This one I think is a great entry into diversifying a standard "cowboy romance." We have Latine characters, and as far as I can tell they are well represented here. (I am not myself, latine, so I can't say this for sure. I do try to pay attention to specific things that I have learned are offensive, and I didn't find any.) There is some great sexy flirting and heat between the love interests, but this romance is more of a fade to black than a spicy one, so do know that going into it so that you have proper expectations.

CW: This centers around a cancer diagnosis of a family member, and war related PTSD, so please enter cautiously.

This also had a lot of world building and exposition to introduce the series, the Ortega family, and the vast cast of characters I'm assuming who will get their own stories in subsequent books. This meant Nora and Gabe weren't as together on page as I typically like in a book, but it was truly a solid introduction to the series.

The banter between Nora and Gabe when they are on page together is magical, and it carried me through this one. I will be picking up this author again in the future.

This was a sweet light second chance romance taking place on Gabe's family ranch, Rancho Lindo. Gabe and Nora grew up together, but never developed their own friendship or shared the truth behind their feelings for each other.

Gabe has returned to Rancho Lindo after an injury and is thinking about what his next move will be. Nora has become the new horticulturist, and she determined to make sure the Ortega family do not regret hiring her, especially after how connected she grew up to them.

I think this is a light second chance, as they did not truly date previously. More of a missed opportunity and miscommunication that hurt Nora and Gabe now has to take accountability for.

Gabe wants to prove to Nora he will not hurt her again. Nora doesn't trust he will stay in Rancho Lindo and ultimately hurt her again.

I really enjoyed the setting and getting to know all of the family members.

This was a lovely romance novel with great family dynamics (the comp to Rebekah Weatherspoon's cowboy trilogy is very apt, in some ways) and sufficiently high-stakes conflict/resolution. I'm not generally a fan of veteran/military romance of any sort, but this one was so well-written it wasn't as much of an issue for me as it usually is.

Gabe Ortega has come home from the military after being injured and no longer has a carer. The ranch has never felt like home to him but he knows he needs to be there for now. Walking around he runs into Norea Tores who takes care of the garden and for her, she is glad that he does not remember her, Gabe, of course, does not make a good impression. When Gbe finally remembers with some help he is embarrassed and tries to apologize but she is still mad at him and he does not know why. When he finds out he does not have the words to say he is sorry for by then he is liking her, she, of course, has always liked him and that is her problem. She still wonders if and when he will leave again. He does it again but this time he is not happy. See how he fixes himself and proves to Norea he is the man for her. A very good book with excellent characters.

This was a sweet second chance romance where both main characters had to work through their past to be able to find their happily ever after. I really liked the setting of Rancho Lindo and the family working together. I did find the story a bit anticlimactic. Overall, it was a sweet read.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Gabe and Nora get a s cond chance but will it end in heartache again? I enjoyed meeting this family of strong characters and endearing family members. The ranch and it's inhabitants cone Al ve in the author's words.

You're going to find yourself cheering for Gabe and Nora to succeed this time around. It will take a lot of understanding, compassion, and determination and you'll find yourself cheering them on.

A delightful story of family and coming home.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC eBook
All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a good book. The two main characters are Nora and Gabe. Nora is a horticulturist at Gabe’s family farm and Gabe is an ex-soldier. The6 have known each other all their lives. Gabe comes back to the family farm and sees how much Nora has changed, she has grown up. There is an instant attraction. They being to have a relationship. They each have some trust problems but together they work them out and fall in love.

This book is a slow paced, rural California-set cowboy romance with an extensive family and a farm/ community with lots of history and passion.
While the storyline seemed promising and I liked both main characters, I'd wished for their chemistry and their development to have run deeper and have seen more activities together on paper.
For me, it had a touch too much focus on the history and rest of the family as well as the other people in the community, than the current couple's development moving forward.

Trope: unrequited love, second chance
Heat level: 1.5/5
Content guidance: cancer diagnosis, suspected PTSD, life-altering accident during active military duty, emotionally unavailable and unsupportive father
Overall rating: 3/5
Publication date: out now

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for letting me have an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes it’s tricky being an arc reader when I read something and don’t enjoy it. I, of course, want to be honest and express what I felt as I read but I also want to be conscious of the fact that the author is a human that put a lot of heart and soul into their work. That being said I really didn’t enjoy this book. It had good elements: second chance, cowboy, cinnamon roll MC, family. But it just… wasn’t executed… the best? It felt like a story about generational trauma from a boomers perspective.. that was trying to portray the newer generation.

I did like Gabe’s character. He was such a cinnamon roll and he was really trying but other than him and abuelita every other character was awful. I was actively rooting against the love interest, and I was hoping that he wouldn’t do what ended up happening. The whole time I felt bad for Gabe because of how everyone was treating him. It was actually pretty triggering to read the scenes with his emotionally immature father.

I liked the greenhouse and gardening bits and the little bit of ptsd rep but the storyline in general felt too busy and disorganized, I didn’t like the characters, and I just felt bad the whole time reading this book.

Gabe was in an accident while he was deployed. His military career is over and he's back at home at the Rancho Lindo ranch. He never felt like he fits in at the ranch and wants out as soon as possible. Things start to change when he gets to know Nora.

This was such a fun cowboy romance and the beginning of a new series.

Loved it. I am thrilled to see it is the beginning of a series. I look forward to reading about the rest of the brothers finding their significant others. Wonderful characters. Interesting family.

Complimentary copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher. This book was a sweet romance with a strong cultural presence. It was slow-moving with the character build-up and latent romance. I would recommend it for sweet romance lovers.

A wounded veteran returned home to a struggling family enterprise, frayed relationships, and the girl he didn’t even know that he left behind.
I liked Gabe. He was juggling pain, transitioning to a new life plan, trying to figure out where he fit in his family, and debating on whether to jump into a relationship with horticulturist Nora. He’s also a tall shot of yumminess.
I thought the Ortega family were an interesting bunch of five brothers, a grandmother, and worried parents.
I loved the legacy ranch angle and the history behind it.
I look forward to reading what happens next with the Ortega brothers!

I loved Big Chicas Don't cry so much! So when I got approved for this galley I was super excited. Sabina Sol/Anette Chavez Macias's writing has a strong sense of place. One of my favorite things about this book was the beautiful backdrop of the rancho. The food descriptions were gorgeous and the side characters were super vivid. I loved abuelita and even princesa!

I'm giving this title four stars because I loved the ambience and the writing is really strong. However, this took a while to get going. It felt really slow, and the romance just wasn't there as much as I wanted to. I struggled a bit two connect to our main characters and found myself more drawn to the side characters and the rancho. However, I found this an enjoyable read overall and a good meditation on what our families expect of us.

Love this author and I'm super grateful that I got to read an advance copy of this title.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

While I haven’t read Sabrina Sol before, I have read some of her #LatinxRom friends, like Priscilla Oliveras and Alexis Daria, and she does seem to write similar stuff. This series in particular was also compared to Rebekah Weaterspoon’s recent Cowboys series, which I really liked. However, I mostly found Second Chance at Rancho Lindo to be rather underwhelming.

Like her fellow authors in the Latinx romance community, she does present her own variation on the flavor you expect from this type of story. The food descriptions in particular are scrumptious, and I regretted that I couldn’t grab a bite of what the characters were eating. The family dynamics are also great. Gabe is part of the tight-knit Ortega family, which surely presents opportunities for future installments. The family stuff does often overwhelm the book, to the point of taking away from the romance, though. There’s also a cancer plotline which remains unresolved, and will likely impact future books.

Gabe is pretty easy to root for, and I like how his desire to carve his own niche outside the bonds of family are explored. He is also dealing with PTSD after having served in the army, and while I would have appreciated knowing about it prior to going into the book, I feel it was compassionately depicted.

Nora is also pretty sweet, if somewhat less developed. I did like that her established connection with the ranch allowed her to have these connections with everyone for the most part. And while I did wish there had been more time devoted to the romance on-page, especially with misunderstandings being at the heart of their breakup, she and Gabe ultimately make a sweet couple.

This book falls into the pitfalls of the starter of a big series: doing double duty of having a self-contained arc, while setting up future stories. While it doesn’t feel that satisfying on its own as a result, I am intrigued for what’s to come, and would recommend it to anyone who likes multicultural romances.

Gabe returns from the army to a place that has never really felt like home-- his family's ranch. His relationship with his father has always been strained which was why he went to the army in the first place but the rest of his family hopes that he will take his rightful place as his father's right-hand man. He's already itching to get away to find his own place in the world.
Nora grew up spending her summers at Rancho Lindo, an honorary little sister, and now the ranch's horticulturist, successfully bringing the ranch's garden to life. Gabe broke her heart when they were teenagers but this is their second chance.
Overall, I liked Second Chance at Rancho Lindo. It's two parts chaste romance and one part family drama. The romantic build up was great. I loved the chemistry between Gabe and Nora. It is a fade to black romance, which some people will think is important to know. Three stars from me.

Sabrina Sol's writing is so captivating I literally had to force myself to stop reading this book so I could fall asleep last night at 2 am. I fell in love with the entire Ortega family I hope there's an entire series on all of the brothers because I need to watch them all find love and continue to follow along with Rancho Lindo.

She perfectly depicted the toxic masculinity that exists in the Latinx culture and until someone finally breaks the generational trauma like Gabe finally does it just keeps on repeating itself and that is what makes him the ultimate MMC. Watching his development from an injured veteran to finding his true calling at the ranch was what I hope to see for so many veterans. Nora returning to the ranch after it inspired her to get her education was beautiful. Seeing her connection to everyone on the ranch is so beautiful and inspiring. Then seeing how her and Gabe grow the greenhouse into even bigger and better for the Ranch is even better.

How Sabrina Sol always brings the family dynamics and makes the Ranch another character is an art. I always enjoy that about her writing. She is truly something special. This book is truly a standout in my eyes.

This is such a wonderful book that emphasizes the struggles that veterans face after an injury and the pressure that many Latinos feel from family. The struggle with doing what family expects is universal, and seeing it here from a Latino perspective is wonderful. We also get to see multiple perspectives on that family pressure because although Gabe has been running away from family, Nora has finally found her calling and the place she belongs by accepting everything that Gabe is running away from.

It is such a rich story! It is also about small-town life and shows that Mexicans have a long history in California that goes back to even before California became a state.

On top of it, I really enjoyed watching Gabe fall in love. This is a closed-door, low-heat romance that I think many of you will really love.

Content Warnings: PTSD, war injury, mental health discussions

The first book in what I hope becomes a series, Second Chance at Rancho Lindo introduces us to the Ortega family and their family ranch, The second son Gabe returns home to recover from an injury sustained during this military days and is torn between helping his family run the ranch and get back in the world on his own. The horticulturist Nora helps him realize his family only wants the best for him, even if they don't always know how to express it.
I enjoyed this book very much and truly hope we will see more from the Ortega brothers. The characters developments are layered and allow for the complexity of life to alter their thinking. Though Nora had a long ago crush on Gabe, she falls in love with the man he became and lets go of her girlish fantasies while Gabe is able to see her in a new way, and learn from her how to see his family and their history anew.

Loved the military and Latinx contexts that this book was set in, and found myself wanting to soothe all of Gabe's past hurts. But for me, the book moved at a glacial pace. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advanced copy.