I can;t get enough of this series! I just love the guys at the At-Ease Ranch. This one is Cord and Haley's story. Both have had an attraction to one another, but Haley's late husband has come between them, but attraction like theirs can't be kept dormant for long. What we find out about Haley you couldn't ask for anyone better then Cord to be there for her. He treats her a way a man should and it was so beautiful to watch Haley blossom. They don't want forever, but soon temporary might not just be enough. I enjoyed seeing that Lula Belle is still up to her mischief.

Yes, I confess, I am in love with the Men at Ease Ranch, both as a series and as individual characters! And not even because of the hot ranger cowboy thing going on there, even if it does help, but because of what they stand for, because of who they are, what they are doing, and how they are willing to do the hard things, be the leaders, take care of their brothers and sisters in arms even after the service, that is what matters to me.
When you add Donna Michaels' style of writing; the mix of subtle humor and laugh out loud funny things, the smooth flow of the tale with the stories finely balanced with romance, sexy times, conflicts, and angst, and it is no wonder Men at Ease Ranch is a series I eagerly anticipate with new installments.
That's enough fangirling for now...

Haley Wagner and Cord Brannigan has that spark, that energy, that special connection that binds people together, that draws them to each other. They have had it for years, but there was that little problem of Haley's husband, one of Cord's best friends and ranger buddies. Because Cord is an honorable, honest, kind, and considerate, the fact that his friend has been dead for two years, is still a hindrance to him to pursuit Haley.
Haley's heart and self-esteem have been crust before and she is not ready to experience that again anytime soon. But the attraction she feels for Cord isn't something she can hide, even though acting upon it could backfire. Haley is a fierce, strong, and independent woman who has spunk and loyalty. Even if her husband did her wrong, she still protects his secrets to save the image his brothers has of him.
I loved Cord and Haley together, they are friends, lovers, and work mates. They see each other in a unique way, that encourages the other to be the best possible version of themselves. The feelings they have for each other are visible, tangible force in the air, and only the secrets they are holding from each other could damage the harmony they have created.
I loved the story, the tension, and the symmetry of the relationship. The conflict is earth shattering yet not something that can't be fixed with hard work, communication, and forgiveness. The whole cast and crew have screen time and the characters from the previous books make appearances, yet I do believe this could be enjoyed as a stand alone if you so choose.
A not-to-be-missed series that I highly recommend for all steamy romance fans, perfect summer reading!
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

I was really looking forward to The Right Ranger especially after the foreshadowing about Cord and Haley in the last The Men of At Ease Ranch book but I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed in this book of the series. Why? Because I was looking forward to watching Cord and Haley’s relationship grow throughout the book but it felt to me as if the whole thing was too rushed. There was no dating, no wooing just, the main characters slept with each other – to me it felt like almost straight off the bat - (and kept sleeping with each other) and then during the course of all that, realised they had feelings for each other.



Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed parts of the book but that – what I talked about above - was where it (really) let me down. If you’ve been following me for a while now you know that I’m a slow-burn relationship kind of girl, were we’re shown the lead characters falling in love gradually, through dates, circumstances, situations they handle together, all of that, there just wasn’t enough of all of that for my liking.



That’s not to say it was all bad, I liked how quickly the misunderstanding was resolved between Cord and Haley. Donna stretches it out just enough to keep the reader wondering if they’ll patch up or not but not too much so that you’re like “resolve it already!”



And speaking of things I liked in the book, I can’t end this review without mentioning the other characters (Brick, Stone, Vince, Leo) and how much I enjoyed their teasing of Chord and Haley and just, their friendship with Chord full stop. It was a joy to read, and whilst I may not have liked this book as much as I wanted to (oh, how I wanted to!) I would/will definitely love to read any and all other books in the series just because of the guys’ friendship and the way it was portrayed throughout the book.

I love this series and excited to read about Cord and Haley. Their chemistry was on point and I liked the connection between the pair I thought their story could have used another element . Therefore wasn't a lot of substance. While this wasn't my favorite read I liked reconnecting with the men and women of at Ease Ranch.

I received a copy for a honest review

Haley lost her husband whilst they were under a cloud. Her ranch is now in trouble and the ever helpful Cord drops in to help out when he can. Pity Haley is now fighting a rampaging cast of lustful thoughts starring Cord. He is her late husbands friend and team mate!

Cord has always carried a torch for Haley but she was married to his friend and therefore off limits.
But now 2 years after his friends death the old feelings are back and are getting harder and harder to ignore. When a planned repair at the ranch forces him to essentially live there for 3 weeks, his strength of will is going to be tested to the limit!

But both are keeping secrets and not just about their feelings for each other. And secrets have a habit of not staying hidden for long.

Great mix of emotions within this book. Respect of armed services, loyalty to team members and returning veterans care. Relationships of all kinds are investigated including family, friends and romance. Great addition to the series and can't wait for the next!

Received in exchange for a honest review.

Great edition to this already sexy series. We have two stubborn, honest and loyal people. One has turned inward due to duty and guilt but also memories that won’t go away. Another from not wanting to tarnish anyone’s memory of the hometown hero.

Cord and Haley have insane chemistry. She is stubborn and doesn’t want him to think badly of Drew and he is stubborn and is afraid with all his baggage and his promise to Drew that he isn’t what she needs. He doesn’t want to hurt her.

As they spend time together the tension can be cut with a knife but they also grow. He lets go of some of his feeling of duty,honor and responsibility. He lets go of the guilt and begins to live again. She sees herself leaning on someone and not having to do it all alone. They are equals and respect one another. Both help each other feel and come alive again.

When the sexual energy finally comes to a head wowza. Sparks fly and we get some sexy as sin moments. The biggest intimacy is when they open up to one another and let each other in. One stupid misunderstanding has them taking a step back but Cord fixes that.

this is a sexy saucy fun tale of two people who are lost. One in his mind and duty and the other in trying to prove herself. Both wanting to protect the other from getting hurt. And both madly in love with one another. Their love story is not a fast quick one but grows over time as they work out their issues and get closer to one another heart and soul. A really wonderful read.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Cord and Haley were so great together, they both seemed broken by events in their lives but being together seemed to help them get past those hurts. You could feel their chemistry and how they both worked hard to keep it under control until they gave in to their feelings.

I loved that Haley was the first one out of bed and the house so Cord was really thrown because he really wanted to be the one to back off and walk away! Even though he had done this to women, it didn’t feel good when he was on the receiving end..lol!!

I love how all the people from At Ease Ranch are very important parts of the book, and not just back story characters. And the intervention that his fellow Rangers gave Cord was hilarious! There was subtle humor throughout the book that kept me laughing, and crazy humor with the strange cow, but when Cord really misjudged Haley, you felt her pain. This book took me through a variety of emotions and then left me very happy with a great HEA ending.

I saw the next book is for Vince - I wonder if Jovy’s friend that is coming with two cats will be Vince's, funny since he is allergic to cats!

I have been enjoying greatly each and every one of these that has been put out in this series. When I seen this one I just had to continue on because these men are enough to make you swoon. This one centers around Haley and Cord. Haley needs help and Cord has offered that help. these two have their own chemistry that when they come together it is a slow simmer to dangerous. Thing with these two also is secrets, that will also have a fuse of its own that once it ignites will soon spill too. How this all formulates is what is the clincher on how it keeps you in it. The ups and down of a relationship is also shown quite well. I also like the balance that is in here with other characters as well. Great reward when I finished with this one.

I really love this series. There’s just something about it that has worked for me from the very beginning. Admittedly a big part of that is the fact that I love Donna Michael’s writing style and the characters in this series have all been great and not just because one of them happens to be a cow with a crush who makes an appearance in each book.

Cord has been a main character in this series since the beginning and I have to admit I was a little hesitant about getting his story. Don’t get me wrong I really liked him, he just had so much baggage and even though we never got a good view of it I knew it was going to make for a heartbreaking story.

Haley has been someone we were very vaguely introduced to earlier and I just knew I would love her. The stubborn, independent widow of one of their buddies who was too proud and independent to ask for help. You just know there are going to be sparks flying all around the place.

I could feel the sexual tension from the second these two were in the same room and even though they both fought it at every step there weren’t any stupid misunderstandings or any of the usual back and forth bullshit. There were real adult reasons that I not only understood but sympathised with.

And of course our beloved Lula-Belle made her own appearance and we got more of each of the previous couples as well as everything else I have come to expect from this awesome series. You really must read it if you’re a fan of sweet and sexy romance.

Haley Wagner’s life just got a lot more complicated. As if turning her struggling ranch around isn’t tough enough, she’s forced to call him for help. With his hard eyes and even harder body, Cord is an irritatingly sexy contradiction of hot and cold. How can she possibly hide her embarrassing secret when just looking at Cord is a combustible event?

Former Army Ranger Cord Brannigan has a secret, too. He promised his fallen teammate he’d protect the tempting, fiercely independent Haley from a distance, but now they’re stuck together for three weeks. Alone. Keeping his hands off will take every ounce of control he can muster. And that control is slipping…

If I could just write a review that said...I love Cord - that would be it. I do love him. He's such a pain and I mean that lovingly. Haley was such an awesome heroine. She lost her husband and Cord held him in his arms as he died. If you think that doesn't have ramifications, then you're wrong. It's something that you see in your dreams or rather nightmares. There's angst and drama and love. I think out of all of the books in the series...this was my favorite because it had more of a plot to it. I could have done without so much sex!! Seriously, after awhile I just flip over the scenes and maybe that's weird, but they all blur together.

Cord has a ranch for veterans that are coming back from combat and this is my soapbox...that we don't do enough for veterans as a nation. We care about...and I'm gonna step on toes and I don't care - We care about abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, we even care about the right to tweet, but we don't care about our veterans. Don't get me started because being in the field I'm in...I could literally talk you under a rug and win - it's been done. So, to have a book talk about that was for me very interesting and those that thought it wasn't because it wasn't a "the world is paved with happiness" story for you...guess what buttercup? Veterans come back, the statistics aren't in their favor that they make it. If we had ranches like this in real life all over the States, we wouldn't have 22 veterans a day killing themselves....just saying. If this is unlike all my other reviews where I'm sunshine and light, it's probably because I've had a friend who was part of that 22 a day statistic and I'd hoped and prayed there was a place like this for him when he came back. For those saying that this isn't realistic - maybe not in your world, but in mine it is. The guilt is real. The mind screw that goes on is real. All the fluff that centered this story was awesome, but read it with an open mind and an open heart and then do your research. Some books talk to you, when you find it...talk back.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

Donna Michaels has a penchant for writing stories of independent women with one major flaw. Pride. It leads to their downfall, every time. Of course there's always the thrill of a hot guy to help cushion the fall. For Haley and Cord rebuilding their friendship is an uphill battle, littered with secrets and promises. Can their burgeoning romance survive the drama heading it's way? The Right Ranger has classic written all over it.

Former ranger Cord has been watching his deceased buddy's wife from a far as promised, but after receiving a phone call he learns she needs help and he's going to have to ignore his hot feelings for her, just go to her and get along with some of the heavy work that Haley needs doing. The story was a little lacklustre which was a shame as the couple had tons of chemistry. But they spent most of the their time having sex and nothing else really happened until near the end which seemed rushed.
Just an ok read for me!

“Promise me, man. I need you to promise me you’ll watch over her.”

The Right Ranger is not only the third book in Donna Michaels’ The Men of At Ease Ranch series—it's also the third one I've loved reading.

I am absolutely enamored with these Rangers-cum-Cowboys. They're charming and swoony, gruff and damaged, and very, very hot. And Cord might be my favorite… so far.

His connection with Haley was teased in Her Secret Rangerand, as I said in my review then, I expected their story to pack a bit more of a wallop emotionally than had the first two. And while it did manage to wring a couple of tears out of me, The Right Ranger was, for the most part, light, humorous and sexy.

Which was a fabulous combination. Well-written by Ms. Michaels, who delivers a romance that is overflowing with chemistry, burdened by secrets, and ultimately, very rewarding, this story stole and kept my attention long enough to make it a one-sitting read.

And to make it another excellent installment in a must-read series for lovers of love and romance, heat and heart and, most especially, Rangers-cum-Cowboys.

The incredible man more than touched her heart; he held it in both hands.

~ 4.5 Gypsy STARS ~

The Right Ranger is the third book in The Men of At Ease Ranch series written by author Donna Michaels. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing/ Lovestruck for the advance copy.

Book three in Donna Michaels’ The Men of At Ease Ranch is every bit as good as the first two. The Right Ranger pairs Cord with his friend and fellow Ranger’s widow, Haley. The secrets between these two and the reasons they each feel they can’t be together are romance novel clichés but Michaels writes well enough that the reader can still really enjoy the story. Her characters are completely likable, the dialog flows easily and I genuinely cared that Haley and Cord find their happily ever after.

Cord is hot and a really good man. Haley is fiercely independent and working incredibly hard at creating a new business model to save her ranch. They’re both characters I respected and liked even when I wanted to smack their heads together. They spend so much time keeping the same secret from each other and I wanted to blurt it out so they could move on. I wanted them together sooner rather than later!

I like that the men in this series are deeply affected by their experiences in the military and war and yet they’re not portrayed as frighteningly or irreparably broken. I also love that the women are strong, capable and good at their businesses.

I can easily recommend this book for any fan of romance, military hotties and the western lifestyle.

reviewed by Deb

The Right Ranger is book 3 of Ms Michaels series titled The Men of At Ease Ranch. A ranch created to help veterans find a home and a life after serving their country.
I have enjoyed the series and this book is one of the best stories of the series.
Haley Wagner and ex-Army Ranger Cord Brannigan are the main characters . Hayley is the widow of one of an Army Ranger team memberd and now is trying to get the ranch she inherited up and running as a horse boarding ranch. Cord offers to help. He held her dying husband during combat , and feels he needs to protect her by keeping a truth he knows of her husband. Cord also has been in love with her for years, but never acted on it out of respect.
Both are keeping secrets . Secrets that at one point causes them to be torn apart.
Characters from previous stories make an appearance and it’s nice to see how they are coming along.
All that said, it’s also a story about how we as a nation, have a responsibility to help the returning men and women who dedicate their lives to preserve our freedom. Also a reminder that for a relationship to succeed there has to be trust, honesty, respect and communication. And let’s not forget love.
Kudos to Ms Michaels for another winner.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley, and the publisher. The opinions expressed are soley my own.

This one was OK. I enjoyed it more than book two, but less than book one. This was yet another one of these ridiculous "bro code" stories that annoy me to no end. This one was especially head scratching since the hero knew what her husband had done but still acted all martyr-like about getting involved with his buddies wife. I would have thought the bro code would go out the window when you find out something like that is being done to the woman you claim to have loved for years. But what do I know...

On the positive side of things, I do enjoy this author's writing. Hopefully, the next book will be bro code free. *lol*

Another excellent romance from Donna Michaels' "The Men of At Ease Ranch" series. The men of At Ease Ranch are ex military/cowboys with plenty of macho and sex appeal.

In this book we met Cord who is going to help Haley a fallen Ranger's wife that lives near his hometown of Joyful. As Drew took his last breath Cord promised him would look after his wife Haley. The problem is that Cord has been half in love with Haley for years so until now he has kept his promise from a distance out of respect. Haley is losing her ranch and trying to revive it by opening a horse boarding service but when her only remaining ranch hand breaks a leg she has to ask for his help to get the fences up in time.

It doesn't take long for things to heat up. They are both keeping secrets that could tear them apart.
Will they be able to revive their relationship when all is revealed? Be sure to read this sexy romance to find out.

This is the third book in the series so the delightful characters that were introduced in book 1 & 2 are present in this book. The book is written as a standalone so it is not necessary to read the series in order but if you haven't read the first two you are truly missing out on some great books.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book provided by Entangled Publishing and NetGalley.

Fun and sexy off-limits romance with a strong simmering attraction while trying to do the right out of honour

The Right Ranger is an off-limits romance that is a wonderful addition to this small town series. With an undercurrent of simmering attraction that teeters on the edge of spilling over whenever the two characters are together, the strong sense of doing the right thing in order to honour leads to secrets unravelling in surprising twists to make this a fun read!

Told from dual point of view, Haley and Cord have a seriously sizzling attraction but their misplaced honour threatens to keep them apart. Both Haley and Cord have a strong stubborn streak in them, especially Haley who is determined to be independent and not need to rely on anyone to help with her ranch. However, when forced into close quarters for a period of time, things heat up and that stubborn streak turns in a rather sexy heat!

While this is book three in the series and couples from earlier books do crop up, you do not need to have read the previous books as this is a standalone read.

Definitely recommend this book and series, especially if you lean towards cowboy/former army men!

Former Army Ranger Cord Brannigan made a promise to his fallen brother that he would care for the wife that he would be leaving behind, so, when she calls requesting his help he packs a bag and heads to her ranch. Once he arrives though he learns that she has plans for him, plans that include him staying in her home for the next three weeks, and to say that Cord is a little apprehensive about that is a complete understatement. She is beautiful, tempting, and he knows he is going to have a hard time remembering that she if off limits... it's going to be a long three weeks!

Haley Wagner is a strong, capable, and very determined woman, and when she wants something she stops at nothing to get it, and right now she wants to save her ranch. She has a lot of work ahead of her and a short amount of time to accomplish all of it, and as much as she hates asking for help she knows she has to, so she calls on her husband's buddy for help. Asking Cord to come and help her out seems like a good plan, that is until he is standing before her, he is one gorgeous man, and being around him for the next three weeks is going to be complete torture. But sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures...

This captivating read pulled me in from the from the first sentence and had me flying through the pages in search of what I hoped to be a very well deserved happily ever after, and I am happy to report that I found just what I was looking for... and more! The story line was rich with heartfelt emotion, witty humor that made me smile, and steamy sexy times that curled my toes! I enjoyed my time with these two, Haley was feisty, determined and daring, and it was fun to watch Cord try to handle all she dished out!! Highly recommend this sweet and sexy read, it's sure to inspire you to comeback for more!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title,