Derrick and Pennylope waded through a layer of past issues, along with present ones, to find that elusive and tangible love. A second chance built on a lie that rocked both Derrick and Penelope’s boat. This story was as enticing and romantic as its characters, Derrick and Penelope. They had a hard fight with their innermost feelings and were able to come out victoriously in love and well-matched. A sweet, sexy, and delectable book, a must-read.

Such a great read. I love these cowboy romances. It is clean romance with a little dirty mixed in. Just the right amount. I love the author and her descriptions of everything to make you feel like you are in the book too.😀

Derrick has retired after years on the rodeo. He returns home to his ranch to settle down after leaving the rodeo circuit. He was shocked to find out he is engaged to Penelope, his ex-girlfriend. She is the Ranch manager of his ranch. Derrick is angry at first until he realizes that the fake engagement will benefit them both. I love this book, the characters were easy to follow, I loved the flow of the book.

ARC Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by author Mary Sue Jackson and I thought that the Rancher’s Pregnant Ex was a wonderful second chance romance.

Penelope and Derrick are the classic definition of stubborn and what drove them apart. Youth and stubbornness are not easily blended, especially as almost young adults.

I look forward to more books from this author.

This is a typical cowboy second chance romance, it was an easy and quick read and very enjoyable. I love these types of books and this did not disappoint.

I love a good second chance at romance novel, and Rancher's Pregnant Ex is exactly that, a good second chance at romance novel, with strong characters, a good backstory, and while the plot is certainly nothing new, all in all it was an enjoyable read and it gets 4 stars from this reader.

Fourteen years earlier, Derrick Sampson, left the family ranch and his obnoxious and abusive father behind and really never looked back. His mother had left and divorced her husband years before that. There was one more person he left behind, his girlfriend, Penelope Martinez, who refused his request that she join him on the rodeo circuit and who continued to work on his family ranch, as did her father before her.

Twelve years later, Derrick's father died, and for the past 2 years, and much to his surprise, Penelope had been running, managing and greatly improving the ranch ever since. No sooner does he spot her on the porch of the main house, when he spots a man with her, Will Reed, someone she'd been dating casually, who's there to tell her that the application for a bank loan had been denied. She was hoping to buy into another ranch owned by a friend of hers--and then Derrick notices the engagement ring on her finger--his mother's engagement ring. A good set up for this story.

It doesn't take long for Penelope to tell Derrick that the only way she could think of to get rid of Will, who she'd dumped but who wouldn't take no for an answer, was to tell him that she was engaged--to Derrick. The ring on her finger was given to her by Derrick's mom. They eventually strike a deal--Derrick will agree to the fake engagement and protect Penelope from the stalker that Will has become, only if Penelope continues to work on the ranch and show him how she's managed to turn his father's a broken down, neglected, wreck of a ranch into the thriving and successful one that utterly amazed him in just two years. Penelope sees this offer as the chance to save up enough money to buy into her friend's ranch, and agrees to the deal, but can either one of them resist the attraction that's been between them for years?

To further complicate matters, Derrick had a darn good reason for leaving the rodeo, and it's a reason he doesn't want to share with anyone, but it's that secret that leads to his on again, off again relationship with Penelope, and when Penelope realizes that she's pregnant, it's Derrick's secret and the angst that accompanies it that will tear them apart when he dumps her for the second time. Can these two characters ever find their way back to one another? It's a tall order and I'm not telling since I don't do spoilers. You'll just have to read this engaging and well written novel for yourself.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of the novel. The opinions stated are my own.

Skip the cover and title. This is a good read. There is a possible medical problem along with the truly terrible title, which tells the reader part of the plot, this moves forward with romance, drama, angst and the HEA. A good, quick read.

Derrick arrives home to find out he is engaged to his former girlfriend. He has no idea why Penelope has told everyone that they are engaged. What makes everything more complicated is that Penelope has been running his ranch and that their engagement has brought lots of discounts from everyone in town. This has put the ranch in the positive. Derrick & Penelope come to an agreement to pretend that they are engaged. Love wins out in the end despite complications.

I received this arc for an honest review.

Derrick Sampson has returned home to the ranch and town he left fourteen years ago, returning once to bury his father, he is surprised to see Penelope Martinez looking more beautiful than he could even imagine the day he broke up with her and left for the rodeo. Yet she is sitting on the porch with Will who the two of them have always been at odds with each other. When he sees a ring on her left hand, he figures that they are together. He finds out later that he was wrong with that idea and that Penelope and Derrick are engaged and his mother went along with it even to the point of giving her, her own ring to seal the deal. Wanting Derrick to go along with everything at first does not look like he will but he comes around when he sees all of the good that she has done for the ranch in the last five years.
Once the arguing and other stuff is set aside you get into the story where they still have to deal with the past issues which continue to come up and also why Derrick has left the rodeo. He does not want to tell her or his mother about his CTE, which his father had and which also changed him from the father he knew as a child to a very different man much later. He is afraid of the same thing happening to him.
Just when you think that the two of them are going to make it, he decides to end it for them because of his chance of having CTE later, which does not bode well for her since he does not give her a say in the decision which as you read this story goes along with her character for well. Of course, he is not happy after his decision but he must live in his own mess and find a way to fix it or leave it the way it is. See what happens in this very good story. I liked all of the characters and the story overall, a very good book.

Rancher's Pregnant Ex by Mary Sue Jackson, Leslie North
Rating: 3.5 stars.
**WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW**
Derrick Samson is a rodeo star who is coming back home after a serious fall puts him at high risk for CTE. Coming home means he must learn how to run his ranch, which is currently being managed by his ex, Penelope Martinez. He comes home to learn that she told everyone in town they were engaged to get her ex to leave her alone. He goes with it as he needs her to stay through the fall birthing season and teach him how to manage the ranch. She needs him to cosign a loan so she can buy into another ranch and go live her life elsewhere.
I liked Penelope, she was a planner and knew what she wanted, and was not afraid to go after it. I had a harder time liking Derrick. Yes, he is hot. Yes, there is history. Yes, he is going along with the fake engagement (although he gets something out of it, too). He *might* have CTE but before figuring out if he really does, he just pushes Penelope away. Bad communication is not something I enjoy in novels and it seems to be common these days.
Also, the way this is written felt a little all over the place. Penelope and Derrick go from fake engaged to real engaged(?), break up, have a baby, and then get engaged again (even though I thought they were engaged before the baby came…?). The pregnancy also felt off, like it was not needed to make this a compelling story.
Overall, it was a decent read but there was not anything about this story that makes me want to recommend it to my friends or buy a copy to share with someone. It is not quite a 4-star rating, but 3-stars feels too low. So, 3.5-stars it is.
I received this advance reader copy for free via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Leslie North consistently brings great characters and passionate romance to life. As a big fan North's, her name provokes an automatic one-click from me. I am always entertained. And being introduced to new to me author is a bonus.

Rancher's Pregnant Ex, shows what happens when a couple are both too independent and each have to be right all of the time. A little give would have gone a long way. Happy ending for all. I loved the Epilogue.