Texas Books

Mr. Burton's characters are very well developed .
It is hard to believe he has not written more books.
I hope to read more of his books in the future .
The plot moves quickly and is never dull.
One of the best grifter plots i have ever read.
It is bizarre at times and captures the imagination
of the reader .

CAPPY

I just read The Roque's Game in two sittings. It takes place in Texas, the oil booms and big poker games, right after World War Two. The foreshading and plotting are just fantastic. You suspect what might happen but you are turning those pages in a hurry to find out. All the behind the scenes descriptions of oil leasing and the oil booms are totally authentic. My Dad was a geologist/landman. I was the Director of Petroleum Land Management at Texas Tech for many years. The detail and obvious historical research make this one fine book. You will love this book!

Johnny Hughes, author of the upcoming novel Texas Poker Wisdom

Backdrop for story in post WWII Texas is intriguing as is basic plot but story becomes too predictable & the characters are caricatures. The result is a below-average page turner.

This is a great first book. As a native Texan I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of old time Texas in the 40s, oil wells, greed and con men. Plus a little dose of WWII intrigue. Looking forward to Mr. Burton's next effort.

Kudo's to first time author Milton T. Burton for pulling it off - a slick and immensely satisfying read told with the flair and sophistication of an author you'd think had been doing this for a career.

"The Rogues' Game" refers to, at least on the level closest to the surface, a weekly poker game held in an aging hotel of a backwater post-World War II Texas hole of a town. In classic noir fashion, we learn neither the name of the town nor our narrator whose story rolls as easily across the pages as our hero rolls into town in a grand convertible with an even grander blonde babe on his arm. From there Burton artfully leads us down what appears to be an oft-traveled path of a pair of grifters on the con, but soon we find that the author and his narrator have a much more important score to settle than a simple heist in a local high-stakes poker game. Braced by a strong supporting cast of memorable thugs with names like "Chicken Little" and "Ice Pick Willie", the author weaves a tight mystery told in dusty Texas roadhouses and smoky (...) fight galleries, settings which he knows well and relates with authority. With oil boom in truly Texan scale and murky allusions to Reinhard Heydrich and other Nazi war criminals, the initially simple block thickens deliciously on the way to an unsuspected jackpot.

Well paced, gritty, and authentic, both Milton T. Burton and his debut novel are the real deal. I'm looking forward to his next hand - you'd be wise to place a bet on this one.

This is a great summer-reading book, fast-paced and clever. Well worth the price. Hope there are more!

When I finished the book I didn't know what to do. I wanted to find out more about Clay Parker, the protagonist , as well as the bizarre characters that inhabit this small Texas town. Having moved to this small town from the big city after disappointment in his personal life, he discovers that he landed in a Fellini movie. Well, maybe "Jenks" (town) isn't quite the insane asyllum of Fellini world, but it is nuts!

I didn't want to put the book down until I had finished it. I laughed out loud a couple of time, which I don't usually do. Actually chuckled about the book even after I had finished it. Just a fun ride. I may be forced to read it again unless the author publishes another book soon.

I highly recommend the book to anyone wishing to escape the perfunctoriness of this world for a few hours. To Austin, please publish another book as soon as possible.

This debut crime novel just came out, and the title is from Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Lawyers spend a great deal of time shoveling smoke." The cover picture gives you a good idea of the kind of humor this book is full of. It's the story of a burnt-out Houston tax lawyer who heads to small town Jenks, Texas, to escape the rat race. Quirky Southern characters, bizarre plot twists and outrageously funny situations abound in Austin Davis' first novel.

"Shoveling Smoke" is Texan Austin Davis's first novel, and it is a doozy. As a Texan myself, I'm always leery of books (and films) set in Texas, because all too often they devolve into a rousing game of "laugh at the silly hicks." Fear not in this case, as Davis's novel, I'm thrilled to say, brings the laughs while refusing to reduce characters to caricatures.

The plot is deceptively simple: Big-city (Houston) tax attorney decides to move to a firm in the backwoods and escape the rat race; cue wacky rural hijinks. So how does Davis take this overdone stranger-in-a-strange-land storyline to another level? With good old-fashioned whip-smart writing, that's how. The dialogue crackles with cleverness, and it's an authentic clever, not some contrived ain't-they-a-hoot nonsense. Hilarious rural-speak flows from these characters so naturally you can hear the voices in your head, and Davis presents that speech almost reverently, as evidence of wit and command of language, never as ignorance. The pacing is spot on throughout. And as far as the plot goes, Davis doesn't simply walk the line between the hysterically unexpected and the ridiculously unbelievable, he redraws it. As wild as some of the circumstances get in this novel, I never felt the tightrope of verisimilitude wobble beneath me; I believed every word.

In addition, I was surprised, nasty old cynic that I am, to catch myself grinning on more than one occasion while reading this book. Sure, there were moments when I laughed out loud, but even a crappy book can get a zinger in here and there, so that's not necessarily a high compliment. But to discover yourself smiling with no knowledge of how long you've been doing it? That is something special. I am not just impressed by Davis but grateful to him, for I was having a bit of a downer week and reading his book was like having someone snatch a handful of sunshine and toss it to me.

Get this book and catch some of that sunshine for yourself.

Houston Lawyer Clay Parker moves to the East Texas town of Jenks to go to work for the Chandler and Stroud law firm. This is a firm infamous for representing horse thieves, shady businessmen and crooks of every stripe. Chandler is a gravitationally challenged (PC for fat) man who never met a good looking woman he didn't like and Stroud has a fondness for the drink. Clay, the new blood, winds up knee deep in questionable and barely legal tactics to get their clients off. Jenks maybe be a Texas backwater of a town, but there are plenty of big city laughs in this story.

If you didn't know there was going to be humor here when you saw the cover of this book, a horse's patooty with its tail stiff and flying in the breeze, then you got bricks between your ears. This book will make you laugh. There is quite a bit of suspense here too. Laughter and suspense, what a terrific combination.

Having been born in the first third of that century, and having worked with buckaroos that were contemporaries of Hewey Calloway, I couldn't get enough of Kelton's continuation of The Good Old Boys. He had to know those men who had a difficult time walking down a sidewalk but sat in a saddle like it was a rocking chair. They really existed! I wonder if Hewey would have carried a cell phone, or what he would think of Interstate 10? I thank Elmer for letting us revisit Hewey and Miss Renfro to see how things worked out. This book is wonderful

What a great book. It is the story of part of the life of Hewey Calloway. One of the last of the true cowboys. He hates to see cars, trucks and telephone lines. He is, I think, really what most of the cowboys were like. It is not full of gun fights and running from the sheriff. He is a hard working man that moves on when he feels like it. A real good story. Has places that are sad and many places that will make you smile. The ending is very good. I just got a happy feeling from reading the book. Makes me wish I had been Hewey Calloway.

This western story is from the point-of-view of a veteran cowboy, Hewey Calloway. It is not exactly the story of his but more the story of the changes that occured during his life. A big one was the advent of the automobile, it greatly decreased the use of horses. Society changed during his life also, more people got involved with industry. It is disturbing to Hewey thinking about cowboy's becoming extict. But Hewey Calloway keeps the tradition alive. Hewey continues to learn more about life and learns to live with regret of decisons that he made earlier in his life.

Like "The Pumpkin Rollers", this is probably the best western I have ever read. It is also a contender for the best book ever read. Hewey Calloway and Spring Renfro are the greatest. What a powerful ending! Also, the other characters that are great are Peeler, Skip Harness, who dies when he is gored by a bull (very sad), Walter and Eve, Tommy, Cotton, Fat, and the list goes on. This is a wonderful book!

Mr. Kelton is from, and writes about, my hometown of San Angelo, Texas. He has a talent for seeing the past in vivid detail (I don't think he's a contemporary of Hewey), an understanding of Native Americans equal to Larry McMurtry's, an eye for modern life in West Texas, and a fine sense of humor (characters like Snort Yarnell). Good work, Elmer; hope to see you in the coffee shop of the Cactus Hotel someday!

This review first appeared in the April 2002 issue of DR AHEAD, the newsletter of the Air Force Navigators Observers Assoication.

There is a saying, "Join the Navy and see the world. Join the Air Force and see Texas." In these two books Tom Alexander takes readers on a tour of Texas to visit 19 of the 65 Army Air Force bases which operated there during World War II.

Volume I covers the bases which were at Amarillo, Pyote, Pecos, Sweetwater, Greenville, Waco, Harlingen, and San Antonio (which alone of these still survives as an active facility). Volume II adds to the tour the bases at Pampa, Hondo, Del Rio, Midland, Marfa, El Paso, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Austin, Big Spring, and Houston. Alexander tells how and when each base came into existence, what missions were fulfilled, who some of the people associated with the base were, how the thousands of Air Force men and women, mostly from outside of Texas, interacted with the nearby community, and what became of the facility. In addition the author looks at the nearby Texas communities before and after the bases were established and the impact that the bases had on the state as a whoe.

Information about the bases is carefully researched and documented with endnotes. There are scores of histrical and contemporary photographs. The books are rich with ancedotal material. Alexander writes with skill

The heart of these books is Alexander's powerful descriptions of the opening, operation, and disposition of the bases and the resulting impacts on Texas. Those who spent Air Force time in Texas will enjoy these books. Libraries in communities which have or had a military base nearby should acquire them. This goes for communities across the country, not just in Texas, because the lessons they teach are about how war and peach change America.

I really enjoyed reading "The Stars Were Big and Bright." There was so much informative and humorous information in a well written format. It was very interesting learning about the diversity in the locations of the air bases and I loved the old pictures. It was a book I didn't want to put down.

I thoroughly enjoyed the portrayal of the life and times of Sweetwater as well as what it was like to be a WASP in a small Texas town!

This book provides a worthwhile survey of the role of military aviation...anecdotal details keep the text lively...vintage and contemporary photographs make the book valuable for anyone interested in the military buildup that affected Texas communities...

I am a native Texan and history buff, but I was never aware of the important role many small Texas towns played in the aerial war efforts of the United States. What a revelation this book provided.

Very well written, interesting, informative, humorous and sometimes tragic, The Stars Were Big and Bright is one book that will remain in my personal library for years to come. It is sure to be reread whenever the urge to revisit the history of Texas' contribution to the U.S. Army Air Force's efforts during WWI and WWII.

I was impressed also with the numerous vintage photograps, maps, descriptions of the relevant airfields, aircraft photos and specifications, as well as the high level of documentation from primary source documents.

This book absolutely has to be the best book on this topic yet written. Perhaps the author, Thomas E. Alexander, will treat us to another great book in the future.

I was pleased to find that not only is Texas BBQ represented in the first chapter, but the book also recommends the use of wood-burning, offset firebox pits. Unfortunately, the book is a let down when it comes to BBQ sauce.

I have two major points of contention with the lone recipe that is provided:

First, the authors admit that the only reason that the book even contains a BBQ sauce recipe is at the request of their New England-based publisher, and while their chastising is mildly amusing, I have to agree with the Yankee: the vast majority of Texas diners that I've met take their brisket/sausage/chicken/etc with sauce. It is disturbing that the Jamisons, while attempting to write a Texas cookbook, had to be strong-armed by a Red Sox fan into coughing up a BBQ sauce recipe.

Second, the recipe that is offered is a tangy, syrup-y concoction the likes of which I've never seen served with Texas BBQ. I certainly can't claim to have tasted the sauces from a majority of Texas purveyors of Q, but none of the ones that I have tried, from Austin to Houston, resemble "Ol' Red's". I expect something thinner, not a glaze, more savory with a hint of smokiness and very little tang.

The Jamisons need to rethink their seemingly limited view of "the perfection of cookery"'s most recognizable accompaniment.

I bought this book a few weeks ago in a Dallas mall in one of those Texas touristy shops because I was looking for a basic Texas cookbook that had a great variety of Southern and Mexican recipes including a great basic salsa and a Ranch dressing.

So far, I have not been disappointed ONE BIT. I have made four recipes so far...year-round salsa, green sauce, milagro meatloaf, and the mashed potatoes, and everything has turned out absolutely fantastic. The instructions are perfect and don't need any tweaking whatsoever.

Just as an aside, I have made mashed potatoes probably forty times, but decided to give this new method a try after reading how deliciously fluffy and rich they were supposed to be. Not only did the method work out perfectly, but they are THE best mashed potatoes I've ever had.

Fantastic book...definitely a must-have for anyone that adores Tex-Mex or Southern cooking!!!

Like other reviewers have said, I have never made anything out of this cookbook which wasn't utterly delicious! The difference between this and many of the other cookbooks I own is that this food is meant for people who love to eat real food- not "nouveau" dishes that often turn out as if no one had tested the recipe. My favorite recipes are "The Driskill's 1886 Room Chocolate Sheet Cake" (which is now called "Texas Sheet Cake" by my family, the PTA and my church group); the Molasses Spice Cookies; and the Big Thicket Coconut Cake.

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday and she opened this cookbook and requested Tamale Pie and Pineapple-Ginger Upside-Down Cake for her birthday dinner. Both were new recipes and both came out absolutely beautiful and delicious. I asked my husband what he wanted for dessert for Father's Day and he picked out the German Chocolate Cake from this cookbook, because he said that it was guaranteed to be excellent.

So can you tell I think you should buy it?

I have owned this book for over 10 years now and have cooked most everything in it. I'm telling you honestly that I have yet to cook something out of here that doesn't get snacked on constantly or rave reviews from people that visit. My original copy of this fell apart from being used so much! What I wound up having to do was cut the spine off of the book and rebind it myself.

I'm honestly very surprised that this book doesn't have more reviews than it does. Not only are the recipes wonderful to eat, they are fun to read. The author adds fun descriptions and background information with every recipe. Reading these will actually make you want to cook them. Almost every recipe book that I've read since has been disappointing in this respect. This book raised the bar!

Actually there is one recipe that I haven't been able to cook very well, and that is the biscuit. I've dedicated entire days here and there to do nothing but cook batches trying to get it right, but they always come out hard and don't taste very good.

I can't believe there are used copies available! Why would anybody sell one after seeing and using it? I wasn't born in Texas but was made an "honorary native" by friends (complete with membership card!). I received this book as a gift after moving back to the midwest and I LOVE it! I now make the best chicken-fried steak this side of the Sabine River thanks to this cookbook. It not only has great recipes, it has invaluable tips and interesting comments on Texas culinary history and culture. The recipes are not fancy (meaning not "nouveau" or "fusion"), not laden with fillers. Just good food suitable for any night of the week.

The Blue Yonder Inn by Helen Campbell is a thoroughly "reader engaging" novel about a mother's struggle to keep her ill-tempered teenage niece out of trouble. Their gradual coming to terms with one another, amid the backdrop of the family business - a pay-by-the-hour roadside motel that depends upon airmen, prostitutes, and visitors to the state penitentiary for its clientele - evolves through the turbulence of an extended voyage of discovery and more, in this sometimes sardonic, sometimes heartwarming look at the effort it takes to forge true family ties. The Blue Yonder Inn is a deftly written and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections.

This book is highly entertaining and a very quick read. For a great view of life in West Texas in a different time in history, check this out!

Tired of the same old character cliches? Sick of the same old plots? Well, drive yourself over to the Blue Yonder Inn where you'll meet a memorable assortment of oddballs whose resumes aren't exactly worth a second call. Bonnie Blue, the down-and-out protagonist, leaves Blackie, her baby, in a wheelbarrow outside the Blue Yonder Inn and heads out on her own hero's journey. On the run from her good-for-nothing husband Gil, Bonnie meets up with more curious folk - some unsavory, some endearing. This story is sharp, fast paced, and has well drawn characters. Helen Campbell's biting wit makes even the most tragic of circumstances humorous. You'll find yourself laughing and sympathizing with people you might otherwise avoid completely.

Helen Campbell scores again! Just as Turnip Blues was too hilarious to put down, so the character development in The Blue Yonder Inn makes you not want to quit reading until the end. Though the central story of Bonnie Blue, Blackie, and Darnelle covers but a brief span of time, you are transported back and forth through the generations of their family and friendships resulting in a panoramic encounter that seems all so familiar. Campbell writes with such detail and clarity that the reader's emotions are continuously engaged. You want to hold Blackie in your arms, punch out Gil, and share a bourbon with Darnelle.

This is a wonderful novel, easy to read and hard to put down --staying in my mind ever since I did finally put it down, sad to finish it.
A surprising book, because the heroine, Bonnie Blue, is a [weak person] if ever there was one -- and yet there's something about the way Campbell describes this young woman that made me care about her, and the sad and difficult life she leads, and the people around her, particularly her wayward uncles and enterprising aunt. Authentic, funny, poignant, insightful -- Campbell's novel doesn't shy away from the ugly truth about the underside of American society -- as it was in the 60s in Texas -- but you'll end the book feeling joyous rather than depressed, trust me.

I finished "Breaking Even" by Alejandro Grattan Dominguez last night.
Rather than comment on the author's literary genius, which would take me a page or two, allow me to sum it up:

This book should be required reading in every High School in the USA. Too many kids have been abandoned. The book should at least be in every High School and Public Library

The one single message that screams out in this book, is this:
"YOU'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING IN LIFE BY NOT HAVING YOUR PARENT AROUND. HE OR SHE MISSED OUT ON YOUR LIFE!
YOU DID NOT LOSE. HE OR SHE DID!

I did not realize that myself, until 20 years after not seeing my father, I was talking to my Aunt one night. It dawned on me: I've had a hell of a ball, done some really fun and fascinating things, met great people all over the USA and Mexico and he didn't get a chance to share in that. So, who's the loser??? ha ha ha You snooze, you lose.
Now, I'm sitting here laughing!!
It is a great book Alejandro! Perfect for today's millions of abandoned kids, whatever their age.
This story should be made into a movie and given out free at all video rental stores in the USA. There are too many abandoned kids, in one form or the other, and NO ONE is helping them to understand the cure for their self loss. Alejandro does that. His book is a cure for an EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL CANCER OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Thank you!! Mr. Dominguez. I was crying....and now I am LAUGHING!!

In every boy's life there is a crucial point where he teeters on the brink of manhood. It's at this time, when the boy-man is most vulnerable that he needs a role model to guide him past the final pitfalls of adolescence into the responsibilities of adulthood.

Breaking Even, Alejandro Grattan's brilliantly crafted coming-of-age novel begins with 18-year-old Val leaving his small West Texas town in search of his role model, a father who left years before and who Val discovers is very much alive even though his mother, Lupe has always told him his father had died a hero's death.

Apart from the mystery of his father, Val has other issues. His mother is Mexican and Val's mixed racial heritage fixes him firmly near the bottom of the social pecking order in their small town and gives him an identity problem. He dislikes his life working in his mother's roadside diner and dreams of going to Hollywood to work in the movies. His confusion causes him to refuse advice from those who most care for him. To top it off his girlfriend Bonnie is pregnant. His immaturity ensures he only grapples with twinges of conscience, never with real issues.

Val's father Frank Cooper is a high stakes poker player in search of his own Holy Grail, the big pot that always seems to be in the next game. When he finds Cooper, Val is at first taken in by his charm and easy manner. However as each flaw is uncovered Val comes to see his father as he really is, an addicted gambler with no dream and no prospect of one. With this realization Val's own sense of responsibility to himself and to others begins to develop. This, in turn allows him to discern right from wrong, and to identify those who really do care for him.

The theme of this book is personal responsibility and Grattan has ensured authentic characters by coloring no one completely black or completely white. All are developed realistically including the minor characters of Floyd, his mother's short-order cook husband and Blue, a washed-up saloon singer and paid escort who travels with Cooper. Though everyone has personal flaws they are redeemed by the responsibilities they assume. Only Cooper is without redemption and therein is the brilliance of the novel. The message is conveyed without preaching.

This is a serious story dealing with serious issues and can be enjoyed at different levels. At one Val's search for his father is a metaphor for the real quest, his identity. On another level the book can be enjoyed as a great story with tightly defined characters who speak incredible lines such as, "The life of the party had gone home leaving Val and Cooper stranded out in the middle of a conversational wilderness."

The author's screen-writing and film directing background is clearly evident in the imagery and visual scenes painted throughout the book. Apart from being a darn good read this novel is noteworthy for the issues addressed, well-rounded characters, colorful images, and biting dialogue.

This heart-warming and enticing story grabbed my full attention. I could hardly put it down. I was captivated by the plot and Val's dedicated search for his father and the challenges that he faced on his journey. Each character contributed to the excitement and the intrigue. I highly recommend this book.

I'm fifteen-years-old. My parents got divorced when I was eleven. I come from three generations of divorced parents. I wondered what the problem was with me, that I couldn't be with my dad. Then I read Alejandro Grattan Dominguez's book "Breaking Even", which was great, and I looked at the situation a lot differently.
I related to Val through most of the book. It made me feel better that it's okay to live without my dad. My dad lives in Phoenix right now and he is giving my mom and I problems that I'm not living with him. I'm not losing anything at all by not having my dad around. I'm having a good life without him. He is the one missing out. So to me, he is a jerk like Frank Cooper in the book.
I really got into the book when Val just walked out on his dad, because that is similar to what I did, and when I did, I felt bad, but inside, I actually didn't.
Now that I have read this book, I feel a lot better and it taught me some things. For instance, how Val left Big Bend, Texas, I left Dover, Delaware. That is where I grew up until I was seven-years-old when we started traveling.
My family in Delaware thinks it's so bad that my brother and I travel. I have fun with my gymnastics, traveling everywhere and seeing interesting things outside of where I grew up. But instead, my family is back in Delaware thinking they're having fun in their toxic waste State.
My situation is similar to Val's family and friends. They didn't want him to go search for his dad or work at his goal to go to California, but it's a lot better than staying in one place all your life. Plus, it's educational to see all the States and different cultures.
My opinion is that "Breaking Even" should be read in all High Schools in the Country because about seventy percent of kids in the U.S. only have one parent. I'm telling all my friends to read it. We're all miserable because of our parent's selfishness. It will help them like it helped me.

This is a coming-of-age story set in the 1950s. Val, an 18-year-old Mexican-American, works in his Mexican mother's cafe, lives for the movies, and dreams about leaving the small West Texas town where he has lived all his life. Having grown up thinking that his Anglo father was dead, he is shocked to learn that he is alive,and there begins the real story.

It is Val's search not only for his father, Cooper (who looks to Val like a Hollywood movie star and is actually a professional high-stakes gambler), but also for his own identity and roots as a Mexican-American man. Team the father and son characters Cooper and Val with Ms. Blue Morgan, a kind-hearted, aging paid companion from Reno, and the story becomes even more deliciously colorful and complicated. A poker game brings these three together in El Paso for their initial meeting, and it leads to a bigger poker game in Reno and the adventure of their lives. They are all coincidentally at turning points and must decide on new courses for their lives. This is more than a coming-of-age story; it is one of coming to terms with one's life and taking responsibility for that life. It is a story of hard questions and decisions. Ultimately, it is a story of liberation from past circumstances and the pursuit of destiny.

Grattan-Dominguez is a fine storyteller with a good sense of dialogue. His portrayals of character and of the authentic Southwest are sure to earn him a growing reputation as a writer.

Love love love this book. As someone who has recently found her "home". Becky Cochrane nails the feeling perfectly. Coventry Christmas is truly a celebration of love, the love that exist between friends, between partners,the love between family members, a girl and her hampster and even between a place and the citizens that choose to be there. This book made it's way under the tree of my friends and family. I wanted to share a holiday blessing ... Can't wait to see what comes next!

Wonderful story. I fell in love with this charming and quirky little town, and with all the people in it. At first, Coventry and some of it's inhabitants seemed almost surreal...a fabled, Brigadoon-ish kind of place that only exists in some other plane of existence. But as the story unfolds it seems less fantastic, and more like the way things should be. We see this through the eyes of Keelie, the main character, who undergoes her own metamorphosis. She starts out as your typical Houston urban dweller...caught up in the daily routines of city life, and becoming more and more unsatisfied with it. Keelie first sees the town of Coventry as a visitor, but over time, and with the help of some very well written characters, she finds herself becoming a resident. I think this story serves as an entertaining and touching reminder that a busy, complicated life isn't always a happy one. Sometimes you have to leave some of the extra things behind and learn to find your happiness in simpler ways, and in simpler places. Definitely worth reading...you'll be glad you did.

I just finished Becky Cochrane's wonderful book A Coventry Christmas. I've enjoyed her other works as part of the group responsible for Timothy James Beck, but it's great to see something of her own.

I love the small town feel of the story, very much like Fannie Flagg. You get wonderful characters that you just can't help but love. She also does an amazing job with her setting. She knows Houston well, and you can feel her affection for it in every desription of the city!

This book is one of the most enjoyable Christmas stories I have read in a long time. This book was not stressful at all. Although most of the story happens around Christmas time. It is also about good friends, family and starting over in a new town. Of course, what is a good Christmas story without a good romance or two. I read to relax, so I am looking forward to the next book by this author.

Christmas is supposed to invoke feelings of goodwill to all men, and cause a person to break out into song and dance in the middle of store aisles as harried Christmas shoppers hustle and bustle around them. To make people carry a sprig of mistletoe in their pocket to use on unsuspecting victims. But for twenty-eight-year-old Keelie Cannon, the only thing Christmas brings her is a splitting headache.

Originally a Georgia peach, Keelie fled to Texas with an old boyfriend and took up a position at Buy the Book, hoping to use it as a transition job before she could locate a more stable position where she could actually put her English degree to good use. Now, years later, the boyfriend is no longer in her life, but Buy the Book still is. Unfortunately, ever since an obnoxious manager named Rodney took over the store, Keelie finds that she doesn't enjoy the position nearly as much as she once did, and the holidays are only working to make her mood even worse. Keelie finds herself craving for a change, and when an unexpected accident, in which she breaks her foot gets her put on workers comp, she realizes that now is the time to seize the day, and make a change. Hobbling around on crutches, and popping Vicodin, Keelie decides to step out of her Texas misery, and head to a quaint little town called Coventry with her best friends Ivy and Evan. Accompanying the three friends is Ted, a bigwig from Buy the Book's corporate office who has slowly wiggled his way into Keelie's good graces. Coventry is everything that Keelie needed. The people all know her name, and couldn't be friendlier; and, thanks to Granny's blog, nothing about Keelie or her friends is a secret. But, somehow, that's okay with her. But when Keelie's hamster, Hamlet, starts behaving strangely, she knows that something is wrong and has to rush Hamlet to the local veterinarian, who happens to be the handsome Dr. Boone. Dr. Boone makes Keelie's teeth sweat, and his presence makes her believe that Christmas miracles do come true, and that she has finally met the man of her dreams. Until she learns something about Dr. Boone that would make any woman with a conscience run for the hills.

While A COVENTRY CHRISTMAS is labeled a holiday story, only the first 150 pages are truly Christmas-related, leaving the rest of the book to take place during the rest of the year. Ordinarily, this would annoy me, and instantly make me put the book down; however, in this case, Becky Cochrane did such a wonderful job, that I couldn't help but stick around - even after the Christmas parts were over. Keelie is such a fun protagonist. She is bitter and negative, laced with a sweet heart, and a peculiar sense of humor. The interactions she engages in with her friends - Evan, Holly, and Ivy - are very SEX AND THE CITY-esque, and leave you laughing out loud; while Granny and her crazy "Sex" night, and blog, present a wacky addition to the tale that make her irresistible. Of course, I can't forget Hamlet, the feisty hamster who, in my mind, stole the show, or Rip, a scarred dog with stories to tell. Cochrane has penned a wonderful novel full of zany characters, and a quaint town that you'll want to relocate to. Warms you from head to toe!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

It wasn't my choice to go into exile, my family moved to New England when I was a kid. I've lived here since, but Texas has always still held my heart. This book is a great tribute to the great Texan way of life. It's a fairly good illustration of Texas and Texans, and it does contain a few good chuckles, I wish there were more though.

I bought this book for my mom, a proud Texan who hasn't lived there since shortly after she got married, some 50 years ago. But she related to everything in this book and laughed so hard she couldn't talk. Over the years, I've bought my fussy mom countless presents, but this is the first one I felt she really liked.

Even as a non-Texan, I found the book to be hilarious (my mom called me up and read the whole thing to me over a few nights). I don't even like Texas (too hot and buggy for my taste), but after hearing this book, it kind of made me want to move there! This would be a GREAT present (or gift to yourself) for anyone who loves Texas, anyone from Texas, and anyone about to move there (fixin' to be Texan).

We are thinking about making a move to Texas from California, and I wanted to learn a little about the culture. This book teaches you everything you will need to know. I couldn't put it down. It was hilarious!

I am one on those people who is trying to get to TX as fast as I can, but I am stuck here in Tennessee until my son turns 18. This book offers a humorous look at life--Texas Style!! My favorite chapters are about food and pick-up trucks!! And there is a fun quiz at the end of the book!! It keeps thoughts of the LONESTAR state close to my heart and makes me want to head out West!! I recommend this book for anyone who loves the state of TEXAS!!

Helen Bryant has summed up everything you need to make the transition from being "from someplace else" to being a Texan, all in a compact and witty book. I lived in Houston and San Antonio for 17 years and I'm fixin to go back (from California) so I thought I'd better brush up. I feel ready, now.

After I finished the book I wrapped it up and gave it to friends, native Southern Californians who are soon to make Fort Worth their home. If you are bound for Texas, read this book first!

Enjoyed it very much, bogged down just a little in several places. The author really got me caught up in the first page.

This is the type of book that is hard to put down. It grabs you from the start and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. It is not only a great story, it is also full of history of the Texas rangers and the Mexican border towns. I can't wait to read the sequel. I highly recommend this book.

Agree with others: hard to put down. A New Yorker married to a Texan, I had to take Texas history for teaching certification. It was extremely interesting, but this book beats all by drawing the reader in, so that you sort of live that slice of history along with the characters.

This is a captivating story with lovable characters. There is just the right amount of excitement, historical reference and Spanish language smattered throughout to make this book authentic and informative but easy and pleasant reading. I am anxious to see more from this author.

A great read. I was hooked at the first chapter. What a way to start a story! And the story continues with suprising twists and turns. You will enjoy the last chapter as much as you enjoyed the first chapter.

If you liked this tale about the Texas-Rio Grande region, then you will like Bart Skelton's monthly feature in Guns and Ammo magazine. And likewise, if you like Bart Shelton, then you will like this book.

Enjoy.