Thanks St. Martin’s paperbacks for this free ARC, provided for an honest review.

“The last person Cody Ford expects to see while home for the holidays is his one-time girlfriend, Lexi Murphy.”

Cody is a ruthless NYC business man. Lexi is now his father’s caregiver. They had been high school sweethearts before he left without another word (or did he?). Plagued with grief even a decade later, Cody is still grappling with his mother’s death - and now facing his father’s illness. Lexi holds a lot of frustration toward Cody and is juggling being the full-time caregiver as well as a single-mom (don’t worry - we find out early that her son isn’t Cody’s!)

This book is part of a series and while could stand alone, I found it valuable to read the other books first.

I recommend this fun Christmas-y story! It reminds me of a Hallmark movie with a little spice!

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This was just a wonderful book to read and it was just easy to lose yourself in the story. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

An enjoyable second chance romance that works. The characters are well developed, and the storyline was well written. This is Cody and Lexi’s story. Cody returns home after ten years to see his dying father. His father’s nurse, Lexi, is Cody’s high school girlfriend. These two have a lot of history and a lot of baggage in the ten years they were apart. They work out their issues and reconnect. The pace of the book goes up and down, but overall, I really enjoyed the story.

This is a new to me author and for a first read I’m really impressed. Who doesn’t love a good cowboy story, add in a Christmas theme and I’m sold. I give it a solid 4 ½ out of 5 stars for this wonderful story about getting a second chance.

Cody Ford knows how to run, he ran away from his dying mother, he ran from his girlfriend, he ran from his family. He couldn’t make himself stay and feel like he was suffocating any longer. He ran and made a name for himself, and a lot of money. Now he is returning home for Christmas for a quick visit but finds himself wanting to stay.

Lexi has gotten over Cody and what happened between them long ago, for the most part, but seeing him again stirs up those old feelings. Working for his Dad, she knew there was a chance of seeing him again after all these years but thought she could handle it. Taking care of her mother and son are the most important things in her life right now, Cody will leave sooner rather than later anyway.

The longer he is home, the more he feels like he wants to stay. His father’s health isn’t improving, the ranch and the business need leadership and he has made a real estate purchase in town that needs his attention. He wants to work on his relationship with Lexi also, he knows he wasn’t the greatest boyfriend back in the day.

Lexi finds out Cody is the person that bought the nursing home her mother lives in and plans to evict all the residents. She can’t believe she gave him the benefit of the doubt and started to fall for him again. Showing once again he is only out for himself. Can Cody and Lexi overcome these obstacles to find a solid relationship again?

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy from Netgalley without expectations. What a great start to a new to me author. I’m currently searching backlogs for more books to devour.

I received an advance copy through Netgalley for an honest review. I really enjoyed this story. It is a second chance love story with a little something extra. Cody left town when he turned eighteen to go to college and make a name for himself off the ranch. He left his girlfriend Lexi behind without saying good bye. Fast forward ten years and Cody returns home for Christmas to find Lexi working for his father. Seeing her brings back memories he is not prepared for. Lexi is a single mom raising her son all on her own. Can Lexi forgive Cody and leave the past behind? Can Cody figure out his issues before it's too late? Great read!

This story has so much potential. The single-mom/second chance genre is a good storyline. Some of the details didn’t make sense or needed more development. The family dynamic wasn’t explained/developed well. There were lots of spelling and grammar errors. I hope it is cleaned up before release date. The story is told in a dual POv, which I like but, it transitions multiple times per chapter without any distinctions which made it difficult to follow. If I was not paying attention I would get confused and have to go back and figure out which POV.
Cody Ford left his family ranch at 18 for college and a new life because he could not cope with his mother's terminal illness. Cody left Lexi without a word. Upon arriving home for Christmas this year, Cody meets his father’s caregiver and senses something familiar. He does not recognize the woman as Lexi, his ex-girlfriend which definitely does not go over well with her. Lexi has endured many ups and downs since Cody left her behind. Her best achievement is her 6 yr old son, Harrison (Harry) who absolutely stole my heart. Lexi is also dealing with her mother’s dementia and having to find a new care facility because a big city corporation is planning to develop that property into new modern housing. Turns out Cody might have more trouble than he bargained for with his latest land development deal. Cody and Lexi are pretty explosive between the sheets. The author did good here. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas is the third book in the River Ranch series. This book is about second chance of love between Cody and Lexie. These two were a couple when they were teenagers, but from one day to the next Cody decides to leave everything behind and pursue his college education in a different state. He leaves Lexie dumbfounded. She's heartbroken about how he left her without an explanation. Fifteen years later they see each other again because she's the nurse taking care of his father who is dying of cancer. This is when they realize that they might still have a chance to be together.
My thoughts on this book are unfortunately not good. I just couldn't like Cody. What he did to Lexie and even his family was not nice and for him to just come back into her life like what he did was not hurtful was not nice. I understand that time has gone by, but she deserved to be treated better by him. He seemed to be very selfish. This book was going to be a DNF one but I decided to read it to the end to see how Cody would redeem himself. Sadly, to me, I don't think he did. The only thing I liked about him was how he treated Lexie's son.
I would of loved if Lexie had made Cody really work for her forgiveness a little longer. I think she didn't make him grovel enough. She easily forgave him, but also easily got upset with him. After all that he confesses to her, about his reasons for running away and NEVER contacting her during all those years, Lexie should of realized that Cody's feelings were not a sure thing.

This is a fun second chance romance. The author brings sympathetic characters to vivid life and explores the bonds of love and family.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Blame is an easy thing to place. It's the easy way out. For years Lexi blamed Cody for everything bad that happened to her. I tried really hard to like Lexi, but even in the end I was unable to. I guess I felt bad and sympathized with Cody too much.

3.5 Stars

This was an enjoyable story, the characters interesting, but I found Cody and Lexie often annoying. Cody was totally involved in his own view of life, but wanted to reunite with Lexie without strings. Lexie was combative and then gullible. They seemed to not be able to “get over” it. It was ten years ago!
The saving of the story for me was Harry, and his joy in everything. His brothers and sisters and especially his dad made the story readable.
I especially enjoy this authors strories, this one was just not for me.

I really had high hopes for this novel. I love the cowboy/rancher romance notion. Throw in a Christmas theme and I was very eager to read it. Unfortunately, this book just didn't work out for me.

The premise is that Cody is a powerful businessman living in NY but originally a country boy. He comes home for Christmas and finds his former high school sweetheart, Lexi, is the caregiver of his father. There were several parts where more clarity was needed: oh, it's Christmas, nope just near Christmas time, I think; is Lexi a hospice nurse? she seems clueless or just an aide maybe?; is Walter (the father) on hospice? he seems nearing the end but then talk of it "might be his last Christmas;" what's with the bizarre couple minute therapy session leading to a PTSD diagnosis?; and what about all the whiskey? both parents dying of cancer and you are constantly drinking hard liquor and a workaholic...how about reconsidering life choices and risk factors? Just so many things like that which need cleaned up or adressed.

I believe if this book gets a good editing session, it will be a good read. As I read this one, it is just way too rough.

Wonderful story! .... and not just for the holidays. Although this book is set at Christmas , it is a story of love, family and dealing with the emotions of losing a loved one. Cody has made is life in the city, leaving the family ranch, running from his mother’ s illness and death. He comes home only at the holidays, leaving as quickly as he can. This year, however, he is forced to face his former decisions.. His father is ill and he comes face to face with his past and all the people he unintentionally hurt by running from his feelings. An emotional and heart warming read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. What an awesome book! I didn’t read the first two in the series but I didn’t feel it was a handicap. I like the longer length, the character descriptions, the family interactions and the storyline. I am a huge fan of second Chance Romance and Return to Home Romance.

This is the story of Cody and Lexi. They had been high school sweethearts and he just left, no goodbye or anything. She was heartbroken and had trouble in relationships after that. Cody never had another relationship as he ran away from everything and everyone. His mother was dying and he couldn’t put himself through the pain so he left. He never explained to Lexi why he left either. He went to college and then moved to NYC to work as a corporate type, abandoning the family’s Texas ranch. Lexi remained in her hometown and was working as a caregiver to Cody’s dad as he was terminal from his cancer. She had a little boy with a husband who also left her alone. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and she was put into a home for proper care. She is paying for this on top of her other expenses and no child support. Lexi has become friendly with Cody’s family.

Cody returns for Christmas as it may be his father’s last one. He doesn’t recognize Lexi until his dad spills the beans. She is still angry and hurt by how he treated her years ago and lets him know. They talk a lot and she forgives him running away. They rekindle the romance. She learns that her moms home was sold and she will have to find another facility. The story gets more exciting and more angsty when we learn who the buyer is. The resulting story is very engrossing and emotional. I highly recommend this book.

Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas is a second chance story, and second chance is my least favorite trope. Overall it wasn’t a bad story, Cody and Lexi were both good characters. But nothing I would reread.

A sweet and well written story that made me smile and root for the characters.
It's the first novel I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
I appreciated the well written cast of characters, the setting and the plot.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Soraya Lane has yet another great book! The third in the River Ranch series, but can most definitely be read alone, brings us the story of Cody Ford. He left home after high school, running from his feelings and never looked back. Cowboys, Christmas and Romance, I highly recommend this book!

As Christmas books come out I have to choose which to read before I get overwhelmed. Luckily I read this book early. This was my first book by Soraya Lane. I really enjoyed meeting the family. I liked the characters and story. I will go back and read others in the series. Yes, it can be read as a stand alone.

Millionaire ☑️
Cowboy ☑️
Second chance romance ☑️
Christmas ☑️

So many themes I enjoy all in one book. I found this an easy to read holiday romance.

Cody was the reluctant son returning to the family ranch for Christmas, he had his own reasons. I thought his family was lovely.

Lexi is a nurse, caring for a terminal I'll man who happens to be the dad of her old school sweetheart. This has not been a problem before as his never near, until he is.

A warm romance set in snowy Texas.

3.75

Once upon a Cowboy Christmas is a heartwarming second chance romance. Cody & Lexi were an item in high school. They were serious up until the day Cody left for college & left everyone behind. Now he’s a rich businessman that has come home for Christmas & has encountered Lexi working as his father’s caregiver. Walter Ford has cancer & it’s taking its toll on him. Lexi is also dealing with her mother & Alzheimer’s. The cost of her full time care is almost bankrupting Lexi so she can’t tell Cody what she thinks of him & how he hurt her. She can’t do anything to jeopardize her job & the housing it provides.

This story hits all of my emotional buttons. The writer manages to convey the depth of Lexi’s hurt & anger with Cody & the way he left her behind. Her fear of the future, her bills & her mom’s care comes through in everything she does. The biggest light is her overwhelming love for her son, Harrison. Harrison & Walter add joy & a lightness to some of the emotionally charged moments in the book. As a reader who understands the toll that both cancer & Alzheimer’s can take on a family’s emotions & finances, this story had me in tears at some moments. I really enjoyed this story. It’s message of second chance love & redemption is perfect for the Christmas season.

“Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas” A River Ranch Novel by Soraya Lane
I loved this contemporary romance story. I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review. I did skip the spicy scene(s) and it was still a great story that certainly did play quite the number on my heart-strings. If you have read my reviews you know that I laugh and I cry with/for the characters in the story. And, I do prefer fiction over non-fiction stories 99.9% of the time. Meanwhile, if you typically like the same types of stories I do… you will not want to miss this read. It is worth the read, for sure. Happy Reading !!