this book sounded like it would be so good but unfortunately, I had a hard time reading it and I really didn't care for the main characters at all.

Another fantastic story from Ms Lane! I think this might be my favorite yet of the series. Its an emotional ride as our hero discovers that you can go home again and love again.

You can read this as a stand alone. I have not read the first two books in this series but did enjoy reading this one. This book hit me in the heart big time because I am going through the same thing with my boss as Walter is going through in this book. My boss is like my second father and he is also dying of cancer and it made reading this book even more emotional for me. The romance part of this story was fun to read. Though I think the ending was a little rushed as Cody really hadn't faced his issues at that point. It was still sweet and fun Christmas story to read.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

A great Christmas story that involves Cody Ford returning home for the holiday season to find the girl he left behind taking care of his father as his live in nurse. When they were 18, he left home to go to college but was also running away from watching his mother’s failing health due to cancer. As he never said goodbye, Lexi felt it was her he was running away from. She is now a struggling single mother to the most adorable little son, Harry. Cody has a successful career and is now living in New York. I might add he is a workaholic. Now that he has come home for the holidays and has seen Lexi, can he come to terms with the past, why he truly left, and take the opportunity of a second chance with the girl he now realizes he has always loved. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.

ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press

Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas is book 3 in the River Ranch series by Soraya M. Lane, Christmas second chance romance, standalone, emotional read.

Lexi and Cody we high school sweethearts but when he went to college he never returned and broke Lexi’s heart. Now 15 years later he returns to the family ranch and who does he see...Lexi, who is his father caregiver/nurse.

Can these here two mend the past and move forward to a HEA or will Lexi’s grudge keep them apart?

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas by Soraya Lane

A River Ranch series novel. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a standalone.
Cody and Lexi were high school sweethearts. When Cody’s mother was diagnosed terminally ill, Cody left River Ranch and everyone behind. Cody returns for Christmas more than a decade later and finds Lexi in his childhood home caring for his father. She’s beautiful and kind and stirs his interest.

He thinks: continue where we left off with no strings and return to New York. Business as usual.
She thinks: haven’t had sex in a long time, so why not?
Problem: multiple family issues intervene including a mother with Alzheimer’s getting kicked out of her home, an adorable 6 year old loving a pony, and an ailing father that needs nursing help.

I did not like Cody until the very end. Business as usual means he bought the nursing home and kicks everyone out. Sure, it was good for his bottom line. But it was just stupid not telling Lexi up front. It was all about him having a good evening. And he doesn’t even question the underlying complications until she makes a public protest. He doesn’t really care about fixing the problem, but rather his business and fixing his image.
Ok, sure it’s a romance and it’s not a spoiler to say he redeems himself in the end, but his attitude made it tough for me to care about this couple and then the novel as a part of the whole.

In the end, a romance with an HEA which is the most important part for me. I’m giving it a 3 and rounding up slightly because of the family that were more personable than Cody was, especially the young boy with the pony. And the attempt to have the women rally around Lexi although that felt flat to me too.

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.

There was a moment in the first half of this story that I was afraid it was going to go down a path I didn’t like. I had just read another story where a character lied, and kept lying, to her love interest and I realized I really dislike that trope. While Cody was withholding some very important information from Lexi, the author was kind enough to not drag it on through the whole book. Let me tell you, the tension I was starting to feel (not in a good way) was relieved as soon as I realized the focus of the story wasn’t going to have a huge veil of deceit over it the whole time.

I found the trajectory of Cody’s and Lexi’s relationship to be very interesting. Especially once I started to understand why Cody did the things he did and how he ended up leaving everyone and everything behind. He’s lucky Lexi even gave him the time of day, but at the same time it was obvious that they had unfinished business.

While I did feel a connection between these characters, I never really felt the spark. I’m not sure why that was since I found them to be great for one another. I enjoyed that Cody fell into a comfortable patter with Lexi’s son almost immediately. It didn’t feel forced or fake and was actually very sweet. Yet I still never got the warm-fuzzies with these two.

That being said, I enjoyed this story and appreciate that the author didn’t make Cody out to be a jerk who was being a jerk just because he could be a jerk. Cody had some deep-seated issues that needed to be dealt with, and even he saw how skewed his thinking was once he started dealing with his real life. Not just in regards to Lexi, but also his siblings and his father.

When it was all said and done, I enjoyed this storyline and the characters. I just didn’t feel the emotions I would have liked to feel the way I normally would. I enjoy this series and adore this author’s historical fiction so I’ll be reading more for sure.

Cody and Lexi were high school sweethearts, until Cody's mother dies and he doesn't know how to handle it and leaves. Now his father is dying and he comes home for Christmas to find Lexi taking care of his ill father. Lexi and Cody get a second chance to make it work. I love reading series, you get to revisit characters from previous books. I can't wait to read Angelina's story!

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Receiving an ARC is a true privilege and one I certainly enjoy. Being able to share my opinion is a pleasure.

Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas, by Soraya Lane, is available at booksellers on 10-29-19. The third book in Ms Lane's River Rance series is realistic in many ways. It's also a tad bit unbelievable as it's a romance and has to turn out well. I'm not going to give away too much of the plot, you need to enjoy that yourself. Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas is my first experience with Ms Lane's work and I'm surprised and pleased.

Cody Ford, of THE Ford family, is home for Christmas. A bigwig in NYC, he hates being back in Texas. His father is dying & it all brings out his deeply buried feelings, PTSD. He is so oblivious to what's going in his life that you want to shake him till his teeth rattle. He uses work to make darn sure he doesn't have a social life, no messy feelings or complications. I felt sorry for him while I wanted to wake him up. He figures it out in the end, of course, but it's a long journey & he's kicking & screaming the entire way. Exasperating man.

Alexandra "Lexie" Murphy is Cody's ex-girlfriend. When he did a cut & run 15 years ago he left Lexi without a backward glance. He broke her & she hasn't healed to this day. She did marry, a loser, and has a cute little boy. The loser also did a cut & run so she's a single mon now. She's been hired to take care of Walter, the dying father, so she & Cody see each other again. Lexi is so closed off, she's got a ton of trouble but still, geeze. I like that she gives Cody hell for what he did to her, eventually she forgives but it's nice how long it took. She's a helicopter mom, so she got on my nerves a bit. I suppose they deserve each other, neither is any good on their own.

I liked Ms Lane's writing style, easy & flowing. I liked the Ford family, we're coming in after the others have had their HEA's so it's happiness all around. I became invested in the characters and their journey. That's a good recommendation for a book, it grabbed me. Happy reading

#Netgalley #SorayaLane #StMartin'sPress #OnceUponACowboyChristmas #RiverRanchseries #ContemporaryRomance

This is book 3 in the River Ranch series and I would absolutely read these books in order or you may not understand events that happened before this one. This one is about Cody Ford and Lexi Murphy. Cody left home as soon as he could and only comes home when he absolutely has to and leaves as soon as he can. He prefers his life in New York and if he had his way, he would never come home. But now that his Dad is sick, he knows he has to come home to spend time with him whether he wants to or not. Lexi was Cody's high school girlfriend and is his father's live in nurse. The last person he expects to find when he comes home. Lexi has never forgotten how Cody treated her nor the fact that he never even called after just leaving. And when something comes to light that affects her family and future, she believes that the boy she loved is completely gone and replaced by a man with no emotions.

I am still iffy about this one. The last one I really like and this one started off pretty good for me. I liked Lexi a lot and how strong of a person she really is. I loved how she is with not only Cody's family but with her son. I know Cody has issues, I really do. But I just had a hard time with him later in the book. And I felt like he never truly worked out those issues, almost like it was rushed through and then poof! He was fixed. It was kinda strange to me. On a whole it wasn't bad, I was with it up until that point. I think that part just really got to me, like there is no magic pill and there was no work put into being the type of person he truly could be. Here's to hoping Angelica's story draws me in more!

A challenging second chance romance. Cody ran from home in college to pursue his career to avoid the emotions brewing. He is a very difficult man to like with his aloof and cold attitude. Returning home for the holidays as his father's health is failing has him seeing his high school girlfriend again for the first time in 10 years. Seeing Lexi and spending time with her does push him to realize what he left behind all those years ago. Lexi is an amazing mother and compassionate care-giver. Her job is to make Walter's life comfortable during his final days. Her son Harry is the light in her life. She struggles to make ends meet now that her mother needs full-time care for her Alzheimer's. Seeing Cody again is gut-wrenching. She never understood why he left her behind and the love she has for him never died. This is not an easy road for either of them but Cody is the one that has to face everything he blocked out as he fled life on the ranch. Will he be willing to open his heart and risk getting hurt to have a life with Lexi? I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

Cody and Lexi have a second chance at love at Christmas. He's been avoiding home for years, and it's kind of weird how he didn't think anything about the girl he left behind. She's all kinds of awesome though. A good mom, great with Cody's family, sincere.

Cody's dad and Lexi's kid were honestly my fave characters, and I'm glad to see he could make a turn around on it all. Pretty good holiday romance. A couple little things made it less than 5 star for me but I enjoyed it.

Cody only comes home on a holiday and then he is itching to return to work back in NYC. He is very surprised to find out that Lexi his high school sweetheart as his father's nurse. Lexi still harbors anger on how Cody left town 14 years ago without saying goodbye. Cody is very attracted to Lexi, the divorced mother of a six year old son, but she doesn't want a holiday fling with Cody. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I liked Lexi very much. Since room and board are included with her job caring for Cody's father, Lexi has to be careful not to offend Cody's family. Being around Lexi, her son, and his family help Cody remember the good times. This book has sweet as well as steamy moments. This is the first book that I read in this series and it can be enjoyed as a standalone. I really like this second chance book.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Once Upon a Christmas Cowboy is the third book in Soraya Lane’s River Ranch Series. It can be read as a stand-alone. This is a second chance at love story which is normally my catnip but sadly this one did not work for me. I did like the supporting characters especially her son and his father but the hero Cody Ford came across as a cardboard rich business man, definitely not a cowboy and the heroine Alexandra (Lexi) Murphy while likeable didn’t make him earn his redemption nor was her character that well drawn. The plot was fairly disjointed and the HEA seemed contrived. Medium Steam. Publishing Date October 29, 2019. #NetGalley #OnceUponAChristmasCowboy #SorayaLane #StMartinsPress #StMartinsPaperbacks #Bookstagram

Cody and Lexi were high school sweethearts, but he left town and left her behind. She's still upset about it, and they are in very different places in life. He comes home to Texas for a brief Christmas holiday and finds she's been hired as his father's home nurse. The book had a slower pace than I like. Positives were that it wasn't overly Christmas-y, and it is fine as a stand-alone even though it is part of a series.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas is Book 3 of the River Ranch series. I hesitated picking it up since it was Book 3 and I prefer to start a series from the beginning. However, I found myself able to follow along easily and wasn't confused.

Even though this story was well written, I struggled with the first half of it and didn't feel a connection with the main characters. The story picks up during the 2nd half and I adored Walter and little Harry. Wonderful secondary characters.

Solid Romance. I came into this when I saw that Lane had another new book publishing, not realizing that it was book 3 in a series... and not caring that it was romance, rather than the historical fiction work I had previously known her from. Having come from her historical fiction work, I can tell you that she is equally adept in either world, with the overall writing equally superb while remaining within the "lines" of the various genres. Having read quite a few romances from other authors over the years, I can tell you that I'd easily stack this one up with any of them - if you like the romance genre generally, you're probably going to enjoy this one. And having come into it without having read the prior two books, I can tell you that this is one of those series that is only loosely-ish coupled, following several siblings as they find love. Because of that, it can indeed work as an entry point in the series - and you're most likely going to be drawn in enough to want to read them. Very much recommended.

Cody returns to the family ranch for Christmas and finds the girl he callously abandoned 15 years previously, when he couldn’t cope with his mother’s impending death, working for his father. Lexi still hates him for the way he broke her heart and matters between them are not helped when she discovers he is responsible for her mother being turned out of her retirement home. Despite all that is between them, both are still drawn to each other and after a lot of angst they get their HEA. An enjoyable story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas was a heartwarming story. It was a second chance at love story with interesting characters.

I really enjoyed the story overall but I have a couple of things to point out that are a little negative. First the positives. Since I read this in October, I'm glad it wasn't overly Christmasy. Yes it took place over the holiday, but it wasn't the main theme of the book. Second, I liked the slow pace of it. You got to know the characters, some of their background and why they were the way they were. This definitely had a feel to the second book of a series, with Cody's brother being the first book, which does sound interesting. But it's done in a way you don't feel lost not having read it before, so that's a plus. The negatives, the point of view seemed to change at random, in the middle of chapters with no warning. Too many times it took me a minute, confused when it changed from Lexi to Cody or vice versa. Also, there was an editing error (or two) the biggest 2 I noticed were in the 2nd sex scene. Lexi's bra was removed twice, and there was a bit about condoms that didn't make sense. Those weren't major issues with the overall story, so I tried to not let them bug me too much