Another fun read from Carolyn Brown. Set in a small town in Texas, with a few spitfire woman who love their town, their church, and their families. The peace in the town is disrupted by the return of Mathilda, a manipulative and selfish woman who is bound and determined to upset the status quo. Toss in an attraction between Liddy’s niece and Mathilda’s son, despite the fact that each of their families forbids a relationship between them.

If you like small town Southern drama, and a little clean romance, this might be for you.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

I was so disappointed in this book. It started off so well, with a spicy battle between two women which has been going on for generations.

BUT somewhere along the 50% mark, the story veered so far from the battle between two founding houses of Bonnet to a love story that it threw me off the mark. And the condescending way in which the whole family treats Amelia in general made me want to throw up.

The whole town just wants to do things to avoid Matilda from sinking her claws in, but that woman just never does anything apart from empty threats? I mean what?

It's like there were so so so many details that were just put in at the very end of the book that made no sense.

And absolutely nothing happens in the end with the rivalry between Liddy and Matilda? That was just shameful.

This book started off so nicely but frustrated me in the end. There are other better small town setting books. Avoid this one.

I have typically enjoyed reading stories by Carolyn Brown. Sometimes they’re a little too romance-y for my taste, but there is usually well character development and a good story line that makes up for that syrupy sweetness. However, this book did not click at all with me. The characters were shallow, the family “feud” was ridiculous and over the top, the meanness was just ugly. I was so over all the “drama” that it took all I had to continue reading to the end. I was so disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

If you are Vegan you might not laugh as much at the characters as much as did. That said, I love Carolyn Brown’s books. This doesn’t fail me. Enjoyed the characters and story. Light & fast reading.

I received this book for free from Netgalley for an honest review.
One of my all-time favorite authors I'm so glad the opportunity to read her books.

~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

Carolyn Brown is one of my go-to favs. For me, her books are what I think of when I hear the term "southern fiction." Brown's books are always chock full of eccentric characters, family drama, and sticky situations. I love the humor within The Bluebonnet Battle's storyline. And I love the characters-Aunt Liddy and Matilda are hilarious! The plot of this book follows Amelia and Nick, who are attracted to each other but both come from warring families (think Romeo and Juliet). This is an entertaining book about family, love, and forgiveness! A fun, light-weight read to add to your list!

Really enjoyed this heartwarming, action packed adventure filled with engaging charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and emotional turns. Highly entertaining and emotionally thrilling journey from beginning to end.

This is a wonderful book, and I loved the friendships and frenemies that drew me into the story and had me sad when the book was done but so happy that I read the book. I highly recommend this book to everyone that loves a good love story

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. This is the first book I have read by this author and It was a little disappointing. It repeated way to much of the same sentences and descriptions. I felt the plot was good but it did not need the extra 100 pages to tell the story. I will try another book by this author and hopefully I will connect with it more.

Another good read by Carolyn Brown. Set in Texas, anyone who is from the south understands the funeral dinner theme for this book. Liddy and Matilda have feuded for years and when Matilda returns to Bluebonnet and opens a new vegan funeral catering business the town braces for war. Now their niece and nephew have fallen in love and that is throwing gas on the flames. The battle for the funeral dinner crown is on. As two strong-willed women wrestle for control, making peace with the past may be the only way to serve the star-crossed lovers a happy ending. A fun read. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Bluebonnet Battle

by Carolyn Brown

I expected a romance with conflict between two feuding families. What I got in The Bluebonnet Battle was a very mean-spirited tale. There were clearly two sides. Matilda is an angry woman who excels in manipulating others to get what she wants. The other side is headed up by Liddy who has certainly been wronged but is vindictive and unforgiving. In fact, one of her friends suggests to Liddy that she pray for Matilda explaining that it might not change Matilda but it might take the anger out of Liddy’s heart. Liddy responds with a venomous, disgusting, unkind prayer that causes her adult niece Ruth Ann who acts like a Greek chorus in this book to giggle. It is hard to like any of these characters.

Fortunately, Nick, Matilda’s son, and Amelia, Ruth Ann’s daughter, slowly overcome family hurdles to form a relationship. By the time you get to this point in the story, you will be so tired of how the feud plays out through vegan versus Southern cooking featuring lemon meringue and lemon chess pies, along with who controls the local funeral dinners, that you will be glad for romance in any form. There is actually some motivation revealed for why Matilda is the way she is, but the explanation is too little and too late. The townspeople are closed to outsiders and small-minded. Nick and Amelia develop into nice people, but my favorite of the bunch is Uncle Harry, Matilda’s much older brother; he is the only character I would like to know. If a romance’s plot is character driven, it shouldn’t be replete with bitter characters.

I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Montlake for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

Category: General Fiction (Adult), Romance

Notes: 1. Includes recipes.
2. Contains profanity, even in church where the characters immediately, but rather insincerely, ask God’s forgiveness.
3. Several older and presumably wiser characters suggest to Nick and Amelia that the only way to know a person (with the goal of having a good marriage) is to live together first. That is advice that may be popular in some circles, but is one with which I take issue.
4. Perhaps a minor detail to some, but the flowers on the cover are not bluebonnets.

Publication: March 8, 2022—Mountlake

Memorable Lines:

When I heard Matilda was coming back to town, I figured we’d have to weather some storms. I just didn’t think we would have a class-five tornado two days after she arrived.

Compared to this thing between her aunt and Nick’s mother, the Hatfield and McCoy feud looked like a kindergarten playground fight.

Matilda’s whisper went right along with the look in her eyes—so toxic that a hazmat team wouldn’t have come near her.

I know everytime I pick up a Carolyn Brown book that I am in for a great story, and Bluebonnet Battle was another winner. In Bonnet, Texas, Liddy Latham and Matilda Monroe have had a feud going for years. Matilda married and moved away, but with her recent divorce, she has returned to Bonnet and the feud has heated it. It takes the form of funeral lunches, church socials and festivals and events, but it is heating up with Liddy worried about what Matilda might pull. Matilda’s son, Nick, has also returned to Bonnet as his uncle is retiring and wants Nick to take over his business. When Liddy’s niece, Amelia and Nick meet each other, sparks fly. For Matilda and Liddy, their precious kin’s romance is their worst nightmare. Amelia and Nick want to come up with a plan to end the feud so they can have their happily ever after.

This is definitely a character driven story and these characters were wonderful. As we learned about the past, we find out that the feud started years ago over a piece of land. Although both Liddy and Matilda had issues and carried on the years old feud, Matilda was a B---ch of the first degree. There was not one thing to like about her and it always surprises me when this type of person has a posse agreeing with them. I love the witty banter that is included in this story and with the amount of dialogue, that is necessary. The characters are very southern with their mannerisms and language, which often makes me giggle. There are a lot of times that I laughed out loud, usually with Liddy's quick mouth and snarky comments. Nick and Amelia both know what is going on and want their families to mend their ways. It is an old feud and they need to move on. They are working on their own plans for a Happily Ever After. The blurb makes is sound like the story is about funeral dinners, and although that is part of the story, it is much more. The story is about revenge, forgiveness, moving on, reconciliation, and of course romance. It was a bit of a tame retelling of Romeo and Juliet without the tragic ending. As usual, this is a clean, wholesome story.

Funny, sexy, and roars with life.
Many thanks to Montlake and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The small town story with two rival families is always a challenge that I’m for reading.
The friendships between all of them was great , the interaction and banter made me laugh out loud so many times and I want lemon pie now.
The family feuds felt like a great old story that proved to be a misunderstanding as it happens and I enjoyed how everything comes together in the end.
A great book that many readers will enjoy

Matilda was such a spoiled brat! Aha caused so much suffering, but she gets out of the way, so maybe there is some kind of love hidden inside. I loved Kiddy and her family and the way they stick up for each other, and even for Nick at the end! We need more people like her in this world! Make lemon meringue pies, not war! Enjoy!

I enjoyed reading The Bluebonnet Battle. It was easy to read, and I found myself laughing out loud several times.
I loved the small-town setting and the characters, even Matilda! Typical of most small towns, it had its own grapevine, and gossip spread quickly. The long-time residents of Bonnet always came together when one of them were in need, and plenty of food was involved when they did, especially Liddy's lemon pies.
The feud between two families, which had been going on for over 100 years, was intriguing.

This is a great story that showcases how southern families can be. Amelia is a true southern girl who was raised with manner and respect. She is an high school English teacher who loves her family and the small town she was raised in. When they have several deaths in their town they all come together to pay their respects and of course eat some good country food. This is where Amira meets Nick. They have an instant connection at the funeral but they are warned away from east other due to family history and feuds. Nick just moved into his uncles Harry’s house and is taking over his real estate business. His mom came with him and is driving him absolutely crazy. She is her usual mean and terrible self to everyone including her son. He is ready to settle down in this nice town that he always loved when he was growing up. He wants nothing more than to get to know Amelia better but it is extremely difficult since the town is full of spies who are more than willing to tell their families if they are together. Will this modern day Romeo and Juliet work out? I was given this book for an honest review.

Carolyn Brown does it again with her women’s fiction, THE BLUEBONNET BATTLE. We’re in the small town of Bonnet, Texas, where things don’t seem to change over the years. There are a lot of lemon pies and funeral dinners along with a longstanding feud between Liddy and Madeline that goes back generations. But when Madeline blows into town thinking she can take over, she’s in for quite a few surprises.

Liddy’s family takes center stage. Her niece Amelia is an elementary school teacher who was burned in her last romance by a controlling boyfriend. She’s attracted to Madeline’s son, Nick, who is moving to town to take over his uncle’s real estate business. She and Nick think they’re hiding their attraction and chemistry…but not when the town is filled with those whose gossip reaches new heights. Their story has a sweetness to it even if they are going behind their families’ backs, or so they think.

The characters have a depth to them, and we learn about the characters and the feud as the story progresses. Madeline is a hard person to like, and even Nick would rather not be in her presence. She does befriend some of the townspeople, and they become her posse and her mouthpiece when they think others are being small-minded or are living in the past and being mean to “poor” Madeline.

THE BLUEBONNET BATTLE was a joy to read. It had a good flow and many interesting storylines woven together. The small town drama and gossipy neighbors gave a lot of humor an authenticity to the story. And the romance satisfied. There is nice closure when the story ends eighteen months after it begins, but I wish it had gone on just a little longer. There is the requisite happily ever after along with some peace in their lives.

I can’t wait to see what Ms. Brown pens next!

I rated the book 4.5 stars but rounded to 5 stars here and on other sites.

Well! Matilda is back in town and stirring up ancient history. Matilda is planning on changing the menu to everything the towndoes. She wants vegan instead of fried chicken…whoever heard of such. But, when her son, Nick has eyes for Liddy, the niece of Matilda’s nemesis, all bets are off!

No one does southern fiction like Carolyn Brown and this book is precious. I read it in one sitting. This story did start out slowly but once the characters became more familiar, I flew through this book.

The cute little quips and southern traditions had me smirking in my airplane seat. Add in the family feud drama and you are in for a cute ride you do not want to miss!

I usually listen to Carolyn Brown’s novels. She has a great narrator and they are perfect for a short trip. So, reading this one was a bit different for me. If you need a different format, audio is the way to go!

Need a wonderful, southern novel that will have you smiling and feeling good all around…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.