Loretta has come back to Canyon Ranch in Texas to convince her daughter, Nona, that it is time for her to come back to Oklahoma, finish her last year of college, and get her degree, but Nona has other ideas. She is in love with one of the ranch hands and she has decided to learn ranching from the ground up and take over once her father, Jackson, retires. Loretta and Jackson have their own issues to settle since they never discussed the night that Loretta caught Jackson in the barn with a woman and ran out, leaving the ranch for good. Now Loretta is finding that she enjoys being back on the ranch and begins to wonder if she made a mistake all those years ago.

Long, Hot Texas Summer starts out with a bang, but ends with a thud. In the beginning of the book, Loretta and Jackson have passionate arguments that in the past led to "make-up" sex, but by the end of the book, the passion that was evident at the beginning of the book has pretty much fizzled out. Most of the characters in the story are very one dimensional and the motivation of the main characters seems flimsy at best. Overall, this is a light, pleasant romance with very little conflict or other details to give it much substance. ( )

Long, Hot Texas Summer is the first in the series of The Canyon.

I cant express enough how much I love Carolyn Browns books/audiobooks.

The struggles of life, the inward battles and the strong characters.

This story is about a young couple that fell in love while in high school.

Loretta fell pregnant and married her high scool sweetheart, Jackson.

But when their daughter was 4 years old, Loretta caught her husband kissing another in the barn. Nothing was said and Loretta left with their daughter.

17 years later lfe throws them a second chance ( )

4.5 stars.

Long, Hot Texas Summer is a very sweet and sassy second chance at love romance by Carolyn Brown. Set in beautiful Palo Duro Canyon, TX, it is a completely charming and captivating love story between a long divorced couple who discover they still have feelings for one another seventeen years after their marriage ended.

Loretta and Jackson Bailey are childhood sweethearts who married young and settled on his family’s ranch to raise their daughter Nona. However, their idyllic marriage ended a few years later after Nona caught Jackson in a compromising situation. Loretta’s plan to never return to Texas comes to an abrupt end when Nona announces she is dropping out of college and staying on the ranch with the cowboy who has stolen her heart. Determined to change her daughter’s mind, Loretta packs her bags and shows up unannounced at the ranch where she is planning to stay until she convinces Nona to change her mind. Loretta’s got her work cut out for her convincing Nona to go back to school, but pretty soon, the biggest problem she’s facing is her unexpected (and unwanted) attraction to Jackson.

Loretta is a feisty woman and given how stubborn she is, it is hard to believe that she walked away from Jackson without a fight. The reasons for her decision are multi-faceted and it takes a lot of introspection before she can figure out the underlying reasons for her long ago choices.

Jackson fully accepts his share of the blame in their break up and until Loretta’s return, he has not delved too deeply into what precipitated his foolish actions so long ago. Like Loretta, it takes a lot of reflection to understand why he so easily let her go.

Jackson enjoys having Loretta back in his life and he gently teases, coaxes and annoys her while trying to tempt her back into his bed. Loretta is surprised by how easily she slips back into the day to day operations on the ranch and pretty soon, her animosity towards Jackson begins to diminish. As Loretta and Jackson work together, they begin to reminisce about the good times they shared, but more importantly, they have a long overdue, honest discussion about what led to their break-up. As they lay the ghosts of their past to rest, Loretta and Jackson decide to explore their passion for one another, but does this mean they have a chance for a future together?

Long, Hot Texas Summer is a warm and inviting story with a fabulous cast of lovable characters and a realistic storyline. The various conflicts are credible and the resolution of the various story arcs is believable and delightfully angst free. Another down-to-earth and fun-filled romance by Carolyn Brown that I highly recommend. ( )

Listened for Review (Brilliance)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 3.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Read It File It (short review): Long Hot Texas Summer by Carolyn Brown is one of those books that just leave you with a smile on your face. The 2nd chance romance really works because Loretta & Jackson were smoking hot together. Be aware to enjoy this you must not mind a deep Texas twang & a bit of old-fashioned ideas. If you love those things then this may be the read for you!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Laural Merlington / Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Let me preface this review of the narration with I am a Texan (with a TX family spread far and wide over our state) so I'm probably a bit more sensitive to how TX accents are done. Laural did an excellent job with the pacing and delivering of some very funny lines. I thought her older generation accents were pretty accurate. However, I wasn't a fan of either Loretta or Jackson's "voices". It happens! I would listen to Laural do something else however as I think this might have been a specific TX accent thing to me.

Final Thoughts: If you are looking for a 2nd chance romance with a lot of sass and fireworks then Long Hot Texas Summer by Carolyn Brown should be tops on your list! ( )