SECOND CHANCE AT SUNFLOWER RANCH by Carolyn Brown

Publisher: Forever
Date Published: July 27, 2021    

ISBN#  978-1538735619
Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by Gina (myreviewbooks@aol.com)

Obtained via publisher

3 Hearts

After a twenty year stint as an Air Force medic Jesse Ryan is ready to return home to Sunflower Ranch and be with his family. He’s looking forward to a quiet life as a rancher and just enjoy his family. His best friend from high school, Addy, is now a nurse and caring for his father as he battles MS. Despite being “just” friends, albeit best friends, growing up, the night before Jesse left for basic he and Addy shared one night together. It was not long after he left the morning after that night together Addy discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to Mia and without a word to Jesse or his family raised her daughter.

When Jesse first returns he’s confronted by an angry young woman. Not because he hasn’t acknowledged her as his daughter, but Mia believes she is in love with, and going to fix the town’s bad boy, Richie. But Richie turns out to be not the kind of bad boy that can be fixed and his mother does nothing to make it better. When he abandons Mia in Las Vegas and she has to return home with her tail between her legs Addy’s secret comes out…Mia is Jesse’s daughter. The threesome suddenly need to make decisions as a family.

I’ve read a few of Carolyn Brown’s earlier books and with the things happening in the “real world” lately I was looking forward to SECOND CHANGE AT SUNFLOWER RANCH.  I seriously needed a break from the news and to have a happy ending in my life. Brown does indeed delivery that happy ending. It isn’t that long of a book, less than 300 pages, but felt like it went on and on for much longer. We’re reminded that the Ryans life in a small town and that there are the usual small town gossips. How did no one notice how much like Jesse Mia looks? How did no one, especially Jesse’s parents, not add things up?  At times Mia seems like a pre-teen brat and others a young woman about ready to be out in the world.

 

And the whole thing with the local doctor, Grady. First he just wanted to be Addy’s friend. Then he couldn’t be friends and basically had to abandon his patient because his new girlfriend is jealous. Then he wants to be more than friends with Addy and does an investigation into Jesse. I wondered if he and his drama were more to add words to up the word count than to move the story along.

Still, with those issues, like I said, I needed a break from the things going on in the world today and a sweet romance with a happy ending was just the ticket.

 

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.