Jace and Cara had been friends since middle school and even though all the Carson boys were handsome it seemed her and Jayce were only going to be friends. But throw in the whole nut house a kiss that surprised both of them and friends may just turn into lovers. I love the Carson Brothers books and it’s what I cut my modern Romance teeth on recently and I only hope the Carson City fit to adopt some more boys because I could be down with more romance like this and although friends to lovers isn’t my favorite throat this is one of my favorite authors so I think just like Jesse Guzman whatever she writes I would read it! I love this book and highly recommend it if you love modern day romance with respect and sweetness then you’ll love one night rancher… I certainly did! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher that I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Very enjoyable book. As usual, Yates held me captive to her story.

I love the characters. The story was so good I went back to read the other books in this series.

One Night Rancher by Maisey Yates, book three in her The Carsons of Lone Rock series, is Jace and Cara’s friends-to-lovers story. Jace Carson has forgotten how to love; or rather he couldn’t. Losing his sister Sophia, when he was twelve, was devastating. With that lost he shut down his emotions and heart to any kind of deep relationships or love; so that he could never get hurt again. He loved his family but again kept them at arm’s length, so it doesn't hurt quite so bad when they leave. But Cara was different, she was his best friends and she reminded him of his sister Sophia. So he became Cara's protector as well as her best friend. Did he notice she was beautiful, intelligent and kind, absolutely, but those thoughts were placed in the back of his mind. He also doesn't believe in having a dream in life. Dreams mean you look towards the future, and Jace doesn't know how to do that. He lives in the moment, rides the rodeo, and when he's not out on the circuit, he's helping his friends and family with their businesses. That includes Cara, as she runs her the bar she inherited from her grandfather.

Cara has had feelings for her best friend Jace for a long time; but sadly he treats her more like a sister, as in addition to being her best friend, and Cara wants so much more. She wants Jace as a partner or a lover. Cara inherited her grandfather’s bar, which she loves running and keeping it viable, but she's ready, for a challenge, something else to keep her busy; maybe expand somehow. Then an opportunity comes available, the haunted hotel next door is for sale. Part of the prerequisite to buy the hotel is spending a night there. Cara shares with Jace that she is thinking of purchasing the hotel and how she is required to spend the night; ensuring that she won't back out because of the ghost or haunting aspect. Jace makes the decision to stay with her. One night alone together in an empty hotel, an unexpected confession and a man who's given permission to acknowledge the feelings he's always had for his best friend change their lives. A change that assists them in helping each other heal and giving Jace a chance to dream, hope, and love once again.

Ms. Yates wrote a amazing, intense, emotional and steamy story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with soul-searching, angst, characters whose personal stories will tug at your heartstrings, sizzling chemistry, and an amazing cast of secondary characters as Jace and Cara find their happily ever after. I highly recommend One Night Rancher to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Maisey Yates is the Queen of Angst!

In this charming best friends romance, Jace and Cara have a lot of emotional hurdles to conquer before they can settle in to their HEA. No one does angst like Maisey Yates, and this book is one of her best.

Cara wants to buy the dilapidated local hotel and renovate it to fulfill the dream she shared with her late grandfather. When Jace finds out she must spend the night in the hotel, ghosts and all, before her offer can be accepted, he volunteers to keep her company - and this one night is all it takes to reframe their friendship. The problem isn't that Jace has always seen Cara as a little sister, it's that he's seen her as a substitute for the sister who died of cancer. Like I said, lots of angst to wade through.

I enjoyed the unbridled affection these two shared once they dispensed with the "just friends" label, and I adored the camaraderie Jace shares with the wild bunch of brothers who are quick to call him on every one of his lies to himself. I really loved how the author used the white butterfly motif throughout the story to help them each heal from their losses and find their way deep into each other's hearts.

If you've read any of the Carsons series, you don't want to miss this one. Each is a standalone romance featuring another of the brothers, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

One night rancher is an interesting story with the characters learning how they deal with life and their losses. Trust and believing. Discovering love. Lots of revelation.

A great friends to lovers. . Cara and Jace have been friends since childhood. Jace looks after Cara as if she were his sister. Cara has had a crush on Jace forever. They both have baggage -he hasn't gotten over the death of his younger sister when he was young. She was raised by her now deceased Grandfather because her mother was a drunk and has no idea who her father is. When Cara decides to buy a building Jace is there to accompany her at the required overnight stay before her offer to buy it will be accepted. Their relationship starts to change. Jace is content with the progression, Cara wants him to love her as a woman, not his best friend. Maisey Yates’ way of telling their story was so well done. There is angst, laughter, tears, sadness, wonderful family relationships, and some steam to finally get us to a HEA.

Thank you NetGalley, Maisey Yates and Harlequin for the ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Publication date: 1/24/2023

I've got to state at the outset my belief that Maisey Yates doesn't have a bad book in her--and that belief was again confirmed by the fact that her latest novel for Harlequin Desire, One Night Rancher (The Carsons of Lone Rock #3), was a one-sitting, couldn't put it down, up until 5:00 a.m. read, and it gets 5 bleary-eyed stars from this reader.

One Night Rancher is Jace and Cara's friends-to-lovers story, and for someone who always looks for character development in a novel, Ms. Yates did that in spades. These two characters have been best friends since middle-school, when Jace, youngest son of a welathy ranch family, came upon poor, bedraggled, bullied, motherless, fatherless, friendless and sad, Cara, trying to rescue the one new item her financially strapped grandfather could manage to buy for her, a new binder that the bullies destroyed. It was the start of a beautiful and lifelong friendship, even though Jace's rodeo career took him away for months at a time, the friendship survived his absences.

Jace had lost his little sister, Sofia, at a very early age to cancer, and he took her death hard--it caused him to also lose his faith in love and the hereafter, and left him wanting no commitments to anything or anyone outside of his friendship with Cara, and his love for his family--living only in the present. He's been treating Cara as Sofia's substitute for decades, but as the years have gone by, Cara fell totally and irrevocably in love with the handsome, caring, protective cowboy, while Jace remained utterly clueless about her feelings, and his own, but he's about to have a rude awakening, when Cara, who's been running her grandfather's bar solo since his death, decides to purchase the supposedly haunted Lone Rock Hotel, which has a caveat--she must spend one night there. Jace decides it's too dangerous for her to be alone and offers to keep her company, and their friendship is definitely about to change.

To tell you more would ruin it for you, so I'll just say that this novel had me in tears more than once, and that these two characters felt as if they could just walk right off the page--their emotional struggles and growth seemed that real, and their self-realizations seemed that honest. I loved that Cara was a strong woman, one who was able to stand on her own two feet and was willing to walk away rather than accept the crumbs of the life Jace eventually offered her. All in all, it was a great read, and I highly recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.