I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

What says love and I am recommitting to my marriage, than giving a mastiff puppy to your wife in Valentine's Day? That is what Lorri Walker's husband said after several years of marriage. Fast forward six months later, said husband is gone - left her for the dog trainer! Lorri has always had doubts that his recommitment was true so she was not surprised when this happened. To restart her life, she took her proceeds from the sale of the house and moves to Dalton Mill, to a glorious house that sits on five acres - plenty of room for her dog. She is working from home and growing her graphic designed business.

Ryder Bolt is a widower who lost his wife and son in a tragic DUI accident seven years ago. While trying to figure out life now, he has been running his ranch along with supporting his niece and nephew's business venture - The Wedding Ranch (TWR). TWR has become the place to get married and the business is thriving.

Lorri and Ryder meet when she is almost mowed down by a runaway cow. There is definitely chemistry there, but with Ryder's grief and Lorri dealing with her own losses, can they ever be happy together?

This book has a hallmark feel to it; however, it was quite enjoyable. I love the character of Mister, now I want one!

This is a sweet, slow-burn romance with wonderful characters. The MC’s both have some real issues to deal with and the resolutions don’t always come easily. She has an ex and a deceased brother and he lost both his wife and son in an accident. They both struggle to move on with their lives. Neither one is looking for love but they start with a friendship that becomes more. The story is well written and definitely worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) through NetGalley and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

This is a second chance romance with a lot of warmth and heart and plenty of building drama and love scenes. Lorri has moved to Dalton’s Mill to escape being around her ex-husband who left her for a woman who was a friend. In this small town, she meets Ryder Bolt, a rancher with a secret in his past that is holding him back from forming new relationships. I really liked how the characters and the plot were developed, with a lot of detail and methodically unspooling like thread. The setting was one that I wanted to visit, the characters were people I wanted to get to know personally and the plot was realistic and made me almost cry at times as the two pursued a future that may or may not end up with them together. I felt so bad for Ryder and the tragedy in his past and for Lorri with her philandering husband. My favorite character was actually Mister, the mastiff, who made friends easily and was big enough to intimidate but too sweet-natured to hurt anyone. He almost seemed to speak at times with his actions when Lorri was speaking to him. He was just the comic relief that the story needed! This is an enjoyable, quick read with lots for everyone who loves a good romance to love!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Loved it. A sweet, heart-warming and heart-wrenching romance. A huge dog and a small town add to the tale. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

A dog is one of the main characters of this book, so of course I loved it! Lorri’s husband, Craig gives her a mastiff puppy, Mister, on Valentine’sDay, then asks for a divorce six months later. Lorri needs a change of pace and a bigger yard for Mister, so she moves to the small town of Dalton Mill. Attending the country fair, she literally runs into Ryder Bolt. Ryder hasn’t been interested in another women since his wife, Valerie passed seven years ago, but he can’t get Lorri off his mind.

The Wedding Ranch is a sweet, second chance at love romance with all the feelings. Happiness, sadness, trust and hope make this a realistic and endearing story about two people deciding to take that jump into love again.

The Wedding Ranch starts at the end of Lorri’s marriage, which ends rather abruptly when her husband announces that he has found another woman. Lorri chooses to pick up the pieces and make the best of things by moving to a new development in a small town. Everything changes when she crosses paths with Ryder in a very unexpected way. As a widower, Ryder is completely surprised when he finds himself thinking about Lorri. I loved seeing Ryder cling to his family, especially after having experienced so much loss, and seeing Lorri find happiness even when so many aspects of her life hadn’t panned out the way that she had hoped.

Thank you to the author and Net Galley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own, I was not required to share a review of this book.

A sweet story of second chances. I love and adore Mister, the mastiff!!

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

This is a beautifully written story that is full of emotions. It deals with grief, divorce and starting a new life. The author brings the book to life with her words and you feel like you are there. I loved it and highly recommend this heartwarming uplifting book to everyone.
I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Nancy Naigle is my go-to author when I want a sweet romance---so her first Women's Fiction was an automatic must read. The Wedding Ranch was all that I expected and more! Alternating between heart-breaking and heart-warming moments, the characters led me into a wonderful, if emotional, read. Lorrie Walker has been disappointed by life on more than one occasion, but her business, along with her huge and loveable dog, Mister, brings her satisfaction. Ryder Bolt is a perfect example of a closed heart, even though he operates a wedding venue. Events put these two lonely people on a collision course. A cheating husband, a second chance, one big but cute canine, and a deep tragedy blend together to make one of the best heart felt reads of the year for me. The blurb is enough to get you started without ruining anything, though I will say the laughter and tears require a tissue or two.
Thank you so much for granting my request to view an advanced copy of this book #NetGalley, #St.MartinsGriffin #St.MartinsPress #NancyNaigle .
All opinions are my own. #forgiveness #family #findingtruelove #lovecowboys!
#TheWeddingRanch #NetGalley

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

A beautiful, emotional story of forgiveness. Lorri and Ryder have both had tragic pasts. Lorri has moved to Dalton Mill to make a big change in her life after her husband's betrayal. She is still bitter about her brother's behavior even though he has been dead for years. She has been estranged from her parents because of their (seeming) continued support of his bad behavior. Ryder lost his wife and young son when a drunk driver struck and killed them. He has been only a shell of the man he once was. He seems to come to life when he meets Lorri. Ryder is life-long resident of Dalton Mill and the whole town seems happy that he is starting to see Lorri, even if only has a friend. When Lorri discovers that they have another connection, it is something that could tear them apart. Will Ryder only see the past or will he be able to think of the future?

I know that I can find a sweet romance when I pick up one of Naigle's books and this one fit the bill. It started a little slow for me. The heroine Lorri is a gifted artist that works in marketing. Her husband Craig buys her a mastiff and then after it's trained, runs off with the trainer. Lorri divorces him and moves to a new development that was built from part of a farm to start her new life. Enter Ryder who's bitter with his parents for selling part of the family farm to the development company. He's also bitter (understandably so) that he lost his wife and child years ago to a drunk driver. Lorri enters the picture as Ryder is starting to heal from his loss. It's a little predictable that they find each other and what their issues can be but that is totally okay. I also saw the twist coming but that's okay too. This book is very sweet, kinda cowboy and a little Christian.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh my stars! My heart is about to explode! This book will tug at your heart strings. If I had been reading a "real" book instead of an e-book, there would have been tears staining the pages. There were tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

Lorri Walker is excited when her husband gives her a puppy (who will eventually be pony sized) for Valentine's Day. He is a mastiff, and they decide to call him Mister. Craig confesses that he wants to repair their marriage, and this is just the first step. He wanted to surprise her with a puppy because she had always wanted a dog. However, six months later he leaves her heartbroken with shattered dreams of what she thought she had in her marriage. She decides to start afresh and move from Raleigh. She ends up in the small town of Dalton Mill.

Ryder Bolt is a guilt-ridden and grief-stricken man. He still grieves for a wife and son he lost in a tragic accident, and he is still angry at his father and mother for selling their farm property to a developer. Ryder's sister tells him that she is tired of the snarls coming from him. She wants her joyful brother back in the picture.

Lorri and Ryder meet in a wild collision (not in a car). These two characters do not realize it, but they need each other. Both characters need to learn to forgive themselves and others and try to move past their grief and heartache and live again. They are two wounded souls who practically need heart surgery to repair their brokenness. I loved both of these characters so much. They were so real to me as they had true depth. I felt I was living this book with them. They were flawed in their self-loathing of themselves for things they could not control. Ryder's dog, Mister, was the star of the book at times with his antics. Let's just say he could not be trusted to be left alone. He stole my heart as he helped Lorri heal from her broken marriage. Nancy Naigle is an ultra talented author who knows how to write a heart-felt and wholesome romance, but it is not sappy. It is real life as she is not afraid to use tragedy to find joy. You can never go wrong with a Nancy Naigle book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a good book. Lorri was married to someone who did not value her and cheated on her. He got her a puppy for Valentine's Day and promised to train him. Poor Mister ended up 180 lbs. But he was very well behaved and she loved him. Her hubby ended up leaving her and she moved away. She was much happier and met Ryder who family had owned the land she had a house on He had a couple tragedies in his life that still bothered him and Lorri found out one of them was entwined to her life. It was hard for both of them to get through it. The characters in this story were so good and the chemistry between Lorri and Ryder was perfect.
I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book is a must READ!! I have read a few books by Nancy Naigle and she never disappoints, The characters are Lorri and Ryder and wow is it amazing watching their friendship grow! There were some laugh out loud moments, big awe moments and some emotional parts but through it all they grew together. I would definitely love to see a second book to this one. Thank you for allowing me to read this in advanced! I can't wait to read a few Christmas books of hers I haven't got to yet.

This is a sweet, small-town romance. The two main characters have each suffered life changing events. For Ryder, it is the loss of his wife and son; for Lorri, it was the divorce from her husband. I loved that the story revolved around characters who have some life experience. Neither of them was looking for a relationship when they happened to meet. And what started as merely a friendship grew to more as they spent time together. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing along the way and both of them had to come to terms with something they had in common. In addition to Ryder and Lorri, there were other memorable secondary characters. You will want to have a tissue (or two) handy as there were several emotional parts to the story, especially toward the end.

A perfect setting in North Carolina. A book about starting over and moving on. The book can be heavy at times (trigger warnings) but the lighthearted and funny moments offset the tough ones. The author does an excellent job of describing the setting and you feel like you are there. Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook to read.

I love, love, love a book that will bring out emotions for me. Whether it's smiling, laughing or tears running down my cheeks, I want to FEEL something. And this book by Nancy Naigle had it all! Such a heartwarming story! I loved it!

Lorri Walker is done with love and marriage. She finds herself starting over and doing the things that make her happy. She and her big dog, Mister, are loving life in their new country home. And although she is not looking for love, she finds a sweet connection to Ryder Bolt, who is also not looking for love. When that connection deepens, a realization occurs that could end their relationship. But keep on reading because this story does have a "happily ever after".

Nancy Naigle has created more characters that I was easily able to connect with, and included a few characters from previous books that made me feel l was reliving the past. But don't worry! This is definitely a stand-alone book. Very well done!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.7)

Lorri and Ryder have had tough pasts with their families that they are trying to work through. When they meet they know there’s an instant connection, but neither one is looking for a relationship. Their friendship grows deeper, and they are even more connected then they believe 😳

This small town novel isn’t set in the winter time, but it has all the December romance movie feels to it!

The Wedding Ranch gave me all the hallmark movie vibes! It’s a small town, southern, family oriented book that gave me a lot of happy feelings!

Now, I can’t say I truly felt connected to the characters which is why I didn’t rate this book higher. However, I still enjoyed this cute and easy read!

Read if you enjoy:
🐶 Innocent (non-spicy) romance novels
🦋 Family oriented characters
🚜 Troubled past
🐄 Small town setting

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Wedding Ranch by Nancy Naigle is a wholesome romance set in a small town featuring a large Mastiff dog!

Story Recap:
Lorri Walker thought her husband was trying to save her marriage when he gave her a Mastiff puppy for Valentine's day. Six months later, he left her, and the dog for good. Lorri decides to move out of Raliegh and move to the rural suburb of Dalton Mills and finds a home with a big yard for her dog, Mister.

Ryder Bolt has lived in Dalton Mills his entire life, and he’s not happy about the housing development that was built on land that should have been his. Still grieving after the death of his wife and young son, seven years ago, Ryder tries to keep busy with his ranch and helping his twin niece and nephew with their wedding event business at The Wedding Ranch.

Neither Ryder nor Lorri want a relationship, but as they spend more time together, their friendship becomes more. But, can their past show up and change their future?

My Thoughts:
I love a good small town romance, and The Wedding Ranch was all that and more! I love a romance when both characters don’t want a relationship but just can’t help themselves as the attraction is so strong, and The Wedding Ranch is a perfect example.

I liked that Lorri wanted to move out of the city and live in a rural suburb, especially as she has such a big dog. She definitely enjoys the small town vibe and makes the most of moving to a small town.

I loved this heartwarming sweet romance. The characters were well developed and I liked them both very much. It was clear they were meant to be together from the start. But, they each had a considerable amount of baggage and I loved seeing how they each were able to unload it.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend The Wedding Ranch to anyone who enjoys a sweet romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.