3.5 stars

I’m used to this author’s books being over 350 pages, with her novellas closer to 100 pages. This story was moving super-fast and I realized, although it’s not a novella, it’s not as long as I’m used to with her books. Not that this is a bad thing. I enjoyed that the story didn’t meander about too much. Juniper and Chance may be enemies, but maybe that’s why they get straight to the point with each other.

The premise of this story, Chance losing his memories and Juniper telling him he’s her ranch hand, is so much fun. I was afraid it would turn out being problematic, though. Not so! Maisey Yates does a spectacular job of straddling that line with Juniper trying to do the right thing and kind of falling into this opportunity. Then still, albeit weakly, trying to do the right thing. And seriously, there is a reference to the original Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russel version of Overboard and, for a bit, this book totally has that fun and quirky vibe.

I don’t know if it’s because the story is a bit more condensed, but there were some blatant timeline issues that I’m not used to from this author. While they gave me a blip when they came up, they weren’t really a big deal when it came to the story itself. Just my picky brain noticing and getting stuck. There’s also a bit of telling and not showing once the couple’s relationship picks up. Again, something I’m not used to with her books. It’s not a problem throughout, but does happen for a bit of time in the middle of the story.

Juniper and Chance have chemistry that is so obvious to everyone, even while they were hating on each other. It was the unspoken truth in both sets of siblings that they love to hate each other because they don’t want to admit they actually have sparks when they’re together. Like I mentioned earlier, there’s a bit of telling at one point. But overall, the chemistry is felt.

There is some beautiful heritage stories, especially with Juniper. With Chance being a cishet white male, there is a lot he really has been blind to when it comes to Juniper’s family. For his part, when Juniper starts opening up to Chance he is not only aghast over how she was treated, but also upset with himself for not seeing these things that were going on around him. If nothing else, this book has a very strong message that I wasn’t expecting. It’s done in an organic way so it flows right in with the story seamlessly.

There’s a lot to learn about the Carson family. I have a feeling their series will be a wild and fun ride.

Rancher's forgotten rival by Maisey Yates.
The Carsons of Lone Rock, Book 1.
Chane’s family is ranching royalty in Lone Rock. He’s arrogant, insufferable and obnoxiously charming. But when Juniper finds him injured and without his memory, she saves his life…then lets him believe he’s her ranch hand. Making the entitled rancher work a little is one thing…but actually liking the man is another. Yet the passion between them is as undeniable as it is unexpected…
I really enjoyed this book. Great story and characters. 4*.

Rancher's Forgotten Rival is the first book in Maisey Yates's The Carsons of Lone Rock series, which introduces some wonderful characters, hopefully to fall in love with as the series progresses. With two families having a feud that goes back a couple of generations, of course, an attraction was bound to happen. When Chance falls off his horse, Juniper finds him knocked out not knowing who he is, as he’s suffering amnesia, she decides to tell him that he works for her. Spending time working together and the close proximity to Juniper brought out all the sparks, igniting a flame of desire between them. Once his amnesia is gone and Chance returns to his true self, he and Juniper begin arguing; reminiscent of the fine line between hate and love. Before Chance and Juniper can have a future together, there must be a truce between the families; one Chance is really to initiate.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I struggled in the beginning to connect with Juniper; feeling that the decisions she made seemed more self-serving and heartless, perpetuating their feud. As the story, and their relationship, progressed, providing background history for Juniper, I understood her and her actions better.

Ms. Yates wrote a wonderful, intense, emotional and steamy story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with soul-searching, angst, characters whose personal stories will tug at your heartstrings, sizzling chemistry, and an amazing cast of secondary characters as Chance and Juniper find their happily ever after. I highly recommend Rancher's Forgotten Rival to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

I loved this amazing romance!

It's been a long time since I've read an enemies-to-lovers story as hot as this one! Whew! Chance and Juniper lit up this story with their passionate encounters, while underneath all the steam they were both decent, family-focused people who had to prioritize their complicated family history with the current state of affairs.

EMT Juniper happens upon an unconscious Chance, and as he comes to she realizes that he doesn't recognize her nor remember his own name. Her motivations for letting him gradually regain his memory without telling him everything she knows about him were a complicated mess of self-serving revenge and benevolent compassion for his recovery. But when he finally remembers, that's when the story really takes off!

I loved how the amnesia story wasn't dragged out beyond its usefulness, and how it was used to get them to see a different side of each other. From there, they both had some hard truths to face and I really admired how Chance rose to the challenge and confronted the issues lying between them. A girl really can't help falling in love with a guy who takes such an amazing approach to solving the generational conflict they'd both been raised in.

As the first of a new series, we're introduced to (almost) the entire Carson family, with their own history of triumphs and tragedies. I've always loved every book I've read by this author, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in mind for this family. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I’m finding myself a little lost for words when it comes to this review. On the one hand, I typically enjoy Maisey Yates’s writing and have read many of her books. Picking this one up was a no-brainer, and I liked it well enough while I was reading it. The premise was interesting, although slightly problematic if you think too long on it, and as far as enemies-to-lovers romance goes, there were some fun, flirty moments.
But, on the other hand, I didn’t love the characters. I certainly liked Juniper more than Chance, but never truly felt connected to either of them, or their budding love. Perhaps had this book been longer, their story could have had more time to build and settle?
All in all, this is a (mostly) lighthearted read, and a good start to a new/spin-off series for Yates. Consider it a nice read for a couple of relaxing hours and, despite being nothing super groundbreaking or overly memorable, enough to leave you smiling.

Rancher's Forgotten Rival is the first book in Maisey Yates' new series, The Carsons of Lone Rock, and it grabbed me from the very first page until the last, when I was crying my eyes out. Ms. Yates packed more drama, angst, self-reflection, self-doubt, and hot, sexy times into a Harlequin Desire novel than any author has in recent memory, and I absolutely loved it--5 stars from this reader.

The indigenous Sohappy family has always loved their land--even before they understood the European concept that land could be owned. They have been feuding with their neighbors, the Carson family, for several generations, after they lost a piece of that land, and the stream within in, when one of their Sohappy ancestors wagered and lost it in a drunken poker game. The rest of the Sohappy's believe that the Carson ancestor who won that poker hand cheated, and generations later the two neighboring families have become enemies.

One day while Chance Carson was out riding the fence line, his horse was spooked, he was thrown off, hit his head and was found unconscious in the rain, by his neighbor, Juniper Sohappy, who works as an EMT. She manages to get him to her small cabin to keep an eye on him because it's clear to her he has a concussion, but when he finally regains consciousness he has total amnesia. As an EMT, who once had dreams of being a doctor, Juniper knows enough not to fill in the blanks for him--hopefully his memory will return in time, and so she tells him that he works for her, and slowly gets to know the man she's been attracted to for years even though he's been her enemy. Additionally, there's the one person Juniper loves, honors and respects, her beloved grandfather, to whom she owes her stewardship of the ranch, and who, she believes, would be livid over her attraction to anyone named Carson.

As an avid romance reader and fan of contemporary western romances, I love a good enemies-to-lovers novel, and I found this one to be exceptional, for its depth of family history, depth of the characters involved, and depth of emotion. When Chance eventually regains his memory and realizes that Juniper has lied to him, there's enough emotional angst, denial, and pain for several novels, and the path to their HEA ending is fraught with tension, regrets and remorse, all of it so well-written and so heart-wrenching.

There are lots of Carson brothers who will, I assume, be featured in later novels in this series, and quite frankly, I cannot wait to read them. Kudos to Maisey Yates for this un-put-downable novel.

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

I'm so glad I decided to read this first book in a new series despite the reviews. Although I don't agree with how Chance's amnesia was dealt with, it made sense. It was pretty revenge for his actions back in high school. She took great care of him and was honest once his memory returned.

They both realize their attraction to each other was the basis, along with the family fued, for keeping the other at a distance. It was easier to argue than to explain the consequences of their attraction to others. But can they overcome obstacles like the family feud to forget life together? You'll want to read it to find out and it will be worth it!

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

Shallow writing hiding behind humor and sex

I would like to thank Maisey Yates, Harlequin, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to Lisa Wray for inviting me on the blog tour.

Possible spoilers

I feel like I see Maisey Yates’s books everywhere, and I’ve been meaning to check her out for a couple years now. I finally did so thanks to Harlequin’s blog tours, and I can see why she’s as popular as she is. I also finally understand how she’s as prolific as she is.

FYI, while this book may be marketed as the first in a new series, it’s actually kind of a Gold Valley spin-off; if you follow Yates’s work, you met Callie Carson, the sister to this book’s hero, in Rodeo Christmas at Evergreen Ranch. Now this series will visit each of Callie’s brothers.

At first I thought this book was great with just a couple minor flaws. It was SO funny, quick and quippy and charming. But as I wrote this review and thought about those flaws, I became more and more disenchanted.

Let me quick touch on the foremost characters. I wasn’t super fond of Chance, but he was a decently written hero. I adored Juniper, so full of humanizing faults and insecurities but not truly an asshole. Chance was barely likeable to me, too arrogant, even toward the end, but I loved Juniper. I also loved her sister Shelby.

Okay, getting into the flaws. First, a pretty minor one: I found the tone a bit jarring. Generally it had a light, fun tone, not a whole lot of street talk like swearing or crudeness, not dark or too serious. Lots of euphemisms and jokes. I was expecting relatively chaste sex scenes, more focus on the emotions than the physicality. But nope, the sex scenes were raunchy and explicit. No where near erotica level, but definitely more graphic than I was expecting. Not a matter of prudishness, those scenes just felt like a departure in tone compared to the rest of the novel.

Second, Yates’s writing style was a mixed bag. I appreciated that it was, again, quick and quippy and charming, fun and full of energy, but it was also full of fragmented sentences that made the narrative feel choppy and even hard to follow at times. The material also contained a concerning amount of ambiguous pronouns. Additionally, Yates relies heavily on dialogue with very little exposition; this helps the pace stay fast and light, but it runs the risk of feeling rushed, or the story shallow. At times I only had vague mental pictures of setting or what was happening in the scene, but all there was to go off of was a few movements and dialogue. I’m seeing how Yates manages to be so prolific—short, shallow stories are quick and easy to produce.

Third, there seemed to be some messed up timing at one point a little past halfway. Juniper comes home after work with burgers for supper, agrees to meet Chance at Evergreen the next morning, then it jumps to Chance going home to change clothes—unclear where he spent the night—and meeting his brothers having lunch at Evergreen, shortly after which Juniper arrives. One assumes it’s the next day, but it’s actually written as if it’s all the same day. Makes no sense. Hopefully that got fixed in the final copy.

Lastly, and what bothers me the most, Yates didn’t bother to complete the plot. Chance and Juniper get together, sure, lovey dovey smoochie smoochie, but Yates totally ditched her own premise. The entire story is built upon the night Chance’s great-great-grandfather cheated Juniper’s great-great-grandfather at cards—maybe?—and stole Sohappy land. Again and again Chance said he was going to look into the family history and find out what really happened that night, try to find evidence or proof, but he never did. Instead, he hosted a barbecue. He played politician instead of detective (another reason I didn’t warm to him much), and I was SOOOO disappointed. Yeah, it’s great that he convinced everyone to grow up and get along, but how boring is that? We never did find out what the truth was, everyone in both families just more or less very easily agreed to let the matter go. Again, shallow writing.

So yeah, I’m not as impressed with Yates as I thought at first. Ostensibly the book was fun and fresh and entertaining, but now after I’ve thought about it, all I see is a contract-filler written with little effort. Ugh. I’m curious to check out some of Yates’s other work to see if all her books are like this, or if I’m just getting a bad first impression.

In typical Maisey fashion, I got sucked in and stayed up way too late because I wanted to see how the story played out, Did I know what was going to happen? Of course I did. But they didn’t stop me from wanting to read it.
Chance and Juniper's families have been feuding for generations about a card game that their great grandfather’s played way back and ended with names called and land being taken. They’ve never known life without hating the other’s family. Until one day, Chance gets injured out in the land and juniper is the one to find him and help him, only to to discover that as a result of hitting his head in the fall, he has no memory of who he is, so she lets him think he’s her ranch hand while he recovers. She loves having him work for her…or does she in fact, just love her sworn enemy?
Lots I’d steam, enemies to lovers trope which is what I’ve come to expect from the author and I will be awaiting the next book in the series.
Thanks to Harlequin Desire and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review
Publication date: January 25, 2022

This is a good book. The two main characters are Juniper and Chance. They are next door neighbors. They are both ranchers. Their family history goes way back. Their grandfathers were in a card game and Juniper’s grandfather lost part of his ranch to Chance’s grandfather. Chance decides to take matters into his own and stop the fighting. Juniper and Chance have a mutual attraction, and fall in love.

Rancher's Forgotten Rival is the first book in The Carsons of Lone Rock series. The Carsons are a family of 5 brothers and 1 sister, Callie Carson, who I read about in #13 in The Gold Valley series. The Carson family has been feuding with their neighbours, the Sohappys for generations. There is a swath of land that is in question, but it comes with water rights. Chance Carson and Juniper Sohappy have had an uneasy relationship for years, attraction tempered by the family feud. When Carson goes out to check a fence in a storm, a rattlesnake startles his horse that throws him. He is knocked unconcious and is lying in a field in the rain, when Juniper notices him. She has just returned from her shift on EMS and can't leave him there. She brings him to her small home to watch him and make sure he is okay. When he comes to, he doesn't remember anything. Juniper tells him he works for her and they spend time repairing a barn, splitting wood etc, until, he does remember.

This was a fun book with great characters. I really liked both Chance and Juniper. The amnesia trope is a familiar one, but his amnesia cleared pretty quickly and the rest of the story is the resulting fallout. It is tough when your feelings don't agree with those of other, older members of the family. I like that Chance took the bull by the horns and faced Juniper's family. I know what Juniper did was not right, but when you read about her reasoning, it makes sense. My one issue is that there are a few steamy scenes, which will not be an issue with many. I also would have liked ti to be a bit longer so we got to know more about the characters. Having said that, this was an enjoyable romance, enemies to lovers story, which I recommend to romance lovers who enjoy some steam in their stories.

I really loved the beginning of this read, and wish it had lasted a bit longer. In the end, you hope the truce forged would last forever.
Is it even possible for this new attraction to become something more? Will the families be able to come together and peace prevail?
This is a very quick read, and when it was over, I wanted to know about how these families made out. There is another book in this series!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.

A wonderful and sweet start to a new series from the powerhouse that is Maisey Yates. I cannot wait for more.

Overboard x Hatfields and McCoys. This tale is essentially a ranching version of a combination of Overboard (take your pick on the 1980s version or the 2010s version) and the saga of the Hatfields and McCoys. Throw in two people dedicated to their families yet who have always wanted each other despite their families... and you get some pretty intense hate sex and a romance that Shakespeare could never be bothered with. (Yes, some might try to go the Romeo and Juliet route in their comparisons, but those were immature teenagers with a remarkably high body count. Here, our leads are more established - late 20s/ early 30s ish - and more importantly *don't get anyone killed*.) As a series starter, it works in establishing that our male lead has several brothers and our female lead has a sister... who may be interested in one of said brothers. Overall a solid romance that elevates its basic elements into a more mature - and arguably more enjoyable for it - tale where people actually try to do the right thing, even when it may cost them everything. Very much recommended.

The Rancher's Forgotten Rival is the first book in Maisey Yates's The Carsons of Lone Rock series, and it certainly introduces some terrific characters to fall in love with as the series progresses. As for this one, I admit that I had something in mind when I read the blurb. My first thought was the movie Overboard from the late 80s only with a cowboy and a horse. And I suppose it does have its similarities at first but only on the surface. Things veer in another direction, and these two families have a feud that goes back a couple of generations. Of course, an attraction was bound to happen, and amnesia or not, the close proximity brought out all the sparks between Chance and Juniper. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, and when the characters are determined to hate each other rather than face their attraction, it certainly generates some fun banter. I liked the back and forth between Juniper and Chance, and their chemistry kept them teetering on that thin line between love and hate until they finally tumbled on over. I'll stop there before I give away too many details and just say that this is a good start to a promising series, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

I'm a big Maisey Yates fan but didn't enjoy this book as much as I have others that she's written. I loved the Romeo and Juliet premise but Juniper was so unlikable that I couldn't really believe in a relationship between her and Chance.

I enjoyed this story in the most part but for some reason, I could not connect with heroine - at all. She made decisions that were more self serving and cruel and perhaps that is what ruined it a bit for me.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by the publisher/author in order to provide an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. This one took by surprise!