Blog Tour | Second Chance at the Ranch #review #giveaway

The weeks feel as if they are flying by I can’t believe it’s Friday again already but that just means I’ve got another good book for you to fill your weekend with.

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It’s never too late for a second chance at love in this uplifting and warm-hearted romance.

It’s never too late to find love…

When Juliet Scott falls for ruggedly handsome Pete while away travelling, she never imagines how different her life will be to that of her sister, successful and beautiful model Hero. Based on a cattle station in the vast Australian Outback, Juliet’s life is now simple, down-to earth and honest, and the perfect antidote to the chaotic celebrity lifestyle that Hero leads in the UK.

With her striking brunette hair, perfect posture, and mesmerising green eyes, it is no wonder Hero has come so far in such a superficial industry. But when tragedy strikes, Hero finds herself in the arms of her sister, recuperating from a terrible accident on the other side of the world.

With her modelling career in tatters, and her scars more than just skin deep, Juliet worries that Hero will hide behind the mask she wears forever. But does Australia have something, or someone, to offer that London never could?

Amazon UK | Goodreads | Amazon US | Book Depository

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I found this book really enjoyable, it was definitely a book that I didn’t want to put down especially after about halfway through, however, there were a few things that let it down a little bit.

The writing flowed well but the writing style took a bit of getting used to. It switched between characters a lot which was fine but sometimes it took me a minute to adjust to who I was hearing from. I also had the same issue when the story dived back in time a little or if it was a new day there wasn’t enough of an indicator and it would take me a second read to figure out where I was.

I also felt like maybe there was a bit too much emphasis on Hero running away and being cold and aloof for too much of the book, I can understand you need a certain amount of lead up in a story to make it believable but I feel like in this case there was maybe just a little too much. There were parts, particularly in the first half of the book, that I didn’t feel were needed, just a little too much extraneous detail, some of it could have been cut down and still kept the heart of the story going.

Hero was a really interesting character, at times I found her a little annoying because as I mentioned earlier she was a bit cold and aloof a bit too often, to begin with. She has good reason to act the way she did some of the time and I enjoyed not being given the reason right away as it did add to her characters quality. I liked that she was able to appear fierce but also had this exceptional vulnerability and I did quite like the setbacks in her behaviour when it meant fire between her and Nick.

I think what was really strong in this book was the relationship between Hero and Juliet, I could really feel how close they were and how difficult keeping that relationship close was when they live so far away. I loved it when Juliet got fiery over something that might have hurt Hero or caused her to “run” again. As well as the relationship between the sisters I really adored the family relationships, it was great to see such a close family and friends and have that contrast between them and what Hero is used to.

The romance was really sweet between Juliet and Pete, I just have to get that out there because I enjoyed that it is her romance that starts things off for Hero, but of course it is the exploration of the will they/won’t they between Hero and Nick that captured most of my interest. Of course, I loved that there was a little more added drama between them, Hero catching attention from more than just Nick and people conspiring to make things difficult for them, but it was nice to see the changes that they brought out in each other’s characters and how sweet they could be.

I know I had a few little issues with this book but that might not be the same for other people and I did really enjoy the story and the characters, I certainly had a hard time putting it down. I would recommend it for those who like a slow burn romance and will look out for other books by this author.

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It’s only the second day of the tour so there are plenty of stops that you can keep an eye out for.

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If you think that this sounds like your kind of book and you are the type of person that like extra goodies then you’ll want to enter this giveaway to win…

a paperback copy of Second Chance at the Ranch, a notebook, a mini handbag keyring and a museum lipstick shaped pen

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Maxine has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember and wrote her first (very short) book for school when she was ten.

As time went by, she continued to write, but ‘normal’ work often got in the way. She has written articles on a variety of subjects, as well as a local history book on Brighton. However, novels are her first love.

In August 2015, she won Harper Collins/Carina UK’s ‘Write Christmas’ competition with her first romantic comedy, ‘Winter’s Fairytale’.

Maxine lives on the south coast of England, and when not wrangling with words loves to read, sew and listen to podcasts. Being a fan of tea and cake, she can (should!) also be found doing something vaguely physical at the gym.

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