| Title | : | Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend (Christmas in Coral Canyon, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 276 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2018 |
Graham Whittaker returns to Coral Canyon a few days after Christmas—after the death of his father. He's just found out his long-time girlfriend in Seattle has been cheating on him, and while Coral Canyon isn't his first choice of where to live, it's certainly the friendliest. He takes over the energy company his dad built from the ground up and buys a high-end lodge to live in—only a mile from the home of his once-best friend, Laney McAllister.
Laney returned to her family ranch after college, but her husband left Laney and their daughter, Bailey, to work the ranch themselves, which they've been trying to do. But with her furnace on the brink of failure and the snow falling faster than ever, Laney agrees to bring Bailey up to Graham's lodge for the holidays.
They were best friends once, but Laney's always entertained feelings for him, and spending so much time with him while they make Christmas memories puts her heart in danger of getting broken again.
Can they take their friendship to the next level and build a family? Or will Laney be risking her heart only to remain in the friend zone?
Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend (Christmas in Coral Canyon, #1) Reviews
-
I cannot believe I am going to say this but this is the very first book I have ever DNF'd! Even when they are tortuous, I muddled through to the end but I just couldn't do it with this book and my sincerest apologies to the author for saying that. Everything I read was so choppy and disjointed. There were times I couldn't figure out who was 'thinking' what. Then, we would go from reading one of the characters thoughts to being TOLD about their thoughts instead. Huh? I was so confused trying to read this. On top of that, it was excruciatingly slow and there was ZERO connection between the 2 main characters. Zilch. Nada. None. For them to have supposedly been best friends all of their lives, they acted like complete strangers not to mention he treated everyone like a bossy dick who expected women to wait on him hand and foot (ie, he just gets up and leaves his plate on the table for the women to clean up after him without a second thought about putting it in the sink!).
Oh, and who leaves a small child alone in a cabin for hours on end when there is 3 feet of snow on the ground while they go out to take care of chores on the farm??? Hell, who leaves a young child alone for hours on end at anytime of the year? Anything could have happened to Bailey and all she had was 2 dogs to stay with her? Ugh, I just can't. That is wrong on so many levels.
No, sorry, I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I can't even believe this was a Liz Isaacson book. I've read others by her that were so good so I won't give up on reading other books by her just maybe in a different series..... -
I think this title needs to be modified so that it can tick a few more boxes.
How about: Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend Baby Daddy Reverse Harem Prince?
OMG, and I just noticed that based on the series name it takes place at Christmas.
Thank you Amazon Paperwhite lock screen for making me laugh out loud today. -
I am never surprised when one of Liz Isaacson's books are wonderful because all of them are AMAZING! She can tell a story like no other. In this one, Laney and Graham are old friends but have not seen each for years. Laney has a little girl and a scumbag of an ex-husband. Graham has never been married and does not think he could be a husband or father. He is gruff and somewhat demanding and often takes advantage of everyone especially Laney. But in spite of everything, love is in the air. Can their feelings for one another get them past their problems? I highly recommend this book, in fact, any of her books.
-
Listened with Sydney.
First off, I want to acknowledge that I am fully aware that as a 23 year old lesbian, I am not the target audience for this book.
However.
This book was shit. (Spoilers ahead, unmarked.)
I have been known to enjoy terrible characters, bad relationships, etc in fiction, but this was not that. Besides the book being poorly written and seeming completely unedited, I HATED these characters. Especially Graham. He was a horrible person and partner, and Laney could do so much better, both in finding a partner and as a person.
They had been together for all of a week and they were talking about marriage and kids. I don't care if they were best friends in HIGH SCHOOL. They are completely different people now and do NOT know each other. The relationship seemed forced and extremely toxic and controlling, and she took him back way too easily. He completely ignored her when she was at her lowest point, and YES he knew she was in trouble. He ignored her for a week and a half and it literally takes 2 minutes to text back while youre taking a shit. It's not hard. Then she agreed to get back together with him and he tried to rush her into marriage so she couldn't leave him again. / But ooohhh noooo he's changed! /s He rearranged his entire life earlier that morning and hasn't even showed he would keep up with that promise. Maybe I have 'too high of standards' that should actually be the standard? But the ending stressed me out so much because that was so fucking unhealthy.
P.S. Why the FUCK was Mike McAllister at her house?? What happened to that? Did the dogs die half way through the book? She takes care of chickens and horses but only sells cows??
P.P.S. No need to continuously repeat that the ranch hand is mentally handicapped and then oops he is also a felon. Great.
P.P.P.S. Bank drop his wealth and then IGNORE IT for the entire rest of the book?? -
I wanted it to be good. It was not.
-
Romance, clean, contemporary
More of a 3.5 for me as a reader. I love this series. Some good down to earth characters, even with the 'money'. I am tired of Billionaires, but L.I. does it so well! -
Aw, I liked it. Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend had all the things I like! Cowboys! Good guys with funds! Falling for your best friend! Eeee! Don't let the cover fool ya, though. This hero and heroine? They're 40! I love that.
The Gist: Childhood friends and newfound neighbors, Graham and Laney... kinda have the hots for each other. They're older and sweet Mary they are slow on the uptake. And a bit hesitant to start anything up. *flails* Thank goodness for snow storms knocking out power and having to move in with each other for a spell.
I liked Graham and Laney. They're both workaholics--him with his business and lodge, her with her ranch. They're both on the verge of needing to scream in a closet (Lord don't I understand that!) because they are just about done with all of it. Laney's a good mom, and has a kind heart even if it's a bit damaged. Graham is a provider, brilliant problem solver and a bit damaged, too. They both have faults and quirks, they screw up now and again but I liked them and how hard they tried in the end.
Things stay pretty PG as Laney and her daughter move in for the holiday season and his family comes to visit for Christmas but I enjoyed the romance and watching these two find some sorely peace with each other.
All in all, Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend hit the spot. Sweet Christmasy romance with a large boisterous family that has me curious and ready for the next brother to find his match.
Amazon:
https://amzn.to/2SxdrYX -
2...
3...
2.5 stars for sure.
Most definitely jumped into Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend because it worked for a certain challenge. It also doesn't hurt that it brings me a new book, new series, and a new author my way either. Plus, I don't remember the last time I even read a cowboy book. So, I'll admit that I secretly excited to jump into this book.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a case of love at first sight. While the characters were okay at times, I just wasn't completely enamored by them. Yeah, they could be likable, but I wasn't invested the entire time. It was definitely a me thing and not the book.
Besides that, some of what happened just didn't make sense to me. First off, their romance just baffled me. It just didn't make sense and it felt like they really shouldn't be together. Then her farm life just confused the crap out of me. Heck, even his did.
In the end, I'm guess I knocked this off... but I have no idea if I'm going to jump into the next book. -
Reviewed at Lovin'A Cowboy Romance
Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend starts off the series with some necessary world building that’s smoothly folded into the story itself. While that is certainly a handsome cowboy on the cover the actual characters are past the first bloom of youth – it’s stated that Graham is 40, and Laney was not given an actual age but I lean toward her mid to late 30’s given that they were in school together, and the mentions of the risks of a pregnancy at her age. While a cover is often the first visual I get of the characters to base my own imagination on… I do wish that they were closer to the actual characters age – I find this in covers across all the genre I read. It’s a wish that will remain unfulfilled, I understand that and why but still… ya know? Anyways…
Graham and Laney both returned to Coral Canyon after their fathers’ deaths… Laney to inherit a small ranch, Graham to take over his father’s large business and the lodge that was meant as a hotel / get away resort. While they would consider each other best friends in high school, Laney did have a crush on Graham back then, one that never grew beyond her own imagination. She married, had a child, Bailey, and when her husband couldn’t stand life on the ranch and left, she divorced him. Now she’s running the ranch on her own, finances beyond tight, just trying to survive. Graham coming home to stay raises a complication for Laney. In many ways that crush is still there, but neither she nor Graham are the same people they were back in the day.
There were times, many in fact, that I truly wanted to smack both Graham and Laney upside the head and then sit them down for a stern talking to. Talk about stubborn and clueless to one’s actions. The fact is that I completely understood why they were acting that way, but it didn’t take away the frustration of seeing them make such huge mistakes in their growing relationship. Graham is no stranger to hard work, yet taking over his father’s main business meant hands on with every aspect of the business. While he wasn’t truly in over his head, he was bogged down by a business that was not his true passion… and a lodge that he was living in, not opening to paying guests. Graham could have cut the cast for the Strong, Silent Type. He rarely spoke his mind, kept his fears and frustrations bottled up and when he should have spoken, talked to Laney he made the choice not to… big mistake, huge. Laney was not without her own faults as she kept important information from Graham, kept her own emotions on a tight leash and nearly walked away over a very good reason. They’re complicated, much like life and reality are for us all.
Watching Laney and Graham learn how to talk to each other, to not hold back the important things was a painful, but necessary part of their journey as a couple. And we do see them grow, see then begin to view their actions through another person’s eyes – are they now perfect? Of course not. But they are on the same page, and that’s the most important part of a relationship. Meeting Graham’s brothers was a delight, and knowing that they will be also returning to Coral Canyon to take over different aspects of the lodge and helping with the business opens up all sorts of possibilities for future stories. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of this series. In all, Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend was an intense, interesting introduction to the series with realistic characters, people I want to know more about and satisfying ending.
I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription. -
The Cowboy Billionaire’s Best Friend: Christmas in Coral Canyon: A Whittaker Brothers novel 1 is by Liz Isaacson. This first book introduces the story of the Whittaker Brothers and it is very predictable in that the brother moves in to take care of the Whittaker Lodge, meets an eligible girl, falls in love, and finally wins the girl’s hand in marriage. It is very predictable; but Liz has a way of making the action so different with each brother that the idea seems to be unique and fresh.
The characters are kept to a minimum and are very realistic and natural. The plot is always fun to follow. The book is a great one for reading romance that steers away from over treatment and doesn’t involve a raunchy scene or language.
This book involves Graham Whittaker who upon the death of his Father, inherited not only Springside Energy; but, also, the Lodge he had purchased in Wyoming where he had lived. He decided to quit his job in Seattle and return home to run the business and live in the lodge. The breakup with his girlfriend helped in that decision. He knew he would have to learn as he went with the lodge; but at least he had his neighbor to help him.
Laney McAlister had known Graham for a long time and they had been best friends since they started school. Since he had left home, she had married and divorced and was raising her daughter on the family ranch next to Graham. She and Bailey were trying to keep the farm alive; but were having problems when he arrived at home. She was willing to help him with the horses in the stable.
Just before Christmas, a storm knocked out the electricity at Laney’s and they were forced to seek refuge at the lodge. Graham and Laney began to see each other with different eyes as they prepared for a Whittaker Christmas. -
This was great. A couple who were best friends as teens meet many years later. After both of them have been hurt by others. He has lots of money and works too many hours after taking over his father's company and buying a place with some horses. For a year he he asks Laney for advice on his horses. Even though she is overwhelmed taking care of her larger farm by herself she takes time for him. He is a person very wrapped up in himself. When Laney needs a place to stay with her daughter short term he realizes she is what he needs. But can he find time to nourish a relationship? I received a complimentary copy and I am voluntarily reviewing.
-
MARVELOUS SERIES
What do you do on a perfectly nasty, rainy, windy day (think scuba gear over hip waders for going outside ;-P) when you don’t have to go ANYWHERE? Especially when you have just downloaded ALL of the Christmas in Coral Canyon books onto your kindle app... =) You binge-read the entire series! I’ve fallen in love with all of the characters-their strong, and sometimes not so strong, faith, their care of family and the understanding that family isn’t always people with whom you are related. What started out as a dreary day, has be a joyous time of meeting ‘new friends’ and watching them grow in their faith and fall in love. *Sigh :) It’s been a LOVELY day! -
Gray has retired from the family firm but he can't move away because of Hunter's education. He's taken with Elise but she lives and works in Coral Canyon, where his brothers, Colton and Wes, live. Gray arranges a lunch date but everything that can go wrong does.
Gray has lost his trust in women due to his ex-wife and a couple of bad relationships after his divorce. He's very worried about the impact on Hunter of having a girlfriend.
Elise hasn't had a good relationship history and doesn't think she's worth much.
It's great to catch up with the other Hammond brothers.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
A great read, looking forward to Cy's story next. -
Good Character Development
Because of the deliberate omission of sleaze, Isaacson has space to develop her characters. In particular, we see the male protagonist realize his main personality flaws and set to work defeating them. Only after he has made substantial progress toward their defeat is his lady willing to marry him.
In the process, he succeeds in reuniting his far-flung brothers, to the gratitude of his widowed mother.
Recommended for readers of clean romance with a twist of wealth. But wealth does not, nor should it, solve all problems. -
The couple: Graham and Laney
Romance genre: second chance romance
Part of a series: Yes (Christmas in Coral Canyon)
Length: 218 pages
Plot: Graham's father has died, and so he comes home to run the ranch, lodge, and business. It's perfect timing, since he just broke up with a long-term girlfriend after finding out that she's been cheating on him. When he gets home, he finds himself relying on Laney, his neighbor who also used to be a friend back in high school. He finds himself relying on her a lot and never really gives a thought to what kind of a burden that puts on her, or what sort of burdens she might already be carrying. Laney's ranch is close to collapse, but she has to keep going to take care of her daughter. When the power goes out, Graham finds that he can finally repay Laney for all of her help, but in the process, he finds that maybe there are some things that he needs to change about himself, and as he and Laney begin to explore their relationship, he finds that there are even more things to adjust as he examines his relationship to those around him.
Character development: It was implied that they were very, very good friends in high school, but it didn't seem like it. It also seemed that she had a big crush on him, but I could not tell if it was ever reciprocated.
This isn't my normal type of read. I don't normally read clean and/or Christian romances. This was definitely in the "inspirational" category. But it was nice to see these two get a HEA; mostly I was glad that Laney no longer had to struggle so hard.
Would I read more from this author/in this series: no - clean romances aren't my thing
Next book in the series:
Her Cowboy Billionaire Boss -
I received this book for free.
It still needs more editing. There were lots of errors and the conversations seemed very disjointed and boring.
Book about a billionaire ✔️
Book about falling in love with your best friend ✔️
Book about falling in love with high school crush ✔️
Cowboy ✔️
Workaholic changing his life ✔️
Single Mom with weird Ex ✔️
Christmas ✔️
Bleh. It’s like a bad Hallmark knock-off movie.
P.S. Why does she have 13 horses?!? -
This was a good read. Graham's father has passed away. He now returns home to run the family business. His childhood friend Laney is trying to stay afloat as she is raising her daughter and running the ranch. When her furnace is about to break during a winter storm she heads to Graham's house to stay. While there they begin as friends yet by the end they become so much more.
-
2.5 stars
In all honesty, it's all my own fault and my own obsession with wanting to rot my brain. There is no way of looking at the cover, reading the title, and not knowing what type of book it is going to be. Don't judge a book by its cover be darned. This book is exactly what it looks like.
It really wasn't that bad up until the last 25% or so. Like, yeah, it was a cheesy romance that could have easily been produced by Hallmark, but whatever, that's what I signed up for.
After that, though, it started to get more ridiculous than I thought suitable. About 99% of the relationship issues between Graham and Laney are just complete drama blowing things out of proportion. I agree that they don't act like they used to be best friends as kids (despite them constantly reminding me that they were...), and there's not that much chemistry between them. There was a subtle Beauty and the Beast thing going on for a while, which part of me didn't understand because Graham wasn't that bad. Like, he's not being a beast for telling you that you probably shouldn't go see your mentally insane ex-husband by yourself. That's called common sense.
Then, in the end, when they decide that they are obsessively devoted to each other (even though they've only actually thought about being a couple for maybe 3 weeks), Graham decides that they should get married immediately. Like, woah there buddy. Y'all had a major falling out and broke up for a week, but now that you're back together, it's time to get married? That did not sit well with me, especially since it seemed that the primary motivation for marriage was so that they could have a baby as soon as possible. I mean, I get that they're older and stuff, but if this is the way Laney treats her marriage then no wonder her first one went bad.
Also, while it's a pretty unremarkable detail, I don't know why they chose that particular cover because, although the guy on it could be Graham, he's probably like 20 years too young.
*pauses to catch breath and realizes I am completely overthinking this ridiculous romance story*
----
Edit: I'm upping my review from 2.5 stars to 3.5. After reviewing the series and the publisher, from as far as I can tell, it looks like the series was actually self-published. I feel like, for a self-published book, this stands out a little bit more because (apart from the issues I mentioned above) the writing is actually pretty solid, and I enjoyed the book for the most part. -
I really enjoyed this Beauty and the Beast inspired romance. When Graham Whitaker lost his father, his life was transformed. Almost overnight he became the owner of Whiskey Mountain Lodge, CEO of Springside Energy Operations, and back home in Coral Canyon, a life he left years before. In his wake, the life he lived in Seattle, his dreams, and his career. As he growls his way through the pages of this story, his world revolves around his wants and his needs. He demands perfection from himself and others. Gentle, free spirit Laney Boyd McAllister inherited Echo Ridge and is determined to maintain her family’s legacy. Creating a life for her daughter Bailey remains her focus and priority. “She wanted to spend her life working the land and raising cattle.” A little Cinderella, a little bit Prince and the Pauper, this fun, sweet story brings together two very different characters. Can they rekindle their past friendship? They had a past, a present, and perhaps a future together. “Why couldn’t they hold hands and help each other on their farms and ranches? Why couldn’t he kiss her and still be her best friend?” Interesting story line, fun dialogue, and a sweetly satisfying ending.
-
Darling and Delightful
Graham has moved back to Coral Canyon after his father's death. He reunites with Laney, his best friend from his youth. She's a divorced single mom struggling to keep her family's cattle ranch afloat. He's inherited the family business and bought a lodge next door to Laney. They're both stubborn and independant, Mature adults, they are use to making their own decisions and not relying on others. They both have to reevaluate their attitudes when they are trying to become a couple None more than Graham. The story is engaging, touching and loving Even with a few glitches along the way, it's reassuring to see the adaptions made for Laney and Graham to get their happy ending. -
A beautiful well written clean best friends romance. This engaging storyline had me addicted page after page. This was a very good story about two people overcoming the things in their lives and finding love and happiness with supportive family, ups and downs, obstacles, issues from their past that made them a bit jaded, unannounced reappearance of ex, romance, snowstorm, old crush, and chemistry all while they overcome and find love and happiness. This author and narrator did an amazing job of bringing the characters and the story to life in bright living color. I voluntarily listened and reviewed this incredible story that is beautifully narrated engaging my imagination.
-
This is a clean romance between 2 best friends who haven't seen each other in years. They each have been cheated on and ended up coming back home because of a death and both took over running their father's ranch. Graham hadn't planned on coming home and filling his father's shoes. He is overwhelmed at his job, but not at the ranch because he only has 3 horses and the money to pay for help. Laney is struggling to keep her ranch going on her own.I think they have trouble getting along at first because they are both struggling in different ways. It was good to see Graham realize his mistakes and take steps to rectify things.
