Quick read. This is a typical romance from author Carolyn Brown. I do like the characters and I'm looking forward to the second book in the series when it comes out. There's a bonus story in the advanced digital copy. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #SecondChanceatSunflowerRanch

Cute, small town, long long time second chance, surprise older kid, family drama, and great characters. This is a typical Brown book with closed door steam, classic cowboy romance - move home to the ranch and take over and fall in love.

Enjoy this one and will read the rest- as need to know what happens to the rest of the brothers.

3.5 stars
2 steam

This was a sweet Second-Chance romance in one of my favorite of all places – a ranch! Will the past mistakes and mis-communications continue to haunt Jesse and Addison or will they be able to find their lost friendship and build a future on Sunflower Ranch? I bet you can’t guess what is going to happen! 😊

But there are several fun side stories that wreak a little havoc on this love story and cause these two friends to have to work together to resolve them. And if you like teenagers that make seriously dumb decisions, have attitudes for absolutely no reason and are a constant headache to everyone around them, then I have 5 of them that you can take your pick from…. I mean…. then this story has one of those too to make us all feel right at home!

Will this love story have a happy ending? Of course it will! But it’s the journey of how we get to that happy ending that makes it all worthwhile. This down home story will make you wish you lived on a little ranch, making googly eyes at the hot cowboy and breathing the nice fresh air.

And even better, there is a Book 2 coming. Yay!

3.5 Coming Around Again Stars
* * * 1/2 Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
If you ever wish to just escape to a place where the men are capable of communicating and going forward, where women have had to be strong and carry on, and romance is between grown-ups then this story is for you.

Carolyn Brown is known for tales that will take you on a journey and this falls into that vane. We have two people who were best friends in their youth, shared a moment before the man went off to the Air Force, and now returns 20 years later to assist with his father's ranch. The father is ill and needs medical assistance and the old friend from our guy's past is doing the nursing.

It turns out that shared moment 20 years ago produced more than lasting memories. Now, these two will have to handle this situation and if there is a spark, it might grow.

Addy is a single mother who is caring for the father of a old best friend while he is away. On top of that she seems to be having a daughter who is past due for a rebellious phase and has her hands full right now. Jesse the old best friend and surprise surprise the father of her child is around now and now seems to be dealing with more then he thought he would when he came back.

I enjoyed this book. If you like slow burn kinda books you'll like this book I mean there was plenty going on with so much to say. I think I got myself used to fast paced action packed book that this was kinda like a slow run for me but it was nice getting to know that characters that much more. It was interesting seeing how they worked together, how they were going to navigate with the reveal of a child and how that girl is acting now. She was going head first into trouble it was was tough watching how the parents were dealing with that. I liked seeing how everything finally came together and settled. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.

The first book in a new series, Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is a sweet second chance love story.
Heartwarming story with like-able characters.
Author Carolyn Brown writes a endearing story. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Big-hearted, sweet, and engaging!

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is an emotive, second-chance romance between the driven, successful Jesse and the kind, hardworking, single mother Addy as they discover that beneath all the miscommunication and past secrets is a deeply-rooted friendship, sizzling attraction, and unconditional love that is still smouldering and certainly worth fighting for.

The writing is fluid and warm. The characters are caring, hesitant, and appealing. And the plot is a push-pull tale of relationship dynamics, familial expectations, parenthood, introspection, acceptance, forgiveness, friendship, love, romance, and new beginnings.

Overall, Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is a charming, colourful, tender tale that is a fantastic start to The Ryan Family series by Brown with characters you can’t help but root for, a storyline with a nice mix of drama and passion, and a happy-ever-after ending that definitely leaves you with a smile.

This was such a great read - love Addy and Jesse's story of a second chance at love after being the bestest of friends all through high school. I am not usually a fan of secret babies but this one was very well written and I enjoyed it immensely!

ARC for honest review with no compensation Received from NetGalley

Jesse Ryan and Addison Hall, high school friends one steamy night, part he to the military overseas her to nursing. Twenty years later he retires and returns home only to find he has a 19 year old daughter…following along to see how this all plays out and if love finds it’s way back into all their lives….

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is the first of the new Ryan Family series by Carolyn Brown. First son Jesse Ryan has just retired from a 20 year career of back to back deployments as an Air Force medic. Having seen some horrible things and worked behind enemy lines in stressful situations, he has earned his retirement and is set to embark on a totally different career path taking over the management of his adoptive parents’, Sonny and Pearl Ryan, Sunflower Ranch in Honey Grove, Texas. His brothers, also adopted, are world travelers,too. One, Cody, works with a doctor without borders type organization, and the other, Lucas, is a well known and sought after horse trainer.

With Jesse’s military service behind him what he may fear most now is being reunited with his childhood best friend, Addy Hall. She sent him equivalent to a Dear John letter soon after he left for the Air Force and shortly after his last night home, the only time they crossed the friendship line and spent that last night together. But Addy must have soon forgotten him because it wasn’t much after that that Addy went to stay with her grandmother in Cactus, Texas, while she attended college to become a nurse and, soon after must have found someone else who gave her a daughter.

Now Addy serves as nurse to his father, Sonny, who is on trial meds for his MS. She and her daughter, Mia, have been living on the ranch for several years and also working the ranch side as well as nursing and bookkeeping. Mia, now 19, has just completed her first year of college where she is studying business to help with the ranch. Sonny and Pearl, who she calls Nana and Poppa, are paying for her college in exchange for her promise of help. But when she comes home for the summer she is not acting like the same person. While she has always been sweet and helpful, she is now rude and surly.

As the story evolves, readers will be drawn in by these wonderful characters and the spinning of their tale. Once again, Carolyn Brown has invented another lovely small Texas town with a lovely plot. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I usually love the sweetness and small, hometown charm to be found in almost every Carolyn Brown novel I've read. I am also a fan of the second chance at love trope, and I rarely mind the secret baby trope, but to keep that secret for 20 years? Sorry, but I saw it coming as soon as Addy's daughter, Mia, was introduced, and why in the world would anyone in their right mind cheat the father of their child of the pleasure of watching their child grow into adulthood? I had other issues with this novel as well, which I'll get to, and those are the reasons for my giving this novel only a 3-star rating.

The main characters in this novel, Addy and Jesse, have been best friends since early childhood. Although he grew up on a ranch, his dream was to graduate from high school and join the Air Force. Addy dreamed of becoming a nurse. The night before Jesse left town for the military, the two best friends finally gave in to the unspoken feelings between them, and had sex. Six weeks later, Addy discovers that she's pregnant, moves away to have her child, and the two "best friends" stop communicating completely for the next 20 years. Addy's excuse for cutting Jesse out of the knowledge of his impending fatherhood--she didn't want to ruin his dream. That had to be the worst excuse ever. There are tens of thousands, if not more, military families, and while long absences during deployments can be and are hard on a relationship, many of them make it work, but Addy took that chance away from Jesse, and while she is portrayed as a kind, sweet and giving person, who has spent the past 5 years at Jesse's family ranch caring for his father, Sonny, who has multiple sclerosis, she has also never told her daughter's grandparents that Mia is their granddaughter. Why cheat them out of the knowledge that they are grandparents?

Then there's Mia, a bratty, mouthy, lying, and annoying 19-year-old, involved with a real user and loser, whom she believes hung the moon. In a few short months she runs off to Las Vegas with him, he loses all her money playing poker, drops her like a hot potato, and leaves her stranded in Las Vegas for another girl he's been seeing and impregnating behind her back, and that's not counting the other single teenage mom he left behind.

When Jesse returns to the ranch after retiring from the military and tries to resume his friendship with Addy, Mia makes it really clear that she doesn't like him or want him involved with her mother. Where were the adults here? Why would her attitude guide her mother's decision to keep Mia from knowing who her father is? Yes, they punish Mia for running off by making her work on the ranch for the summer at minimum wage, but that doesn't really stop her smart mouth or her lying about her whereabouts, or the fact that she might also be pregnant.

Even as Jesse and Addy resume their friendship and sexual relationship, she's still waiting for an "I love you" from him. He's easily forgiven her for hiding his child from him for 20 years, and yes, we're told he's not good with words, but his every action shows her how much he cares about her, and the fact that he isn't absolutely livid and angry about her cheating him out of his daughter's childhood was certainly proof enough for this reader.

Additionally this was perhaps the slowest moving book I've read by Ms. Brown. Other than the aforementioned plot lines, nothing much happens in this novel other than Addy being betrayed in her friendship with the town doctor, Grady, and the vicious gossips in town treating Addy and Mia like sluts. This is hardly the small town I'd want to live in, and their eventual comeuppance was too little too late for this reader.

Yes, there's an HEA ending to this novel, and while I won't spoil it by giving away what happens in the epilogue, I found that it was incredibly hard to believe as well.

Carolyn Brown is a far better author than is displayed in this novel, and I will continue to read her novels, but I do hope either her future editors or beta readers let her know when she's making her characters quite so unlikeable.

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

Second chance at love, small town romance and a ranch?! Sign me up!
.
Jesse Ryan retired as a combat medic and is returning to Sunflower Ranch to run the ranch and take care of his foster parents. He is shocked to see the live in nurse is no other then his high school best friend, and the women he loved and left behind Addison. They had one night together before he shipped out and is now shocked to see nineteen years later they have a daughter.
.
Sometimes love is worth taking a second chance and there is so much more waiting for them as they build their life together on the ranch. One of my favorite things about @readforeverpub books is they are feel good stories and they always make my heart so happy.
.
Thank you #NetGalley and @Readforeverpub for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Addy and Jesse’s best friends who get a second-chance in Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch, book one in the Ryan Family series by Carolyn Brown, is an emotional, and amazing tale that tugs at the heart-strings. It’s a tale of regrets, heartbreaks, and secrets; as well as family. Retiring after twenty years as a combat medic, Jesse Ryan returns to Texas, to help take care of her aging foster parents and manage Sunflower ranch. Upon arrival, he finds his parents’ live-in nurse Addison Hall, his high school best friend and the one woman he regretted leaving behind; especially after their one and only steamy night together before he shipped out. There was no surprise that the chemistry still sizzled after all these years. What did surprise Jesse was discovering that Addy’s daughter was born only nine months after he left. That girl was his daughter. One he never knew about. Addy’s life is complicated enough being a single mom to nineteen-year-old who has hit her rebellious stage; making her unprepared for Jesse’s return complicating her life further. As Addy and Jesse spend time together, reacquainting themselves, they began to wonder what harm would it be if they allowed their friendship to bloom into something more. It was time for these two to realize that friends could be lovers and they could have the life they only dreamed of; together.

Ms. Brown wrote a wonderful, emotional, and heartwarming story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with sizzling chemistry, amusing banter, and charming secondary characters giving Addy and Jesse a second chance to grow their love with a future together. I highly recommend Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch by Carolyn Brown
Any book by Carolyn Brown is always a good read!
Jesse returns after 20 years of military service to take care of his parents. He is shocked to realize that their live-in nurse is his high school friend, Adison. He and Addison shared one steamy night before he left for the service.
Addison has a daughter, Mia. Could Mia be the result of that one steamy night? Her age fits the timeframe.
Can they rekindle their romance and become a family?
Carolyn Brown writes characters with heart and chemistry that cannot be denied. I always look forward to reading a Carolyn Brown book. There is always lots of love.
You won’t be disappointed with this book. It is an awesome read!
I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Carolyn Brown, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the copy of Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch. This is my personal review.
There are very few books I have read that I say to myself – Yes, I want to read this one again! I absolutely loved this book. From the first word to the last I was so taken in by everyone in the story.
Addy and Jesse had just great chemistry that I could feel it as I read. I cheered for them- laughed with them and had my heart twisted as I was reading.
The words were so well written that I felt like I was actually with the characters as I read their story.
A romance that was meant to be and the family that was there with Abby and Jesse gave them the emotional support they needed to make the right decisions on what they needed to do with their lives.
I am so excited to read the next book in The Ryan Family series.

What a great, heartwarming story about friendship, love, and family. I enjoyed this book and the escape to Sunflower Ranch it provided me. I felt like I personally knew the characters in the story as Carolyn Brown’s writing brought them to life. I can’t wait to read another book by her.

I’ll admit that I’m always excited to begin a new series by this author and Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch was all I could hope for as an opening story in the new The Ryan Family series… and so much more. If you’re looking for a sweet with a bit of sass story and believable characters then you’ve found a great one to start off the series, a series that I’m already hooked on after just one book.

Almost two decades earlier, Addy and Jesse were best friends who always felt just that little bit more for each other but never acted on that attraction… until the night before Jesse left for the Air Force and a career as a medic that would keep him far from the ranch for years on end. There were consequences from that one night in the form of Addy’s daughter, Mia. Addy made the choice to not contact Jesse for he’d made his career choice and it wasn’t this ranch where he grew up with his foster parents. Both went about their lives until Jesse returned to Sunflower Ranch to help his foster parents run the ranch after Sonny’s MS had taken a turn for the worse. Addy happened to be the live-in home health care nurse who was taking care of Sonny… and the past was about to meet the present with surprises and one rebellious teenager who is about to make one huge mistake unless her path is changed.

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is such a delightful yet believable romance with characters who stole my heart early on facing some tough decisions. Jesse is an honorable man in so many ways, yet it wasn’t fair to him that Mia’s existence was kept from him for so many years. I understood Addy’s decision, up to a point, but this is one of the reasons that the secret baby trope is not one of my favorites. It didn’t stop me from liking Addy, I simply wish she would have trusted Jesse to make his own informed decisions far earlier. I liked Jesse instantly, yet I adored Addy, even though she did make some mistakes. She’s such a strong character who has made the choice to go it alone as a single parent who is providing the best life for her daughter that she can. Mia is… well, a teenager who is about to make a mistake that could change her life forever. And like most teens, even older ones, she believes she’s grown up enough to not need her mom’s or Jesse’s approval for her actions. Watching these individual personalities work their way to becoming a loving family, and Addy and Jesse finally admitting to their feelings for each other was an emotional, joyous journey.

All that and then toss in some amazing secondary characters that I hope will make a reappearance in the series and you have an excellent beginning to The Ryan Family series. I have loved this author’s work for years, and I’m very excited to see where this new series takes me. If you love a good love story full of family, sass, emotions, and second chances then you’ll want to pick up this one real soon.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

I liked that this was a beautiful, second chance love story filled with happiness and heartache and wonderful, realistic characters. I also liked how faith and family were important to the characters too. I was pulled right into this story by the wonderful characters that seemed so real to me. I liked Addy and wanted to know who was the father of her daughter, Mia. I liked her relationship with Mia, who was nineteen because it was very realistic and involved good times and heartache.

I enjoyed Addy's relationship with Jesse who had been her best friend before he joined the Air Force twenty years ago. Jesse was very romantic at times and I liked how he had fallen in love with his best friend. I cannot wait to read the next book about Jesse's brother, Cody and Stevie. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

*averaged rating for both stories*

Secret baby romance. If that baby was now 19 years old and kicking up trouble. Jesse and Addy’s story was a long time coming as it took decades for their second chance. This author knows how to write small-town, cowboy, family oriented romance and this read was chock-a-block full of all that goodness. Jesse had expected many things when he retired from the military and went home to support his parents. Foster or no, this was home and his family was larger than he thought! If I wasn’t entirely excited about the reveal, I had no issues with all that surrounded it. Solid characters, heart-warming, real conversations and challenges – family means life and strife and that was in full evidence here. Delightfully so!

Tack on a novella-size story (Small Town Charm) about bullying as well as romance, well, they came together to form a great sunny summer afternoon read. And did I mention cowboys? Yee-haw…

Just after high school graduation, Jesse Ryan was to serve in the Air Force leaving his best friend Addison (Addy) Hall behind. On Jesse’s last night in Honey Grove, Texas, Jesse and Addy crossed the platonic relationship barrier for a night of passion.

Twenty years later, Jesse, now a retired combat medic, returns home to assist with his aging foster parents’ ranch. Unbeknownst to Jesse, Addy is now a live-in nurse and farmhand at his parents’ ranch Further, Addy is now a mother to a 19 year old girl Mia — his daughter.

What starts out as an awkward re-introduction between Jesse and Addy, soon blossoms into something deeper. But with a rebellious Mia to contend with, the family and romance dynamic gets complicated.

Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch is a cute cowboy romance with down-to-earth and family oriented characters, which the author deftly developed — especially Mia who you would love to hate.

The plot is easy to follow, wholesome and believable. The only drawback is the length at which the whole story took to evolve. Not the author’s best work, but certainly not her worst. Three likeable stars.

I received a digital ARC from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.