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...

Gay cowgirls!!!! This is what it’s all about. An enemies to lovers gay cowgirls small town romance it has all the things we want! Smash hit

I really enjoyed this novel. I found the main characters a little frustrating at times, however, I am so happy to see sapphic characters get a chance at cowboy romance!

I really, really enjoyed this book. Molly and Shani’s story made me squeal, swoon, and want to cry. I love a good enemies to lovers trope, and this felt like the perfect amount of buildup for me. I’ve never read a western romance before, but this feels perfectly palatable to those who may not want a full on western romance. The barn and horse plots were definitely prevalent, but the story still remained contemporary enough. I loved the angst in the miscommunication tropes throughout, and the satisfaction of things being cleared up (but also steamy). I would absolutely recommend this book to any romance reader, with an emphasis on sapphics with a horse girl phase, and Chappell Roan lovers.

When I read Dugan's previous adult romance, Love at First Set, I was expecting it to be a lot more gym-centric. I was a little disappointed it didn't lean fully into to the cute punny title. That was not an issue with The Ride of Her Life. This book was every bit the fun, sexy cowgirl romance I was hoping for AND it had a whole lot of heart. It was so easy to get invested in Molly and her journey. (I found myself giving her advice out loud as I was reading, lol. Some of which she ended up taking!) Her slow burn love story with Shani kept me turning pages so fast that I finished it in a day.

This read like a Hallmark movie and I loved it. Cute, funny, sexy, this was a really fun read! Molly and Shani were both great characters, if not also both stubborn as all hell. I found myself yelling at both of them at times. I loved all the secondary characters too, especially the ones that worked at the barn.

Okay, maybe I'm on a "Farmhouse Romance" kick, but I don't care! Keep this trope coming, publishers!

In "The Ride of Her Life" by Jennifer Dugan, Molly finds herself unexpectedly inheriting a dilapidated horse barn from her estranged aunt. Despite her initial reluctance and lack of experience, Molly sees potential in selling the property to fund her dream of starting a wedding planning business. However, her plans hit a snag with Shani, the barn's caretaker and a woman who challenges Molly in unexpected ways. As Molly navigates the complexities of running the barn and her growing feelings for Shani, she discovers new connections and possibilities she never imagined, forcing her to reconsider what truly matters in life.

This saucy romance was the highlight of my weekend! I'm a fan of any Enemies to Lovers moment, especially when you sprinkle in a bit of GrumpyxSunshine. The sparks between Molly and Shani could be seen (read?) from space, and the overall plot was engaging as well. I do wish it had taken a bit more time to wrap everything up, but that could just be because I didn't want it to be over.

If you liked "Late Bloomer", "Happy Medium", and "Delilah Green Doesn't Care", this read is for you! I can see this being one of Booksta's favorite summer reads.

Thank you to Avon for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

The Ride of her Life is messy, dramatic, and all about found family and being queer in traditionally anti-queer spaces, so if you're a drama-and-trauma lover of sapphic romances, this is absolutely the book for you! While it definitely leans into the classic romance tropes of getting together and then breaking apart again, so if you don't especially enjoy that trope (it's not my favorite) then I would say the delightful side characters, the sweet romance, and the humor will make it worth your while! I would also say it's a book for any horse-girl ever, because I found myself back in my horse-girl days myself.

For sensitive readers, there are depictions of death of loved ones, childhood neglect, emotional manipulation and abuse, violence, references to animal abuse, graphic sexuality, and toxic relationships.

This is a really fun, sexy sapphic book. As a line dancing, ex-horse riding girlie, the vibes were GOOD.

I keep wanting to love Jennifer Dugan’s books, but they keep falling just a bit short for me. This main character was just a bit too extreme in their emotional reactions to things during the whole book and it made the actually emotional moments not feel important. She also wasn’t a very good friend, but the narration made it seem like it was her friend who wasn’t great, and this was frustrating and made it hard for me to root for the MC. The ending was mostly nice and tied together well with the more fun side characters.