Review: Jimmie Joe Johnson: Manwhore by Lindsey Brookes

This is the first book in the Possum Hollow series by Lindsey Brookes.  I first saw the book in a catalog from Kensington quite a while ago and it just totally caught my eye.  I mean, hello, 'manwhore' is in the title! I just plain sounded like a good time. And it so really was.

The story starts out from Baylee Jean's perspective.  Her Aunt Callie, in a drunken ramble, tries to explain to Baylee why men are so bad, and why she should be grateful that she scared off Jimmie Joe several years before.  In her drunken rant, she admits that she told Jimmie Joe that due to his family, he would never be worthy of Baylee and that if he didn't leave her alone, he would end up with his "balls pickled and put on display in a jar".  Baylee is absolutely livid with her aunt and shocked to the core.  Baylee had thought that it was something she had done all those years ago that caused Jimmie Joe to turn away from her.  But now that she knows the truth, she decides to go after her man.

The next chapter is from Jimmie Joe's perspective. He is just about to 'diddle' Sally Norton on the oversized washer, when another of his conquests comes rushing in and starts screaming at him. He ends up with a clothing cart slammed into his bare ass and no longer quite in the party mood.  Baylee Jean then shows up and proceeds to start to confuse him with smiles and innuendo instead of death glares and cold shoulders. Poor Jimmie Joe is left not sure what is going on, but Aunt Callie's threat is still fresh in his mind so he sets out to avoid Baylee at every turn.

I thought this was a great story.  The basic story was a sweet one - a guy who doesn't think he is good enough for his girl, and the girl who believes in her man, wrapped in redneck-isms and southern charm. Was the book a bit corny? Hell yeah! Totally over the Top Corn, but it so worked. These larger-than-life almost caricature characters can only be told in a small town setting. Miranda Lambert said it best with Everybody's Famous in a Small Town.  I gave this book 4 stars.

There are some things a man can't change. My bein' a babe magnet for one. . . --Jimmie Joe Johnson

Fact is, just about every single female in Possum Hollow, Alabama—along with most of the attached ones—has enjoyed my services. And not just as an auto mechanic, if you know what I mean. With me, women know exactly what to expect. A sweet ride, and no promises.

But even a manwhore has rules. Like stayin’ away from Baylee Jean Brown. As teenagers, Baylee Jean and I were hot and heavy. Then her Aunt Callie Rae warned me off, sayin’ I'd never be good enough. Seeing as the women in Baylee Jean’s family all have witch blood, and I figured Callie Rae was fixin’ to do something unmentionable to my man parts, I agreed. But now suddenly, Baylee Jean—smart, sexy, wild—is all over me. She wants me bad—hell, who doesn’t? But, if there’s one woman who could bring a hound dog to heel, it might be her…

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