Blurb:

The right man for a longtime cowboy might be a city slicker.

Joe

I’ve been going into Max’s Place for twenty years, but tonight’s different. There’s a stranger at the bar with city-fancy clothes, wide shoulders, and the face of a fallen angel. I’m just an ordinary cowhand. Being gay’s the most noteworthy thing about me, so I don’t expect much. But when his eyes light on mine and he invites me to ride in his classic ’67 Mustang, I figure what the hell. If he’s a serial killer, what a way to go. And if he’s not, then a couple of my cowboy dreams might finally come true.

Sylvester

I grew up here in these Colorado foothills, but I haven’t been back since I was ten. Now I’ve inherited my grandfather’s neglected ranch, and I can’t decide whether to sell it or stay. I stop in at the only gay bar in fifty miles, wondering if I can have a decent life as an out gay man in this county. And there coming in the door is the kind of tall, lean, working cowboy who pushes all my buttons. I don’t know if Joe will be a reason to stay or a one night stand, but I’m going to have fun tonight.

Cowboy Dreams is a 36,000 word novella about two solitary men in their 40s figuring out how unexpectedly well they fit together, in bed and out of it.

**All royalties from this book through December 2025 will be donated bi-monthly to Nova Ukraine – a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine**

*****

Review:

Cowboy Dreams starts with all the steam as Joe and Sylvester pick each other up at the bar but they feel a connection that with time and closeness eventually develops into something deeper. There is a bit of an insta-love thing going on but it’s to be expected in a shorter story.

I do kinda wish this one had been a full novel because I really liked these two. I liked them as people and I liked the idea of them as a couple, so I wanted to see even more of their time together as they grew closer. But for a novella I’m still satisfied – it has feels, it has heat, and it has a satisfying (if not quite complete) HEA.

Harper is a new author for me but this won’t be my last read. Her characters are interesting, the story flows well, and the writing is smooth, feels real, and has a good mix of feels & heat. Hopefully, we come back to the Circle K so we can get an update on these two but regardless I’ll be keeping an eye out for more.