The Rancher's Pregnant Fake Fiancee by Leslie North is the first novel in her Radford Ranch Brothers series, and having just finished reading and reviewing The Rancher's Pregnant Ex by Mary Sue Jackson and Leslie North, I couldn't help but compare the two novels, and this one came up a little short for a couple of reasons, which I why I could only give it a 3-star rating.

Jett, the eldest of the Radford brothers lost his father 3 months earlier. He and his brothers are trying to maintain their 20,000 acre cattle ranch, but last summer's drought didn't help matters any, and the old man whose ranch shares a creek with theirs has been reluctant to agree to help build a dam which would make irrigation easier for both ranches, but so far he's put off Jett's suggestion, and Jett is feeling the weight of his responsibilities to carry on his family's legacy. After his father's funeral, while getting drunk at the local bar, the sister of his best friend, Noelle, tried to comfort him, and eventually that led to his bedroom. They both agreed it was a one and done, but 12 weeks later, Noelle turns up at his ranch to let him know she's pregnant.

Noelle is trying to get her bakery business off the ground. She's doing well but has just been retained to produce a wedding cake for the premier family in town. It would take her business to the next level, and the bride just happens to be the daughter of the same man who won't give Jett his approval on the dam project. Noelle's solution is a fake engagement--she can boost her bakery and work on the father of the bride to help Jett. So they strike a deal, work out the details and proceed with the charade, and what followed was awfully similar to the previous novel I mentioned but with one disappointing exception. Where was Noelle's brother in all this? Granted, we're told he lives in Houston, but since Jett didn't want to lose his best friend by getting up close and personal (several steamy times) with Noelle, I expected, at the very least, a phone call between the two men, if not a major physical confrontation between them for Jett knocking up his best friend's little sister. In my opinion, it was a significant omission.

The other issue I had with Jett is his utter inability to communicate honestly with Noelle. She shared her every thought and emotion with Jett, but when his neighbor refuses the dam deal, and there's a fire that wrecks one of the farm machines and part of their barn, Jett considers himself a total failure and doesn't even bother to mention it to Noelle, who finds out from a third party, and realizes that their fake engagement, which has started to feel like a real one, was little but smoke and mirrors on Jett's part, and she breaks off their relationship.

While I admired Noelle as a determined, focused, and honest woman, an optimist, and someone who really did love Jett, I had a hard time liking Jett from the start. I wasn't wild about his relationship with his younger brothers, he wasn't honest with Noelle, and up until the very end, he wasn't even honest with his angst-ridden, pessimistic self. Yes, this is a romance, and yes, there's eventually an HEA ending, but it's really difficult to love a novel when you really don't think much of the supposed hero. While this wasn't a bad read, it did have some sweet and tender moments, but it wasn't a great one for this reader.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

This was an ok read. Nothing special, quick and easy. If you are looking for a relaxing, no thought read, this one is for you.