I had heard about this book for a while, so I was excited to be given the opportunity to read it.

Second Chance at Rancho Lindo is not just a second chance romance, it's also with the hero's family too. Gabe left to join the army at 18, but is now back home and retired because of an injury. He didn't leave on good terms and now has to deal with the repercussions of leaving the family ranch. He also runs into a beautiful woman, Nora, the ranch's horticulturist, but doesn't recognize her as the girl he kinda ghosted before he left.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I wanted more from it. The romance felt more like a subplot than the main plot. The storyline was heavily about the relationship Gabe has with his father, older brother, and the ranch and that resolution felt more open ended than it should have been. I think the relationship with Nora was tied up well, but in the very last chapter of the book. I also didn't like all of the miscommunication.

The romance itself was sweet and I did enjoy it when we got to "see" it, but I felt we got more of the characters individually than we did together.

The author tells a story well, so I would read more from her, I just wanted more from this book.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

3.5 Stars

Back home at the family ranch after a military injury, Gabe is mystified by the beautiful woman who runs the microgreens growing operation. She seems strangely familiar, and she appears to hate him. But Nora remembers Gabe. He's the guy who stood her up when nobody else would take her to the prom, back in high school. Eventually they bury the hatchet and work together to benefit the ranch, but there's a hard question hanging over them: will Gabe leave, like he always does? This was an enjoyable story about a legacy California ranching operation with many nods toward our Latinx heritage in the state. Strong family themes, great romantic attraction, happy ending. The only ding on the book was there was a lot of repetitious dialogue, and the two characters seemed somewhat immature for their ages; when communication would solve a problem they were afraid to speak. But overall, a good story.

So I liked this book but it wasn’t expected. It was sort of like a second chance type of book but not quite. I absolutely adored the entire family and hope to see this become a series about the each brother and eventually the town. The author did a good job of introducing everyone without it becoming overwhelming. You get to see the personality each family member and a few of the the people in town giving you a quick glimpse of what is possible to come. While I did enjoy the book the end sort of fell flat for me. With that being said I do hope to read more about this town!

Okay, hear me out, how cute would it be if there were microgreens at the book launch? Just think about it!

Anyway, I loved this book and am looking forward to the whole series. I love a small town farm/ranch romance series about a gaggle of siblings, it’s about time we get one focused on our community! Now I have to guess which order the brother’s books will be in.

I also like that the family conflict was as realistic as it gets, which makes you hurt for our poor hero, but it’s as messy as real life is.

I’ll definitely be continuing the series. I also might start growing microgreens.

Solid start to a series. This is a closed-door romance with very little heat but pretty sweet. Really enjoyed getting to know the family and the small town. Looking forward to reading the other brothers’ stories.

“Then Nora did wave and even gave him a little smile. He decided to ignore why on earth that might have made his entire day.“

This was not what I thought it would be. I had expected this to be a second chance romance but it felt more like a second try at romance. There was also a lot of focus on Nora and Gabe’s individual journeys. While I did enjoy all these aspects, it took me 40% of the book to realize it which a bit of a bummer.

Nevertheless I was very invested in Rancho Lindo and all the Ortega brothers! I really hope they all get their HEAs.

MVP: Abuelita. Reina por siempre!

Big thanks to Read Forever for the advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

CWS: mentioning of PTSD, war related injury, nightmares caused by PTSD, parental death (mentioned not on page), parent with cancer (not super in depth but on page), Machista/toxic masculinity

TBH romance was a 4/4.5 and felt it needed a lil more oomf but the relatability was a 100.

I honestly couldn’t have loved this book more! As soon as I saw this was up for request on NetGalley you can bet your ass I ran to get it because I’ve been WAITING for this book (read: frothing at the mouth) to come up for review because I’m obsessed with the idea of this book, an emotionally stunted Mexican cowboy coming back home to figure out if his place is with his family and the girl he finds there? Dead. Deceased!

I will also not lie to y’all because I’m also super biased because I may have been super into vacerros when I was younger and thought they were the peak of attractiveness. I am a little sad to say that this was a no-spice romance but it didn’t bother me too much or affect my rating because the emotional pay off was pretty chefs kiss.

Gave us a Mexican American born and raised cowboy who basically ran away to the army to escape his family’s expectations and is now home after a career ending injury. He soon discovers Honora, a girl who kind of grew up on the farm, has grown up into a beautiful and brilliant woman who is the ranch’s horticulturist. The story follows both of them and their budding romance that teeters on the ‘what are we going to label this as’ because of Gabe’s ingrained Machista ways that leave him unable to talk about his feelings and he would rather leave than deal with them. This is honestly a lot less angsty than it sounds but not sure how else to review without giving this away.

All I can say is this book REALLY felt good to read because I felt so connected to the culture, family structure, and experiences of both our MCs, despite being a Chicana from Chicago. I want to just keep this book in my heart forever because of how much I was able to relate to it and didn’t realize how gratifying it would be to finally have that experience.

I literally can’t recommend this book enough and really hope that this will become a whole series around the Ortega brothers!