I had high hopes for this story, unfortunately it all felt flat for me. Although the story started with a bang, my interest waned soon after. The story felt disjointed, things that were alluded to weren't addressed and the romance felt forced. I enjoyed getting to know Knox and Selena and felt for them for what they had gone through, but I just couldn't become invested in their story.

As I've learned to expect, a beautifully written and fun read. Yates writes wonderfully believable stories with flawed but truly good heroes and heroines

This was a bit cheesy and I could not get through it. I should have known from the cover. It just wasn’t for me so I did not finish it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Reader Copy of this book which I received through Netgalley.
I really liked Selena and Knox's story. It's amazingly written.

Maisey Yates is the queen of these stories and I love them so much! They are people you want to know and belong in a community you want to be in. I cant describe how much I love them and how much I think Maisey is incredible being able to keep providing stories and each one be as incredible as the last!

I enjoy the friends-to-lovers troupe, and I love Maisey Yates, so this one seemed like a no-brainer. While I did enjoy it--mostly for the aforementioned two reasons, plus Selena and Knox--it wasn't one of my favorites, because:

1) the mystery of Will that the book starts with is soon dropped--presumably it'll come up in future books? Still, getting a clue that things were happening on that front would have been nice.

2) loved the angsty angst bits, but they seemed to be fixed awfully quickly in the last 10%. Don't get me wrong, I do approve of who helped Knox get his head back on straight, but it felt like the resolution was much too easy for everyone. Adorable epilogue, though!

3) By the time Selena (and Knox) find out she's pregnant, the book is almost over. I would have loved to see more of their lives between the "I love you"s and the epilogue!

Ultimately, this was a Maisey Yates book and that can't be discounted. I liked it in spite of its flaws, and the series definitely has my attention with regards to the mystery of Will and the other "club" members.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Maisey Yates remains the sole romance writer who makes me stay up till the wee hours to finish one of her books. The Rancher’s Baby is why I’m writing this review on a snowy March morning, bleary-eyed and groggy, to the sound of the coffee-machine spurting my third cup’o’java. Rancher’s Baby is set in Texas and not part of Yates’s Copper-Ridge-Gold-Valley series, the Yoknapatawpha of romance. It’s written for the “Desire” category, which I think brings out the best in her. So … “Desire”, “Yates,” “baby” set my readerly heart a-flutter … and draw me in this did. A few provisos, the hero, billionaire-rancher Knox McCoy lost his baby-daughter to cancer, a difficult read for some; and, billionaire-business-woman Selena Jacobs was physically and psychologically abused by her father (a less developped aspect to the romance), again, may not appeal. Lastly, the hero and heroine have unprotected sex, which may annoy, flummox, or result in disapproving tut-tutting. I followed a Yates Twitter convo where she defended this writerly decision (which I don’t think needs defending, btw) that people do have unprotected sex. I would say it’s about context. The circumstances under which this happens in The Rancher’s Baby may not work for all, but they did for me. Many many reasons some romance readers may not enjoy, none of which I had a problem with. With the proviso that Yates’s romances make me leave my chin-tapping critical sense at the door.

There’s a lot of cray-cray plotting to Rancher’s Baby. When the novel opens, Selena, along with a variety of women (one of whom holds a baby) have been summoned to her ex-husband’s funeral, as has her college-BFF, Knox. When ex-husband Will Sanders walks in alive and well, Selena collapses in a dead faint. Knox revives her drives her to her secluded country cabin to imperiously announce that whatever shenanigans orchestrated Will’s “death,” funeral, and resurrection (I loved this soap-opera detail and I hope there’s a story here for us in future) may put Selena in danger. Knox says he’s lost too much (marriage and daughter) to give up his best friend … he staying to ensure Selena is safe and protected. This is one of many eye-rolling moments, with the addition of convoluted plotting and high-handed and often unjustified melodrama, in flashback and otherwise.

What the novel does well, however, is its portrayal of Knox’s grief, fear of loving and losing (when he and Selena become lovers), and subsequent emotional resurrection. A friendship’s preciousness and familiarity and a heroine both mouthy and tender are what Knox needs. And the same may be said for Selena: a virgin (whoa! crazysauce after being married, but there be reasons!) with an abusive past can experience safety and freedom in the arms of a best friend. I think what I also enjoyed is Yates’s ability to match angst with flashes of wit and humour. I also liked the reconciliation scenes between Knox and his ex-wife, Cassandra. I thought they were sensitively and psychologically acutely executed. Knox and Selena’s banter is great and there are some beautiful meta-rom-moments when Yates winks at seasoned romance readers, like this concluding sentence to the pre-HEA: “He was pretty determined about what he wanted to do regarding Selena, but he had to be sure he was going to say the right thing. Because when you told a woman you didn’t want her you had to prepare a pretty epic grovel.” *gentle chuckle* And this is why I’ll always love and read Yates.

With Miss Austen, we say keep bringing it on, Ms Yates, because in The Rancher’s Baby, we found evidence of “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Maisey Yates’s The Rancher’s Baby is published by Harlequin Books. It was released on January 2nd and may be found in e and dead-tree at your preferred vendors. I received an e-ARC from Harlequin, via Netgalley.

Selena married in college to get control of her trust fund from her beloved grandfather to escape her family. They quickly divorced . When she got a letter to attend his funeral she was devastated because she never go to put things right. Her best friend Knox came to the funeral also to help her and they were both surprised when the ex husband shows up at the funeral too. Knox has never recovered from the death of his young daughter and leads to complications. The story was ok but I this was not one of my favorite books by Ms. Yates.

Secrets abound! With the first book in a new spin-off of the infamous Texas Cattleman's Club, Maisey Yates lays the ground work for the mystery surrounding The Imposter series. It was a tad confusing and threw us for a bit of a loop from the start, but it definitely planted some intrigue in our mind. Looking forward to finding out more as the series plays out!

Selena Jacobs is grateful to have her best friend by her side as she faces a trying time in her life. Knox McCoy has always been there through thick and thin, but she's never had the courage to admit her love for him. Wrong time, wrong place seems to be the motto of their attraction ... she laid the groundwork of walking away first, then by the time she was ready to admit to feelings, he was with someone else ... and so it played out for years. Suddenly in close proximity again with emotions running high, the guessing games finally come to a head with a powerful attraction not to be denied!  Knox has suffered too much loss in his life to be ready to take a chance on love again ... will the baby they made be enough to chance his mind?

Selena and Knox have been best friends since college, attracted back then but a turn of events led to both marrying others while remaining best friends. Selena’s marriage in name only to satisfy requirements for a trust fund, although Knox never knew. Secretly Selena had always loved Knox but muted those feeling when he married. His marriage collapsed after the death of his toddler, and he’s still reeling from the pain a few years later, but when he shows up for the funeral of her ex-husband their attraction sparks alive.

Selena had issues that made it so that if Knox did come onto her back in college it probably wouldn’t have worked out. Now with years clarifying what’s important, and when a few secrets Selena has held close start to come out, she wonders why she should hold back anymore. The passion between them is better than she could ever imagined but convincing Knox that he deserves happiness after the pain of losing his daughter is no small task.

You know from the book description that Selena ends up pregnant after they give into their desires, but that didn’t happen until the latter portion of the book. I felt like their romance took a while to develop, trading emotions, discovering there was still quite a lot they didn’t know about each other, and I was fully invested in their emotional journey.

This isn’t a very long book, I read it one day, and there was only a little bit drama on Knox’s side at the end. I was irritated with him, and I thought he maybe should’ve done a little more groveling, but I was pleased with the beautiful ending.

Selena Jacobs life has just become a soap opera. As her world starts to cave in a around her, it's nice to know she has a shoulder to lean on. Knox McCoy is the friend she can always turn to when the world becomes to much. He holds the key to her heart. Secretly of course. What happens when scandal turns secret fantasies into realistic drama? And the shocks don't end there. The Rancher's Baby goes from romantic comedy to heartwarming read and back again. Friends to lovers is one scenario, I'll never tire of.

An emotional, inspiring, and heartbreaking story that took my breath away.
I am a big fan of Maisey Yates's writing. I know she can take the reader to the deep, dark waters of emotional turmoil. Yet this story blew me away with its beautiful description of those raw feelings that makes you feel like you are drowning, suffocating, and burning inside out at the same time. I smiled, I laughed, I was in tears, and I loved every single word and moment of the tale. I kept going back, marveling at the beauty of the words string together and the sense of the events they were creating.
Knox McCoy is not the half a man he used to be. He is living with an empty heart after losing his daughter for cancer and as a consequence, his wife. He feels empty, hallow, and like he has nothing to offer any more as a man. His only anchor during the storm is his best friend, Selena Jacobs, and there is no way on earth he is going to ruin that relationship by acting on his physical attraction towards her. Knox is a good man, he is kind, protective, generous, sexy, and capable. He is also sad, he is lost, afraid, and mourning for the life lost way too soon.
Selena Jacobs' abusive childhood taught her not to want a romantic relationship, not to want a family of her own. She needed to be in charge, she needed to have the power over her own life, she could not be dependent on anyone else, that was the life lesson her parents gave her. Knox is the one person she trusted with her life and secrets and she protected that friendship over everything else in life. Even the burning attraction towards him that suddenly left her lightheaded.
The connection between Knox and Selena is strong, tangible, and enduring, built over time. They were so tuned into each other, at times it felt like they were just one being, they knew each other like only old friends do, and the years of friendship was the foundation they could start to build something more, if only they dared to do take the leap.
When a story pulls all the emotions out of you, when there is laughter, and fun banter, when there is ardent passion, deep-seated emotions, "the heights of love and the lows of loss", profound sadness, and joy that reaches the sky -- this is a must-read book!
~ Five Spoons

It's been a long time since I read the first novel in the Texas Cattleman's Club series, and I was eager to read this first novel in a new spin-off series, The Imposter, especially since it was authored by Maisey Yates, who doesn't disappoint, and true to form, she didn't. After staying awake until 4 a.m. to read it from start to finish, I give this deeply moving friends-to-lovers novel 4.5 stars.

Three friends, Selena, Knox and Will met and connected in college. Selena and Knox were secretly attracted to one another but didn't want to spoil their friendship, and Selena had many other issues on her mind, her father was physically and verbally abusive to her and her mother, and her only family support came from her grandfather. When he died, his will stated that his entire estate was to go to Selena, but with conditions, she'd have access to that money when she turned 25, or when she married. Selena was desperate for that money because it meant freedom from her father, so she and Will agreed to a fake marriage. Even her best friend, Knox, believed that it was a real marriage, was deeply saddened by the fact that Selena didn't choose him, and that led him into the arms of another woman, Cassandra, whom he loved, and with whom he had a child.

Selena's fake marriage ended in anger and divorce, and Selena went on to make her fortune in skin care products. Knox too, started at the bottom and now owns a billion-dollar chain of health food markets. His marriage also ended in divorce following the death of his two-year-old daughter, Ellie, to cancer. He's just been going through the motions of living since then, devastated by the loss of the child who was the center of his world, and he's unable to move past it.

At the opening of this novel, we learn that Selena received a letter informing her of Will's death at sea, and of the fact that she, his ex-wife, was the sole heir to Will's vast estate. However, there were 4 other women at the funeral, one very pregnant, another with a child, and they too received the same letter. She didn't know these women or what their relationships to Will were, but while hurt and saddened by his death, she wasn't heartbroken at all, since their fake marriage only happened so she could access her trust fund. She's surprised to also see Knox at the funeral--while they had stayed in touch, his life and his ranch were in Wyoming, while Selena was still back in Texas. You can imagine the shocked reactions of everyone there when the supposedly dead Will opens the door and walks in, a guest at his own funeral. So, whose cremated ashes are in the urn? Who set up this faux funeral and why? I'm guessing that the answers to those questions will be at the heart of all the books in this series.

While intriguing, the aforementioned mystery in this novel is just the backdrop to the relationship between Knox and Selena. After Selena divorced Will, Knox, to whom she was attracted at first sight, was already married, making him off limits for anything more than friendship. But now, there are no spouses or other lovers keeping them apart, but are they willing to risk their friendship? Selena is, but Knox has felt dead inside since the loss of his daughter and the breakup of his 10-year marriage. He doesn't ever want to care about anyone that much again because with loving, comes the possibility of loss and with loss comes pain. Selena believes that she too doesn't want marriage or children, considering herself too damaged for either of those things, but she does want Knox, and since he's staying with her at her cabin, they finally have to come to terms with their past, and the truths they've been hiding from each other and themselves.

Prepare yourself for some serious angst and keep your tissues handy, because I certainly needed mine more than once is this sweet, heartwarming, sexy and yet angst-filled novel, because Maisey Yates is exceptionally good at pulling you into a story from the first sentence, and playing on every heartstring you have.

If you're wondering why I didn't give this novel 5-stars, it was minor things, such as the fact that there isn't much ranching happening, as the title of his book suggests, nor did it have anything to do with the Texas Cattleman's Club. It was, however, a very good read, as are all of Ms. Yates novels, and I am happy to recommend it highly. Although this novel works perfectly as a standalone read, if you want to see the mystery solved, you'll have to continue reading this series for the loose ends to be tied up.

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

‘Kissing him was like nothing else.
It was like every fantasy colliding into one brilliant blinding firework.’

There’s nothing for it—I am a sucker when it comes to cowboys. I’ve never denied it, and I never will. Just like I will never deny myself a cowboy romance with Maisey Yates’ name on the cover. She is, after all, one of my favorites, and an author I can rely on for a book that’ll capture and keep my attention and make my heart happy.

And that is what she’s done again, here, in The Rancher’s Baby. I didn’t realize when I grabbed it that it would make up a part of a multi-author series, but no matter. In and of itself, this was a heartfelt, emotional book. It looked not just at finding love in your best friend, but at overcoming grief and leaning how to move on—without forgetting.

Ms. Yates did a fantastic job of sketching her characters in this loss. Of making their hurts feel real and raw, and yet, allowing their burgeoning romance to feel right. So very, very right. Because that’s what Knox and Selena were to me—a match made in fictional cowboy heaven.

I truly loved their story. My heart ached, at times, but was soothed. It also raced, and swooned, and smiled. There was ample chemistry and more; buried within a mystery that I can only assume will continue over the coming books was a story about second chances and new loves and finding that Winter and Spring can exist together.

So, it seems, I am not just a sucker for a cowboy. I’m also a sucker for this author—and the depth with which she writes.

“I don’t need it to be perfect or easy. We have a bunch of broken pieces between us, but let’s try to make something new with them.”

~ FIVE Spring STARS ~

Knox is still dealing with a very tough loss, a loss you hope no one has to endure. Returning home for a distant friends funeral and reuniting with a best friend, will leave Knox flattened. Knox realizes everything he’s wanted in life will leave him empty unless he grabs on tightly with both hands and enjoys the ride.

Selena’s past has remained hidden from even her closest friends. Learning to overcome her past and take control of her life. Seeing old friends brings back a flood of memories, treading into uncharted waters, Selena risks everything exposing her true feelings.

Watching Knox heal from the tragic loss and love Selena was so good it gave me the chills. The chemistry was off the charts, clearly about to boil over. The couple had so many emotions to go through; anger at Knoxs’ loss, hatred for her father, hope for romance, and happiness with each other! Ms. Yates keep the secondary characters to a minimum, which allowed all the focus to be on Knox and Selena. They provided just the right amount of support when they were needed, and faded into the background perfectly. Knox and Selena are a great couple, easy to understand and were crafted perfectly. I am hopeful the following novels in the Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Impostor, are as masterfully created as The Rancher’s Baby!

Maybe because I have some upheaval in my own life, but this book was a downer. It’s a Yates story, so of course it is a good story, but I found it really hard to make my way through it. Don’t get me wrong- I can appreciate a tear jerker if it ends well, and so I appreciate this one. It’s just chock full of heartbreak.

I really liked this book, it was sweet and very emotional. It will definitely make your appreciate your family. Selena and Knox have been friends for over ten years, they have both felt an attraction to each other but never acted on it. What happens when they do, will they be able to handle it? This was a very good and quick read. I look forward to more from this series.

I love best friends-turn-to-lovers romance but this didn't work for me because both protagonists were in other relationships. Its well written and engaging, but I didn't enjoy it so much because both married others. I prefer my H's and h's to be the only one for each other and when I read a romance, I don't want any OM or OW inserted. That's just my personal preference.

Selena and Knox have been best friends for a long time but never more even though there was definite attraction there. Knox suffered a horrible personal tragedy that made it hard for him to continue living. Now years later, they're back in the same town and the chemistry is stronger than ever. I really enjoyed this story of love, loss, and finding love again.

This was a very enjoyable story that had a lot of emotions intwined in it. I felt for both characters and teared up at the pain that both of these characters experienced in their life. The author did an amazing job with this story and I enjoyed it form start to finish.