smile off my face." -Night Owl Reviews for Billion Dollar Cowboy

    "Humorous, heartwarming, and full of sass and spunk!" -RT Book Reviews for The Trouble With Texas Cowboys, 4 Stars

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateDec 6, 2016
    ISBN9781492638780
    Unavailable
    A Heap of Texas Trouble
    Author

    Carolyn Brown

     Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon and #1 Washington Post bestselling author. She is the author of more than 125 novels and several novellas. Brown has been published for 26 years, and her books have been translated into 21 foreign languages, and have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.  When she’s not writing books, she likes to take long, road trips with her family to research and plot future stories.

    Read more from Carolyn Brown

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    Reviews for A Heap of Texas Trouble

    3.5/5

    16 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was another hilarious trip to Cadillac, Texas, home of the Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off. It's a small town with quirky characters, feuds, and an active gossip vine, as well as deep family and friendship ties. It starts out with a band when Carlene found a pair of fancy red panties in her husband's briefcase. They weren't hers, but she knew exactly who they belonged to. I loved her confrontation with Lenny as she told him exactly what she thought of him. That scene set the stage perfectly for the rest of the book as Carlene, her cousins, their mothers, and their friends exact the perfect revenge.First, we have Carlene and her cousins, Alma Grace and Patrice. Together they own and run Bless My Bloomers, a fancy lingerie shop. Each of them is unique, with their own personalities. Carlene is tall, curvy, and the one with the design ideas. She has some body image issues for herself but uses her talents to make all her customers feel good. Patrice is the straight-shooting, foul-mouthed one who is ready to help Carlene bury the body if that's what she wants. She does the books for the shop and helps with customers when they are busy. Alma Grace is the quieter one, who is active in her church and believes that prayer will fix anything. She's praying that Carlene and Lenny will find their way back together. She's the one who mainly waits on the customers.It's a riot to see just how fast the news spreads around town. Everyone wants to know what is going to happen next. Carlene just wants to get on with her life, but when Lenny gets petty and nasty, and his momma goes after Carlene too, she's ready to fight back. The best way she can think of is to steal his title as chili king by beating him at the chili cook-off. At this point, Carlene's mother and aunts get into the act. Family sticks together, and Gigi and her sisters (the cousins' mothers, Sugar and Tansy) take over the planning for Red Hot Bloomers team. There are several scenes involving their attempts to come up with the perfect recipe that had me laughing hysterically. Cayenne pepper, outdated meat, side effects in church, and finally a need for a distraction made this a riotous storyline.This is just the beginning of the feudin' and fussin'. Carlene's marital woes spill over onto Alma Grace. The "holier-than-thou" people on the Easter committee at church push Alma Grace out claiming she's tainted by association with Carlene, not to mention that scandalous panty shop. Lenny's mom Kitty spreads rumors that Alma Grace's daddy was flirting with her, which riles up Sugar. There are confrontations over Easter eggs, angel's wings and halos, and a hilarious scene involving a cat, a psychic bird, and a jeweled leash. Agnes and Violet, from the first book, continue their feud with several more encounters.It isn't all bad though. Patrice and her boyfriend, Yancy, grow closer as they deal with one crisis after another. Alma Grace meets a sweet and sexy cop who has quite an effect on her. I loved seeing her find a man of her own who was just right for her. Now that she's free, police chief Jack finally lets Carlene know that he's had feelings for her since high school. A growing friendship and Jack's determination not lose out this time shows promise for a much happier future for Carlene. I loved the scenes between these two, as Jack is sensitive to his timing. I also liked the way that he loved her just as she was. There are also some marvelous scenes between the sisters and their husbands. I especially enjoyed the one where the men came to the assistance of their sick wives, so sweet and romantic.The culmination of it all was the chili cook-off itself. I loved the buildup of the intensity as the contest grew closer. The sisters' attempts to find the right recipe were fun, with some interesting consequences. I especially enjoyed the lead up to the final one. I also loved seeing them take on the previously all-male competitors and the support they got from the other women of the town. I laughed out loud as people would "invest" in the team they wanted to win and how each hoped that their "investment" would pay off. The contest itself had its own drama. I loved the comments of the judges about the Bloomers' chili. There was also a very public confrontation involving Lenny where his actions come back to bite him in the butt, with the impetus coming from an unexpected source. The announcement of the winner was very satisfying. I loved the follow-on party and all the little scenes with the main characters.
    • 3/5
      It's not a brand-new story (think Fannie Flagg) but it is a story worth hearing again. Man cheats on wife. Wife seeks revenge. Great setting (c'mon, who doesn't love a Texas tale?!) and fun characters. Yes, take this one along on your next long plane ride. You won't regret it.
    • 3/5
      Fun Texas Southern gal women's fiction. Carlene caught her lyin' cheatin' womanizing husband, and that means the Fannin family is galvanized to hit him where it hurts - by winning the Chili Cook-off, with the team being made up of the family business Bless my Bloomers, a specialty lingerie shop.