It was cute, nothing earth shattering, or fascinating. Nice to now know the cute love story behind the blogger. ( )

Yes, my review is influenced by my love for all things Pioneer Woman. I think Ree Drummond is a down to earth woman full of heart and down home cooking. So many things in my house are The Pioneer Woman at Walmart line. I have owned every single one of her cookbooks for years; I follow her on Instagram. Despite these things, I have never read this book. Shocking, right? I have had it on my shelf.....but finally (after coming off of the intense "I'll be Gone in the Dark") I picked up the book.

It was an absolutely delightful read. The romance between Ree and her husband is so sweet and passionate. I felt their love (and seeing it play out in real time, I can tell it is still accurate.) Her stories about acclimating to life on the ranch, tending to cows, battling fires, and eating steak after being a vegetarian are awesome and hilarious. Finding out about the less than perfect honeymoon and the first foray into breastfeeding reminds readers of just how normal Ree is as a person. A lot of Food Network personalities change the longer they are on the airwaves. My hope is that Ree continues to buck that trend.

I also love seeing the recipes in the back of the book (especially ones that she references in her story.) But they are also in the cookbooks ;) ( )

I really wanted to like this book - I love the tv show. I was so disappointed. Some parts were disturbing, gross & (I felt) unnecessary to the story. Some parts were overly cheesy - the romantic cliches were borderline ridiculous. I found myself rolling my eyes often. Sorry - should have kept it on the blog. ( )

Delightful story! ( )

good love story book given to me by Whitney and Dylan 2012? For my bd? ( )

Ages ago, I picked up The Pioneer Woman Cooks while I was looking around for a new cookbook. I can't say I've ever tried any of the recipes, but her stories about life on the ranch stuck with me, so when I saw this one at a book sale for $1 I figured 'why not?'

I was in the mood for something memoir-ish to go alongside my monopoly read this morning, so I started this first, thinking to get a chapter or two in before picking up my other book, but not only did I get hopelessly sucked into Ree Drumond's story, it turned out that this was a much more fitting book for the monopoly square I'm on (WaterWorks).

This is Ree's story about how she met her husband, the man she adoringly refers to as The Marlboro Man - her very own real life cowboy. I gotta tell you, I wan't even half-way through this book before I was half in love with the man myself. He might be a certified saint in a Stetson. On the flip side, Ree is probably harder on herself in the name of honesty and, likely, entertainment than could be strictly considered fair, but it works; oftentimes hilariously. She creates an incredibly compelling re-telling of her courtship, wedding, honeymoon (omg, what a nightmare honeymoon!) pregnancy, and first year of marriage.

I'm not going to claim the writing is outstanding; this definitely has that blog-turned-into-book feel, which it is, but for me, the story transcended any shortcomings in the writing (which, btw, was better edited than most of my reads nowadays). I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As Ree spends an alarming amount of time turning on the WaterWorks in the second half of the book, in the form of crying, bawling, sobbing and blubbering (and wow, is it justified), I could not have picked a more tailor-made book for my monopoly square if I tried. ( )

Okay, I'm a little embarrassed to be caught reading this book, but I was also pleasantly surprised at how well-written, entertaining and funny Ree's book is. She tells you in her introduction that it started out as kind of a lark, writing in her blog about how she met her husband following a 4-year dead-end (for HER) relationship, and the whirlwind, steamy, every day courtship that ensued with her "Marlboro Man" cowboy suitor who would soon become her husband. She's also pretty honest about how she patterned her writing after Harlequin-style romance novels. And that is indeed how her story reads. (Yes, I have peeked into a few Harlequins - BLUSH!)

I "know" Ree Drummond through her daily cooking shows on the Food Network, which my wife checks in on almost every day. I'm not a fan of the show, by the way. A bit too nasal, syrupy and cutesy for my taste - and who really cares about cooking anyway? (Not I.) But I bought Ree's memoir, PIONEER WOMAN: BLACK HEELS TO TRACTOR WHEELS, for my wife a few years ago, and just got around to trying it myself. And I made it through over 200 pages of it, before it finally got just a little too redundant - all that endless "Marlboro Man" stuff and how hot and sexy he was, etc. It was kinda surprising to find that she grew up very privileged and wealthy - the middle child of an Oklahoma physician, in a big suburban house on a golf course. And went to college and lived in California for a time, and had planned to go to law school in Chicago, until she met this guy, who quite literally swept her off her feet. And they are still married, twenty-some years and four children later. So I knew how their story ended - like a Harlequin romance, "happily ever after," I'm sure - so far so good, so to speak. Two-hundred plus pages was enough for me. I've got other books waiting.

But Ree Drummond is actually a pretty bright woman, who writes engagingly and well, and I'm not surprised her memoir was a bestseller - women would REALLY love her story, I'm sure. Well, obviously they DO, because there are several thousand reader reviews on the book's Amazon page and elsewhere online, and most of them are very positive. And I liked her writing, up to a point. Highly recommended - especially to women, even those who do not number in her legions of fans for her cooking show. Good job, Ree.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels To Tractor Wheels 🍒🍒🍒
By Ree Drummond
2011
Harper Collins

There is a saying - you'll find love in the strangest places, when you least expect it- and this memoir of Ree Drummond decision to forego her Big City Girl high class life to become the wife of a rancher, begs us to follow this premise. This novel reads like a made for TV Hallmark movie. Just plain sweet, gooey and.oozing with love for her Marlboro Man. It seems throughout the book, she is trying more to sell the story, then tell the story. For.me, some.of references and how she.portrays hee developmentally disabled brother were rather, odd and cold. Distant. Referring to the man she is so smitten with as Marlboro Man, never giving him a name, an identity. Just Marlboro Man....
"I'd found the one man on earth who would appreciate my spots if imperfection....and who wouldn't try to polish them all away." p.107

" I knew the last of the struggles weren't fully behind us.
But still.....I couldn't shake the feeling.
I could see it. I knew
The sun was getting ready to rise."

I do like Ree and adore her daily show on Food Network, The Pioneer Woman. I enjoy watching her cook and bake and her family, which are center on her show. She is a woman very sure of her capabilities, and knows the importance of selling the product. In this case, herself. But her sincere love of cooking and baking are always refreshing. She seems to have seamlessly evolved from a city girl to a pioneer woman, has several cookbooks, a popular blog, and her own store, the Merc. Her success speaks for.itself, as does her love of her family, esp her children and, of course, her work.
Why does she sound so lonely?

Easy and good read. Recommended. Includes some family recipes. ( )

Stumbled on Ree's (Pioneer Woman, plus other offshoots) blog by accident and enjoyed it for a while, until I got sick of seeing 9K photos of her ugly dogs. Her story of city-girl winds up on a ranch could have been really entertaining and insightful, but it is not. Drummond really needs an editor to teach her to avoid endless repetition, unnecessary details and off-topic tangents. One can only read about "marlboro man's" biceps so many times. She leaves out so much, yet repeats herself so often. Her writing is light and breezy, fluffy. I will stick to her blogs, but will press delete whenever I see those dogs... ( )

Fun, Lite, Quick... where's my beach??
The blogger Pioneer Woman wrote her meeting/courtship/marriage of Marlboro Man as a serial blog on her website. This is the collection plus more meat to the story.
I've enjoyed her website for some time (and the book was given to me) so a no-lose situation. ( )

Maybe it's because I'm from Kansas; maybe it's because I, too, could never see myself living on a ranch; maybe it's because I also recently moved home and felt aimless and found myself in a relationship I didn't see coming... but I got sucked into this book! I'm not typically a romance reader but I found this sweet (although sometimes cloyingly). At times, Ree's preoccupation with her vanity and self-deprecation became irksome. Overall, though, it was a cute story that I enjoyed. ( )

I'm only in chapter 3 and already I've decided that this woman isn't a good person. So far, she's a wimp, a cheater and a dog killer (and as far as I can tell, she doesn't feel bad about any of it). And the way she writes for her stuttering, developmentally disabled brother is just uncool. (Not to mention she's the one reading the book on the CD - which means I get to listen to the stuttering voice she gives him) But maybe that's what real love does to you. I'm not sure. She'd better redeem herself. I'm rooting for her to be better, but I'm not holding my breath.

And for the love of god, name your freaking husband. You already said you fell in love with and married the man, stop calling him "Marlboro Man," the preciousness of it makes me want to vomit.

ETA Jan. 23: With her overly-grandiose wording and the section about how "Marlboro Man" saved her from a life without beef (Seriously?! Just shut the hell up), I've decided Drummond is beyond redemption. Now I'm just reading out of spite and irritation.

"I'd do anything for Marlboro Man, including forsake my longtime commitment to avoiding meat." This is her proof of their love. To me it seems to simply be proof that she is willing to give up her supposed ideals and change for a man.

ETA Jan. 24: Okay, I made it to chapter eight. I can't take this anymore. She's not a good writer at all. Things you'll never hear a writing teacher tell you: use your thesaurus so you sound smart; similes are fun, use as many as you can; make yourself sound amazing in every way possible; repeat names until your readers want to rip their eyes out; and try to be funny, people love that!

I hate to be mean, but stick to blogging and leave the writing to the authors. We're done here. ( )

Download a sample onto my kindle just for kicks and -- I actually like it. Think I will buy and read, especially because I am struggling with some other books at the moment.

Funny and charming memoir written by "The Pioneer Woman," Ree Drummond. Chronicles her city-girl courtship and early marriage to a cowboy from Oklahoma. ( )

I really liked it. I think it's sort of hard to mess up writing a book about something that happened to YOU in your own life. It was entertaining and I came away happy that the authors life turned out the way it did for her and her family ( )

Requested this as a review copy, ages ago, because I was familiar with Ree Drummond's story from her blog. I like her recipes, and her photographs of a prairie life. Looks kind of alien to this city girl. So I was curious.

But reading about her going gaga with love at first sight and melting for the Marlboro Man, was a bit much for me. It felt smug and simpering to read.
I like reading recipes and seeing her photography better than being inside her head about her relationship.
I think this wasn't a bad book, just not a good fit for me. ( )

Requested this as a review copy, ages ago, because I was familiar with Ree Drummond's story from her blog. I like her recipes, and her photographs of a prairie life. Looks kind of alien to this city girl. So I was curious.

But reading about her going gaga with love at first sight and melting for the Marlboro Man, was a bit much for me. It felt smug and simpering to read.
I like reading recipes and seeing her photography better than being inside her head about her relationship.
I think this wasn't a bad book, just not a good fit for me. ( )

Requested this as a review copy, ages ago, because I was familiar with Ree Drummond's story from her blog. I like her recipes, and her photographs of a prairie life. Looks kind of alien to this city girl. So I was curious.

But reading about her going gaga with love at first sight and melting for the Marlboro Man, was a bit much for me. It felt smug and simpering to read.
I like reading recipes and seeing her photography better than being inside her head about her relationship.
I think this wasn't a bad book, just not a good fit for me. ( )

Requested this as a review copy, ages ago, because I was familiar with Ree Drummond's story from her blog. I like her recipes, and her photographs of a prairie life. Looks kind of alien to this city girl. So I was curious.

But reading about her going gaga with love at first sight and melting for the Marlboro Man, was a bit much for me. It felt smug and simpering to read.
I like reading recipes and seeing her photography better than being inside her head about her relationship.
I think this wasn't a bad book, just not a good fit for me. ( )

Loved learning about Ree's personal life and how she became the Pioneer Woman. It might only be for fans of her blog and/or cookbooks though. ( )

This is just bad. It's listed as non-fiction despite the fact that the author seems to recall in great detail every emotion, thought, tear, AND article of clothing worn during the courtship with her husband. Poor little rich girl meets cowboy worth millions and proceeds to have a fantasy fairytale romance. One wonders if the bulge in his jeans that attracted her the most was his wallet. But then again she, admittedly, could afford to buy $495 coats when she was an unemployed college graduate living with her parents, so perhaps it was a mutual financial romance.
So to everyone who insists she is "keeping it real", when is the last time you knew a "real" person who could afford top end china, couture clothing, and had a TV Studio/professional kitchen/bed & breakfast on their vast cattle empire? ( )

I adore the blog but this memoir is nothing like the blog. ( )

Ms. Drummond tells the story of meeting, falling in love with, and marrying her Oklahoma cowboy in prose that is exaggerated just enough to provide humor without obscuring the things she learned during the process. I loved the way she talked about her (now) husband - how he was perfect for her and how he taught her to take emotional risks, just by being the kind of person he was. I haven't read Ms. Drummond's blog up to this point, but now I'm curious! ( )

I can't believe I'm going to say this.... but I actually liked this wholesome, icky sweet, feel good, humorous, romantic memoir.
I've seen Ree Drummond on tv several times and checked out her blog due to the controversy surronding her. I agree, she doesn't live a life like most ranchers(contrary to what she thinks) and comes across as very materialistic. I can't count the number of times she mentions the name brands of the clothing shes wearing. BUT I still liked her and this story. Except in the beginning with the incident in regards to her dog. Give me a break ! Your so traumatized by the event that your glued to your bed UNTIL a handsome cowboy comes along, then everythings o.k. Uummm, I don't think so.
Once I got passed that fiasco I found myself enjoying the story and even chuckling out loud several times. I loved her sense of humor and think it shined thru in several parts of the story. I will definitely be on the look out for a sequel ! ( )

My first library book on my Kindle!! Love Ree! ( )