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.
sounds good
tnx 4 reviewing