"warm contemporary romance"

Owner of Tuttle B&B in Pleasant Valley, South Carolina, Caroline Tuttle's dream of owning a ranch finally came true due to her friend Eileen Bickerstaff leaving her Blackberry Farm with one stipulation: that she get a life away from her mom. The thirty-three years old Caroline looks forward to living on the ranch where she worked part- time though she mourns her loss.

At the same time firefighter Ethan Garrison takes a room at the Tuttle B&B. He is struggling with guilt as he blames himself for the recent death of his brother. Ethan and Caroline are attracted to one another. However, he remains raw from his loss while her goal is to find A PLACE TO CALL HOME out west amongst the cowboys even as she ponders whether it could be here in Pleasant Valley with Ethan?

SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY is a warm contemporary romance starring two likable protagonists who in spite of love apparently have no chance for a permanent relationship because their goals are different. The pleasant story line focuses on Ethan's efforts to persuade Caroline that love is where the home is whether that is in coastal Carolina or the cowboy west. Charlotte Douglas provides a congenial return to a place readers would not mind calling home.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 25, 2006