This book is about how the deaths of Luke’s Parent’s and Sister and Brothers-in-law changed his life. There was three children who needed Luke and his brothers. The right thing to do was move home and help out. The Professor was home to stay. He had broken up with his fiancée Denise, she wasn’t giving up her career and questioned his decisions.
He went to the grocery store looking for fennel and there was Mara!
Mara was new to Grand, she ran a dance studio. A skiing accident ended her career as a professional dancer. Recently burned by romance she wasn’t in the market for a new romance but it found her.
Her and Luke were meant to be together but could there religious survive Luke’s ex being pregnant with his baby?

Such a fun, entertaining and heartwarming read. It gives you arm fuzzy feelings. The kind of book you need in a bad mood to pick you up. Sweet lovely read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book was so fun! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

The Rancher's Secret Love is the second book in Paula Altenburg’s Montana McGregor Brothers series and tells a heart-breaking tale of loss, betrayal and rebuilding from the ruins of tragedy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Luke and Mara’s story, with all the angst, turmoil and everything in between that kept me glued to the pages. This is an entertaining story with good world building, interesting and realistic characters and an easy ebb and flow to the writing. I look forward to the next in this series.

This was a sweet , though, at times , heartbreaking story.
After the tragic death of their parents, sister and brother-in-law, three brothers find themselves caring for their baby niece and her two young brothers .
Luke McGregor is the intellectual and a university professor . He leaves it all to help with the children and in turn, the woman who was suppose to be at his side, leaves him and his town.
Mara Ramos is starting over in Grand, Montana after an injury that ended her dance career.
What started out as a casual date gets complicated. But when things seem to be settling , life throws them a curve ball.
Will they just have the memory of a fling, or will the future offer them their HEA?
A well written story that will entertain you with imperfect characters that make the story real.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley , the opinions expressed are solely my own.

I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review. The first part of this book was interesting and well written. I enjoyed the characters and story line. But then it just all went. Wrong. The author needs to clean up this story, removing some of the steamy sex scenes. I did not finish the book which is unusual for me, and I will not be recommending it.

I asked for this book knowing nothing about it. And boy was I impressed with the book. Was totally surprised on what the book was about, loved it!! I live in Montana, so the book was special. What happens when you mix a Seattle professor or used to live in Brand with a dancer who is hiding and healing. Explosive chemistry!! Luke and Mara, hit it off even though like just broke up with his fiancé. Both are hurting, for Luke he just lost some family members and having to rethink his life. Mara, is finding out who she is in Brand, and healing from a past injury. The story also includes Luke’s brothers. They also have romances going on, what I liked, is in this book; the focus stays on Luke and Mara!! I’m going back and reading Jakes book. Looking forward to seeing what’s coming for Zach as well. Enjoyed this book.

I very much enjoyed this second in series of a trio of brothers raising their orphaned nephews and niece. Luke is torn between his prestigious career and rejoining the family ranch. Plus he meets and falls for dancer Mara, new to town, when he is home helping to settle things with his niece and nephews and the ranch. Just when he thinks he has made up his mind, his very recent ex turns up pregnant. I liked that the author added an interesting twist to the pregnant ex trope - nicely done. One more brother left... can't wait!

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this book is brilliant. I absolutely loved this book. I read the first book in this series and I loved it. I was really looking forward to the stories of the other two brothers. I thought that the next story would start off where the first one left off. I was so wrong about that. Paula Altenburg started this story in the exact same time frame the first one started but this one began with Luke's story not Jake's. Reading Luke's story and seeing the same events unfolding but from Luke's story was incredible. It was like going back in time and putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Luke and Mara's story was so romantic. The chemistry between them was hot. Seeing Luke with his niece and nephew's was so sweet and pulled at my heart strings. I honestly cannot wait for Zack's story and I am really hoping that Posey will be part of it. Although this book can be read as a stand alone I would suggest reading the first book first. That way you can get the full affect of how amazing the writing skills of this author are. Thanks Net Galley. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5☆

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: The Montana McGregor Brothers 
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest opinion.
Luke McGregor is forced to return to the family ranch in Montana when his parents and his sister die in a plane crash, leaving behind his sister's three orphaned children. He and the remaining McGregor brothers decide to band together to help run the family ranch and raise their sister's children. Luke had only recently earned his Ph.D and was teaching in Seattle, but he realizes he can't return to Seattle and work as a professor now that he has returned to his beloved home.
Mara Ramos is the local dance instructor in the town of Grand. Her promising dance career was ended by a freak skiing accident. Both Luke and Mara have recently been burned by relationships gone bad, so at first they resist the instant attraction that springs up between them, but despite their misgivings, they soon embark on a no strings attached relationship. It doesn't take long for Luke to become sure that Mara is the woman he has been waiting for all of his life. Unfortunately, his former fiancee, Denise announces that she is pregnant with his child.
This is not a badly written story, but I was disappointed in how all the usual tropes were scattered about in between the usual steamy scenes. This novel needed more dialogue and less dictated narrative. The author is actually pretty good at dialogue - it would have injected some reality and life into this story. The conflict resolution and the happy families ending were just too pat for me.
his story had its sweet moments, but the author should have let the characters tell more of the story through dialogue as opposed to supplying the reader with endless narrative: it often felt like I was reading a summary or outline of a longer story. I give this a 3.25 out of 5.

This book was kinda strange for me. I really loved it at first. Luke is a man whose family has died. It is him and his 2 brothers and his sisters kids and at the worst moment his fiancee dumps him so he is beyond broken and in pain. He meets Mara and falls for her and her him and I realy liked them together and then the book goes bad...

I mean seriously awful I am not sure why actually. It did not need it and it did not do much for the storyline except totally change Luke and the whole plot of the story. The ex was a women who abandoned Luke when his sister and parents died and I was ok with that. He gets over her very fast so oviously it was not that deep of a relationship even if they were engaged but where the book goes next I hated. HATED!! The plotline that developes is beyond awful and while the author tries to make it okay, I cannot even imagine the pain Mara must have felt and that really ruined the story for me.

Luke and Mara's story. When Luke returns home after the death of his parents, sister and her husband, he is there to help his brothers with the three children left behind. His fiance has no sympathy, and doesn't see why he should be in Montana instead of Seattle. He meets Mara, the town's dance instructor, and when she collapses from a leg injury, he helps her pick up groceries and then they become friends and eventually lovers. I read the first in this series, with Jake, the oldest brother, and now Luke's story. Zach will be the next. Good stories, and a good series. I liked this one, and highly recommend it, but overall liked the first book better. At times, this felt a little rushed, and I didn't like his attitude after he returned from Seattle. Otherwise, a good story.

THE RANCHER'S SECRET LOVE by Paula Altenburg is the second book I've read in this series. I just Love the McGregor boys! They step up after their parents, sister and husband are killed in a plane crash, to raise her three children. This story was about Luke, a college professor who leaves everything behind to move back home and help his family. Mara who has moved to Montana for a fresh start, after a devastating injury. Definitely a five 🌟read!

The Rancher's Secret Love by Paula Altenburg, book two in The Montana McGregor Brothers series. I loved the character development in this book and the family storyline. I look forward to reading more in series and see what the other books bring to us.

Loved this book! Luke is the nerdy college professor and who, along with his two brothers, inherited the family ranch. He committed to spend a year on the ranch to help sort through things and help with raising his niece and nephews, who were orphaned in the same accident that claimed the lives of Luke's parents. The three brothers are woefully unprepared to raise three young children, but are willing to give it their best efforts.

When Luke has a chance meeting with Mara, a local dance instructor, his year and the ranch suddenly looks a bit brighter. Neither Luke or Mara are interested in a relationship and are only looking to have fun....until it's not. A complication from Luke's past threatens to tear them apart, they are both forced to make some difficult choices.

I really loved Luke's character and how he was constantly struggling to do the right thing, even when all the options are bad. Mara was also a likeable character with a difficult backstory that gave her depth. I found myself totally immersed in their story and wishing for them to get their HEA ending. I'm already looking forward to the last brother's story.

If you are a fan of the genre, you will love this book. The author is on my must read authors' list.

Luke recently returned to the his family’s Montana ranch following the deaths of his parents, sister, and brother-in-law in a plane crash. He and his brothers plan to raise his sister’s at the family ranch. His fiancé refused to leave Seattle to join him there, so they broke up. Luke met a recent Montana transplant, Mara, who owns the dance studio in their small town. The two become better acquainted when Luke signs his nephew up for dance lessons. They begin a relationship, but decide to keep it quiet and no strings. Despite their agreement, they both come to realize that their relationship has become more than they expected. Unfortunately, about this time, Luke finds out that his ex is pregnant with his child, so things with Mara begin to crumble. However, a Luke is determined to figure out a way to keep Mara in his life, and Mara agrees to give Luke time to try to work things out. Luke’s ex eventually realizes that she and Luke want different things and that she isn’t cut out to be a mother, so she decides to relinquish rights to the baby if Mara doesn’t object to being the child’s mother. Both Luke and Mara are thrilled with the outcome and get their HEA. This is the second book in the series about the three brothers. I look forward to reading the final installment about brother number three.

The latest in this series.

Luke is home to help his family, leaving his life in Seattle behind.
Once he meets Mara he thinks there is everything he wants in Grand, Montana. But when his ex girlfriend from Seattle tells him she is pregnant, what does this mean for his future with Mara?

Looking forward to the next book in this series to see what happens to Luke's brothers.