Review: Sweet Contemporary Western Second Chance Romance Short Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 25, 2013
It is always a treat when an author takes a short story format and produces a really good story that grabs one from the start, presents the characters and the problem, offers an intriguing peak point and brings the reader home nicely to the finish.  This contemporary western romance tale by Tamara Hoffa does that very thing.Carrie Stewart has been out of rodeo competition for almost ten years and has used the time to establish a quarter horse breeding farm so she can stay near her beloved horses.  Out of the blue, her sister and nephew approach her with a request.  Tyler wants Carrie to take him to the All American Quarter Horse Congress so he can watch the roping and cutting.  Carrie will not disappoint her nephew and decides that amongst the thousands of people there and ten years later that she is probably safe from seeing Chance Ryan.  Ten years before, Carrie gave her heart and her virginity to Chance only to find that he vanished the very next morning never responding to her attempts to contact him even months later.  Fate is a fickle lady however and it is not long after Carrie and Tyler arrive at the Congress that she runs into Chance looking better than ever and still able to make her heart leap in her chest.  Carrie is determined to be smart and protect her heart this time around, but it seems that Chance is equally determined to take advantage of this opportunity.The plot on this one was up front and simple due to the length of the story dictating the ability to develop the story.  I was intrigued from the start to know what had made a young man disappear without a word after taking the relationship where he did.  I was leery about Chance because I couldn't imagine many circumstances where a love 'em and leave 'em would make me sympathetic.  And at first when I learned the truth, I wasn't inclined to be impressed with his decisions, but then I remembered that like Carrie, Chance was practically a kid those ten years earlier and he got a lot put on his plate.  So in the end, I sat back and enjoyed this tender Second Chance Romance.I can recommend this one to those who enjoy or need a short story they can put away in one sitting and to those who enjoy their Contemporary Romances with a Western setting and on the sweeter side.