Review: Reeling in the Redneck by Lindsey Brookes

As the follow up book to one titled Jimmie Joe Johnson: Manwhore, Reeling in the Redneck doesn't sound nearly as controversial. To be honest, I didn't actually purchase the first book until I saw the second on Netgalley.  But I am glad that I did.  Possum Hollow, Alabama is a small town just chock full of interesting characters.

This book picks up the story a few months after the conclusion of book one.  Randi Lynn and Skeeter Cooper are still rubbing each other the wrong way and creating sparks every time they are in each others company, but their awareness of each other is slowly changing. When Randi Lynn receives a letter from a modeling agency finally giving her a real shot at her life long dream of becoming a model, the entire town pulls together to help raise the money for her to start her dream.  Randi Lynn is scared but excited and Skeeter gets a bit cranky about the idea of Randi Lynn leaving.  However, since he has fishing tournament the weekend before in New York State, he offers to give Randi Lynn a ride up, as long as she can rough it a few days first. Knowing she has to save as much money as possible, she accepts. As they spend days alone together, Randi Lynn and Skeeter come to know each other a lot better and fall in love along the way.

I was a little confused by the blurb, I took it this would be Randi Lynn coming back to town after being gone to claim her man story. But that's not it at all.  Most of the story is Randi Lynn actually getting to New York for her interview and her and Skeeter's adventures along the way.  At its basics this is a story about realizing that some things are worth fighting for and that sometimes dreams change. As in the first, the POV flipped back and forth between the two main characters and worked well for this book. I enjoyed this story even more than the first and can't wait to find out what is next for the crew. I gave this book 4 stars.

Randi Lynn Brown grew up in Possum Hollow, Alabama with dreams of someday becoming a famous model. But when the opportunity arises for her to do just that, she finds herself rethinking everything. What if she fails? And can she really leave Skeeter Cooper behind? Not that there is really anything to leave behind. The irritating man has made it clear that she ain’t his kinda female. The kind that drinks and curses and doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. Maybe he’s right. Then again, maybe he ain’t.

Skeeter Cooper likes fishing, drinking and locking horns with that sexy, sassy female, Randi Lynn Brown. It’s not until word gets out that she might be moving to New York City that he realizes how much he’s gonna miss having her in his life. But he ain’t about to keep her from chasing after her dream. He even offers to take her to Manhattan. The only ‘catch’ being she’ll have to attend a bass fishing tournament with him along the way. Problem is fish ain’t the only thing that ends up getting hooked that weekend!

Despite her modeling success, Randi Lynn finds herself yearning for the very place she’d always been so eager to leave behind. For the man she left behind. Following her heart, she returns to Possum Hollow, determined that nothing, not even one annoyingly stubborn man, is gonna keep her from finally REELING IN HER REDNECK for good.

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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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