Series: 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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