Tag: Sons of Chance

Throwback Thursday Review: Should’ve Been A Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson (with spoilers)

Posted March 11, 2021 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Throwback Thursday Review: Should’ve Been A Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson (with spoilers)Reviewer: Holly
Should've Been a Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Series: Sons of Chance #4
Also in this series: Wild at Heart (Sons of Chance, #11)
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Publication Date: June 1, 2011
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Point-of-View: No
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Westerns
Pages: 224
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Wanted: One hot cowboy...

Party organizer Tyler O'Connelli is on the fast track to her dream career. She's so close she can almost taste it. But when she returns to her family and sees her one-night stand, Alex Keller, all done up in his cowboy gear, her self-control is stretched to the "breaking point...."

They're worlds apart. She's a busy career girl, and Alex is a cowboy. But while getting together might not bode well for anything long-term, it more than makes up for it in sheer hot chemistry Problem is, this is one wrangler she might want to get tied down--and tied up--to...indefinitely

This review was originally posted on May 25, 2011.

I was anxious for this story after finishing the previous in the series. I’m glad VLT decided to write it. My review contains mild plot spoilers. Read on at your own risk.

Alex and Tyler shared a passionate night together at the wedding of his sister, who was marrying into the same family Tyler’s sister had. As an activities director on a cruise ship, Tyler doesn’t have much opportunity for relations with the opposite sex. She figures she’ll see Alex again after their night – they are related through marriage, after all – but she isn’t worried about it. Having a one off isn’t that big a deal to either of them, especially since Alex is recovering from a divorce.

10 months go by before they’re reunited and both are surprised to find that they haven’t been able to forget the other. If circumstances were different, they might even consider trying to build a relationship. As it stands, Tyler is up for a major promotion and getting ready to set sail on a world cruise. She isn’t interested in settling down on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming.

Although the longer she spends with Alex and the rest of the Chance family, the more she questions her desire to continue being a world traveler. But is Alex willing to commit if she sticks around? And is she willing to stick around if he’s not?

I have to take this story in two parts. 1) the romance. I think the romance worked very well. The connection between Alex and Tyler is well established going into the story, so the small page count doesn’t hurt it. Their decision to keep it light was obviously doomed to failure – both had their emotions engaged early on. I felt the connection between them and enjoyed it.

The second part of this was less easy to like. Tyler’s focus on her career really played a large part in the story. It was the main conflict that kept them apart and the whole reason they resisted entering into a deeper relationship. And yet Tyler decides, rather unexpectedly, that she’d like to settle down after all and perhaps become the marketing director for the town. A position that doesn’t even exist. There was no talk of Alex taking a position on the cruise ship – something he was qualified for with a communications and DJ background – or of them working on something long distance so that Tyler wouldn’t have to give up her career.

That in and of itself wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but once she mentions her plan to Alex and he vetoes it (because he thinks she deserves more) that’s it..she gives it up. It was obvious her only reason for staying was because of Alex. I can understand him being a consideration, but to give up a life long dream and a career, I felt she needed to do it for a better reason than a man.

While I enjoyed the romance, the fact that all the give was done on Tyler’s part really brought the story down for me.

3 out of 5

Sons of Chance

three-stars


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Guest Review: Wild At Heart by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Posted June 19, 2013 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Wild At Heart by Vicki Lewis ThompsonReviewer: Judith
Wild at Heart (Sons of Chance, #11) by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Series: Sons of Chance #11
Also in this series: Should've Been a Cowboy
Publisher: Harlequin, Harlequin Blaze
Publication Date: June 18th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 224
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Some men can't be tamed…

Domesticity can starve a man's soul, and drifter cowboy Luke Griffin believes in absolute freedom. His gig at the Last Chance Ranch will end soon, and he'll move on. But then Luke gets splashed by a green energy drink from a platform in a tree, and suddenly things get complicated.

Naomi Perkins was studying the nesting of a rare pair of bald eagles when she accidentally "baptizes" the delish cowboy. And when his shirt comes off…good morning, libido! But this attraction isn't just mutual—it's fierce enough to send them both tumbling into a no-strings fling.

It's a temporary arrangement, even if it is way more intense than anything Naomi could have imagined. But when the time comes, will she be able to let this wild cowboy go?

In the past several weeks I have read several Vicki Lewis Thompson pieces and I think it safe to say that she has been a very busy writer.  And because I have been reading not only several of her cowboy stories but some of her contemporary romances as well, it is easy to see why she is such a favorite with romance fiction fans, no matter the setting or subject of her stories.  Her “Last Chance Ranch” stories go in lots of directions but this one is a bit different.  It involves people who are as different as it is possible to be.  On the one hand you have Naomi who is connected to the land, loves her friends and family, and who wants to make a long term difference with her science and her ecology studies.  Luke, on the other hand, is a man who moves about so much that he truly leaves no residual of his presence behind.  He’s a no-strings kind of guy in almost every area of his life, not just in his love life.  Yet when he and Naomi begin their fling, neither is aware that there are connections already that may sneak up on them and ultimately sandbag them both.

This is a very sexy and emotional tale, one that will please those who love a sexy cowboy and lots of hot loving.  It will also highlight the efforts modern ranchers are putting forth to be environmentally responsible, and also is a setting for this story wherein an entire community is more concerned with protecting the earth than they are with the bottom line.  This story is very intense, with a sexual tension that weaves itself throughout the text.  Yet hearts are in danger, just as much as those baby eagles Naomi is protecting.  I think readers will also be aware of the strong ties that all the folks at the Last Chance Ranch share, another way in which Luke is really on the outside looking in.

So if you like hot cowboys and hot cowboy stories, this is you book.  It’s fun and engaging and I think will be a very entertaining read, especially for Thompson fans.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

four-stars


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Guest Review: Should’ve Been a Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Posted February 22, 2012 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Judith’s Review of Should’ve Been A Cowboy (Sons of Chance #4) by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

 

Party organizer Tyler O’Connelli is on the fast track to her dream career. She’s so close she can almost taste it. But when she returns to her family and sees her one-night stand, Alex Keller, all done up in his cowboy gear, her self-control is stretched to the breaking point….

They’re worlds apart. She’s a busy career girl, and Alex is a cowboy. But while getting together might not bode well for anything long-term, it more than makes up for it in sheer hot chemistry! Problem is, this is one wrangler she might want to get tied down—and tied up—to…indefinitely!

This is another in a series of stories written for Harlequin Blaze involving family and friends of a Montana ranching enterprises. It brings two people together who shared only one night–a night that was one filled with unforgettable passion and which marked them both far more than they realized. Now, not quite a year later, they are once again together with Alex Keller having found his niche in the ranching structure while Tyler is still pursuing her ultimate dream.

There is definitely an imbalance in the lives of these two. On the one hand, their struggle to make sense of their continued attraction and to find a place in their mutual futures is a large part of the story. But there is also the matter of Tyler’s struggle to balance her dream job and her hoped-for achievements with the overwhelming desire to be with Alex permanently. There are some reviewers who find the story difficult because it appears that Tyler is the only one of the pair that is making the concessions. I didn’t find this to be a problem in light of the fact that Alex had made his choices and settled in to a place that seems right for him. It is Tyler who is conflicted and torn between a professional dream and a need that is deeply personal and emotional. It is this struggle that forms the basic conflict in the story.

As always, Ms Thompson shares a polished writing style with her readers that has delighted them through many past great reads. Even though this is not an extensive novel in length, it is a very satisfying one that brings a great group of characters once again into the reader’s mind while introducing them to Tyler and her deep inner struggles. Readers are also given a more complete of Alex and what he is really about as he moves into a more settled phase of his life, one that makes it possible for him to consider a permanent relationship with a woman whose influence and presence in his life was formerly one night of shared passion. The tension between these two main characters forms a great deal of the tension that holds the story together. The continued experiences of characters who were formerly featured in other stories in this series forms the backdrop to the new episode. Yet it is a successful stand alone story. All in all, it is a very fine writing effort from an author who has a proven track record for delighting her readers.

This is a fun book and one that I think will please not only Ms Thompson’s fans as well as new readers of this newest of her books.

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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Review: Cowboy’s Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Posted August 17, 2011 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Holly‘s review of Cowboy’s Like Us (Sons of Chance, Book 6) by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Real cowboys aren’t born. They’re made…

Logan Carswell has just kissed his professional baseball career goodbye. Goodbye dreams, career and future. For now, though, he’s working at the Last Chance Ranch and the town saloon, where sexy bartender Caro Davis is definitely taking his mind off his troubles…

Caro’s days have been so hectic, she’s forgotten all about the finer aspects of life. Like men. And sex. And really smokin’–hot sex with men like Logan. But when their two worlds collide—and boy, do they ever collide—they both realize that once the gear is off, a cowboy is still a cowboy!

This is a two in one. Cowboy’s Like Us is the 6th book in Thompson’s Sons of Chance series. Notorious is an older category that’s being offered as bonus material in this edition. I haven’t read Notorious yet. I think I’ve read it before, but I’m not positive.

This series has slowly been going downhill for me. I really loved the first 3 stories. The 4th was ok. I almost stopped reading after the 5th. I think after this, the 6th, I’m officially done. The series is starting to feel tired. I’m tired. It seems like the women are all the same…totally undefined until they have a man in their lives. Why can’t these women be strong without a man?

Caro has been taking care of her grandmother for the last few months. Her grandmother is really struggling with having been moved to a nursing home and so Caro spends as much time with her as possible – which basically means every second she isn’t at work. She’s stressed and run down, but she keeps a positive attitude. I liked that she had such a great outlook on life. I also liked that she didn’t begrudge her grandmother the time, even though she (the grandmother) was being unreasonable.

The breakdown occurred when she started dating (sleeping with?) Logan. It was then that I felt she lost herself as an individual. It didn’t happen immediately, but slowly over the course of the novel. At first she was trying her best to get through each day. Then Logan realizes she needs a break and she starts thinking about a future with him. Then Logan fixes her schedule so she can have some time to herself. Then Logan fixes things with her grandmother and she finds some purpose. None of these things came about on her own. She didn’t seek them, or even really think about them, until Logan. Not that in itself is a bad thing..except it seems like she wasn’t capable of doing any of these things on her own. She needed a man to make them right.

Or a woman. Because at the end it wasn’t Caro who stood up to Logan, but her best friend Josie (the heroine of the previous book). Josie was the one who made Logan grovel. Josie was the one who said Caro was worth more than Logan was offering. Etc, etc, etc. What about Caro standing up for herself?

Even more unfortunate? I’ve found this to be a running theme throughout the series. These women are strong and independent..until they meet a man. Then they become throwbacks. As much as I enjoyed some of the earlier books, I think it’s time we took a break from each other..permanently.

I still plan to read VLT, but I won’t be reading any more of this series.

2.5 out of 5

The series:

Wanted! (Harlequin Blaze)Ambushed! (Harlequin Blaze)Claimed! (Harlequin Blaze)Should've Been a Cowboy (Harlequin Blaze)Cowboys Like Us: Cowboys Like Us\Notorious (Harlequin Blaze)Cowboy Up (Harlequin Blaze)

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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Guest Review: Cowboys Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Posted July 19, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Judith’s review of Cowboys Like Us  (Sons of Chance #6)by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Logan Carswell has just kissed his professional baseball career goodbye. Goodbye dreams, career and future. For now, though, he’s working at the Last Chance Ranch and the town saloon, where sexy bartender Caro Davis is definitely taking his mind off his troubles..
.
Caro’s days have been so hectic, she’s forgotten all about the finer aspects of life. Like men. And sex. And really smokin’ hot sex with men like Logan. But when their two worlds collide — and boy, do they ever collide — they both realize that once the gear is off, a cowboy is still a cowboy!

It is no secret that I am going through my “cowboy” phase right now and really enjoying lots of different kinds of Western romance fiction as well as encountering some authors previously unknown to me.  This is the second novel by this author that I have read and I continue to enjoy her writing style, the care she takes to research her work well, and just an overeall sense that she knows her subject well.

In a world where most of us feel overwhelmed on a regular basis and where some of us may have experienced crises of significant proportion is recent years, this story may resonate in a way that might not have been true in years past.  It is a tale about two people who are really overwhelmed by life, to the extent that both are in danger of losing their sense of themselves.  Logan is “stuck” in a world of disappointment, crushed dreams, and worry over the future.  He is a young man who has already begun feeling old and the zest of life that should be coursing through his veins is most certainly missing.  Caro, too, is simply overburdened and over-committed with the need to support herself, the demands emotionally of a grandmother who she loves dearly but who is just not accepting that the time has come for her to give up her huge house (which is too much for her maintain) and move into a retirement facility.  As if the emotional demands are not enough, Grandma is on the phone whenever she perceives that Caro is late or has not paid sufficient attention to her.  In the midst of their personal turmoil, Logan and Caro find each other and begin an affair that both know will be short-lived but which seems to meet needs in each of them they have long ignored.

While there is certainly lots of hot loving in its pages, I found this novel to be very compelling as it drew me into the struggles both Logan and Caro were experiencing and feeling like a cheerleader on the sidelines as I was hoping that each of them would manage a way to find a more permanent basis for remaining together.  They were just so darn good together and they both felt so linked to one another.  Yet there was always the spectre of Logan returning to Chicago to try to find his way beyond a failed pro baseball career and Caro to gain some balance in her life–living for herself in proportion to living for her Grandmother.

Vickie Lewis Thompson is certainly a romance author of note and the series of which this novel is a part has been really fun for cowboy romance fans.  She is just so good at what she does!  And while I am the last person to decry the simple love story of boy-meets-girl, I am especially fond of any romance that has just a bit of anxiety and crisis within its boundaries.  Add to that the aspect of “long distance” as is the case here, and the reader is kept wondering how these two lovers are going to work this all out.  It makes for a very satisfying reading experience and one that makes it worthwhile to spend time indulging that old love of reading.  I don’t think any true fan of romance fiction will feel that reading this book will ever be a waste of time and energy.

I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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