Review: A good, satisfying cowboy romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2009
When I first started reading M/M, I purposely avoided "cowboy romances" because they seemed cliché.  However, I am quickly finding they can be quite good and my opinion has changed.  I love the Cattle Valley series by Carol Lynne, so when I saw this novella from TA Chase (who I have read and enjoyed before) I went for it.The story is a fairly straightforward romance.  Tyler and JT are twins, and Tyler has always been the follower, taking care of JT on the rodeo circuit.  Until he finally decides he needs a life of his own, possibly with the handsome horse breeder Ren, that he can't get out of his heart.  There is angst in the story (JT having slept with said horse breeder simply b/c Tyler wanted him!) but it is nothing heartrending and easily overcome by the couple - as it should be in a novella that doesn't have the time or scope to expand.  The sex (I know you romance junkies are wondering) was excellent, better than I find in most short stories/novellas.  Chase throws a bit of kink into the mix, so it's not vanilla, but it is also far from BDSM.  A little bondage and some spanking heat the sex up very satisfyingly without tipping into uncomfortable.  I could easily reread this story again.A couple things did annoy me, such as Tyler constantly referring to Ren as "the older man" and the somewhat abrupt ending.  There was the requisite HEA, but a couple more paragraphs would have ended it more smoothly. Overall though, it was a very good story and I actually hope there'll be a sequel with JT.