A second chance small town romance that will make you believe in the possibility of second chances! Such a great series that is carried through with other books.

Mary are Jackson’s The Rancher’s Second Chance is just the type of book you’re more than happy to loose yourself in...with a heartwarming story and characters who’ll win your heart from its onset...and with an author who is a gifted storyteller...the pages nearly turn themselves. The perfect amount of tension and turmoil is added to provide the juxtaposition to the goodness that is Cole, Sammie, and Devon...that is one little man who’ll definitely steal your heart.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Everyone deserves a second chance and that is what you get from The Rancher’s Second Chance by Mary Sue Jackson and Leslie North. We meet Sammie (a Yale professor) when she comes home to take care of ranch business. Next we find Cole and his son (who is a handful!) in the mix. They reconnect, but of course there is drama throughout. Throw in a cousin that wants the ranch and has underhanded ways of trying to get it…and you get the picture. Will it work out? Will Sammie stay or go back to Yale? Only way to find out it to read the book. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading others by these two authors.
Thanks to netgalley for an ARC for an honest opinion.

Samantha Jenson must return home and see to the home ranch. She encounters Cole Baker and the sparks fly.
Good tale by this Author.
Ebook from netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley..

This was my first book by this author.
This was an adorable, fast-paced book. The storyline was easy to follow. The characters were great together.

Leslie North is an amazing Storyteller! Every single book I read of hers is great! Can't wait for her next book!!

Another great read by 2 great authors. Everyone deserves second chances and this book was a definite story on a 2nd chance of love.

Samantha Jensen has made it at Yale and is now a professor. When she thinks everything is going good she gets a call and must return to the small Texas town that she is from and the families ranch. She is also hoping that her former high school boyfriend which she broke up with a letter is now happily married. Finding that the ranch needs lots of work and that her cousin wants the land if she falters to sell it. She finds Cole Baker who is back in town and also just out of the Army. She did not know, looking for a job because of his son she hires him and the heat builds between them once again. The ranch starts to work, and just when you think everything is going okay, she goes back to Yale. Now he must find a new place for his boy and find out how to save himself and save the ranch so it does not get sold. Find out how this all works out and if she comes back from Yale a second time. A really good story with very good characters.

I do love me a good cowboy romance and these ladies didn't disappoint. One of the better ones I've read as of late. I loved the characters. They were easy to love and root for. I wish the story was a little longer but still a cute romance nonetheless.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another cowboy and it was about time that I got back to my roots. If you have been following my blog or reviews then you know that cowboys are my favorite and I was excited to read this book. The title of this book basically tells you what this story is about. A rancher gets a second chance with his high school sweetheart who is in town to take over her family's ranch after the terrible death of her father and brother in a car accident. In addition to cowboy romance, second chance romance are close to my heart. This book has both of these elements, so what could go wrong and will I love it?

Cole and Sammie were high school sweethearts who come back together purely by chance. Sammie has been summoned to her small hometown to lay claim to her family's ranch and her deceased mother's fine china. Cole is a single father who has recently come home from the military and in need of a job. Sammie is in need of a ranch manager to bring the ranch up to code and Cole needs a job and a place to live for his son. Everything seems nice and tidy with a bow, so what is the problem in this story? Sammie is due to go back to her big city life in New York in a year's time and their relationship has started to heat up again.

I like the story and I absolutely enjoy second chance romance. Cole and Sammie's relationship was sweet and I loved the family dynamic with Cole's son. The chemistry between Cole and Sammie was great and the author is talented, but the story is lacking and the book struggled to keep my interest. The author never really go into detail why they broke up in the first place and their relationship was lukewarm. The main problem in the story is Sammie's cousin trying to take over the ranch in order to make way for a major land development. Sammie's cousin does not make a good antagonist and the townspeople did not leave an impression on me.

I give this book 3 stars because I did not experience any emotions while reading this story. I just read it because it was next on the list and that is very unfortunate because I like to have an experience with every book that I read. This book needed more emotions and more dept to the characters. NO tea or blanket needed.

I thought that this was a good story, it was a little slow at the start for me but once the story got going I thought it was really good and thoroughly enjoyable.

I thought that it was a strong plot overall, the pace and writing style was spot on and it is another enjoyable story from Mary Sue Jackson and Lesley North. I loved the attention to detail.

It is four stars from me for this one – I really enjoyed it – highly recommended!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Starting out the book, I had a hard time really liking Samantha (Sammie) as she seemed so judgmental and would not deviate from her set life plan.

Cole was much easier to like until he had to go out and get drunk which was kind of a stupid stunt for a guy his age! I did like that his brother-in-law, Richard, finally came around and realized that Cole had matured and was not the juvenile delinquent from his past.

And how could you not love the little guy, Devon, who was so serious for a toddler and easy to love.

My only compliant for this book is that there was way too much drama, and all of it bad but they all worked to make a change and get things corrected and they did have a pretty good HEA.

when you’re down on your luck or at the end of your rope, you’ll grasp any lifeline someone throws at you. And to add to that mix you have a woman bent on leaving her family home and a man running it who has nothing to his name. But it’s the other family member who is a catalyst for this story. At times, it’s a cute story. Mostly though, you understand how hard the work is to keep a ranch viable.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley, and I’m leaving my review voluntarily.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I believe this is part of a series but not sure. It reads great as a stand alone. I found this book to have a unique storyline! Nice change of pace. Really liked Sammie and Cole. 4 stars. I think most romance readers would enjoy.

A must read for lovers of this genre. A fabulous read, with relatable characters and a compelling story line. I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy!

The Rancher’s Second Chance
by Mary Sue Jackson, Leslie North 

Kindle Edition, 277 pages
Published August 6th 2019




Goodreads synopsis:
Samantha Jenson likes things ordered. She’s managed to carefully plot out her life, creating lists along the way to keep her on track: Leave small town. No more cowboys—especially him. Get educated. Don’t even think about him. Become a professor. So far, she’s put a check in every box but the last. 

When her family ranch in Texas goes to her after the death of her father and brother, she’s forced to return home to put things in order and to make sure the property doesn’t get into the hands of her shady cousin. Enter Cole Baker. Tough, hard, distant. Sexy. The kind of guy you’d want standing between you and an attacking bear. Or in your bed. He’s definitely not on Sammie’s to-do list. But when the two of them are thrown together to save the ranch, her list begins to look not quite so important. 

No one had ever mistaken Cole for one of the good guys. In and out of trouble his whole life, his one brush with respectability came during the brief time he and Sammie dated in high school. Now, fresh out of the army, he finds himself suddenly navigating the world of single parenthood and is desperate to give his son stability. He needs a job and a place to stay, so when Sammie offers him the role of running the ranch, he swallows his pride and agrees. 

All his life he’s let down everyone he loved, so he’ll try to focus on the job, and definitely not think about how beautiful Sammie is, how goddamn cute all her lists are or how good she is with his son. It’ll only end in heartbreak, just like before… right?


***

4 Stars

Sometimes I request books simply because I know I will need a break from the suspense, action and mystery of other titles on my TBR. This was one of those selections. I knew it would be a guilty pleasure read. I knew I would like it. And I was right.

There was a lot of tension in this book even knowing it would be a guilty pleasure read. Tension is sometimes hard to capture in a romance but this book does it honestly. They were both so hard-headed it was a wonder either of them bent in order to make the quick step into the relationship that we all knew was inevitable.

I thought all three leads, Sammie, Cole and Devon were full blown characters. No cardboard people, at least in the main characters. I loved the section with Richard and Cole. It didn’t seem possible in the beginning that Cole and his brother-in-law would ever see eye to eye considering his bad boy past and Richard’s job as a cop. That was so sweet when Richard opened his eyes to how much Cole had changed upon becoming a father.

Sammie’s cousin, Peter did seem to be a bit stereotypical. Big guy. The man. Putting one over on the little guy even though that little guy was his cousin. What a schmuck! I would have liked to see a few more scenes with him.

I enjoyed watching the characters grow and how relating to Devon made them see things in ways they might not have understood previously.

Great book. Not a lot of sex in this one. It’s there but it doesn’t take over the book. It feels natural and real. If you love romantic suspense, definitely check this one out!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Samantha is a professor but returns to Texas after her father and brother are killed. She is left the ranch and her cousin is trying to take it from her. She hires Cole to be her foreman who was her ex boyfriend. Cole was a troublemaker but now has a little boy to raise. They both work to get the ranch up to code but things keep happening. Samantha doesn’t plan on staying, she has to get back to start her teaching job at Yale. The more time she spends with Cole and his son, the harder it will be to leave. Can they save the ranch and become a family?
I absolutely loved this story. It has a little humor, steamy, and an evil cousin. Second chance for two people.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

Mary Sue Jackson as quickly been added to my “Must Read” author list and deservedly so. Ms Jackson continually writes well-rounded characters and excellent plots that keep the reader captivated and intrigued from the first till the very last page.

The Rancher's Second Chance had everything! Drama, deception, conflict and intense chemistry that simply couldn’t be denied. If the second chance romance between Sammie and Cole isn’t enough to woo the true romantic’s heart, then add to the mix the sweetest toddler there ever was, and you’ve got total heart melt.

A beautifully written story that highlights the emotional tug-of-war between what you have strived to achieve and what really matters when push comes to shove. The character portrayals are spot on, and the small-town community spirit is a delightful addition too. There’s simply nothing about this story not to love! I can’t wait for Ms Jackson’s next exciting tale.

As usual Leslie North delivers a wonderful story, with a bittersweet undertone. Sammie has always known that her brother would take over the ranch. So, she was free to flee from her small hometown to study and become a professor in New York.
But then the unthinkable happens: her father has a heart attack while driving, crashing the car with him and Sammie's brother in it. Now, Sammie has to return home, grieving and broken, to deal with the ranch. When the will states, she has to live on the ranch for the next year, she decides to hire Cole Baker, her high school sweetheart, whose heart she broke years ago by moving away. Cole really doesn't want to work for Sammie, because of all the memories and hurt it causes. But he doesn't have a choice, because he needs to provide for his two year old son, Devon.
While both Sammie and Cole are tiptoeing around each other, strange things happen at the ranch: a waterpipe breaks the day after being fixed, things start to disappear. Apparently, Cole is not the only one with bad memories about Sammie. Find out for yourself how this story will unfold in The Rancher's Second Chance. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Cole's energetic 2 year old son, Devon, stole my heart right away. I enjoyed this book and will be telling all of my friends to read it. I love a happy second chance romance.