I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

The Ride of Her Life by Jennifer Dugan was a lighthearted, easy read-- perfect for a vacation or a relaxed weekend. Molly, a city girl whose dream of becoming a wedding planner seems further away than ever inherits a rundown horse farm from her estranged aunt. While Molly initially plans to sell the property, her plans are complicated by Shani, the grumpy, attractive farm hand who’s devoted to keeping the farm alive.

This has hallmark written all over it.

The enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Molly and Shani is charming, with plenty of banter and chemistry that keeps their dialogue exciting. Though at times the story felt a bit predictable, it was still a cozy, enjoyable rom-com that kept me entertained from start to finish. If you’re in the mood for a breezy, heartfelt read, this book is a delightful choice for a sunny afternoon. Three stars!

With her usual combination of wit and heartache, Dugan's, Ride of Her Life may be her best yet. A gorgeous portrayal of how family turmoil can affect one's ability or willingness to take risks or allow themselves to love, Dugan uses a deft hand to show a slow-burn romance filled with deep emotional connection and plenty of spice. These characters are complicated and delightful and any fan of Dugan will be thrilled with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This was a pretty standard queer romance, but especially good for any horse girlies out there. I am not one of those, but I do appreciate a somewhat non-traditional setting for queer love. The premise is WILD, but that's okay. It was a fun & easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of The Ride of Her Life. As an avid horse girl, I enjoyed this book even though it was clear the author isn't into horses as much as me. I did get some chuckles as the small blunders.

Unfortunately i made the decision to DNF this book after multiple failed attempts to consume. I hope to pick it up again at a later time.

In comparison to the never ending cowboy romance books that exist, I was looking forward to reading The Ride of Her Life featuring a cowgirl! However, this book just did not work for me. The characters fell flat for me and their dynamic was awkward and frankly, boring.

Super duper fun opposites attract romance! And a queer one at that! Honestly I had such a great time with this book! I do think it may need a little improving, as it wasn't necessarily the ride of MY life, but I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the romance in this one.

It took me awhile to read this but definitely not the fault of the book, I've needed to get into the right mood for romance. Sometimes I wish my personal life could be more like fiction. But I loved this lovely, angsty, tension-filled romance about finding yourself and not losing yourself in the ones you love.

Molly is a part-time barista barely making ends meet in the city when she gets a call that changes her life. Her aunt, who died of cancer, has passed onto her a horse ranch, desperately in need of repairs and attention. Headstrong, stubborn and fierce, and the queen of indecision to an almost annoying degree (and I'm an indecisive person!), Molly decides the only thing for her dilemma is to sell immediately.

Until she realizes that her old life in the city is full of people who don't really have her back, she finds a found family at the barn, and she falls head over heels for the cranky and hotheaded farrier, Shani, who hates her... or so Molly assumes.

This romance was full of heat and banter, frustrating at times because I sometimes doubted how good these two would be as a couple because of all the games they played with each other. But then I was rooting for them because of the tension and chemistry between them. Molly, who tends to mirror the interests of her love interests, tried to figure herself out this time outside the fantasy; I enjoyed the tension of her transformation.

At times she was so flighty and immature that this read like a YA coming of age, but overall I loved Molly's character, her stubborn streak and the bisexual and neurodivergent rep. I wish Molly's old friend and mom were less flaky by the end, but at least she had her new barn community as a support system.

I also loved the setting of the horse barn. I know nothing about horses but the details struck me as authentic.

Overall a lovely, tension-filled romance where the love was clear from the start even with one POV if only these two would stop being so ridiculous and figure it out. I loved this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

fun concept! was happy to find this after looking for some diversity in the cowboy/western romance area. i had a bit of trouble with the romance at the beginning, but that's more of a personal preference.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (although I am late to posting my review, but better late than never!)

Dugan did a great job with the enemies to loves portion. Seeing it from Shani's side, I can totally understand the animosity she has towards Molly at first. But seeing as it was something that was totally out of Molly's control, I was kind of hoping she could eventually be a little more understanding. So naturally I found the constant conflict between the two a little frustrating at times. I felt like the romance portion seemed to happen out of nowhere (not that I'm complaining).

I thought the backstory between Molly's aunt and mother played a big part that was only briefly mentioned. I was hoping for a bigger explanation. So the mom just not wanting to deal with the conversation with her daughter just felt like a cop-out. Molly's relationships with both her mom and her best friend didn't really seem to have a resolution (although I'd be glad to see the not so best friend go).

I enjoyed the little misfit found family Molly seems to have stumbled her way into. I'm glad she's able to find her feet within the story as well. Overall, this was a fun city girl meets country girl, enemies to lovers romance.

as a horse girl, i ADORED how horse filled this book was, but the characters and story left some things to be desired. i really wish we got this book in a dual POV, i think that would have made the story and conveyed emotions so much stronger!!

thanks to netgalley for providing me with a an e-arc in exchange for a review!

i fear i wanted more horses. there is a plotline near the start that got me really excited about the rest of the story that involved one of the horses at the barn, and i was a little disappointed when that wrapped up pretty quick. this was cute though, i enjoyed shani as the love interest and molly as a fish out of water at the barn she inherited unexpectedly. very fun, not very deep, the perfect potato chip romance.

I really wanted to like this. Parts were charming, mostly the side characters, but by the end they had fallen away. Unfortunately the main characters were wholly unlikeable in a way that feels at odds with a romance novel. Many of the main relationships read as pretty toxic without that much healthy or thoughtful conflict resolution. And there were a lot of inconsistencies in the writing itself. Great idea for a story & great cover design.

This was one of my highest anticipated books of the year and it missed the mark for me unfortunately. I wanted to love everything about this book, but the writing style didn't grab me and I had a difficult time getting through the story because of that.

City girl Molly has more than her share of problems. A series of dead end jobs, a dwindling bank account, and now a horse barn left to her by her aunt that comes with one grumpy farrier.

Shani has her own set of problems. She thought she would inherit the horse barn she has worked at for years and her life being turned upside down by a city girl who doesn’t know the first thing about horses.

This book was a “popcorn book” for me. It was a good middle of the road romance that didn’t take itself too seriously. It had enough snark to make the story lighthearted that was equally balanced by drama/angst that explored the characters’ distinct personalities. The book was an easy read that puts you in another world for a brief time. It is perfect for those looking to escape their own world for a bit.

I really liked the idea for this book. The characters, the plot, and the setting were all great. However, the pacing destroyed my enjoyment of this book. Everything was rushed, including the relationship. The ending happened at light speed and left off in a place that made the book feel unfinished to me.

I really enjoyed The Ride of Her Life! I was nervous because I didn’t really like Jennifer Dugan’s last few releases. But this was a good read for me. I liked all the characters and the storyline held my interest. Definitely would recommend to romance readers, especially ones looking for a small town/horse ranch setting!

Such a great queer love story! Tropes: enemies to lovers and forced-proxmity(ish). Absolutely loved the way that Molly and Shani's developed, it felt extremely natural and real. There was a lot of character growth through the book and the storyline was great. An excellent queer romance and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a sapphic story. Spice level was mild, but still excellent.

I've read every single book by Jennifer Dugan that I could put my hands on. So basically, all of them, except those three comics I didn't know existed until just now. And I've loved most of them.
This is her second adult novel though and I didn't love either of those.
This one was even more disappointing than the first. The characters fell flat, Molly was annoying and the love interest felt withdrawn. When Molly fell for her, I was like??? Already? I could barely feel the sparks and all of it just didn't ring true. That was true of the romance as well as the plot...
The secondary characters also felt quite flat... Especially the mom and the "best friend" who I could not stand but then again, Molly wasn't such a good friend herself.
I would liked Shani's point of view a lot more than Molly's I think...
This just didn't work for me (though I've read worst books this week) and I'll probably stick to reading Jennifer Dugan's YA books...