Vaughn and her grandmother June run the struggling Midnight Horse Ranch. Both are extremely proud, strong women who love their lives and are determined to keep the ranch going. Natalie, while escaping from her ex’s Allen’s harassment, becomes stranded and is rescued by Vaughn, who, together with June invites her to stay on until she gets back on her feet.
Determined to make herself useful in return for their hospitality, Natalie uses her online skills to revamp the ranch’s website and increase the venture's business. While doing so, she discovers Vaughn’s past and the heartache that caused her to be so closed and aloof.
A series of mishaps with a couple of disgruntled ex-ranch hands, keeps Natalie mindful that her revengeful ex is still a threat to her and by default to Vaughn and June. The author includes chapters written from Allen’s, pov that highlight what a dangerous psychopath he truly is. He is not going to give up until he has dealt with Natalie.
As Natalie and Vaughn realise they have feelings for each other, both have to deal with personal issues to be able to move forward, Vaughn with her past trauma and current health and Natalie with Allen’s constant threat looming.
Although I really enjoyed this book, I found the misogynistic attitude of some of the male characters distasteful, namely Allen and the taxi driver. However, it did add depth to the story, and unfortunately, is reflective of the real world.
Overall an enjoyable read.

ARC Review

This book held my attention from start to finish. It does a great job portraying the complex emotions and challenges of domestic violence, with the main character's PTSD feeling authentic. I appreciated the slow-burn, second-chance romance and instantly loved the love interest. The country setting added a fun twist, even though it's not usually my preference. Overall, I found it quite enjoyable. The frequent use of commas was a bit distracting at times, but it didn’t significantly affect my reading experience.

𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦: ɪɴᴛʀɪɢᴜᴇ. ᴅᴏᴍᴇꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ. ꜰᴀʀᴍ-ʟɪꜰᴇ. ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ-ɪꜱʜ.
📖ᴀʀᴄ 🏳️‍🌈⁠

"𝙑𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚."


𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬:
I have not read a lot of Ronica Black's work but I have enjoyed those that I have read. This is a simple romance on the farm with too much outside pressure trying to force the love apart. I enjoyed the storyline and pacing, especially the middle part. The angst there was good. The building of the relationship between the main characters, though, I was not really satisfied with that. The fear holding back Vaughn overplayed the would've been nice time for them to get to know and understand each other.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦:
There are not many characters but those around were really good. My favourite is June. I loved how she was there for everyone especially Natalie because her situation was really scary. Her ex-husband's POV were quit terrifying. Also, the relationship between Vaughn and her mom, and also her mom and grandma; really sweet. It was sad that Natalie had no one from her family side.


𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

Natalie is trying to rebuild her life after finally having the courage to leave her abusive ex husband Allen but it’s not easy when her ex has been stalking her and she doesn’t have anyone to turn to. She tries to escape but her car breaks down on the road horse rancher Vaughn is not having a great day when she almost pass the crying woman in her car. Vaughn and her grandmother June invite the distraught woman into their home even though Vaughn has lot going on in trying to save her ranch she can’t help get close to Natalie but their is a attraction but neither can’t act on it but the join forces to help each other but then trouble start coming can they overcome it and have the life they want. The author did a good job diving into abusive relationships and stalking and how it’s affect the person going through it and how they overcome it. I didn’t care for Allen pov didn’t think it’s was needed.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Not a bad book, but this does read familiar from a fanfic I've read that has similar facets to it and almost the same storyline so not my favorite as I felt like I'd already read this story.

Natalie is running from her ex husband who was stalking her until she got a restraining order. Then he had other people follow her. Her car breaks down and she's rescued by Vaughn who Natalie has a hard time trusting.

Vaughn isn't sure what she thinks about her guest, but her grandmother, June thinks they should help so of course Vaughn agrees even if she's drawn to her. She has to focus on her ranch, but her feelings for Natalie grow and she just wants to help her..

I disliked the chapters with Allen's POV, didn't think they were necessary. I enjoyed June and thought it portrayed strong women, but it was hard to get into this book. Not a lot of romance between the MCS and the stalker situation was overplayed, I felt like.

It was an alright read, but not one of Black's best. I received and ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie is in trouble. Her ex-husband is a horrible human being, and will not let her go. Stalking her and hurting her. Finally it gets to be too much and she escapes. Except, then, her car blows up.

That's where Vaughn comes in and she and her Grams June save her. And then she stays there so that her ex can't find her. But, Allan is definitely looking. Will he find her, oh, and there was also a couple of locals who complicate everything.

It was a fun story. Definitely a slow burn. At times Vaughn was a hard to like character, but, also a super complicated one, which made her interesting and not simply annoying. The ending was just a tiny bit rushed, but, it wasn't too bad. A great read.

When Natalie Brewer finally forged the courage to leave her husband, Allen, she thought she’d be able to live life on her own terms. But to Allen, they are still married, and they are to remain that way till death do them part. When Allen begins to stalk her, Natalie does the only thing she can do—she runs.

Horse rancher Vaughn Ruger is having a bad day. Two of her best broodmares have escaped, and two of her ranch hands are no-shows. What’s worse, her ranch is already on the brink of going under, and just one more thing will send it all spiraling. With so many problems on her mind, she almost passes up the woman on the side of the road crying in her vehicle. Almost.

Vaughn and Natalie have chemistry they can’t ignore, but neither is safe to act on it. They join forces to help each other, but the outside world keeps knocking at the door, threatening more trouble and making the love and the life they want together impossible.

For those who need it, this book deals a lot with abusive relationships and stalkers. Know yourself and take care! ❤️

On one hand, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the two main characters and wish we spent more time on them and less on the husband. I really like Vaughn and Natalie, and their chemistry was delicious to read.

Personally, I'm not a fan of books that deal with abusive relationships and didn't realize this would delve into it so much. If this doesn't bother you in your books, it really is an excellent book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Natalie has escaped from her husband, but he refuses to release his grip. She evades a tracker and, after her car bursts into flames, finds refuge at Vaughn's ranch. The story weaves two narratives: Natalie's flight from her ex-husband and her burgeoning affection for Vaughn, who is recovering from a past relationship. This book comes highly recommended for fans of thriller romances.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it. I actually left it and read another book. I went back to it and found once I got further in I was gripped by the story. Were the two women being terrorised by Natalie's ex or by the two ranch hands Vaughn had fired? Worth reading, definitely.

Overall a good read but some more romance a little less insight in the horrible ex-husband Allen would have improved my reading experience. Now there are full chapters in his POV and I see no real need for that. Instead I would have like to get a much longer epilogue to really see that Vaughn and Natalie will work together as well as getting to know the amazing grandmother June even more.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley.

The Breakdown by Ronica Black is a story about Natalie Brewer, a victim of domestic abuse by her ex-husband, Allen, trying to escape that cycle by disappearing. She breaks down on a private road outside a horse ranch near Phoenix. The ranch’s owners, Vaughn Ruger and her grandmother, June, take her in after her car completely burns. This is a chance for Natalie to start over.

The story outlines how Allen tries to find Natalie. In the meantime, the ranch is experiencing some issues of their own with two former ranch hands vandalizing the ranch in a variety of different incidents. In the background is Natalie and Vaungh’s growing attraction to each other. The story was one of female resilience and overcoming odds stacked against them. A nice addition to the story was eighty-five year old grandmother, June, who contributed a lot to the ranch and story. 3.75 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book

poor natalie her ex husband was having her stalked again... everytime she went out there was always someone there....he had even broken into her place and had strangled her but the police couldnt or wouldnt do anything as he had people who gave him an alibi

on this one particular day she ran and managed to lose the guy who was following her... but her relief was temporary as her car broke down overheating....

she just sat there and cried

vaughn was also having a bad time... she had taken on two new ranch hands but they just couldnt be bothered to do any work thats even if they turned up....plus she had a few mares missing and it wasnt hard to guess how they had gotten out

what she wasnt expecting was to find natalie crying in her broken down soon to be fire damaged car

as vaughn got natalie back to her ranch it became obvious that things werent right and with history of domestic abuse already in her family vaughn and her mother were about to bring a whole heap of trouble into their lives... they just didnt know it yet

what a storyline... i was captivated by it right from the start and didnt put it down till it was finished way into the early hours of the morning, thats the sort of book and author i will follow again and again

Strong women and their resilience
First things first: This book has a strong current of love, found family, strength and resilience although it handles the darker topic of women being stalked and harrassed.
I very much enjoyed the strong women from the Midnight horse ranch, tough grandma June and her stubborn granddaughter Vaughn - salt of the earth, good people through and through. Enter Natalie who barely escaped her violent stalker ex-husband. She is browbeaten, but unbroken not only by her ex-husband, but having been in the foster system as well.
The life on the ranch, the horses, the love, hard work and hearty food make a wonderful read. The women thrown together by family and fate show remarkable resilience. And it is great to see how those women rally together to protect themselves: from stalkers, harrassing and from useless police who couldn‘t care less about them. Kudos to Ronica Black to realistically show the despicable side of humans without losing faith in family and love. There is a tender love story as well which is fittingly slow.
Go June, go Vaugh, go Natalie.

Thanks to netgalley and Boldstrokes Books for the ARC. The review is left voluntarily.