Runabout

Territory Trysts #2

by Pamela Morsi

From a USA Today bestselling author, Pamela Morsi’s Runabout is “Pure enjoyment, warm characters, wonderful situations,” says RT Magazine. 

Spring,1916. Best friends Tulsa May Bruder and Luther Briggs are on a mission. After a very public jilting, everybody is looking at Tulsa May with such sad, sorrowful eyes. Can a pretend romance turn that pity into gossip? The plain preacher’s daughter and the handsome heartthrob with the bad reputation. Would anyone even believe it? Convincing the town requires moonlit walks, stolen kisses and a brassiere used as a fan belt. 

“Morsi’s novel has a strong sense of time and place… rural American in the days of carousels, country dances and the simple pleasures of church and home.” --Publishers Weekly

Territory Trysts

Book 1: Wild Oats Book 2: Runabout

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Friends To Lovers, Historical, Westerns, Historical Fiction, Western Romance

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Pamela Morsi was an American writer. She was the author of 29 romance novels, beginning in 1991.

Reviews

[Zeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Runabout is the sequel to a fav historical romance of mine- Wild Oats. Set 10 yrs later, in 1916, Runabout is not your average hist-rom. Making it doubly less averagey? Its written by Pamela Morsi, one the quirkiest voices in romance.

Tulsa May Bruder has been jilted. At the altar. Well, all but, anyway. Doctor Odysseus P. Foote, decided to make a run for it during their engagement party, thus settling her as the most pathetic spinster in town. Only, it’s sorta okay with Tulsa as Doc Odie was no real prize. (She was resigned to settle, after all, being no beauty.)

Luther Briggs, Tulsa’s best friend all her life, decides he can’t stand the thought of everyone thinking less of her. He concocts a plan to bring up her prospects- by acting as her suitor. Tulsa doesn’t think anyone will buy it, (Imagine, the most sought after bachelor in Prattville, Oklahoma courting orange haired, gapped tooth her?) But they pull it off. And, much to both their surprise, start seeing something in each other that was there all along- an everlasting kind of love.

Runabout hooked me immediately- seeing the gorgeous Luther Briggs rolling out of bed on page 1, I had no choice! ;) Hist-roms not set in regency England are my weakness, and this author obviously does her research. Oh not so much with your typical history- but more so the “culture” of the time. When an author gets me googling, well, let’s just say I’m a happy girl. Which is exactly what I did. (Never knew “tough dancing” was a thing till this book! Makes me wonder what history will remember about our dance culture. God in heaven, please let it NOT be the Macarena.) Add in a truly romantic pairing of my favorite kind- friends to lovers- and I couldn't put it down. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of hers, but very entertaining.

Fast, easy read. 4 and ½ stars!

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

This was a friends to lovers book of the most wonderful variety. Set in an unusual historical era (early 20th Century Oklahoma right before WWI), it had a great period voice and lively characters. The storytelling was robust and thorough, and I eagerly followed along as I saw Luther fall...slowly and ever so inevitably...for his dear friend Tulsa May.

The story, in brief...
Tulsa May (or "Tulsy") was humiliated rather publicly and is now the subject of local gossip in her small Oklahoma town. Her dear friend Luther suggests a diversionary tactic by which he pretends to court her, which will force the town to take notice of this new development and forget about how they feel sorry for her. Well..."pretend" courting...we all know how that turns out. ;)

The characters.
I really liked both Tulsa May and Luther. Tulsa May is a smart woman with an education, and she's not one to hide her light under a bushel. She's got a quick wit and a kind heart. While she wouldn't break mirrors, Tulsa May is by no means the town beauty, and she has a head full of carrot-colored hair to top it all off...

...carrot-colored hair that we discover Luther has always found fascinating and beautiful. Awwww. Luther is a half-Indian/half-white heartthrob who runs the local bicycle and autoworks shop. He, his brother, and Tulsa May have been as close as siblings ever since he and his brother were orphaned and brought to the town when Luther was in his mid-teens. He's extremely loyal to them, and when Tulsa May expressed her dismay at being the object of the town's pity, he comes up with the scheme to divert their attention by pretending to court her himself. They both enter into it not knowing that they'll want to turn their pretend courting into something more.

The romance and sexytimes.
I looooooved the romance. It was really really sweet and had quite a slow burn. I loved watching as their feelings developed and they became aware of each other "in that way." Note that there's only one sexytimes scene in this book.

The secondary romance(s).
There were two secondary romances here. One of them involving Luther's younger brother was great. I really liked that one, and the payoff was fantastic.

The second is the part of the book that I think would merit some criticism. It involves Luther's "other woman," who felt that she was scorned even though Luther never made her any promises. Now, you know I'm not an "other woman" plot fan, so yeah...this part didn't really float my boat. That said, it tied into the plot fairly well, and it reached a decent conclusion by the end. I thought that perhaps a bit TOO much focus was paid to this other woman. Nonetheless, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of Luther and his Tulsy's romance.

Overall
YAY.COM/IwanttoglomallofMorsi'sbo...! :D So...I've read two of Pamela Morsi's Americana books and both have been 5 star reads for me. Methinks I need to glom her historical books. Like badly. Like now. Like... *drifts off to find them on eBay and Amazon...* :)

Original review: Nicaragua hammock read #4 - fucking loved it!!!! I'm still in Nicaragua, but yeah...I felt absolutely compelled to seek out Internet access to share the awesomeness of this book. Review to come.

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Even though I don’t feel like doing a review, I think I need to get these off my chest. I had such high hopes about Luther and Tulsa’s book that I felt crushed when this ended. Everything in this book tried my patience, well, maybe except for Tulsa. I didn’t like the storyline. I hated the unwanted distractions and secondary plot lines involving characters I totally despised and was mad that pages after pages were wasted on them while Tulsa and Luther, just like Jesse’s story, got a very hasty finishing and almost no romance to speak of. But, at least in Simple Jess, the secondary plotline interested me. In this book, it just made me mad as a hellcat!



Runabout takes place 10 or so years after Wild Oats. We knew Luther has some knack for mechanical things and now he owns quite a big repairing shop for automobiles and it’s going pretty good. Arthel, his younger brother helps him out. Luther still maintains good relation with Rev. Bruder’s family and Tulsa is almost like the younger sister he never had. He cares for Tulsa but was never attracted to her. She doesn’t qualify as the woman with whom he likes to diddle with- fast and loose, with no strings attached. Yes, I knew Luther is going to be a womanizer with his good looks and all that but I didn’t like to be reminded of this over and over again. His treatment of women didn’t sit well with how he thought he should treat Tulsa, she being a respectable young lady and all that. Luther has had many ‘Saturday sweethearts’ in his 26 yrs old life and for times to come, he wants to live a carefree life. I know that he cares for Arthel a lot. He wants Arthel to go to university to study engineering. He would see Arthel settled before he marries and have his own family. Arthel is 18 now and it was very clear from Wild Oats that his match is going to be the storekeeper Titus’s beautiful daughter, Maybelle. They have their own secondary romance, about which I’ll talk later. Anyway, Luther has been seeing this woman for sometimes now. He brings her in his home, the second floor of the automobile shop, to f*ck her. This woman, who initially lived in this town (I, for the love of me, couldn’t remember if she was featured in Wild Oats) but ran off with a married man to become his mistress. She lived that life for a long time before understanding that she wouldn’t go any further with the man. Then she lived a seedy life as a barmaid with strings of affairs. You can see that she’s a veteran in these things. When she heard her father was ill, she came back to Prattville (Dead Dog’s new name) to take care of him. She could’ve chosen to change her ways but she didn’t. She always had an eye on Luther knowing he’s the handsomest man in this part of the county and even though Luther is much younger than her, she started this affair with him. Of course, her intention this time was to snare Luther and thought this would give him incentive to marry her. You know, she’s getting older and Luther has a steady income that goes pretty well with all the studly looks. But Luther never saw her anything beyond a little Saturday fun, knowing her history and all that. But she doesn’t know this yet and quite happy to carry on this way.

When the story starts, Tulsa comes in the automobile shop to repair her car, a Runabout. Luther was in bed with that woman. He actually asks her to wait for him while he goes downstairs to check on Tulsa’s car. You have no idea how disgusting this felt to me. Let me clarify why. So, while they talk about the car with Arthel present (yah, he knows about Luther’s woman and he also lives in the same apartment as far as I got it), Tulsa’s very recent broken engagement to a doctor comes into light. Doc Odious Odie works in the Millenbutter hospital, which was the Briggs mansion once (story is in Wild Oats). He got engaged to Tulsa but kinda ran on the day of the formal engagement party, mostly because Tulsa isn’t attractive enough and he had cold feet about marrying one like her. SOB!! It’s not like Moldy Odie is attractive himself and he’s much older than Tulsa with a balding pate. But on Tulsa’s mother’s insistence the poor girl thought this might be her only chance to have her own family, something she always craved. It doesn’t matter at all that Tulsa is a smart, warm and loving woman who can always put a smile on everyone’s face. It doesn’t matter that she’s a woman reporter who’s doing a great job. If you just read Skanky Odie’s description on Tulsa, you’d want to kill the man and fry his balls (though I don’t think he possess any)! So goes for most of the townspeople who is always tut-tutting about Tulsa’s lack of good looks and luck at marriage mart. Even her mother FGS! I loved this young lady so much that every time anyone tried to demean her (includes that woman), I got angry. Anyway, so as they talk, Luther takes Tulsa out on her car, totally forgetting about the woman he just left in his bed (I don’t think he was even clean, sorry but weird things come to my head), because Luther has a plan- a dumb plan but he will see that Tulsa has suitors of her own in a few days. He needs to discuss this ‘brilliant’ plan with her. All he would do is to pose as her suitor so that other men are interested in her. Can you see the humiliation? I felt that he was pitying her through this. Even Tulsa had such thought but the poor girl already had this idea about herself and she already being smitten with Luther didn’t put up much protest. So Luther would play the devoted suitor (he’s one of the most sought after bachelors after all), Tulsa will get more proposals. They’d end this farce then and he’d go about his merry ways again. Tulsa would marry, so on and so forth. After he got Tulsa’s affirmation about this plan, later on Luther meets that woman and tells her that he can’t see her for a while. The woman is angry, feeling that Luther is already dumping her (like she deserved anything else!) and she threatens Luther that she won’t let him dump her that easily. I knew she’d make trouble for them and she did. It was just pathetic.

Anyway, Luther sets the plan in motion the next day. Tulsa is concerned but goes with the flow, however Luther wants it. Her parents are totally dumbstruck; to summarize their expression- it is just unbelievable that a handsome man like Luther Briggs paying court to their ugly daughter. Same goes for the rest of the townsfolk. Luther goes to the Penny store and meets Maybelle there. He knows Maybelle’s mother would be the best gossip to spread this through the town. Luther buys a pair of ladies gloves which is the symbol of serious courting. Maybelle is totally intrigued. But she’s a bit on the dumb blonde side and has no tactics whatsoever with her words. She blurts out things without letting her brain process whatever she’s saying. Sometimes she’d say things to Tulsa which downright bordered on being rude. I wasn’t pissed at her for one and one thing only, I felt that she never meant to be mean to Tulsa intentionally. Anyway, the town is abuzz with this gossip, that heart-breaker Luther Briggs is finally settling down. And they’re dumbstruck to know it’s with the not-so-good-looking Tulsa May. Huh? Really? How come? It’s like the sun is now rising in the west or something. The earth has moved and tilted from its axis. Morons!! Tulsa herself doesn’t like all these gossips but she enjoys her time with Luther immensely. As I mentioned earlier, she has always been in love with Luther but knew that he’d never marry a plain girl like her. And so, even though she knows this adventure of theirs might end up breaking her heart, she can’t but go with it just to know how it would feel to be courted by Luther. Ah, I don’t even know what to say about this because this just made me sad.

Now, Arthel knows it’s not a true courtship and he doesn’t like it but won’t say anything to his older brother. It seems Luther has worked years for Maimie Briggs, who was their grandmother but the snotty b*tch never took them in for having Indian blood in them. But, in this book, I get to know that since Luther favored his father in looks, Maimie bequeathed all her properties to Luther, leaving Arthel, who favored his Red Indian mother, out. Luther didn’t like it and he probably gave away his inheritance, turning the big mansion into a hospital. Arthel knows about it all and that his brother cares for him a lot. Arthel also cares for Tulsa as a big sis and so he’s worried that something negative might happen.

In the course of the story, as I’ve already mentioned, that pages were wasted on that woman and her dumb life. We get to know her past and all that I’ve already mentioned. It was shown that she’s some kind of a saint because she takes care of her ill father. The whole point was to show that she’s a person deserving of reader’s sympathy. NO! A big NO from me. I don’t care!! Let me tell you why. So, the woman is still burning from Luther’s dismissal and planning some revenge. Then she goes to the store and finds out from Maybelle (you already know how) that Luther is courting Tulsa. This woman, she doesn’t even believe it. Luther and Tulsa? It’s the most ludicrous thing of all, I mean look at Luther and look at Tulsa. This woman is very sure it’s nothing serious. I mean she won’t even think about the possibility. She thinks she’s the one who should have Luther, and Tulsa is no competition for her where Luther is concerned. I wanted to slap her face and kick her out of the story. That b*tch! She was very sure of it until Maybelle informs her about the glove thing and now she’s mad and planning bigger revenge on Luther and Tulsa. No one messes with a whore; a jealous whore is even worse, right? I’m going to be mean to her because she was mean to Tulsa and I have NO qualms about it whatsoever. So she plans something with another man, who’s been sniffing around her for a while to ‘sample her charms’. If he beats up Luther bad, he can sample her all he wants.

As Luther courts Tulsa, they go to various outings and enjoy them. One was a dance, I forgot the name, sorry about that. It required holding the partners close while stepping. Luther does all the cuddling he could with her in that dance and Tulsa is mesmerized by his proximity like this. The townsfolk don’t like this display and there is talk but the good, old Rev. steps up now that it’s about his daughter. I didn’t mind it much and liked that he was at least supporting his daughter. There are other scenes with these two, where they kiss and stuff. One day, while coming back from an outing, they are soaked in rain. As no one was at home, Tulsa invites Luther in (it’s nothing new, considering the fact that Luther and Arthel lived with the Rev.’s family for a year in their teens) to freshen himself up. As she was making him coffee, Luther sees a bit more of Tulsa than he would’ve liked through her wet dress. The picture of her breasts imprints on his mind and he keeps having wet dreams about Tulsa. But when he wakes up, Luther is embarrassed about this fact. It must be the forced celibacy and nothing else! Oh good God, why does everyone has such stupid thoughts where Tulsa is concerned? Now Luther too? I was so hoping for something different, a ‘friends turned lovers’ fun ride but it turned out to be a pity play, where anything positive happening to Tulsa is the gossip of the town. Where Luther thinks its forced celibacy, when his body tells him that it wants her. What crap was that?! I didn’t know how I would believe in anything deeper from Luther’s side in this relationship.

Anyway, back to that woman. It seems Smelly Odie is looking after her father and is concerned about such a ‘fine’ woman’s future. Her father wants Odie to get Luther for her but Odie already knows about the faux courtship thingy. Even that old, decrepit, dying man doesn’t believe that Luther would marry Tulsa in the end. *someone get me a broom, I need to clean some dirt here* I didn’t think Odie was even jealous or anything, though he tried to show some righteous indignation on Tulsa’s behalf, telling her that Luther is up to no good. Ok, have to give him that a part of this was true. Then, one day, Odie goes to Luther’s shop on behalf of that woman’s father to tell Luther to ‘do the right thing’ by her. Really? It was the height of sheer hypocrisy and Luther tells him that on his face. Then, Luther and Tulsa go to attend this dance in a shady area, possibly one of the places Luther frequents. Even Luther thought it was a bad idea where a gentlewoman like Tulsa shouldn’t go. But Tulsa wants to dance and Luther gives in. As they were thinking of dancing, that woman shows up with her pimp in tow. The pimp grabs Tulsa and forces her to dance with him. He even insinuates about Luther’s relationship with the woman but Tulsa doesn’t believe it. She, being the nice girl she is, thinks the man is trying to demean two of her good friends! Oh Lord, someone save me from this misery! I mean why not Tulsa? You’re smart enough and you know Luther’s reputation, why not? And you NEVER confronted Luther about it, even when things between you two turned intimate. NEVER. WHY? But Tulsa sees that Luther and that woman aren’t dancing and it’s apparent that she’s very mad at Luther but over the sound of loud music, Tulsa doesn’t hear a thing. Then the woman provokes her pimp to start a fight. These two fight, leaving Luther badly injured. Tulsa watches that she was urging on the fight, and yet she didn’t even give it a thought as to why all these are happening, what that woman’s motives were. This left a huge hole in my enjoyment of the book, which was already quite ruined by that woman and disgusting Odie. After the fight, something happens to that woman but PM saves her. I wish she didn’t. I wish the woman killed her pimp and went to jail and suffered for the rest of her life. She runs to shifty Odie, who comes to her aid without a word since he’s been thinking about being her ‘savior’ himself at this point. C’MON I DON’T CARE ABOUT THEIR LIFE!!! It was already 17/18 chapter of this 22 chapter book and Luther and Tulsa had NO romance to speak of. NONE. NADA!! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WASTE PAGES ON SUCH UNDESERVING CHARACTERS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD? Yes, I feel insanely mad even as I write this review!!!

Then comes another dumb twist in the plot which marked the death knell for me. As they come back from the fight, it’s apparent that Maybelle and Arthel are in trouble. Luther has been trying to tell Arthel to prepare for collage and so on but Arthel is a grown man-boy and he thinks he knows what’s best for him. He had this weird love-hate relationship with Maybelle, who’s always taunting him with her lose mouth, calling him names such as Geronimo and Buffalo Rider and so on. It could’ve been fun, it was fun in some places, but I wasn’t impressed with Maybelle to begin with so I felt nothing for this secondary romance. Now it seems like they’ve decided to ‘sort out their differences’ in the oldest of ways possible. It happened in the old cottage where Cora Briggs used to live once upon a time (story in Wild Oats). Maybelle and Arthel frequented that place when they were friends. It happened there again, only whoever found them out couldn’t identify them in the darkness. You know what happens when Luther and Tulsa understood who these two were? To save their immature arses and Luther, Tulsa takes the blame on themselves, not caring about her own reputation. And Luther blurts out that they’ve married to save her reputation. So the end result, they have to marry. OMG, again, someone save me from this utter misery!!!!! I was dying here at the demise of my high hopes and melting wishes about this book. As if Tulsa didn’t deserve Luther without this insanely dumb twist!! Whatever happened next, even the stupid love scene they had, couldn’t stir me from my comatose state caused by all these shockingly stupid turn of events!!

After torturing me for the better part of the book, the issue of that woman was swept under the rug like nothing ever happened. Did the author want me to believe that with those two living in close proximity to Luther and Tulsa, there would be a happy life for them? Can Tulsa live with her head forever in the clouds, never knowing anything about it? I don’t even know why that woman was even in the story when her involvement with Luther added NOTHING important to the plot IMO. Then again, I wasn’t even sure about the love Tulsa and Luther shared. It was not the heart-melting stuff but rather felt like the friendly love which really didn’t make me sigh at all. In the end, I’d like to apologize for this disjointed review because it was painful for me to even write this. But as I said earlier, had to get these off my chest.

3 stars, only because this is a Pamela Morsi book and I’m a big fan of hers. After all, she wrote about someone like Jesse and a series like Marrying Stone, earning all my respect in the first place. I will definitely check out more of her books later.

[LuvBug · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I must start off by saying that this author is an absolutely wonderful storyteller. She makes you feel like you are right there in 1916 with all the characters. She brings everyone to life, even the secondary characters. The setting of 1916 Oklahoma was vivid and intense. You can tell that American historical is dear to her as a writer. She made the lives of the characters everyday living seem so interesting, and that’s the praise that I would like to give to Pamela Morsi before I even start to tell my likes and dislikes of what affected me in the storyline itself. I am surprised that she isn’t a much more popular author.

The storyline was a good one and I almost gave this book 4 stars, but a few things bought the rating down to a rocky 3.5 stars. One of them being that I hated the fact that the hero got beat up by that idiot slime bucket character. I didn't get why he had to win that fight. Another thing that annoyed me was that in the end everything was tied up in too much of a neat little bow for everyone, even the characters that deserved a much worst faith. I also kind of wanted Doc Oldie to have been a little more jealous when he saw the hero and heroine courting after he jilted our heroine. There wasn't enough byplay with that and that was a big part of the storyline and the reason why they started courting in the first place. I loved the romance between the hero and heroine though and couldn’t help but sigh when watching them fall in love.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute. Don’t recall reading a book about best friends (like legit BFs) falling in love. I liked it!

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening scene is the hero in bed with another woman. Luther is not a very likable hero. He seems to think women are around for men to use as they see fit, but he should know better after his parents' experiences. Luther thinks of Tulsa May as a younger sister and good friend. However, Tulsa May has never thought of Luther as a brother and was physically attracted to him from the start. I worried for her heart throughout the fake betrothal.

I also sympathized with the other woman Emma throughout the story. She was not a true villain. She just made some foolish choices.

Fortunately, the book is easy to read and pretty short.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Wild Oats, and is another great favorite of mine. We were introduced to the hero and heroine in Wild Oats: Tulsa May Bruder, a young woman of wit, intellect and humor, but not conventionally pretty, with curling carroty hair that she mourns over; and Luther Briggs, handsome with black hair and vivid blue eyes, the eldest grandson of the town matriarch, who nevertheless rejected him and his younger brother when their parents died during a diphtheria epidemic, because their mother was Cherokee.

The setting is the same, although Dead Dog is now named Prattville. Prattville now has a hospital and Tulsa was engaged to the town doctor, Odie Foote. On the day of their engagement party, he failed to show up and now Mrs. Bruder is in despair that her daughter will never find a husband.

Tulsa is more disappointed than heartbroken; she didn’t love the doctor, but she does want a family of her own. She is a reporter for the newspaper, but she knows she would be a good mother. When she relates her feeling to her best friend, Luther Briggs, he has an idea: he is the most eligible bachelor in the county, and if he and Tulsa pretend to be engaged, the other young men will notice her.

I do love a good fake engagement! Also, Luther and Tulsa have been best friends for years, ever since he first arrived in Prattville as a 16-year-old orphan, with an 8-year-old brother to care for. Friends-to-lovers is another favorite trope of mine, so it’s no wonder that I love Tulsa and Luther’s story so much.

Ms. Morsi is so good at writing ordinary people romances. The characters in the community are people you know, mostly kind hearted but with faults ranging from gossip to being too fond of spirits. Her heroes aren’t dukes or billionaires; Luther has become an expert auto mechanic, and he gave away his grandmother’s legacy because she had never accepted his younger brother, who clearly resembled his Cherokee mother.

One warning: a number of people in the community do exhibit racial prejudice against Indians (Native Americans). Such prejudice was a fact of life in that time and place.

Overall: 4.5 stars.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to 4.5 stars, RUNABOUT is better than WILD OATS. Roughly ten years later, this is the endearing story of Luther Briggs and Tulsy Bruder. They have been friends since day one of meeting each other and are opposites in many ways. He is handsome, she is plain. She came from a caring family, he and his brother have been orphans for a long time. He had a mixed-race heritage, she couldn't be any more white than she was: gap-toothed, fair-skinned with 'carrot' red-hair.

At the beginning of the story, Tulsa May's betrothal to a local doctor was broken. He decided she wasn't for him at their engagement party and left her to face embarrassment with the townspeople. Luther decided to make things better for her by pretending to make everyone think they were an item. And he treated her like gold.

The reason for not giving it five stars? I wasn't too thrilled of everyone's constant reminder of Tulsy's looks. She had so many other wonderful credits to her name. The personality behind the face and what someone does with their life is more important. Luther managed to see this. At the same time she saw Luther as a whole person. It wasn't an issue that he was a "half-breed", mechanic, or was illegitimate when he was born. Luther was just Luther.

I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of Pamela Morsi. I have read several other books by this author and though they had some humerous moments they were too hokey for my tastes. Ms. Morsi places a lot of emphasis on what the townspeople think. It was the same here but not as bad in RUNABOUT. This romance is the heartwarming continuation begun in WILD OATS.

**Look for the book because I understand the kindle version was poorly transcribed. Try to have both ready so once you finish the first book you can read the next story. You will be glad you did.**

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and charming - a truly enjoyable read. Tulsy is a wonderful character and I am glad that she got her HEA. Luther's gradual realization that he loved her (not as a sister) is awesome and his attention, love and consideration of Tulsy made me sigh at the end. Wild Oats is still my favorite and I enjoyed the little snippets about Cora and Jedwin. The side story about Luther's brother and Maybelle is sweet as well. 4 stars.

[Head in the clouds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just too cute! What a wonderful story with sweet and endearing characters. It makes you feel soft as a marshmellow inside- it takes you to a small town in Pre-WWI America and offers a glance at the lives and loves of its inhabitants. The writing flowed beautifully and the love between Tulsa and Luther was heartwarming and romantic. I can't fault this at all! Thanks Pamela Morsi for all these warm fuzzies!

[Heather-Lin]

This and Wild Oats were my favorite romance novels - 25 years ago. I have no idea if they would stand up to my reading tastes now, but I remember them as being sweet, light-hearted, and good-natured. I might want to revisit them, or read something new by this author :)

PS: the highlight I remember best from this book was the old timey car that broke down, but then made its way back home, it's broken belt being replaced by another newfangled invention: a brassiere.

[SuperWendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started consistently reading romance in 1999 and this book was originally published in 1994. It's a perfect example of a book I would have loved as a Baby Romance Reader but as a jaded, battle-hardened sea hag romance reader? Oh, I had problems. You've got three trash characters here - our hero Luther (for the way he treats Emma without so much as a by-your-leave), Odie who throws the heroine over with no consideration to how town gossip will treat her, and Maybelle who is just a flat-out racist. There's still some of that ol' Morsi charm and she was great with her world-building here as she usually reliably is - but we've got 3 problematic characters all in 3 different romances and it doesn't work. At least in Wild Oats (which I LOVED) the hero starts out a thundering jackass and eventually sees the error of his ways.

[Saly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took a while for me to like, here we have Tulsa, who we met in the last book, she is the Reverend's daughter and always told she is plain and then we have the hero Luther who we again met in the last book when he lost his father (the last book's heroine's ex).

Now they both are all grown up with Luther being a ladies man and the heroine just having been publicly humiliated after her engagement broke off. To help the heroine, the hero her friend decides they will pretend to court. It was fun to see the town's shocked reaction to the hero, a handsome man courting the heroine. I loved how the hero valued the heroine and saw the beauty in her. We have a subplot with hero's brother and one of the hero ex's too. All in all a good friend to lovers story.

[Tanya Sridhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars.

This book is smack in the middle for me. Nothing so terrible that I can truly complaint, and nothing so wonderful that I'll sing it's praises. It's a good one-time read for anyone who likes a good friends-to-lovers trope.

The plot goes something like this, Tulsa May and Luther Briggs have been friends since they were young. He owns and runs a few taverns, and an auto repair shop, and a while ago he'd gifted Tulsa May the runabout (a type of car I have no patience remembering), aka hello book name reference. Tulsa May has just been jilted at her engagement party by the man she was settling down for, and she feels like a social paraiah. All eyes of the small town are on her, and everyone feels sorry for her.

When she expresses these concerns to Luther, he comes up with a brilliant scheme to help her out. He suggests they pretend to court, and that way the town will stop talking about her. I don't really see the logic in that, because isn't it worse to be jilted twice (especially by supposedly the most handsomest, in-demand man in town). But no problem, I'll keep logic aside for a bit. From here begins there mock courtship and the reprucussions of the same. It becomes very evident that Tulsa May has always held a tendre for him, and he's only now seeing her in a different light.

The secondary characters dragged the story for me, perhaps it's a set up for the next book but I don't particularly care. The main romance was sweet, benign and easy to read. The writing style the author uses is wonderful as well, and I definitely felt the emotions she wanted to. The ending scene with them by the broken runabout brought a smile to my face. Overall, it was a cute book for sure.

My issues stemmed from certain thought processes of the hero, and how easily they were accepted by the heroine. Thus, asking us to accept it as well. The concept that men will keep company with sexy, scandalous and exciting women, but they will settle down with sweet, innocent and pure girls like Tulsa May. That's insulting to just women in general, and I didn't quite appreciate that. But this book was written in 1994, so maybe we can chock that upto something about the good ole days. But still not justified.

I wasn't the biggest fan of how the big twist in the end worked out, seemed a bit implausible. But then again, the entire plot was implausible so what do I know.

If you enjoy a good friends-to-lovers trope then you'll enjoy this one. It's sweet and hits the romance spots a few times, and the writing is a breeze for sure!

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picks up with the adult story of the two orphaned boys from the first book - Luther and Arthel. Luther is still doing his best to take care of his brother and see that he has a future and goes to college, but he's having fun charming the ladies while he is. His best friend Tulsa May has just been jilted by her fiancee and is now the subject of small town gossip, which she hates. Luther has an idea that to stop the gossip about that, they need to give the town something new to gossip about - namely them and their courting. So they pull one off on the town, but also on themselves, because while Tulsa has been in love with Luther her whole life, Luther is suddenly opening his eyes to how much he loves Tulsa. Arthel in the meantime is rebelling against Luther's plans for him.

This was a good story for sure. Luther and Tulsa have a great friendship which gradually morphs into something less platonic. Tulsa has a fantastic spirit, even as she struggles with self-esteem.
And she has a very incredible and very complex, well-written relationship with her parents. For example, I couldn't figure if Tulsa loved or hated her mother, then I realized it's never that simple and neither is it here (too often a character is either wholly good or bad). I really enjoyed reading about that. As for Luther and Tulsa, the relationship and the chemistry build slowly over the story - but the friendship is there from the start and its very believable. Unfortunately, other than one jealous woman, there isn't really much for them to go through. There aren't really any second thoughts or doubts about their growing love, unfortunate obstacles or anything to create relationship angst. Most of this story focuses on the reaction of the town and the small town gossip and drama being created (and this is personal preference but I hate small town stuff like that...it's like being in an episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman where everybody is nattering on about somebody else's business). The story with Arthel created a bit more drama, but I didn't really like either Arthel or Maybelle and their HEA didn't feel quite right, especially knowing that Arthel just got back from WWI and seemingly in excellent spirits. This is highly unbelievable if he'd seen combat at all, because of the sheer blood bath and tragedy that was WWI . So other than the small town stuff and Arthel's HEA, this is a really engaging read.

[☽ Rhiannon ✭ Mistwalker ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! The heroine was insecure about her appearance and convinced the hero could never love her, but she's no doormat, she's spunky and clever and independent. The change in the hero's feelings throughout the book was one of the more believable friends-to-lovers storylines I've read. A few decent doses of angst and HEAs all around. Good stuff.

[Gwen (The Gwendolyn Reading Method) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade=C+

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pamela Morsi's romances are usually charming and sweet, and this one was no exception. At times, the characters seemed almost too good to be true, but I liked the fact that Tulsa May wasn't a conventional beauty, and also that the hero and heroine were longtime friends before they fell in love. A good, quick read.

[Allure Van Sanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again...I loved this book mostly because of the imperfection of the characters and the richness of the story. The time period was not popular or overdone and it was a refreshing change from my usual historicals.

[Marynea Collina · Rating 2 out of 5]

SECONDARY CHARACTERS ARE "SECONDARY" FOR A REASON.

AND IN THIS BOOK'S CASE, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEM. The author gave them too much time. I wouldn't mind if they had been likeable. They were not, unfortunately.

[Danielle Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a good follow up to the first one Wild Oats. It takes one of the more interesting characters from Wild Oats and gives her a beautiful story. I love the stories where the guy set out to help his friend. Whether romance stems from it or not, it helps to remind me that some guys do still have good intentions.

The Beta Couple (!!!!) are just two stupid kiddos in love, but trying not to be. WHICH IS MY FAVOURITE TYPE OF BETA COUPLE!!!

I must say that this early American system of courting gets more appealing with every Pamela Morsi book I read. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it gives me that faux nostalgic feeling for sitting with a beau on the front porch. So if anyone wants to join me while stargazing while my family speculates on our relationship from the living room, I'm available.

[Saydada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this is the second book in the series, and honestly? I think I love this one even more than the first!

Once again, Pamela Morsi managed to win me over with a trope I normally don't go for: friends-to-lovers mixed with fake dating. But set in a historical western romance? It just works. Seriously, it was so good!! And don't forget the cute secondary pairing—they were a great addition.

What I loved most, though, was the heroine. She is a true, plain heroine paired with a hot hero, and she doesn't require her to change anything about herself physically (thank goodness—no plastic surgery or braces needed in 1909!) for him to love her. That is the kind of hero/heroine dynamic I need to read more of! Highly, highly recommend this one.

[Contina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many, many moons ago and it is still a favorite of mine.i enjoyed the author's way of giving us a glimpse of a historic small town in the early 1900's. Yes, the reference to Native people was horrible but I think it was very true to how people were during that time.
Luther and Tulsa romance was a true best friend to lovers romance. I appreciated that Luther was so determined to make Tulsa feel better about herself. He was so protective of her, 😍. He was alpha- like but wasn't a jerk with it. I mean, he got his bruised up defending Tulsa's honor.
I loved all the side plots except for the Emma Dix story. I could have left her at the barn.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tulsa May Binder
Luther Briggs

Luther and Tulsa May come up with a scheme to take Tulsa out of the spotlight due to being left at the alter. Luther and Tulsa May have been friends since childhood. Tulsa has always had a crush on Luther but never told him to detract from their friendship. Luther decides he will court Tulsa May until things blow over. As the courting is taking place both discover feelings for the other. I liked Tulsa May, she seems very naïve about the world. Luther her opposite has seen and lived the real world. I did think the book was a bit slow at the beginning but it picks up and is a good read. I enjoy The author’s books so will read more.

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very sweet romance, if you like friends to lovers and the fake relationship trope this story is for you. I didn't realize until I started reading it but there are characters from other books in this one, although I this can be read as a stand alone. There are also two B romances in this book, both are enjoyable, but I wish the story of Emma and the Doc had been a separate story, it had a lot of potential but obviously don't get the attention it deserves here. Overall, a very pleasant read.

[Debra Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roundabout is a Great Read

Luther decides to help his friend Tulsy May after she is jilted by her former fiance. They hatch a plan to stop the gossip about her being rejected by dating each other. Luther is very attractive and Tulsy May is considered unattractive by the town. They have been friends for many years. Will their plan work or will something else develop? bThis book is a great read. It makes you realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that our beauty comes from within.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters. I appreciated the fact that many of them were written with complex and sometimes contradictory opinions. The "current events" were overdone. Obviously, the author did a lot of historical research; the inclusion of so many facts unrelated to the story did not add to it, but distracted from the plot. There were a ton of errors in the Kindle edition—misspellings, quotes attributed to the wrong character, jumping from one POV to another without any indication of a scene change. It could have used another editor.

[Beth McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humor, love, and life

This book is full of humor, love, and life! The characters are very real and thoroughly entertaining. The situations they find themselves in will have you laughing at and loving them. They show how we each are responsible for our own actions, and how bad situations can be made to be good ones. This is an enjoyable, well written book. You want to read this one!

[Robert Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like being transported to a different time

I loved this book and many of the other books Ms. Morsi has written.
She creates the time period so well that you actually want to visit the town and meet the characters. The descriptions of both are like no other author I have read. Isn't it great when a mother is wrong about their child's talents