In this sexy western romance, a modern-day cowboy and a woman with a secret share an inheritance and must live together on a ranch to get it, while fighting their attraction.Noah Cordero is a modern-day cowboy who loves three things: ranching, his younger sister, and his step-father. John Cordero groomed Noah to take over the Montana spread where he learned to ride and work the land. But when … land. But when John unexpectedly dies, he leaves half the ranch to a woman Noah doesn’t even know.
Roxy shares Noah’s last name, but not his blood. Estranged from her father, haunted by regrets, and eager to escape her notorious mother’s past, she is forced to fulfill her father’s last wishes. Inheriting means sharing a home with infuriating, challenging, and oh-so-tempting Noah. But John didn’t just make her owner of his ranch and guardian to her sister, his hidden sideline is her worst nightmare—she’s the new owner of the notorious Nevada brothel called Wild Rose Ranch where she grew up.
As their strictly business relationship starts to turn to true love, Roxy begins to wonder, what will happen when Noah discovers her dirty little secret?
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Last year I won a copy of this author’s Waiting on a Cowboy, which was the first book in her series McGrath. At that time I realized the series was spun off from another series and was determined to go back and read this series since I really enjoyed that spin off so far. (Whew! That was quite the sentence!) Boy, it took forever to get this one from my eLibrary. Almost 6 months! Must be a popular read.
Talk about a woman who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made things work. Of course, a lot that happened for Roxy in her early life wouldn’t have happened without her rich dad behind the scenes nudging her fate in the right direction. That doesn’t take away the fact that he basically abandoned her, never acknowledged her publicly, and was blind to the terrible things happening in her life before he started taking better care of her from afar. Roxy had to grow up way to fast and even became the de facto house mom of a group of similarly aged young girls when she was still a child herself.
Noah is a great big brother and was a great son to his adopted father, but he’s also had to deal with some abandonment issues and always feeling like he didn’t quite fully belong. This means that he can be a bit overprotective of his little sister and the land he grew up on. He put his heart and soul into making his father’s ranch prosperous, he is not keen on a stranger coming in and changing things. This means that Noah is often a bit of a jerk at the beginning of this story when it comes to Roxy. I get it, but I don’t like it.
Luckily, Roxy and Noah don’t take long to learn to understand each other. Their mutual need to see Annabelle happy, healthy, safe, and out of her terrible mother’s clutches help to cement their bond. I love how protective Noah is and how ready to stand up for herself Roxy is, and that it doesn’t cause problems.
There are a lot of wonderful dynamics in this story. Noah’s relationship with his little sister, Annabelle. Roxy’s relationship with Annabelle, her new charge. Noah and Roxy, of course. Then you have all of the others on the ranch as well as Noah’s best friend and Roxy’s pseudo sisters. This story beautifully sets up what promises to be an interesting series.
Oh my how I loved this story from the start! Roxy is a strong character with an amazing heart. I love that she’s not mean, hateful or disrespectful. She’s strong and she uses her caring, nurturing nature to show it. So refreshing she is. Noah, oh how he’s sexy and swoon worthy. He’s a giant alpha teddy bear a reader will love. His love and determination to take care of his sister is endearing.
Roxy and Noah have an instant spark. Their chemistry leapt off the pages. If you love a slow burn western romance that will steal your heart then I highly recommend reading Dirty Little Secret!
Ryan does it again. Dirty Little Secret steams up the bookshelf as it puts a move on even the hardest heart. Roxy and Noah are forced their painful pasts to have a chance at a happy future. She’s run long enough. Now’s the time to face some hard truths about herself and the people who were supposed to love her. He’s the heartache she never saw coming. She’s the drama he can’t forget. Can a father she lost, a last name she shares and a ranch she never wanted, give her the chance at the family she never hoped to have. A heartwarming scorcher.
This was one of the best books I’ve read recently. Loved how Roxy who had every right to be bitter instead was smart enough not to fall into that trap. She was inspirational. I loved how Jennifer developed this character.
I loved it…. if you know Jennifer Ryan you know how terrific her books are… you will love this one. and there are more to come.
Jennifer Ryan is a very descriptive enjoyable story teller. Have enjoyed every book I have read of hers and this is a delight, anxious for the next book to be released in November.
Loved it!
I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I really got engrossed in it, and loved the female lead character!
Jennifer Ryan has done it again!! Another must read series!
I won a copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways, I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a great story. John had married Noah’s mom when he was younger and then his mother passed and he helped him run his ranch. John had gone to Las Vegas and selling his horses and ranch and met a woman named Candy who happened to end up being a prostitute at The White Rose Ranch and they had a daughter Roxy. He then ended up marrying Lisa who gave him Annabelle, which he thought was his daughter but wasn’t but he kept custody of her. But he never told his other children about Roxy. He had been sending money to make sure she was taken care of. Now he is dying and hasn’t told the kids that he is, and when he get a chance to tell Noah, he falls of his horse and ends up in the hospital where he ask only one thing to take care of both Annabelle & Roxy. When the will is read Annabelle & Noah find out about Roxy, and she finds out she is 50% owner of the ranch, and also 60% owner of the brothel her mother works at. But they have a lot to work. Can Noah and Roxy overcome everything and find love since they are siblings.
I love all her books
Fun to read. I like western romances.
I look forward to anything by this author.
I love anything Jennifer Ryan writes. The way she develops her characters, it’s as if you known them all your lives. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
I really enjoyed the first installment of this new series by Jennifer Ryan.
Noah Cordero has just lost his step-father. He has spent his whole life preparing to take over the family ranch but his plans are side tracked when he learns that half of the ranch has been left to a woman he has never heard of let alone met.
Roxy Cordero grew up on the Wild Rose Ranch, a brothel where her mother works. At the reading of her estranged father’s will she learns that she has inherited half of her father’s ranch and has become guardian of her half-sister, but with stipulations. He has also left to her the Wild Rose Ranch.
Can Noah put aside his resentment and make this partnership work? What happens when Roxy and Noah begin to act on the relationship that is developing between the two of them?
I don’t even know where to start with this review of Dirty Little Secret as I loved the romance between Noah and Roxy so much. There was something that was just so electrifying to me about them—that they had so many things stacked against them including their pasts and their relationship with their father—one by blood the other by marriage. But their father nonetheless.
I adored Roxy and her ability to pull up her bootstraps and take on the world. She had to grow up way too quickly and learn to defend herself from life’s cruelty. And she’s made a name for herself professionally, but she’s struggled to find “the one” personally.
Noah’s lived the majority of his life with his step-father. He’s run the ranch side by side, helped raise his younger sister, and now must figure out the way forward when the rug has been pulled out from his feet. He’s struggling to balance his old life with his new reality and struggling to rein in his surprising feelings for Roxy.
But all is not sunshine and roses for Noah and Roxy. And the past has a way to taint the present and future. But, damn, Roxy and her ability to stand up for herself and put people in their place. I absolutely loved her strength and determination as well as her sense of self. And I loved her kind and generous heart—because seriously, her ability to forgive and move on is something that we all should strive for in our lives.
I loved Noah and Roxy together—loved their dynamic, especially once Roxy’s past is revealed. I loved Noah for standing by her side and showing their small-minded town that rumors and innuendos were just that.
I cannot wait for more in this series. It’s going to be a fun ride seeing how the Wild Rose sisters find their way to love.
This was my first time reading from Jennifer Ryan and I absolutely loved every bit of Dirty Little Secret. I didn’t know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised as I devoured every page from the beginning to end.
Roxy was everything to me in this book and it was nearly impossible to not fall in love with her character. She has lived a life with painful and tough circumstances, none she could avoid, but she made the most of everything that she had. Also while dealing with a mother who was too selfish and a father too ashamed of his mistakes, which essentially left things in a sore spot with his estranged daughter. She’s such a strong character and fiercely-protective of those she cares about. Roxy was definitely someone you’d always want in your corner.
Noah and Roxy are thrown into a new life together, which neither one of them asked for. But it was definitely one of the best things that could have happened to them. As they learn about one another, trust doesn’t come easy, but eventually, it grows. And from there love happens.
Roxy took on her new role with ease and she was fabulous at it. And she is such a mama bear. Never having a problem speaking her mind.
So much love for the amazing characters that Jennifer has written and eager to learn about the many stories to come. From the plot to the wonderfully written characters, there’s no reason for anyone to not love this one. Dirty Little Secret is a must-read!
This won’t be my last Jennifer Ryan read and I can’t wait to read the rest of the book in this series! Now I’m just wondering whose book is next?
Major thank you to Avon Books for an advanced reader’s copy! I voluntarily reviewed.
Jennifer Ryan
Do what Roxy does: drop the haters in your life.
This was probably one of the most memorable quotes for me in Jennifer Ryan’s newest novel, Dirty Little Secret. Roxy Cordero has used that mantra her entire life considering her mother’s profession – a prostitute at the notorious Nevada based Wild Rose Ranch. With a knock out figure like her mother’s, she’s had to fight the stigma that came along with growing up on the WRR and prove to all that she is a fierce, independent woman to be reckoned with. The fact that her wealthy Montana ranching father left her with her mother, first in the slums and then around the scummy lifestyle her mother worked, stung and hurt her more than her mother’s neglect and hard partying ways.
Since the age of 10, Roxy raised herself along with her sisters (not by blood, but through the bond they shared of their mother’s shared professions). To protect herself from the haters who spread rumors and from the men who assumed the worst about her, Roxy put up permanent walls to protect her heart thus losing the potential of ever finding an honest man who could see beyond her past and truly see the real her. She had her horses, that was enough. Right?
Noah Cordero. Oh sweet, Noah. Unexpectedly losing the only man he ever knew as a father broke his heart. He was now left to raise his younger sister (not by blood but by circumstances) and a successful ranch he loved and had always put his blood and sweat into. He loved his father with all his heart so why in the hell would he give 50% to some stranger? A beautiful knockout who shares his same last name and knows nothing about. As Noah sinks deeper and finds out every single dirty little secret about Roxy Cordero, he sees beyond the rumors, beyond the tough exterior, and into the heart of the one woman he’s been waiting for.
This is the first novel in Jennifer’s newest series, Wild Rose Ranch, and I fell in love with these characters. I simply cannot wait to see what she has in store for the other sisters! ENJOY!