A searing one-night stand. A devastating betrayal. Years later, a rancher reunites with his ex to save his family business…and get her back in his bed. 

What did he do that she couldn’t forgive?

And how can he lure her back?

Rancher Levi Kingsley urgently needs Kendra Davies’s help. His family’s business is threatened by his father’s scandals, and Kendra is the best PR crisis manager around.

But Kendra has avoided him since their unforgettable night years ago. Now he’s forced to swallow his pride and hire her. 

Kendra believes Levi guilty of an unforgivable betrayal. But she can’t say no to this job.

She also can’t ignore their chemistry or the quickly mounting proof that Levi may be a good man after all… 

Titles in the Kingsland Ranch series include — Rodeo Rebel —♥— The Rancher’s Plus-One —♥— Alaskan Blackout —♥— Rancher Under the Mistletoe —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Booksprout ARC

Release date: May 23, 2023

Title:  The Rancher’s Plus-One
Series:  The Kingsland Ranch #2
Author:  Joanne Rock
Genre:  Modern Western Romance
Published:  May 23, 2023
Publisher:  Harlequin Desire
My Rating:  4.5

As humans, we tend to make judgments, and assumptions without knowing all those intricate facts that make up another person’s decisions.  Then we get angry — when what we’re angry about came from our own mind, not the facts.  Meet two perfect examples: Levi and Kendra.  They have chemistry, passion, and a liking for each other that all went sideways with one unexplained decision, one moment when anger and a feeling of betrayal overtook any reason that could be imagined.  Each acted from their hearts — and each reacted differently.

The Rancher’s Plus-One continues The Kingsland Ranch series with a complicated relationship made even more difficult by a deceased father’s choices that his sons are now having to clean up after.  When Levi discovers yet another mess left behind by his father he knows of one person who could help, who could make a difference in the public perception of so many of their affected businesses.  Yet, she hasn’t spoken to him since their last meeting, and he still doesn’t understand what happened.  He expects to get slapped down when he approaches Kendra about hiring her as a Public Relations Crisis Specialist, but he can offer something that might make the job worth taking.  And here’s to hoping that she’d be willing to take a second chance on him.

The last person in the world that Kendra ever thought she’d be considering standing next to, let alone work with, has shown up at her door, hat in hand, begging (as far as a proud rancher ever could beg) for her unique type of help.  Oh, how she’d love to slam the door in his face after what he did, after his betrayal of her emotions and her knowledge.  But he held out something that might make working together worthwhile, for a time at least, if she could keep her anger at bay… and her heart intact.

Levi and Kendra are on fire, in so many different ways.  She’s convinced she has all the information she needs to send him straight to a deep hole, and he’s clueless as to what changed her feelings for him.  A working, traveling publicity tour aimed at cleaning up the damage and putting the brothers’ various businesses in a better light considering what it’s been discovered their father did is a perfectly logical plan.  But logic has little place between Levi and Kendra.

I loved watching them come together, eventually working out what exactly went wrong between them, and especially hearing Levi give Kendra some background information that he rarely shared with anyone.  As sad as it sounds, they almost had to hurt each other before they could heal from what the world (and family) had piled up on them before they could see each other clearly.  This is a couple that belongs together, but it took a while for that fact to become clear enough for them to act on it.  Oh, physically they’re on fire, but it’s the emotional fire that they’ll never put out that binds them.  Watching them discover that love is real, that a lifetime of loving each other will not be enough was such an emotional whirlwind experience.  I loved it!

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

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