I won this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.

While this book has some cute humorous moments it isn't very original and felt very predictable. The writing was good, but it just didn't feel very real. Characters were also very one dimensional as well.

I received a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Rancho de Amor
By: Dan Harder

REVIEW ☆☆☆

I was amused by the cover of Rancho de Amor. The story, while entertaining, cute and charming, lacks that certain something to make it stand out. The premise is very similar to many romcom chicklit types of stories. It is well written, and I did find humor and sweetness in it. Originality is lacking, and I think it's difficult to be truly unique in a world saturated with romantic comedies in movies and books. This story is ideal for purely entertaining reasons, like a relaxing afternoon. It just fell short for me. ( )

I received this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer. I could not get past page 60 of this book, although I thought it was written well enough, it was so dry and hard to engage with the characters that I couldn't make myself finish the book. It felt like a flat story with a pretty thin premise, and the projected outcome of the story was so transparent that there wasn't really a need to continue reading. Not enough character development at the beginning; Catherine felt like a stereotype, as did all of the other characters introduced. No motivation to see this story through to the end. ( )

Well written, but predictable and a little underwhelming. A New York City editor flies out to the wild west of California to find the reclusive bestselling romance author Loretta de Bonnair. Her pink covered book is sweeping the nation - everyone is reading it and it's the best selling romance book since 50 Shades of Grey. Her publishing house isn't doing too well and they think if they can tap into the romance market and snatch up this insanely popular novelist then they can stay afloat. The only trouble is they need to track her down. Catherine Doyle heads to the author's small western hometown and instead of an author finds a sexy cowboy with a swagger and a nerdy little bookkeeper. If only she could get someone who actually knew Loretta. She's not looking for love she's looking for her company's salvation. What if the answer to her troubles was right in front of her if she would just open her eyes (and her heart)? Cute, sappy, slow build with no kiss til the end. I could 100% see this being a Hallmark movie. ( )

This book was pretty good overall. Big shot New York editor Catherine heads off to California to track down a big hit romance author to try and save the company she works for only to meet and fall for the last person she expected. The plot set up was very cute and I really enjoyed Sam, our blue eyed cowboy a lot. I though he was an exceptionally interesting character, a rancher who had a soft side and was interested in progressive agendas that wouldn't make him popular in his part of the world. I found him to be complex, and interesting, if a bit stereotypical in the "looks" area.
What I didn't like at all was Catherine. She wasn't really flushed out at all. She was a bunch of stereotypes all bagged up in to one. A person who couldn't look beyond appearances, who was a "hard" person (insert scoffing noise), who hated romance and romance readers a like. She just spent a great deal of time being holier than thou to everyone around her. Constantly judging them. It made it really hard to connect with her. Also, for a romance novel I get that the irony is supposed to be that she didn't like them, but spending as much time as the book did unnecessarily bashing romance readers is one sure fire way to alienate your audience from your main character. To mention her dislike of romance is one thing, or to give her a deep reason to distrust marriage and romance because of a past is welcome. But to bash romance readers as a whole for reading "trash" is really unwelcome. That is both condemning your audience and romance writers at large, which I don't feel is fair.
My last minor complaint is again at what I perceive is meant to be a joke. The book title and cover art it meant to mimic the best seller Loretta de Bonnair book in the novel itself. To me it came across as self congratulatory, as if it were assured that this book would follow in the wake of its fictional counterpart. While that might be the case, it just seems premature to me. Either that or it is meant as a wink and nudge joke, which just didn't quite land for me.
Overall though I found it to be a cute, quick read. It needs some polish for sure, especially with Catherine, and with that polish this book could really shine!
I hope that Mr. Harder continues to write in this genera, as I would love to see his growth as a romance author continue because he does have the potential to be great. ( )