Friday Book Report: Texas Hold Him by Lisa Cooke

The year is 1870 and the South is trying to recover from the Civil War that has just ended.  New Orleans resident Charlotte Mason used to live on a prosperous southern plantation, but the aftermath of the War left her family with barely enough to live on, and an unknown blackmailer threatens to ruin her family for good.  Lisa Cooke delivers a delightful look at the riverboat gamblers in Texas Hold Him.  It was published in 2009 by the Dorchester Publishing Company, Inc.

Southern Belle Charlotte “Lottie” Mason is in a pickle that she’s not sure she can get out of.  The Civil War that ravaged the South left her family devastated, and now a blackmailer is threatening to send her ill father to prison unless Lottie can come up with the money to keep her father safe.  Lottie learns that there’s a big gambling tournament coming up, and she pleads with Obediah “Dyer” Straights, a successful riverboat gambler, to teach her the game of poker to earn the money to save her father.  Dyer has no time for a proper Southern lady; he travels the riverboats to search for revenge.  However, the ever insistent Lottie won’t give up, and he finally agrees to teach her for the price of one night in his bed, which he assumes will make her run away, but she calls his bluff and the cards are dealt. 

This is your typical light-hearted romance novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  This isn’t the type of book that’s going to make a reader think, and your brain won’t need to function too much to understand the plotline, but I don’t care.  It’s a very fun read and a great way to let your mind escape to the riverboats of the Mississippi for a few hours.  The premise of the book is a tad bit hard to believe, and if you really analyze this book, the plot is fairly weak, but it’s the characters of Lottie and Dyer that make this book readable.  Without them, this book would be sub-par and I would’ve folded long before the big bets are placed.  Lisa Cooke knows her audience though, and instead of taking the time to develop an intriguing plot she improves on her main characters, which is why romance readers read romance novels in the first place.  Fans of the romance genre don’t mind if the story is a little far-fetched, just as long as the protagonists are interesting and worth reading about.  Lottie and Dyer are definitely worth reading about.

The dialogue between Dyer and Lottie is great, I found myself laughing out loud more than once while reading.  The banter, teasing, and sharp wit between the two are hilarious.  Lottie is a little naïve and definitely out of place on a riverboat, and Dyer’s reactions to the situations she gets herself in make this little book a page turner.  It reminds me a lot of the movie (or television show) Maverick.  While the situations may be life threatening to the characters, the comedic overtones trump the disasters the characters get themselves into. 

While I can accept that the plotline of this book might leave a little to be desired, my only real complaint was that I thought it was too short.  A lot of the situations Dyer and Lottie get themselves into weren’t quite as developed as I would have liked, and I wish that the book were longer to really explain and detail their mishaps.  It felt like some of the situations they got into were abbreviated and I wanted the author to really give us an illustration of what was going on, not just the Cliff’s Note’s version.  Ms. Cooke tries to develop a secondary storyline between minor characters Newt and Sally that I thought was unnecessary.  If Ms. Cooke wanted to expand on their story, well that’s fine, but their story felt underdeveloped and lacking.  There wasn’t enough explanation or emotion written about those two to make their story interesting.  She needed to either develop a real story between them or just leave out the little snippets of emotion and just focus on Lottie and Dyer and keep Sally and Newt minor characters in the relationship between Lottie and Dyer.   I also just wanted more interaction between Lottie and Dyer, and there wasn’t enough about Newt and Sally to make me care about them.  Lottie and Dyer were without a doubt; the best part of this book.  The exchanges between Lottie and Dyer were wonderful, and I would’ve loved to read more conversations between them.

Overall I really liked this book, it’s a fast and easy read, great for a day or two of escapism if you’re looking for a fun book that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  There’s mild language and a few steamy scenes, so I wouldn’t recommend for younger readers.  It is a romance novel, so keep that in mind if you aren’t a romance fan.  I am a romance fan and I give this book a solid B+ grade.  The plot may be silly, but it’s the characters that make this book, and if you enjoy the comedic romance books, than I recommend you ante up for Texas Hold Him.