So cute! I am a sucker for cowboy romance and this was one of the best I’ve read! I loved the characters, the plot was amazing and I was hooked from page 1

** spoiler alert ** 3.5⭐

First of all thank you Netgalley & Madison for sending me this ARC.

I just want to start this review by mentioning that this book really does show the struggles of grief and loss, and navigating around it. It shows and touches on how that journey is very different for everyone and I do feel it was portrayed really well in this story.

The story is about a couple Elsie and Beau who are high school sweethearts and have been together for 10 years. Elsie was a professional ballet dancer but suffered a career ending injury, and had a miscarriage in a small amount of time. Elsie is lost, and pushes everyone around her away, including Beau. After giving her space, he decided enough was enough and goes to get her, they spend a night together, she finds out she is pregnant and Beau is ready to support her every step of the way.

There was a lot of miscommunication throughout. Something that I’m not overly fond of during a book and story, and I couldn’t understand as these two characters have been together for a long time. Elsie suffers with panic attacks something she has hidden from Beau for their whole relationship and I just struggled to gel with this part of the book. That being said, it was a great representation of anxiety and mental health.

However that being said, the MMC, is a perfectly written character and someone every FMC needs. He is so in love with his girl and that’s has been shown beautifully. He healed Elsie and taught her to believe in herself. His brother cooper also, was a great character throughout this book. I hope his story is next.

Overall this was a lovely story, just parts of it were not for me and was definitely a little different from small town cowboy romances I’ve read. 3.5 stars from me.

What to expect
-high school sweethearts
-marriage in trouble
-talks of miscarriage (off page and doesn’t go into any major detail)
-found family
-horse trainer & ballerina

Thanks again Netgalley & Madison for sending this!

**TW**
This story does contain miscarriage.

I was hooked from the very beginning. The love, passion and sweet dynamic between Elsie and Beau had me in awe. I loved their relationship and how much they cherished each other. Their story is so relatable for couples, whether married or not. I myself, related to their story and it was nice to have that kind of connection. I 1000% recommend. Such a sweet story🥹🫶🏻

Not Our First Rodeo is a quiet, emotionally heavy story that handles the topics of depression, grief and the slow, complicated road to finding yourself.

There's a deep sadness woven through Elsie's character. She's lost - grieving the dream career she poured herself into, mourning the baby she never got to hold, as well as a version of herself that she can't seem to find again. Watching her make self-destructive choices and spiral was definitely hard to read, but it mirrors real life. Healing isn't linear - and Madison Wright didn't sugarcoat that.

I thought the accidental pregnancy storyline was handled with care, adding another layer to their already tangled emotions. I also loved the main male character, Beau, who is the embodiment of sunshine and golden-retriever energy! He is beyond patient and kind. He's hurting in his own way, and somehow still showing up - even when it means getting hurt over and over again.

I enjoyed watching them slowly find their way back to each other and was rooting for them the whole way through.

Overall, this was an intimate and honest look at two people who never stopped loving each other, even when everything else fell apart. It was an emotional and hopeful read.

❤️Small town cowboy romance
❤️Marriage on the rocks
❤️Accidental pregnancy

Quite an emotional read for me personally connecting with Elsie’s journey so it could be a bit of a heavy read for some people, but I enjoyed it & it had a beautiful ending!

Beau… my god!! Total dream! Get ready for him girls! Top tier!! Protective husband vibes!

🤠 It was a little different to your typical cowboy romance which was refreshing!

🌶️ Spice was maybe a little lacking for me personally!

⭐⭐⭐3 stars for me but will definitely read book 2 of the series when it’s released!

Rating 3.75/5 (round up to 4 for the platfrom)

First of all, thank you Netgalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Madison Wright for this ARC

Not our First Rodeo is a small town/cowboy romance about rebuilding a relationship and giving a marriage a second chance after a tragic loss.

I really enjoyed this book, and the way the story line developed over the course of the FMC’s pregnancy. I love the characters, especially the 100% green flag MMC who was just so kind, sensitive and understood the FMC so well and supported her through her issues. The side characters were great too and help develop the story without being too intrusive. Overall the core topics of grief, loss and poor mental health were handled well by the author.

However, I did feel some bits were slightly rushed/glossed over and, although I did connect with both characters, giving a little bit more depth into the mental health issues, their relationship before and pulling the raw emotion a little more to the front would have made the book something outstanding.

If you want a closed-door, heartfelt second chance romance set in Montana (for all the Yellowstone fans) then this is for you!

I went into this book with no expectations — just the vague memory of the author's previous work — but the premise pulled me in fast: cowboys, grief, second chances, a couple stuck in the rough. You know the drill. And I was hooked.

This is not a loud book. There’s a deep-rooted melancholy in Not Our First Rodeo, a quiet sadness that clings to the pages — and it works. Elsie is lost. She’s grieving a dream career shattered by injury, mourning the baby she never got to hold, and hiding herself from the man who loves her most because she doesn’t want him to see her like this. So, she asks him to leave. And he does.

Told in dual POV, we watch Elsie navigate a life that no longer makes sense, while Beau — our soft-hearted cowboy — tries to survive the ache of watching his wife fade into someone he can no longer reach. Their pain is quiet but devastating.

Elsie was... frustrating. Immature at times. But also painfully human. Watching her rediscover joy, even briefly, was tender and raw. Still, it’s hard to cheer her on when you also want to shake her a little. She pushes Beau away — Beau, who is golden retriever energy in cowboy form. He’s sweet. He’s patient. He’s hurting. And yet, he stays. He gives her space. And it’s heartbreaking.

Then comes that night. The night everything changes. A new pregnancy, unexpected but deeply wanted. And no — it doesn’t fix everything.

Because depression doesn’t vanish with good news. And this book doesn’t pretend it does. Elsie spirals, and it’s gut-wrenching. Her self-destruction feels cyclical, almost repetitive — probably intentionally so — but it wears you down, just like it wears her down. Just like it wears him down.

Beau is sunshine in a world Elsie refuses to step into. And watching him love her from a distance? Oof. That hurts more than any dramatic heartbreak scene ever could.

The side characters are chef’s kiss. Elsie’s best friend and Beau’s brother are a thing I hope becomes THE thing in the next book, because I’m already invested.

The ending, though? Rushed. We spend so long in the dark with Elsie that it feels unfair to leave the light so quickly. I wanted to breathe in the peace after all that pain. Still, this was a beautifully written, emotionally grounded book that hit hard and lingered longer than expected.

✨ Flawed but full of heart. Quietly devastating. And strangely hopeful. ✨

This quick read had me feeling all the feels. Elsie is a ballerina who cannot any longer dance professionally due to an injury. And if that wasn't bad enough, soon after, she had a miscarriage. Devastated over both of these losses, she knew she was falling apart and she didn't want her beloved husband, Beau, to witness it. She asks him to leave, determined to use the time to fix herself so she can be worthy of him.

But when Beau and Elsie spend one night back together and she ends up pregnant, they get to decide if being together is worth the risk.

I can't even begin to describe the feeling that I have when I read Madison Wright's books. You feel like you are not just right there with the characters, but you feel like you are a part of their story. You experience the heartache, the laughter, the tears, all of the emotions right along with them.
This is the first of the series and I cannot wait for more!
Second chance romance, accidental pregnancy, loss of pregnancy, self-discovery, learning to overcome trauma to rekindle love.
Elsie has it all. Living her dream dancing with her ballet career and married to the love of her life when her world comes crashing down. First, she gets injured then finds out she is pregnant. She is devastated to not be able to dance anymore but they have their baby to look forward to. After losing the baby, she had no idea who she was anymore. What was she without dancing and the loss of her baby broke her to the point that she pushed her husband away.
Beau never gave up on her. He watched her from a distance and only intervened when she had the attention of another man in a bar one night after many months of being separated.
This book is so full of emotion. I was angry with Elsie for pushing Beau away because he just wanted to be there for her. He was the definition of the perfect husband. But trying to put yourself in Elsie's shoes, she had so much trauma to work through before finding her way back to him.
Happy ever after thankfully or I would have been completely devastated.
Loved this book so much and thankful that I was able to be an ARC reader for it!
Thank you so much, Victory Editing and Netgalley!

I didn’t expect Not Our First Rodeo to hit me this hard, but it truly did. This is such a beautifully emotional second-chance romance that goes beyond just love – it’s about grief, healing, and rediscovering yourself when everything you believed in falls apart. Elsie’s pain felt so real. Losing her ballet career and going through a miscarriage shattered her, and Madison Wright wrote her anxiety with such raw honesty that I could feel it in my chest while reading.

And then there’s Beau. Honestly, he’s the perfect example of “if he wanted to, he would.” His quiet strength, patience, and unwavering love for Elsie even when she kept pushing him away completely melted my heart. The accidental pregnancy added another layer of vulnerability to their story. It wasn’t just a plot twist – it forced them to confront everything they’d been avoiding and decide what they really wanted from life and from each other.

Their journey was messy but genuine, and the author didn’t shy away from the hard parts of rebuilding a relationship. The small-town ranch setting gave the story warmth and comfort amidst all the emotional chaos. If you love romances with depth and real, flawed characters, this is a must-read.

3.25 - Thank you again netgalley and madison wright for this ARC!

First of all, I really enjoyed this read and I am a sucker for a country romance and I think this author did really well with the trope. I also loved both our mc and our love interest and I love how sweet it was.

That being said, I felt like everything was a little rushed and that I wish we saw more of Elsie’s pregnancy! It feels a little hard to believe the development of our couple just because of how fast it goes through the pregnancy. And I wish we got just a few flashbacks from the past of them together and how they got to where they were.

besides that, i really enjoyed this read and I can’t wait for more people to enjoy it aswell!

Cute cowboy romance.

This was a good book. Not great, but still good. I enjoyed the storyline and it was quick to read as it is under 300 pages.

I did feel like things were rushed. Elsie has a conflict with her mom but I feel like it was rushed over. I never felt like it was a real conflict. Elsie is going through a lot of mental health issues and again I felt like it was glazed over.

Still I loved Elsie and Beaus relationship and like most cowboy romances Beau is an amazing husband.

Genre: Romance
APK: Ebook
Pages: 293
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Standalone: Book 1 in the Lucky Stars Ranch

5 STARS!!!
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

This is what a cowboy romance should be. The perfect amount of banter with some really emotional plot. I devoured it in one sitting and it was worth every second. In this story we meet Beau and Elsie who are trying to give their marriage another chance but we see there is so much more going on then the breakdown of a relationship. It's raw, it's real and most importantly beautifully written.

Add this to your TBR list immediately so we can all cry about its beauty together!

Read if you love
- second chance romance
- pregnancy trope (stay with me ... it is done so perfectly that even the biggest critics of the trope (me) will love it)
- storylines that are tackling anxiety realistically
- a MMC that is the human version of sunshine
- a found family that will have you grabbing the tissues
- a beautiful and complete ending that makes sense for these characters, not just for the benefit of a good epilogue!
- close door to slightly spicy scenes

A wonderful read, especially for the summer!

This one was such a sweet story, filled with love and lose, fresh starts and all the raw, emotion filled moments that life can bring. To know it follows such a personal journey that the author also went through, makes it all the more special.

After suffering a career ending injury and a miscarriage, Elsie needed the space and time to heal herself in order to be the person she and her husband, Beau, needed. But after a night of passion with Beau ends with Elsie getting pregnant again, she quickly has to adjust to him being back in her life again fully and healing quicker then she originally planned.

This is a story of healing and finding yourself again and discovering who you want to be now. It's letting down those walls you've always had built up around you and finally feeling okay to let in the people you love the most and allowing them to finally see the real you. But its also a warm hug of feeling the love of those around you. Of removing those negative thoughts that caused you so much stress and believing enough in yourself to become something different to what you thought.

I think with a bit more emotion and tenderness this book could have been something magical. It could have been one of those books where you felt so connected to the characters that you cried along with them or felt their pain deep in your bones. It was still a good book but it was just lacking slighty. I knew Elsie and Beau both were feeling hurt and broken but I didn't feel that. There was never any deep, beautiful conversations that happened, instead it seemed like they just both accepted the way they had both changed and moved on.

I loved how Beau never gave up on her and gave her the space she needed. But then he also knew she needed to be pushed a bit more too. I am also glad that Elsie got to a place where she finally felt okay to open up to Beau & her friend.

Overall this was a good read and if you are looking for something that feels like a bit more like real life then this book might just be what you're looking for. A 4 ⭐️ read for me.

Thank you to Victory Editing, Netgalley and Madison Wright for giving me the opportunity to read and review this arc.

⭐3.75/5 Rating

OUT ON: JULY 11, 2025

Review: I have absolutely adored every single book I've read by Madison Wright, so to say I screamed when I got this early copy is a very accurate statement (thank you so much @authormadisonwright | @netgalley for the advanced digital copy 🤍🥹)

I love a cowboy romance and this book provided me with all the ranching men I could need! I thought that Beau was the kindest male main character I've read in a while and how he was treated in this book by a few people made me so upset for him. I think he was kind to a fault at certain points, but I acknowledge that he is a fictional character, so I can't fault him too much haha!

Elsie was unfortunately my least favourite female main character I've read by this author, but I'm not too upset about it because I knew it would likely happen eventually! HOWEVER - her pain was so real and I know that the author wrote some of her own experience into this character so I applaud her for being so wholly vulnerable with her readers in that - that takes some serious guts!

I do think that Elsie could have handled her own pain in a different way than how she did, solely because I think she was just super unfair to Beau... But, that's just my opinion and you can disagree with me if you'd like to.

Otherwise though, this was a lovely book and I will always read anything Madison Wright puts out into the world!

Not Our First Rodeo is a second chance romance centering around former sweethearts who are thrown back together in their hometown after everything fell apart. Publishing 7-11-25 🐴💛

I could not put this book down! Madison Wright wrote a beautiful story with just the right balance of grief and hope, tenderness and stubbornness, love and fresh starts.

The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and their shared history added beautiful layer of tensionand vulnerability. Wright handles the push and pull of their relationship with such care —it’s not just aboutfalling back in love, but also about healing old wounds, facing hard truths, and learning how to trust again.

What really stood out to me was the author’s ability to create a supporting cast that added to the story without being distracting, and the small-town setting adds a nostalgic warmth that grounds the story. While some plot points felt a bit predictable, the emotional payoff more than made up for it.

**Thank you to NetGalley and @authormadisonwright for the ARC and a chance to read and review. All opinions are honest and my own**

thank you net-galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!!

i requested this because i'm (as of recently) a fan of second-chance romance and marriage-in-crisis stories. i'm also an advocate for hot cowboys and found family—but this book just didn't hit for me! i found elsie (the fmc) insufferable, and i actually felt bad for beau. i never feel bad for men, so that says a lot!

i'm sorry, this just wasn't it!

this was such a sweet and wholesome read! a second chance romance will alwaaaays get me, and this one was so interesting to read since its second chance while still married. then throw in an accidental pregnancy, and i’m sold!

i loved seeing how sweet and caring beau is with elsie while she is trying to navigate her life after tragedy. no matter what he will do anything for his wife.

if you’re looking for a closed door, small-town read, this could be the one for you!

thank you netgalley for the arc!!

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alright, this one was a fun ride. If you’re into small-town romance with a little sass and a lot of heart, Not Our First Rodeo delivers. It’s got that familiar “we’ve been here before but maybe this time will be different” energy that’s low-key addictive.

The characters felt real imperfect, stubborn, but totally lovable. The chemistry? Definitely there, simmering just right without going over the top. Plus, the setting is cozy without being cliché, which is a win in my book.

The story hits the sweet spot between lighthearted and emotional, so you get those warm fuzzy feels but also some moments that actually make you think.

Only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars is that some parts felt a little predictable but honestly, sometimes predictability is exactly what you want in a comfort read.

If you want a chill, easy to read romance that doesn’t try too hard but still nails the feels, this one’s worth your time.

❤️shaye.readss

📖Tropes - small town, cowboy romance, marriage in trouble, second chance, accidental pregnancy
TW: Off Page Miscarriage

I am a sucker for a cowboy romance and ‘Not Our First Rodeo’ fit the bill, a cowboy/horse trainer who worships the ground his girl walks on😮‍💨

I am not the biggest fan of the accidental pregnancy trope but Madison made this work. This is not a one night stand scenario, Elsie and Beau experienced a loss that impacted their marriage and this pregnancy helped them have their second chance. The author approached the topics of grief/loss and anxiety so well, highlighting their impact on the individual and their relationships.

Beau took the step back that Elsie thought she needed to help herself, even though it broke him to do so. Over time, Elsie slowly began to open up to Beau and he was able to begin putting the pieces together. He understood her better which played a huge role in making their marriage work, knowing when to push her or not. I did really feel for Beau as he was a little overlooked. He had also lost his baby but technically lost his wife as well, Cooper being the only one to recognise this. The Jennings family is so unbelievably wholesome, loving Elsie like their own despite what had happened.

I wish the author had delved into certain scenarios a bit more, such as the Jennings’ family dinner where they found out the gender of their baby and the baby shower, focusing on how everyone was towards Elsie from town.

Overall, the story was very touching and I was able to connect and feel for both the FMC and MMC. I really look forward to the rest of this series and particularly want to hear about Cooper!

✨Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for approving my request to review ‘Not Our First Rodeo’

Review also posted to Fable & Goodreads.