Bea Reviews Kissing Kelli by Kathy Carmichael

Series: Texas Legacy Romantic Comedy #1
Publisher: MacGowan Press
Source: owned by the reviewer
Release Date: February 9, 2011
Challenges:  COYER Going Back to Basics 2015-2016 |  Mount TBR Reading Challenge | Winning at Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | AbeBooks | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

A Texas Legacy Romantic Comedy
Sensuality Level: Sweet (G-rated)

Rodeo champion and wealthy rancher, Bobby Gray Nelson, is used to women setting out to lasso him. But when he meets feisty Kelli Palmer, she refuses him on every count. He's always up for a challenge and is determined to woo this beautiful veterinarian who he thinks could be his soul mate.

Kelli Palmer doesn't believe love is in the chute for her. She's devoted herself to the animals she cares for and the family she adores. So when her sister claims dibs on the handsome cowboy, Kelli reins in her attraction and tells him to skedaddle.

Losing is not an option for this gorgeous cowboy. He comes up with a 5-step plan to place his brand on Kelli's heart.

The problem is, he can't even make it to the first step. Never fear, though. He's got a Plan B.

Can Kelli stand her ground -- even after his toe-curling kiss?

"This is another sweet and funny offering from author Kathy Carmichael, so if you’re looking for another beach read, I think you can’t go wrong with this one." ~ Julianne Draper, Tampa Books Examiner

Bea's Thoughts:

**Minor Spoilers**




This book has been sitting on Kindle for almost 4 years, when I won it from the author. Yeah, I'm a little slow to read my own books. :P The story sounded cute but I kept pushing it aside in favor of review books or new, shiny non-review books. This month I'm trying to read some of the books I've won or been gifted; I was in the mood for light and fluffy so I finally dusted off this one.

It's definitely light and fluffy with some humorous moments but mostly it was a disappointment. Bobby Gray is trying to prove that he's matured and ready to be more involved in the family business. When he meets Kelli, he figures it's a two-for-one deal: he can date her to get his brother off his back (though I thought his brother had valid reasons to be upset) and he can use her, more specifically her family connections, to help the family business. His 5-step plan, mentioned in the blurb, relies heavily on lying and deception, which fits right in with an action he took, supposedly to better the family business. Then there's the fact that's he's a piss-poor excuse of a cowboy: 1) His first reaction when dealing with a nervous horse is to yell at it. Yeah, yelling just calms any nervous animal right down *eye roll* 2) He doesn't know that vets specialize. So he takes the earlier mentioned horse to a small animal vet, one who specializes in cats and dogs. Seriously? That just absolutely killed his animal credentials and put him straight in the idiot category. He's a rancher and a bronc rider, how the heck does he not know this? No wonder his brother thinks he isn't ready to be more involved. 3) This one doesn't actually relate his being a cowboy but does touch on his animal skills and general character: he saves an abused dog,yay! BUT, when the dog doesn't immediately do as told, Bobby Gray uses a menacing tone, basically threatening the dog. Hello a***ole! Buh bye hero. Contributing to both his a***ole tendencies and idiot tendencies is the fact that he lies to Kelli and knowing how she feels about being used for her family connections, does it anyway, rationalizing that she'll be okay with it because he's such a great guy and he might, maybe, love her. That makes it all okay. NOT.

Then there's Kelli. She has more brains and ethics than Bobby Gray but I had problems with the whole drama around whose boyfriend Bobby Gray was and which sister had dibs on him. Both Kelli and her sister Lori acted like spoiled, immature teens. And we were never told or shown why Lori believed what she did. The whole thing was blown ridiculously out of proportion. Props to Kelli for not poaching her sister's boyfriend but lordy, they both were drama queens about it. I just wanted to slap both of them and then lock them in a room with only bread and water until they behaved like mature adults.

I had various other minor issues with the book but Bobby Gray really was my biggest stumbling blocks. The ending though *twitch twitch*; ugh, utterly lacking in credibility or probability. If you want a light read that has some humor and you're willing to throw credibility out the window, this might work for you.