Billionaires, cowboys, and romance collide during the holidays in this next book in the River Ranch series! It’s the most wonderful time of the year at the Ford family ranch. Will one cowboy’s homecoming be the greatest gift of all? He left town and never looked back. Cody Ford is a Wall Street honcho with humble Texas roots. This holiday season, he’d be content to just stay in New York and … he’d be content to just stay in New York and not face his family–and dodge their questions about when and with whom he plans to settle down. . .and if he will do so back at home. But his father isn’t getting any younger, and Cody doesn’t want to miss any last chances to see him and the rest of the folks back on the ranch. The last person Cody was expecting to see? His one-time girlfriend, Lexi Murphy, who’s been working as his dad’s new live-in nurse.
She never forgot him. Can she ever forgive him?
Lexi still holds a grudge against Cody. Back then, the college-bound heartthrob believed he was too good for a small-town girl like Lexi. But now Cody can’t help but see her in a whole new light. Could it be that this beautiful single mother with an unbeatable can-do spirit is the one he’s been waiting for all along? That depends on whether Cody can prove to Lexi that, this time, he means business–and if a sudden snowstorm can lend just the right amount of Christmas magic to help move things along. . .
“Lane warms hearts of readers across the globe.”
—RT Book Reviews
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A perfect second chance, Christmas romance, complete with a blizzard. Lexi and Cody have to earn their second chance, but with help from his dad and her son they make it to their own HEA.
Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas was a wonderful novel about second chances. It is the story of Cody, a NYC financial investor who returns to his Texas family ranch for Christmas. He fled Texas as an 18 year old to attend college after his mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, returning home only to attend her funeral before leaving again. More than a decade later, he returns to the family ranch for Christmas, knowing his father is losing his battle to cancer. Upon his arrival, he meets a beautiful woman who is his father’s in-home nurse, only to discover the nurse is his high school sweetheart, Lexi.
Cody has forgotten Lexi and the tumultuous period during his mother’s illness and death and has become a financial whiz with no personal ties or relationships. Lexi, on the other hand, has become a single mom who has taken on the financial responsibility of caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s. Her anger toward Cody is both surprising and confusing to him. It is not until Lexi confronts Cody about his choices a decade before to leave without saying goodbye that he begins to learn the emotional damage he caused.
This book is well-written with well-defined characters. Each page is filled with the characters’ emotional journeys, as Cody and Lexi face their past and cope with the present. The author took no shortcuts with the plot, allowing this reader to follow the characters as they struggled through grief, pain, bitterness, loss, and finally, acceptance. This is an extraordinary novel that touched me deeply.
*4 Stars*
ARC kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a sucker for a second chance romance, and for cowboys, so this one had it all in there for me, ready to catch my eye.
I liked both Lexi and Cody, even if I did get frustrated with Cody a lot of the time. His family and also Lexi’s son Harry were fabulous secondary characters too.
There’s a lot going on in this one, on both main characters sides, but the storyline only covers a few days. It feels like it goes for much longer than that.
I wouldn’t say that there’s no angst in this, but what is in there isn’t drawn out which is really nice. I read this in one day so its a nice and easy read.
Can be read as a standalone, but I would like to read the others in the series that I have missed. Other than this one, I’ve only read one other.
Would recommend.
This is a second chance story for a cowboy who fled Texas for New York and the girl he left behind. I did not read the previous books in the series, and maybe they provided more insight into why Cody Ford went to NYC after finishing college while his beloved mother was fighting cancer and never looked back, but I did not buy the excuse provided in the book.
The Fords are a wealthy ranching family. Unlike other books about singles who do not believe in love because of poor parental examples, Walter and his wife (I don’t recall if her name was ever provided) loved each other and were loving parents to their 4 children. Yet three of their children fled when their mother got sick. The two older children, Cody and Angelina, have closed off their hearts to love (were they both captured by the Snow Queen?), fled the ranch to excel in business, but rarely come home. Tanner took off to the rodeo, but eventually came home, leaving only Mia to stay at home with her parents, watching as her mother declined. However, the younger two are now happily married, Tanner running the ranch with his father and Mia married to a neighboring rancher. But now their father is also battling cancer and the older two come back to the ranch for Christmas.
Cody is a hot shot, wealth finance guy who has appeared in FORBES magazine, but his entire life is about building his financial empire, all business and no personal life. When he comes home, he finds that his father had hired is ex girl friend as his live in nurse. She hates him, because he just left and never even said goodbye. Apparently he sent her a letter, but her mother, who now has Alzheimer’s never gave her the letter. On the rebound, she had married a dead beat, but has a cute seven year old son, Harrison, who is one of the few endearing things about this book. During the visit they reconnect, he is wonderful with her son and they both admit that the feelings are still there, but Cody is too much of a coward to risk losing someone else that he loves.
Using PTSD as an excuse for his behavior, to me, just trializes the condition. Sadly, people watch loved ones fight and lose the battle against cancer everyday and while they are emotionally shattered, they do not behave like Cody did.
I read a ARC provided by NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
This book has three of my favorite things. Christmas, cowboys, and 2nd chances. You get all of that in a book and you most definitely will have a winner! Thank you for such a great book Soraya!
This was the first book I’ve read by Soraya Lane. I enjoyed her writing, the descriptions, and the storyline. It took me a while to connect with her characters, but by the end of the book I enjoyed them.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor
Soraya Lane hits it out of the park and captures the true meaning of Christmas Magic with this wonderful book Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas.
Cody Ford ran from home as soon as he could he didn’t want to feel, when he went away to college he left everything behind.
Lexi knew that working for the Fords one day she would run into Cody again and have to relive all the hurt from when he left the first time. She was not prepared for him and all the mixed emotions that came with him coming home.
This book will touch your heart in so many ways.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Ruthie –
4.5 stars of moving and charming ranch romance
This is the third book in the series, and whilst I think you would benefit from some of the back story, you could read this as a standalone and enjoy it. You may choose to then go back and enjoy the previous two as well! I don’t think it would spoil anything too badly if you chose to do that.
Ford Senior is very sick and wants his whole family home for Christmas, as it is likely to be his last. Having been a larger than life and very successful businessman, he is now a shadow of his former self, but thanks to his live-in nurse, he has retained his dignity and his style.
Cody left home at 18, when his mother was dying, and has rarely left New York since, but he knows that this is one time his presence is required. He plans to fly in and fly out again, just touching base for the festivities themselves. Little does he realise how his life will change forever when he gets home. Because, somehow the ranch does feel like home, and yet also a place he has hidden away in the deepest vault in his heart and brain. Watching him realise this, and realise what he avoided for so long, is moving without being sentimental.
Lexi, the live-in nurse, and single mum to Harry, was Cody’s high school sweetheart, who he left behind without a thought. She has had a lot of time to try and understand why she was lacking, and never quite got an answer. Finally, he is back, and yet he seems to place no blame on himself, or even really remember how close they were. As they both work through this gap in his memory, they get a second chance at being at least close, but the question of whether it can last is an entirely different one.
Be ready with tissues, because there are definitely points where tears are likely to spring, but it is beautifully written, and done for a purpose, rather than to play on your emotions. A very satisfying and engaging story, with plenty happening which adds to the narrative rather than distracting. Harry most certainly deserves high billing, as he is fabulous too.
Highly recommended, especially if you are ready to get into the Christmas spirit with a lovely second-chance romance and family reconciliation story.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas is the third book in Soraya M. Lane’s River Ranch series, but it’s the first book in the series I’ve read as well as the first book I’ve read by this author, and I was somewhat less than thrilled with the experience for a number of reasons, which I’ll get to, but because of those issues, I cannot give this novel more than a 2-star rating.
First, although part of a series, this novel worked just fine as a standalone–I had no trouble figuring out the many characters in it, but this story is about Cody Ford and Lexi, in fact, Cody is the first character we meet. He’s on his private company jet en route from his busy career in New York to his former home in Texas, and the large family ranch, a place he’s been avoiding for more than a decade. It’s nearly Christmas and his father is dying from cancer. Cody fled his home a decade earlier, when he was 18 years old, when his mother was dying of cancer, and he also fled from Lexi, his high school girlfriend whom he claimed to love. He’s only been back to attend his mom’s funeral, and a few short holiday visits in the interim–emotions just aren’t his thing.
Once his younger brother, Tanner, picks him up at the airport, the first person he encounters at the ranch is someone who looks strangely familiar, but he can’t quite place her. She tells him that she’s his father’s caregiver, since his father doesn’t want to be either in a hospital or in hospice. Even when she tells him her name is Alexandra, he still doesn’t recognize this woman as his high school love, Lexi, and to say she’s less than thrilled to see him is putting it mildly. Adding insult to injury, not recognizing a woman you said you loved after only 10 years was quite telling. When he fled 10 years earlier, he never even said goodbye or told her he was leaving her, in such a hurry to get gone that he never even considered her or how hurt she’d be that the man she’d planned to marry deserted her without a word. When he finally realizes who she is, he’s got more than a little explaining to do, and Lexi isn’t going to be satisfied with just an off-hand, “I’m sorry,” and all I can say about Cody is that he’s a wuss and a gutless coward, although Lexi is still drawn to him physically, heaven knows why.
In the intervening decade, Lexi was married briefly, divorced the husband who bankrupted her, and had an adorable, now 6-year-old son, Harry, the light of her life. Lexi’s ex is a deadbeat dad, and Lexi was thrilled to find a job that paid well at River Ranch, caring for Cody’s dying father. She desperately needs the money because her mother has Alzheimer’s and needs round the clock care at a nearby nursing home, which costs a whole lot of money that Lexi doesn’t have–the job at River Ranch was a godsend, because she’s now living there free of charge, but still trying to figure out what to do about her mother, since she’s received notice that the land the nursing home sits on was just bought, the residents given just 4 weeks to vacate the premises so that the facility can be demolished to make room for developers to put up a pricey condo complex, and guess who that developer is? Yup, it’s Cody, yet none of his cowardice, or his cold-hearted businessman brain stops her from having sex with the man.
I found Cody to be totally gutless, totally self-absorbed, totally closed-off emotionally, and what Lexi saw in him aside from his bedroom skills totally escaped me. But Lexi does have a backbone, and does organize and stage a protest, first posting it on Facebook, and then gathering outside the nursing home with like-minded people including the nursing home staff–even drawing TV coverage. Yet, Cody is still planning to go ahead with his plans, because for him it’s all about the bottom line–profit over people. After one more night in bed with Lexi, he again sneaks out of the ranch in the wee hours of the morning, and flies back to New York and his business, but at least this time, Cody let Lexi know it would be their last night together. What a jerk!
Since this is a romance novel, I expected an HEA ending, but Cody’s redemption and apologies were far too little, far too lame, and far too late to redeem him in this reader’s mind, and his plans for the future, commuting to and from Texas and New York also made little sense, because it would leave Lexi and Harry alone a good part of the time. In this age of easy global communications, why couldn’t Cody move his business and operate out of an office in Texas?
In short, this romance novel was way too short on romance, although there was plenty of sex, but I kept asking myself why Lexi couldn’t resist Cody, who I found to be an absolutely thoughtless and unfeeling dolt. The only things that kept this from being a one-star review were precious little Harry, Cody’s dad and his kind treatment of Lexi, as well as Cody’s kindhearted siblings and their spouses and their treatment of Lexi and her son. I recommend taking a pass on this novel.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
It is so easy to love a book when you care about all the characters , from Lexi’s little son Harry to Cody’s Dad Walter they all took turns tugging my heart strings.
And Cody and Lexi’s first chance at love was filled with such angst that when they got their second chance you would think it would all go smoothly, but no angst and heartbreak here to, will they ever get their HEA and what about little Harry, will he ever get a pony? After all he had heard every little boy should have a pony, read the epilogue to wrap up this delicious read.
Adored this heartwarming, second chance holiday romance…. was filled with sweetly thrilling twists, sexy fun charters, witty dialog and undeniable passion. An excellent read from beginning to end full of small-town goodness!
Wonderful modern western romance. Cody is a big time executive in New York. He’s come back home to see his I’ll father, brother and sister. As a teen he ran as far and fast from the ranch leaving everyone behind. Lexi is the nurse caregiver to Cody’s dad. The blurb gives a great description of what happened. Cody left Lexi behind a decade earlier. Now Lexi has a young son and is struggling. The story is a lovely with interesting characters and a family where each is dealing with loss in unique ways. I received a complementary copy of this book via Net Galley and chose to write a review. I look forward to reading future books by Ms. Lane.
Cody Ford left his family’s Texas ranch when his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He never told the woman he loved he was going. He broke her heart. However, life goes on. Now years later Lexi is a divorcée with a young son. She’s taking care of Walter Ford, the patriarch of River Ranch. I like Lexi. She’s a devoted mother and a fierce protector. I like a strong heroine. Cody is successful businessman. He ran away from his family. It took me some time to understand him. I was upset with his decisions especially with his plan to close the local retirement home to build high priced housing. The sparks of love still burn bright between the two former lovers. Do Lexi and Cody get a second chance to find love? The holiday season is the perfect setting for this emotional drama. I cared about the characters. They were easy to like especially young Harry who stole my heart. Soraya Lane wrote an emotional story that made me feel love and hope.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.
Cody has been running from his feelings, his family and life in general for years, ever since his mom became ill and died. As long as Cody stays at his company in New York, he can easily forget that anywhere or anyone else exists. His father is now ailing and Cody decides to go home for a few days at Christmas. Not only is he confronted by memories of his mom, but he is also confronted by his one true love who is now his father’s caregiver.
Lexi is not the same girl that Cody left behind all those years ago. She is now a single mom with the added responsibility of providing for her mother’s care while being a caregiver for Mr. Ford. Her job at the Ford ranch was easy until Cody decides to come home for Christmas. Now things get a little more complicated as Lexi realizes she still cares very much for Cody, but she just isn’t sure she can forgive him for the way he left, until she learns the reasons for why he left the way he did and that he had sent her a goodbye letter of which her mother hid.
The road to true love is definitely not easy, but especially when you add in a misunderstanding, long buried feelings, a dying father and a soon to be evicted ailing mother. Read this lovely story to see just how and if Cody and Lexi can finally obtain their own HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to have an ARC of this book and in exchange I am freely giving my honest open of said story. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
Once Upon A Cowboy Christmas by Soraya Lane
River Ranch #3
Second chances don’t come to all but in this novel high school sweethearts Cody and Lexie get their second chance when Cody returns for the holidays and finds Lexie the caregiver her for his father who has terminal cancer. The two do not hit it off well and have a great deal of tension between them throughout the book. They may still care for one another but what they had 15 years ago id definitely different in the present.
I had mixed feelings about the story. I found Cody a bit aloof, cold and cut off from his family and even himself. His focus was success and money and he seemed to have lost sight of those around him and the warmth relationships with family and friends might provide. I actually had trouble seeing why Lexie would want to have anything to do with him even though there were times I could see what she might have seen in Cody when he was a teenager…though that lighter-hearted more carefree person peeked out from time to time. I think the show-stealer of the story might have been Lexie’s son, Harry. He was such an open loving well-behaved child that he would be hard not to love.
Did I enjoy the story? I think so
Would I read more in this series? Probably
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – this is my honest review.
3-4 Stars
A wonderful plot that flows through many emotions: sadness, anger, loneliness, friendship, and love. The characters are well-developed and believable. This book caused me to laugh at the antics of Harry and cry at several points. I look forward to reading more from this author.
A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. This one about Cody and his way of dealing with lose at such a young age. And the struggles that Lexi has been going through. It was a touching story of family and helping everyone they can.
I enjoyed returning to the River Ranch series in Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas. I was glad finding out Cody & Lexi’s story. They definitely had their ups and downs and it was entertaining to go along for the ride. I am looking forward to the 4th novel in the series coming out next year.
I love a good second chance romance book. I loved Alexandria/Lexie. She is a pull yourself up by your boot straps and never let them see you cry. Her plate is full. Raising her adorable son Harry, taking care of her mother and being a live in nurse. The client is the father of her first true love. Cody Ford is back in town for Christmas. His father is ill and he wants his family together. Sparks are flying but the hurt is still there. Can she let go of the past and the hurt till the possibilities? Can Cody admit to his reasons for running? Can he find the courage to find answers for the past to let him have the future they deserve?
This was my first visit to River Ranch and while it started out really strong it sort of fizzled and stalled out.
I loved that the big secret was revealed quickly but then it became a case of simply repeating the same “this is why we can’t be together” lines.
Harry was cute and I loved Walter but everyone felt just a little off in the chemistry department.
I’m not sure if I’ll be catching up on or keeping up with the series but it was mostly a decent Christmas romance.