Such a cute read. I loved how much these two fought for each other. Good spice, great angst, and a wonderful HEA.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

•accidental pregnancy
•second chance
•dual POV
•marriage in trouble
•small town
•found family
•horse trainer and ballerina
•anxiety representation

This was a very easy read and what I needed when I said I wanted another cowboy romance. This was not as light hearted since it had some more serious topics and typically I do not care for an accidentally pregnancy, but this was done pretty well. I think as someone who suffered from a miscarriage, I could relate so much to our FMC, Elsie. I did understand pushing everyone away and wanting to handle everything on your own, but I just needed someone to shake her at points haha. It was a sweet story and honestly Beau, our MMC, was so caring and loving that any faults that I found he made up for it. The spice moments were fun too, “See something you like, Elsie baby?”

Also loved the author note about her experiencing a miscarriage and pregnancy after 🩷

Oh. My. God. I can not get over how amazing this book is. I have never been a huge fan of second chance romances but I wanted to give this one a shot and boy was I glad that I did. The yearning and the remembering of their love and time together just pulled at my heart strings. I was devouring every single page like it was my last breath. I NEED MORE!!!

4🌟

Tropes & Genre
📌 Contemporary Romance
📌 Second Chance Romance
📌 Ranch Setting
📌 Small Town love story

Meet the Perfect MMC Beau
📌He says "My Wife".
📌Gives her time when she asks for it after miscarriage.
📌Walks home in a snow storm so that she's not alone.
📌Keeps an app to track and monitor their baby's progress without telling her bout it.
📌Calls her stretch marks beautiful
Stands infront of her parents for her.

My POV

● First, THANKYOU netgalley for this book.

● So Cowboy/Ranch and Second Romance are my first try and for the first try they were really good. I would like to try them more often.

● Beautifully written and genuine progress in the relationship tbh. THAT IS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY COZ I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY 😪😪.

Don’t forget your tissues with this one!!

This book, wow. The story was truly beautiful. The way Elsie navigated her grief and anxiety felt raw, yet real and Beau was so supportive and loving. The character were tangible and felt well round and developed with so much growth.

This was second-chance romance done so right with the best small town feels.

This was really sweet! I don’t usually read surprise pregnancy or marriage in crisis stories but I really liked the unique take on second chance and Madison’s writing is always super emotional and evocative and beautiful. This was definitely more character-driven than anything and there wasn’t much going on in terms of actual plot outside the characters and their dynamics, but I still enjoyed it a lot and would for sure recommend.

I have to admit, when I requested Not Our First Rodeo by Madison Wright, I was just looking for my latest spicy cowboy fix. I wasn't expecting such a beautifully written and touching portrayal of grief, mental health and healing.

This is a small-town second-chance romance that contains discussions of an off-page miscarriage and panic attacks. Both of which are handled really sensitively. I truly sympathised with both Elsie and Beau. Both perspectives felt real and relatable; I wanted nothing but good things for the both of them which made their reunion super emotional and extra special.

This is the first book in the Lucky Stars Ranch series and the start of which I'm positive is going to be my latest obsession. Could we possibly be getting Jade and Copper's book next? I really hope so as I loved their dynamic.

Perfect for fans of Hannah Bonam-Young.

I’m obsessed with cowboy romances, and this hit me hard. I loved every second of it! So heartfelt and packed with so much emotion, this is a fantastic start to this series and I can’t wait for the rest!

⭐️⭐️.5

“Elsie, I know you need time, and I’m fighting myself every day to give it to you, but I want you to know that no matter how long you take, I’ll be waiting for you at the end of it. I know what I want, and no amount of time is going to change that.”

Unfortunately this didn't hit the way I expected it to. Second chance romance always ends up with me being a crying mess by the time i'm done but with this one, i was so ready for it to finish. I was so done with it.
And the chemistry felt lacking, it was more awkward and at parts felt more forced than anything.

My heart broke for Beau. This man loved Elsie so much. He lost his baby too and saw his marriage break in front of his eyes, and despite this, i feel like we didn't get to fully see it from his side, apart from him trying to get his family back together. He honestly deserves so much happiness and love for all the things he was willing to sacrifice just so that Elsie would be happy.

I didn't connect with Elsie at all. If I'm being honest, I did not like her at all even though i tried. I wanted to feel sorry for her, and despite it all i just couldn't. She's been with Beau for more than ten years, and with that, i'm sure you open up to your partner if you love him as much as you say. But she didn't. All the secrets, and problems she faced, she decided not to open up to him even though they've been together for that long which definitely was frustrating to read. I get it she was going through so much, but he was there for her and she just took him for granted. It felt so selfish from her part and it was infuriating.

I'm sorry, Beau Jennings deserves so much more. This man deserves happiness and unfortunately i don't think it is with Elsie. Because as much as i'd like to convince myself they are past what happened, they are not. Just because she just came to the realisation that she's been pushing him away and that he is a good husband, no therapy, no healing they way she continuously mentioned, i'm convinced they won't work at all.

Despite it all, I loved how welcoming Beau's family was and if anything i was here for the relationship and teasing between Beau's brother and Elsie's best friend. I definitely need to read their book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Again, cowboy romances are so addictive. This was EXACTLY how they need to be written. This was so so good!!

I really wanted to love this book, but it ended up just being okay for me. The romance felt more superficial compared to the author’s previous books, and the chemistry between the two main characters fell flat in my opinion. It often felt like we were being told how they felt rather than shown, which made it hard to connect with their relationship or feel invested. That said, I did really enjoyed the side characters and the family dynamics.

✨ ARC Review ✨

Not Our First Rodeo
by Madison Wright
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This emotional second chance romance hit me right in the heart. Elsie and Beau’s journey is tender, raw, and messy in all the best ways. It deals with some heavy topics like off page miscarriage, mental health, and healing so please check the trigger warnings before diving in.

After an injury ends her ballet career and a heartbreaking miscarriage, Elsie is consumed by grief and anxiety. She pushes everyone away including her husband, Beau. He gives her the space she asks for, but never stops loving her. Beau A total dream. Supportive, patient, vulnerable he’s the kind of book boyfriend who stays with you.

When one night together leads to an unexpected pregnancy, the stakes are even higher. I understood Elsie’s pain, but at times I found her frustrating especially when it felt like she forgot that Beau was grieving too. Still, their love story is layered, and the emotional depth kept me fully invested.

Set in a cozy small town with strong found family vibes, this book delivers:
🍼 Accidental Pregnancy
🐎 Horse Trainer x Ballerina
💔 Marriage in Crisis
💞 High School Sweethearts
🏡 Found Family
📖 Dual POV

Beautifully written with heartfelt moments and a realistic portrayal of healing, Not Our First Rodeo is full of second chances, community, and the power of showing up for the people you love even when it’s hard.

Thank you to NetGalley and Madison Wright for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. 💌

4.5 stars! you can tell how much care & thought went into this book & these characters. i could feel the authors vulnerability in every word 🤍. this was definitely much more than a romance but about two people who deeply care for each other trying to navigate how to process loss & discovering who you are with a partner. these characters were each so special & i could feel the love between the two of them. beau my man, he was so caring, attentive, patient & loving towards elsie. they both are going through a lot of hard things during throughout this book & how they both come together to work through it was so real & honest to real life.

my girl elsie! i was not expecting to relate to her as much as i did. the way madison touched on mental health in this was so well done. seeing elsie’s struggle with anxiety & how she learned to cope with it by letting the people who love her in was very touching and relatable.

there’s something about reading about first love that is so magical & sweet. i loved all the moments that reflected on their relationship in the past & how they found their way back to each other. this is definitely a new favorite for me & one i can see myself coming back to.

content warnings
mentions of pregnancy loss, grief, anxiety & panic attacks. trigger warning page included. slightly open door 🌶️🌶️.5

This story was tender, honest, and deeply emotional. A beautifully written second chance romance that explores grief, healing, and the quiet strength of love that never wavers.

Elsie and Beau felt so real, imperfect, hurting, but still hopeful. Beau is the kind of steady, patient love we all dream of. Elsie’s journey back to herself is one I’ll carry with me for a long time.

If you love small town stories, emotional depth, and characters who feel truly human, this is a must read.

2 stars. I was initially drawn to the premise of Not Our First Rodeo, anticipating that I would deeply relate to Elsie due to our shared experiences of miscarriage, grief, and the anxiety that follows while pregnant with your rainbow baby. However, the writing style made it difficult for me to feel immersed in the story, so I wasn't really able to connect with the characters. There were a lot of run-on sentences, overly descriptive writing between lines of dialogue (which made me repeatedly lose track of the conversations that we were in the middle of), and continuously telling, rather than showing. The pacing dragged and made it difficult for me to remain fully engaged.

I enjoyed the chapters from Beau's perspective a bit more than Elsie's POV chapters. I appreciated that, although Beau's family was mostly supportive of Elsie, Cooper addressed that Beau deserves his emotional needs to be taken care of too. He lost his baby too, after all. I would have liked for that to transition into showing us more of Beau's grief process post-miscarriage, but unfortunately we didn't get much of that.

Not Our First Rodeo focused a lot more on Elsie's anxiety, rather than grief from their miscarriage and the struggles of their separation, which wasn't what I expected. The anxiety plot line as the driving force of the story felt a bit repetitive at times. I also wish we would have seen more conflict (coping with grief and their separation) between Elsie and Beau prior to them getting back together at the start of the story.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC! As always, all opinions are completely my own.

Unfortunately, I had to dnf this book around 60 percent. I really tried to fall in love with the story of Elsie and Beau but it felt like a huge gap was missing between them and I didn’t feel their connection. I couldn’t understand how Elsie just dipped out so easily, and she was suffering from panic attacks for so long and never told Beau. I wish I could have had more of a backstory of their love and connection in the beginning of the book. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book and I wish the author nothing but great success.

This is for all the Elsie Silver Reckless and out on a limb girlies! Another book where the pregnancy Trope has been written better than I thought it could be. Found Family. Second Chance. Cowboy romance. It was so real and raw. I enjoyed it so much. Beau is the biggest golden Retriever and I can‘t wait for Future Books in this series!!

Not Our First Rodeo by Madison Wright is a raw, tender, and emotionally powerful second-chance romance that truly left its mark on me. As someone who adores cowboy romances and deeply layered love stories, this book had everything I look for and more.

Elsie and Beau’s story is rooted in grief, but it blooms into something quietly hopeful and beautifully redemptive. After a heartbreaking loss that causes a rift between them, they are forced to navigate both personal trauma and the delicate process of rediscovering one another. Elsie’s internal battle with anxiety and overwhelming grief was portrayed with such care and authenticity. Watching her learn to trust Beau again, to let him see her most vulnerable self, was incredibly moving. And Beau… oh, he was steadfast and loyal in a way that just wrecked me. His unwavering support and patience were exactly what Elsie needed and what made this love story feel so genuine.

Madison Wright doesn’t shy away from difficult topics - miscarriage, identity loss, and emotional isolation are all explored with nuance and heart. The emotional weight is real, but it’s never heavy just for the sake of drama; every moment of pain is grounded in truth and healing. I particularly appreciated how their reconciliation wasn’t rushed. There’s real effort, understanding, and forgiveness at play here.

While I would’ve loved a few more “slice of life” scenes from the early stages of their reconnection (like the first picnic or more soft, quiet moments), the emotional arc still felt full and satisfying. An unexpected pregnancy later in the book adds further depth, not as a fix-all, but as a hopeful turning point for a couple who’ve already endured so much.

If you love emotional, heartfelt second-chance romances, especially ones with cowboys, complex characters, and a powerful emotional core. Not Our First Rodeo belongs at the very top of your TBR. I look forward to reading more from Madison Wright.

This was such a sweet story of finding hope after loss, and reigniting love - not to get back to where you used to be, but to forge a new path with the person you've fallen in love with again.

Beau and Elsie are both dealing with such a devastating loss, and it pushes them apart (more so, it causes Elsie to push Beau away). I really liked how they found their way back to each other, how understanding they were of each other's pain and didn't hold grudges as they found their way forwards. Elsie's struggles with grief and anxiety hit hard, and the way she learned to lean on Beau and to let him see all the vulnerable parts of her was wonderful to see. Beau was loyal and steadfast in his love for Elsie, and I loved that so much; it was exactly what Elsie needed.

While there were some scenes that I feel like I would've personally liked to see (especially in the earlier days of their recoupling, like when they're going to go on that first picnic together - I wish we would've seen some smaller moments like that as they start to get to know each other again) overall, this was such a beautiful book and I really enjoyed reading it!

Not My First Rodeo is the kind of small-town romance that wraps you up in its world — the charm, the people, the quiet strength of community. But what really stole my heart was the couple at its core. The MMC adores his wife in a way that feels rare and sacred — there’s no playing it cool here; it’s full devotion, always. Their connection is deep, emotional, and absolutely swoon-worthy.

If you're a sucker for a golden retriever/black cat dynamic, found family, or a man who would burn down the world for the woman he loves, this one’s for you. I smiled, I teared up, and I didn’t want to leave that little town behind.