I Love This Bar (Honky Tonk)
*Starred Review* Daisy O’Dell, owner of the Honky Tonk beer joint, is well liked in the community. Her skills as a veterinary tech are often put to use since no one else is qualified to take care of the pets and other animals owned by the good folks of Erath County, Texas. Tricked into a friendship with Chigger, the town’s “almost” prostitute, and pursued by handsome Jarod McElroy, Daisy finds her nice, predictable, orderly life thrown into a tailspin. How could she be good enough for Jarod, she asks herself. After all, what sort of man would be seriously interested in a bartender? Besides, she’s already escaped one abusive relationship. Jarod is only in town to help his elderly uncle with his ranch, and his list of tasks doesn’t include getting involved with a woman. Underlying themes of self-confidence and self-identity run throughout this sometimes humorous, sometimes touching story; and Brown’s fans will be pleased to reconnect with her trademark cast of quirky characters. Readers who enjoyed Pamela Morsi’s Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk Bar (2009) will also take to Brown’s latest. --Shelley Mosley