Frosted Cowboy, the debut novel by Charlene A. Ross, is released today. Buy it on Amazon.com for an entertaining lighthearted read!
Sometimes you want to live a fabulous life vicariously through a character in the pages of a story that leads you confidently through its ups and downs and twists and turns. Sometimes you want to be entertained, to love a character lightly, to root for her and not worry that she’s going to experience the darkest side of what humanity has to offer. Sometimes you just want to laugh. Thank goodness for stories like this.
And thank goodness for Frosted Cowboy, a delightful debut novel that follows aspiring fashion designer Laney – 32 years old, recently single, recently unemployed – through a year in her life when she struggles to find herself. But this is no slog through despair.
Laney is a regular gal from the suburbs, trying to make her way among socialites and quasi-celebrities in Hollywood. Meanwhile, although she still stings from the rejection of having her boyfriend of 7 years cheat on her, Laney juggles the attentions of two hot young firemen and a not-gay massage therapist/aspiring screenwriter. Her sassy wit makes her attractive to many of the men she meets in her new life, but she has no idea. She’s just being herself.
The language in Frosted Cowboy is kicky and fun, and Laney’s observations of the people she meets are often scathing even as they flow by so easily that you might miss their humor. Laney is plucky and self-deprecating and bitingly funny, prone to speaking in asides and parentheses and multiply-hyphenated phrases. In a scene where she prepares to weather New Year’s Eve alone:
I’m looking forward to my food orgy and girl-so-obviously-gets-boy-despite-all-obstacles-because-she-looks-like/is-Katherine Heigl-Rachel McAdams-Amanda Seyfried movie fest.
I love the way the author describes the food Laney eats and the outfits she wears, little details that make her come alive. I read an advance copy of this novel on the Kindle app from Amazon, which is a departure for me since I am a die-hard paper book reader. I worried that it might distance me from the story a bit, but since the author guides the reader through with such a confident hand, I found myself flicking through page after page, eager to find out what was coming next.
It’s a sweet, happy story with enough roadblocks in Laney’s way to give her chances to exceed her own expectations of herself. There’s sex and rock and roll. No drugs, but plenty of wine and margaritas and the eponymous Frosted Cowboy, a trendy cocktail whose recipe is provided at the end of the novel. Once you make it to the end of the story and you’re sad it’s over, a Frosted Cowboy will perk you right up again. Cheers!
Frosted Cowboy by Charlene A. Ross
Paperback – $11.99 on Amazon
eBook – $4.99 on Amazon
julie gardner says
Kicky, self-deprecating, bitingly funny, and multi-hyphenated.
These all sound right up my alley. Sign me up for the Charlene Ross Fan Club!
(Truth be told, though, you had me at eponymous COCKTAIL.)
Bring on the Frosted Cowboys!
julie gardner recently posted…A Modest (Writing) Proposal
Laurel Janssen says
You had me at kicky & plucky – so cool!
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Jennie Goutet says
This was such a FUN book to read!
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