In case you missed it, Cindi was on the blog today, talking about this book! Check out our chat here.
Blurb:
Sometimes love is right where you left it.
Sadie Hart has a plan: return to her small town of Hope Springs so she can regain her confidence—and bank account—before giving one more shot to her country music dream. The dream that means more to her than anything. The dream she chose over her high school sweetheart, the brooding and sinfully handsome Royce Dixon.
Royce has moved on from his memories of the beautiful Sadie. Now he’s focused solely on running Second Chance Ranch, where he rehabilitates troubled teens through ranch work. But when he needs a new employee and Sadie’s the only one to volunteer, he has no choice but to offer his old flame a job.
Whether riding a horse with the wind in her hair or mucking out the stalls, Sadie can still get Royce’s heart beating like no one else. But Nashville is her dream, and Royce can’t settle for second best.
Review:
What a sweet second chance romance story! I absolutely loved Royce–the high school boyfriend Sadie left behind, who’s trying to keep his parents’ dream alive after the death of his father. He’s such a great guy–working with his best friend and his mother, really caring about the troubled kids at the ranch andthe working ranch as well–and doing his best to keep it all together, even though he doesn’t have enough time or help, and he’s constantly feeling as if his best is “less than” what his dad did.
It so isn’t. The poor guy.
Enter Sadie–she’s also a very sympathetic character, don’t get me wrong–I loved her too. She’s been trying to follow her dream for the past six years, and has nearly lost herself in the process. Her agent’s told her she needs to be thinner, blonder, and have bigger boobs (fortunately, she hasn’t followed through on that last one yet) and after almost signing with a label and having it fall through for the second time, she’s dead broke and heading back to Hope Springs, Wyoming to regroup–and replenish her depleted bank account.
Even without reading the blurb you know from the very first chapter that Sadie’s going to end up working at Royce’s ranch. Naturally, it takes the two of them a little bit longer to give in to the inevitable…
I love second chance at romance stories, and Cindi Madsen’s writing makes this one so much fun to read. Even though there’s nothing groundbreaking or new going on here, it’s so easy to care about these two characters and want to cheer them on as they dance around getting back together. (It totally doesn’t hurt at all that he’s a cowboy and she loves country music either! 😉 ) There’s a lot of promise in the series–Sadie’s best friend Quinn is nicely set up for a future story involving a certain mysterious biker, and Royce’s best friend Cody obviously is going to get past his womanizing ways eventually. Can’t wait!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.