The Wedding Ranch by Nancy Naigle
Nancy knows how to break your heart and then put it back together-over and over again. This story of Lorrie Walker and Ryder Bolt made me laugh and cry and do it some more. There is tragic loss, unresolved anger, discovery, laughter, tears, and wonderful second chances.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Entertaining Easy-to-read Great world building Happily Ever After Tragic Romantic Wonderful characters Tear-jerker Haunting Page-turner Witty. I loved reading and reviewing this book.

The Wedding Ranch by Nancy Naigle is a sweet, clean, second-chance romance between a divorcee and a widower. Don’t let that fool you as both characters have some pretty heavy baggage.

I really adored this book and found it hard to put down. Lorri is dealing with a divorce and Ryder is still dealing with the loss of his wife and son 7 years ago. Ryder is also still angry because his father sold part of their family land to a developer. Lorri moves to Dalton Mills to escape her past and buys one of the homes in the development.

Lorri meets Ryder through a chance encounter at the local county fair and even though they enjoy each other’s company they agree to be just friends as neither are looking for anything serious.

Ryder is such a good guy and well known throughout the community. His sister and niece and nephew all live on The Wedding Ranch. Ryder’s niece and nephew are quite savvy young adults who start a wedding venue business on the ranch.

The story has everything you could want and more. Love, friendship, family, forgiveness, hope and an amazing dog named Mister.

It is both a heartbreaking and heartwarming story with great characters.

A story of forgiveness and love.

A special thank you to both Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC I received in exchange for my honest opinion.

I highly recommend this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This journey was a good one and always needed. I laughed and almost cried watching Lori and Ryder take this journey to a pure love. Not just in relationship but in the journey to self love.

The author does amazing job at sticking to the subject in a adult way without taking all the fun out of it. Wrapping love of family, relationship, and friendship.

Love the idea of the Wedding Ranch and the beauty of it.

The Wedding Ranch
by Nancy Naigle
Pub Date: December 6, 2022
St. Martins Griffin
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Summary: Two people get a second chance at love. Our main characters Lori and Ryder come from heavy past trauma and are looking for a way to move on. Lori moves from a big city to a small town for quiet living, to start over. Ryder lives in this small town and runs a business. How can they move forward in their lives? Can they forge a friendship, or maybe more?
If you're a Hallmark fan, you'll love this one. It's an easy read, with characters with depth, surrounded by likable friends and family, with twists and turns on the road to happiness. Definitely worth a read.
4 stars

Very much a Hallmark movie but sappier. The writing was too wholesome for my liking and had a decent dose of Christian views.

The Wedding Ranch sounds like an amazing venue! The twins are inventive and deliver on making weddings special. But the barn is from land sold off to developers. One of the buyers of those new homes is the main character, Lorri. When she moves to the small town she is divorced and has a huge dog, Mister. Along the way she meets the bitter man that was the son of the farmer that sold the land. Ryder, uncle of the twins, and Lorri become friends. So many twists and turns are part of the revelations along the way. The story is interesting and pulled me in. I thought the book was well well done. I liked it!

Sweet but slightly too predictable. I knew the major plot twist before the 20% mark. Maybe that was by design. The end was a bit rushed and I had a hard time accepting that suddenly the hero was over his deceased wife considering that is what most of his thoughts revolved around the entire story.

The Wedding Ranch is a story of two people who meet and form a friendship that grows into something more. They’ve lived through life-changing emotional pain and loss but are in a place where they’re ready to move forward in life. Sounds like they’ll get their happily ever after, right? But there is something that could change everything.There was foreshadowing early on in the novel so I was waiting to see when and how things would play out. I have to say figuring things out so early on kind of took me out of the story. Still, I liked how Naigle brought Lorri and Ryder on their emotional journey of discovery and forgiveness. I also liked the setting and, of course, Mister the dog.

Forgiveness is hard to learn but well worth the effort.. Lorri and Ryder learned some valuable lessons meeting each other and sparks were flying as well. This was a quick read and a great story line.

I really loved Ryder and Lorri’s story this was a beautiful small town romance, I can’t wait to read more by this author, I really loved how the story was set on a ranch, the epilogue was beautiful as well I hope there is more to this story! A FIVE STAR BOOK ALL THE WAY!!

Lorri Walker has recently moved to a new community after the end of a long dead marriage. As her and her mastiff, Mister, find their way in this community, Lorri meets Ryder who is battling some demons of his own. What starts as a friendship slowly becomes more…

The Wedding Ranch is a lovely contemporary romance. The characters will warm your heart and have you rooting for them. I enjoyed the pacing and couldn’t put it down. I truly enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The best part of Lorri's marriage was the mastiff puppy her cheating husband gave to her before he left her for the dog trainer. But sometimes it takes a little while to see how good things are when you're going through the sting of adultery and divorce.

Given time, space and a new home to call her own, Lorri builds a new life with her pup, Mister, and grows to love the peace that she's found.

Then she meets widower Ryder Bolt. Despite their "just friends" policy, they each begin to feel alive again in the other's company, and what once was intended to be simple companionship turns into something much more.

If you enjoy happily ever afters, you won't want to miss "The Wedding Ranch."

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Nancy Naigle for an advance review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Nancy Naigle for a digital ARC of this book. Nancy Naigle has written another warm and uplifting story with very real characters. This is more than a simple romance with a happy ending. Two lost souls who have given up on love meet and forge a very deep connection in a very short time. However, neither wants to fall in love but their feelings cannot be denied. This story deals with some serious and universal themes such as forgiveness, love of family and acceptance. The writing is descriptive, the characters are well developed and multidimensional. I recommend this book to readers looking for substance along with romance and a happy ending.

After a heartbreaking divorce, Lorri moves to an eco friendly neighborhood outside of her hometown of Raleigh. Looking for happiness in her life, she attends the local state fair. A steer runs wild and she is saved by handsome cowboy Ryder. Little does she know Ryder also suffers from a broken heart from his own lost love.
As their lives become intertwined can a horrible incident from her past ruin their future? Happy feelings, sorrow…some gut wrenching, incredible friends and family and beautiful descriptions of the scenery all make this read wonderful. Enjoy it!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.
Thank you @stmartinspress
#TheWeddingRanch #NancyNaigle #SMPRomance

I liked the main couple! However, it leaned heavily into religion and as someone who isn't Christian, I found it a bit hard to engage. It also took a while for Lori and Ryder to interact and I would've loved to have had them meet a bit earlier in the story.

If you're looking for an emotional read and characters who find each other after loss, I would recommend giving it a try!

The Wedding Ranch by Nancy Naigle is a fabulous story with a little bit of heartache, a little bit of small town community, a little bit of romance, and a little bit of finding their inner peace all rolled up into a great story. I loved the characters Lorri and Ryder and of course Mister… the Mastif! There are some emotional parts that made me sad, and several that made me laugh. It is a well written love story with a little mischief thrown in.

I adored everything about this book. It's a warm your soul/heart kind of romance. A great story of love, family & forgiveness. Wonderful characters I could believe in.
This book is a must read!

This is my first time reading something by this author and it definitely won't be my last. The story flowed nicely and the characters were lovely. The story pulled me in right from the start. The characters were well-developed and endearing with realistic qualities which made them very relatable and you can't help but fall in love with them. The author did a really nice job of bringing the story and characters to life with her vivid descriptions and attention to details.
Ryder and Lorri were great characters and I enjoyed seeing them as a couple. Both are looking to put the past behind them and move forward with their lives. Neither is particularly looking for love, but they can't help the feelings developing whenever they are together. The attraction and chemistry between them was definitely strong. It was quite the journey for them, however, before they arrived at their happy ending. The story displayed quite a range of emotions and the dialogue between the characters was witty and entertaining. This was a sweet story, full of heart and left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling afterwards and I had a really nice time reading it. The story was beautifully written and very entertaining. I would definitely like to read more by this author. Overall, this was an enjoyable and entertaining book and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I loved this book for so many different reasons! First, I’m a huge fan of novels by Nancy Naigle. Second, I really enjoy stories that are set in my home state of North Carolina. But most of all, I share a name with the main character!

Honestly, this was such a wonderful book that took Lorri’s failed marriage and turned it into a beautiful new life. I spent most of the book relating the events with my own daughter who has just moved out of Raleigh to a small town and has made such a wonderful new life for herself. I wish that Dalton Mill and the Wedding Ranch were real places because I love to visit them

This book was good, however, very predictable and “Hallmark” driven.

With the loss of spouses through divorce for one, and death of wife and son for the other, two lives are brought together. Second chances, healing, and happiness are to be had, but will the characters take advantage of them?

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.