This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

ONCE UPON A COWBOY CHRISTMAS - Soroya Lane

Just OK - 3 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Cody has come back to the ranch for Christmas to spend time with this family and see his ailing father. But when he meets his father's nurse, he finds himself reconnecting with an old flame.

Writing - 3.5 stars - Lane's writing is fine, creating a good story in an interesting setting, and drawing me in from the beginning. The story moves forward quickly, with a bit of action, plenty of romance, against a nice holiday background. 

Characters - 2 stars - This is where the book faltered for me. I really wanted to like these characters, especially Cody, since we've heard quite a bit about him within the past books in the series. But despite his attractiveness and success, he's a bit of a dolt. He's a winner at the business deal, but he is totally clueless about people. I can't believe he would be so totally cold about the people in the retirement home that he's cavalierly kicking out. No one except a total jerk would be so high and mighty that they couldn't even understand the repercussions of his actions, but apparently that's what Lane wants us to believe. And Lexi really isn't much better. She gets an idea in her head, and then she refuses to let it go. The fact that she's still mad about Cody leaving--15 years later!--is ridiculous. And her two go-to actions are either to fight dirty or climb into bed together--there doesn't seem to be an in-between. I understand her problems with Cody's actions (who wouldn't?), but she immediately attacks on social media rather than trying to handle things in an adult way. The annoying main characters really brought this book down for me. 

Title - 4 stars - The title is fine, especially if you think of Cody as a true Texas rancher at heart, although he hasn't really shown himself to be one by his actions. 

Cover - 4 stars - The cover model looks exactly how I've been picturing Cody throughout, so that's a definite plus. Very cowboy, very handsome, a nice eye-catcher.

Overall - 3 stars - This series hasn't quite hit the mark for me, and this book continues with that problem. This time the characters were disappointing and frustrating. They both act immaturely, despite the justifications for their actions that they keep repeating. I couldn't understand them being so overwhelmed with their physical attraction that they'd jump into bed more than once despite the total differences they had in beliefs and philosophy, and without ever trying to work things out. I'll still give this series another try because I'd like to read Angelina's story to round things out.

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas by Soraya Lane
Subgenre: western holiday romance
Release date: 29 Oct 2019
Publisher: St Martin’s Paperbacks
Format: ebook and print
Length: 297 pages
RRP: $9.61 (ebook); $14.99 (print)

Not everyone gets a second chance with the love of their life. Cody and Lexi were in love until Cody left.

Cody Ford has returned to River Ranch. It is just for Christmas. At the request of his brother to see his dying father. Cody is not prepared for the swell of emotion that hits him when he initially arrives home. He likes the look of his father’s new nurse but quickly discovers he is already acquainted with the woman. She was his high school girlfriend. The girl he left behind when he left, when he took off to New York. Cody has been very successful in his business life and can afford the nicer things in life. He also has a big business deal near River Ranch. This business deal will be a wedge between Cody and Lexi.

Alexandra, or Lexi, has become Walter Ford’s nurse. She needs the money and the house that the family provides. She has her own bills that need to be paid including her mother who is the local nursing home as she suffers from Alzheimer’s. Lexi also has a six-year-old son, Harry, who she also needs to provide for, as his deadbeat dad does not. Lexi is upset when she discovers that Cody bought the nursing home for redevelopment. A wedge that will come between them albeit temporarily.

This story is about reconnecting with the past. Past memories and people from the past. Lexi and Cody were an item, but that fell apart when Cody left, and Lexi was left behind to try and pick up the pieces of her life. As you do when the best has gotten away, she marries the second best, or last in this case, but has managed to produce the best, her son. While she is willing to have Cody for the moment, she also needs to protect herself and her feelings, especially when she knows that Cody will run again.

Cody is the character who has the most growth within the story. He runs from his past and then runs to his future with Lexi. He thinks he is a strong man, but then realises that he is weak, and it is Lexi’s love that heals him. It is a sweet story, with some of hot sex, and a young boy who just knows what he wants.

I liked there was no real angst within the larger family. Yes, there were some disagreements but not any of the major rifts that can happen in some stories. It is nice to read this type of story.

reviewed by Heather

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas stands alone well, and can be read outside the holidays. Soraya Lane offers this installment of her River Ranch series, and if you like cowboy romance series that revolve around a family, I think you'd like the series.  OUACC is a quick read, and moves the storyline along well. The heroine is extremely well drawn and engaging, the hero less so - he seems a bit shallow and two dimensional.  Though the story flows along well, the  hero doesnt experience much growth or change, making the ending seem a little too quick.  I intend to read the next book in the series.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation

I enjoy cowboy romances, but this one didn't hit the mark for me. I didn't get the connection between Cody and Lexi and both characters were too one-dimensional. The ending was so predictable.

What? A second chance romance? SIGN ME UP!

While this is a part of a series you can definitely read this one as a stand alone. 

More than a decade after he left the family ranch Cody returns for Christmas. While I did not really like Cody until the very end this book has all I needed to feel all warm and fuzzy by the end. 

Get yourself some PJ's, a comfy chair, a rug and some hot tea and devour this great romance.

3,5 stars

This was my first read by this author and I'm definitely not disappointed. I love christmas romances and I love cowboy romances, so when I was able to get an arc of this book I took the chance. Thankfully it didn't disappoint.

This was a capticating and endearing romance story that had a good balance of romance, storyline and character development and I enjoyed reading it a lot. I really liked the family relationships present as well. Overall, I think it sometimes could've been developed a bit more, hence the 3,5 star rating, but the author had me engaged enough to want to read book 1 and 2 in the series as well.

This is a solid romance to pick up anytime, if you're interested in a story that not only focuses on romance and 2nd chances but family reconciliations as well.

A second chance romance is always interesting. The reader wants to know the past, present and future. Exactly what Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas serves up in a quaint little package. A very quick and lighthearted read.

A second-chance romance at Christmas time set on a Texas ranch.  A steely businessman and a hardworking single mom cross paths many years later. Hot and cold, steamy and sometimes rushed, but loveable characters that you'll want to know all about. A decent addition to a lighthearted series, but the story does shy away from heavier themes mentioned in the book. Developing these subplots (like PTSD) would have made the book more realistic, but if you want a quick and easy read that's not too complicated, it's still enjoyable.  Net Galley Feedback

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to read and review your titles.  I have chosen to DNF this title...actually, I did a while ago but wanted to wait (although I didn't intend to wait this long) to post this so it didn't impact review decision for other reviewers.

I look forward to the next title from your authors/company.

Thanks,
Laura

A second chance romance that brings the reader back to Ford Ranch, and the story of Cody and Lexi. I liked how the siblings interacted more in this book, and Lexi's son, Harry, was a cute addition to the book. Overall the book was cute and a quick read, but I felt like something was off near the end. The miscommunications and misunderstandings between Lexi and Cody seemed like they were too big to be resolved within 1-2 pages, and I wish they were drawn out a little more.

A woman trying to support herself, her mother and her child on her own comes face to face with the man who broke her heart. Will she be able to forgive and forget? Will he understand and respect her? So many emotions in this story about hope, love, family and what matters most.

This was not a book I requested, but a Netgalley widget offer, which I readily accepted b/c I'd read Ms Lane's Harlequins and enjoyed very much. OUaCC, however, did not engage me, maybe the move to longer romance hasn't proven as successful? I don't know. What I can say is that the opening felt like I was getting the old tell don't show info-dump and the characters fell flat. I appreciate MBRR being offered titles, but I don't write negative reviews on my site; therefore, I'm expressing why I didn't want to finish reading this romance here.

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was the cutest read! Cody left home when his mom got sick and never looked back, not even for the girlfriend he left without a good-bye. When he comes home for Christmas, he is forced to face those mistakes when he finds out that Lexi (the ex) is now his father's nurse. Christmas is a time for romance and magic and watching these two former lovebirds find their way to each other again was a lot of fun. Add in the sweetest little boy ever and you have a great holiday read.

This has been my favorite River Ranch book so far because we got to see a lot more interaction with the siblings - which (IMHO) was missing in the first two. Even though the brothers were squabbling, we saw a deep love for one another. We still didn't get enough about Angelina, but I'm assuming she gets her shot at love next.

A perfect second chance, Christmas romance, complete with a blizzard.  Lexi and Cody have to earn their second chance, but with help from his dad and her son they make it to their own HEA.

Cody Ford left home years ago because his mother was sick and dying from cancer. He did not want to continue to watch her suffer, is what he has told himself all of these years. Now coming home with the father being ill is bringing back those same feelings. The problem with being home is his younger brother and sister who stayed are looking at him expecting him to leave once again. The person taking care of their father Lexi Murphy has been not only taking care of the father but is also living on the property with her young son. Everything changes for her when she sees Cody, but he does not remember his former girlfriend from high school. The same girlfriend that he said nothing to before he left and she has always wondered what she did.
After he figures out who she is and they begin to heal she comes to find out that he is now the person responsible for her mother and all of the other elderly persons having to move in just four weeks’ time with Christmas being right in the middle. When he begins to understand what he has done. It is what happened right before she found out that he is the one that owns the company that destroys her. His brother does not have to tell him I told you so because it is written all over his face. I liked this story and for much of it, it felt like a regular story with a little Christmas. The characters were all still very good and if you read the other books you won’t be disappointed.

An emotional second chance romance that has all the feels from many aspects of life. Cody and Lexi have a deep and very realistic connection.  Loved the family depth that goes with Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas. And even a little holiday magic at the end.

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas was a wonderful novel about second chances. It is the story of Cody, a NYC financial investor who returns to his Texas family ranch for Christmas. He fled Texas as an 18 year old to attend college after his mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, returning home only to attend her funeral before leaving again. More than a decade later, he returns to the family ranch for Christmas, knowing his father is losing his battle to cancer. Upon his arrival, he meets a beautiful woman who is his father's in-home nurse, only to discover the nurse is his high school sweetheart, Lexi.
Cody has forgotten Lexi and the tumultuous period during his mother's illness and death and has become a financial whiz with no personal ties or relationships. Lexi, on the other hand, has become a single mom who has taken on the financial responsibility of caring for a mother with Alzheimer's. Her anger toward Cody is both surprising and confusing to him. It is not until Lexi confronts Cody about his choices a decade before to leave without saying goodbye that he begins to learn the emotional damage he caused.
This book is well-written with well-defined characters. Each page is filled with the characters' emotional journeys, as Cody and Lexi face their past and cope with the present. The author took no shortcuts with the plot, allowing this reader to follow the characters as they struggled through grief, pain, bitterness, loss, and finally, acceptance. This is an extraordinary novel that touched me deeply.

This was an enjoyable second chance romance. I enjoyed the story line for the most part and the characters had great chemistry together once they finally admitted it.

Cody Ford is a Wall Street honcho with humble Texas roots. This holiday season, he’d be content to just stay in New York and not face his family—and dodge their questions about when and with whom he plans to settle down. . .and if he will do so back at home. But his father isn’t getting any younger, and Cody doesn’t want to miss any last chances to see him and the rest of the folks back on the ranch. The last person Cody was expecting to see? His one-time girlfriend, Lexi Murphy, who’s been working as his dad’s new live-in nurse. Lexi still holds a grudge against Cody. Back then, the college-bound heartthrob believed he was too good for a small-town girl like Lexi. But now Cody can’t help but see her in a whole new light. Could it be that this beautiful single mother with an unbeatable can-do spirit is the one he’s been waiting for all along? That depends on whether Cody can prove to Lexi that, this time, he means business—and if a sudden snowstorm can lend just the right amount of Christmas magic to help move things along.
This was a pretty good read. I’m not a huge fan of second-chance romances but I decided to try it anyways and it was an enjoyable book. I liked the author’s writing and both main characters. I look forward to reading more from this author. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book