Come Back Around by BA Tortuga

Can two divorced dads get a second chance at a redneck wedding?

When Reid Porter agrees to be his best friend’s man of honor, he never considers that his ex, Mateo, will be there too. Which is ridiculous, because Jennifer is marrying Mat’s brother. Reid would never let Jen down, though, so he finds himself at the Leaning N Ranch with his two daughters and a whole lot of baggage about seeing Mat again.

Mat loves his baby brother and would do anything for him, including face the love of his life, whom he’s sure has moved on. When he and Reid come face-to-face after more than two years apart, they realize they’ve never let go. Now they have to do what they never could before—balance work, home, and children, while finding a way to come back around to each other’s love.

Book 4
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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I will have to say that I have not read any books in the series but I still enjoyed this book and didn't have trouble reading it, so I am sure it can be read as a standalone. This book was so sweet and so funny. All the characters felt like family to me. I enjoyed Reid and Mateo. I wanted more backstory and that is maybe where I need to go back and read the previous books to find that out. I loved the ranch family and the bantering and jokes. This was a book that gave you the warm fuzzies. I think I might just go back and read the previous books when I need a feel-good book to lift my spirits.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth book in the series – and it definitely adds to the background to have read the earlier books, but I think you could definitely enjoy it as a standalone too.

This is such a lovely story, with some of the funniest lines I have read in a book in a long time – sometimes due to their daughters making funny comments, but also the friends have a wicked line in banter. It was the perfect foil to what was a rather sad realisation that all the pain they had suffered over the last two years, and the times they had missed out on, was due to a terrible lack of communication.

Luckily, forced to be at the Leaning N for a wedding, Reid and Mateo get the second chance that they and their whole family want them take. And thanks to everyone being there, it gives them plenty of babysitters to give them time both to reconnect (and oh, do they reconnect!) and to talk.

Whilst their future together is the focus of the story, the wedding itself is fun, and the guys at the ranch that make everything happen are the perfect hosts. The cookery lessons are priceless.

A real feel good story, with family, passion, and at least one happily ever after!

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA's personal saviors include her wife, Julia, her best friend, Sean, and coffee. Lots of good coffee.

Connect with BA

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Come Back Around (Leaning N #4) by BA Tortuga to read and review.

Finding Mr. Wright by BA Tortuga

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including weddings. And misunderstandings.

Colorado wedding planner Mason O’Reilly lands a major contract: a two-hundred-guest wedding at the Leanin’ N Ranch, where his friends Ford and Stoney are working to provide a safe space for GLBT events. The Wright/Preston ceremony is a destination wedding, and as the grooms are from Texas, everything is done over the phone and email. There’s no way that could lead to trouble, right?

Oops.

Oil tycoon Noah Wright isn’t happy about the impending disaster, but he admires Mason’s quick thinking and grace under pressure. And that’s not all he likes about the out-and-proud wedding planner. Even though Mason’s interested in Noah, his Mr. Right can’t possibly be a rancher from Dallas.

Can he?

Book 2
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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
In the second book in this series, we’re back at the Leanin’ N ranch for a fun, glamorous, and drama-soaked society wedding.

Event planner Mason’s brief is for a “rustic, fun, high-class, redneck wedding” and I thoroughly enjoyed the efforts of everyone at the Leanin’ N as they worked relentlessly to throw Sammy Wright an unforgettable wedding. Geoff’s food steals the show once again but Stoney, Ford, and their team are at their best when catering for demanding redneck Texan billionaires.

I didn’t engage quite as much with the romance in this second novel. Noah and Mason are both likeable characters but they aren’t quite as fully developed as Stoney and Ford were and their relationship is a simpler one.

As with all of the Dreamspun Desires books, this is a pretty low heat read. I was a little bit dismayed by the slightly predictable ‘billionaire’ romance tropes but the humour and sense of community at the Leanin’ N keep this fresh and prevents it from becoming too formulaic.

I felt that the first half of the book – set at the ranch – was stronger than the second half of the story after the wedding. Without the wedding planning providing structure and a reason for Noah and Mason to be together, the rest of the book wanders a bit. But ultimately, this is a feel-good, sweetly romantic guilty pleasure and I really love everyone at the Leanin’ N.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and although you would understand more of the background of the ranch, it is not essential to enjoy this story.

There is a great undercurrent of humour in this book. Mostly of the play on words and cheeky variety, and it works really well. In some of the potentially most difficult situations, a bit of levity, without mocking is very effective. There is also a welcome absence of trauma. Sure, there are some mistakes made and perceived by both Noah and Mason, but they know how they feel about each other, just not how it can play out. The fact that Noah holds the answers, as he is the one who has the finances to achieve it, is not used in a power sense, but rather in a sense of giving of himself to the person who means everything to him.

I love the times when we are at the ranch and seeing how this group of people with different loves and dreams work so well together – I am looking forward to seeing who falls next under the spell of the Leaning N.

Also Available in the Leaning N Series

Book 1
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Dreamspinner Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Commitment Ranch post.

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA's personal saviors include her wife, Julia, her best friend, Sean, and coffee. Lots of good coffee.

Connect with BA

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Finding Mr. Wright (Leaning N #2) by BA Tortuga to read and review.

Commitment Ranch by BA Tortuga

A fist fight, a snowstorm, a stolen kiss in the barn... and a second chance at love.

Ford Nixel has two law offices, two fancy condominiums, and all the right connections. In short, he has everything he wants.

The last thing he needs is his Uncle Ty’s stake in the Leaning N, a ranch that’s been in the family for generations. Ford hasn’t even been to the ranch in over a decade, not since he left his boyfriend Stoney behind and headed back to college alone.

Ford arrives at the Leaning N to find Stoney, now a single father, right where he left him. A fist fight, a snowstorm, and a stolen kiss in the barn later—Ford knows none of the heat between them has dissipated.

Book 1
Buy Links

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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is BA Tortuga at her best. This story about a cowboy and a big city lawyer thrown together to save their family ranch is a wonderfully crafted, feel-good, sexy Western.

The remote Colorado ranch might just be the actual leading man in this story. The ranch’s motley collection of loosely connected family members, ornery cowboys, quirky ranch hands, and a vegan ranch cook creates a fabulous backdrop for Ford and Stoney’s stormy relationship. This series focuses on a quieter side to ranch life, far away from the rodeo glamour in the Roughstock series. I enjoyed the more settled community on the working ranch and I love the potential Ford sees in the ranch as he starts to develop it.

Lovers in college, Ford has never forgiven Stoney for leaving him and stealing his family and the ranch in the process. Several years later, Ford’s ornery uncle leaves the ranch to the two men, forcing them to work as partners to keep the ranch going for the next generation. While this storyline has been used before, the author manipulates it beautifully – the situation is believable and the conflict between these two men feels real. There is more hurt than anger sitting between Ford and Stoney and I really enjoyed their relationship. The heat and regret between these two creates powerful chemistry between two strong, but very different men.

The need to save the ranch provides a focus, a timeline, and a fast-paced, coherent storyline. Some of this author’s recent plots have wandered a little aimlessly, but this is structured and clear. As the start to a new series, all the wonderful characters at the Leaning N are introduced clearly and developed beautifully. There are many possibilities for new pairings in the future and I’m really looking forward to the next books in this new series.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings

I have read a lot of previous books by BA Tortuga and normally really enjoy them. This book was probably my least favorite that I've read in a while from Tortuga.

You have Stoney and Ford – with their history, you know that they will have some unresolved issues while working with each other. You have Ty, who is the owner and patriarch of the family.

The unresolved issues between Stoney and Ford are somewhat juvenile, in my opinion. Yes, it was strange the circumstance of Quartz and Stoney, but all three men, Ty, Stoney, and Ford made it so much worse. Things stewed for years and it took a health concern for Ty in order to bring all three back together in a semblance of family.

I really enjoyed the story with all of the characters, especially Geoff. However, the chemistry and heat between the two main characters was lukewarm at best. I don't think they were really meant for each other and if they were, it was more of a friendship turned relationship.

Overall, this was a lackluster start to a series. However, I do want Geoff to get his own story.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
A new cowboy series from Ms Tortuga is truly a thing to celebrate! This is a great book, which subtly includes a lot of issues, and yet keeps the main plot front and centre.

Stoney and Ford are two men who once thought they were everything to each other, only for it to all go catastrophically wrong – in part due to a major miscommunication. Well, many years later they are forced together by circumstance, and whilst there are many things they have to resolve, only the least romantic wouldn't wish them a happily ever after. Getting there wasn't likely to be simple, but it is fun being on board for the adventure. Some of the side characters absolutely need their story told – Geoff being first in line as far as I am concerned! I loved that the heart of the home was his kitchen, that Quartz was a firecracker of a kid, and that the Leaning N is where they were destined to be.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
It’s no secret that Tortuga is one of my favorite M/M romance writers, especially of contemporary western romances, because she excels at creating authentic characters and penning seriously hot cowboy lovin’ scenes. So it’s no surprise that I jumped at the chance to review Commitment Ranch. The first book in a new series? That was a no-brainer for me – I’m in. And Ford and Stoney’s story did not disappoint one iota.

When Ford receives the call summoning him to his uncle’s ranch, it takes everything in him to fight his instinct to refuse. The fact that his uncle raised him after his parents’ death and has never asked Ford for anything is the only reason he’s able to return to the land – and the man – he’s avoided for over a decade. While it becomes abundantly clear that neither Ford nor Stoney wish to be around one another, the depth of the hurt that each man carries means they avoid thinking about or talking about what happened all those years ago. This means the reader only learns the details a little at a time as both Stoney and Ford throw themselves into work and anything else they can to avoid the elephant in the room and the thoughts and memories that accompany it. As the men are forced to work together to save the Leaning N Ranch, they find they have to clear the air if there’s any hope of keeping the ranch afloat. But they soon find (much to my delight), that clearing the air leads to them embracing more than the shared goal of saving the ranch. Remember that hot cowboy lovin’ I mentioned before? Yep, Tortuga delivers on the promise as Ford and Stoney reconnect (literally) and fall in love all over again.

Even though I sussed out most of what happened that ended their fledgling relationship all those years ago, I was surprised by Ty’s part in it. The nature of the miscommunication and/or misunderstanding was such that I could easily see neither man being willing to take that first step to clear things up – hurt feelings, wounded pride, and self-doubt are all rather large obstacles to overcome when one’s heart is involved. It was not only believable, but the kind of thing that would make the men avoid one another for years. I enjoyed watching them find their way back from “hate” to love – a place neither man actually left, but one they refused to admit to themselves. I loved Quartz and how the author fleshed out his character in a realistic fashion without putting a huge spotlight on him, thus showing another aspect of individuals like him (sorry, I’m trying really hard not to spoil the surprise that is Quartz). As Commitment Ranch is the first in a new series and we got to meet a cast of interesting characters, I’m already looking forward to returning to the Leaning N for the next installment.

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA's personal saviors include her wife, Julia, her best friend, Sean, and coffee. Lots of good coffee.

Connect with BA

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by BA Tortuga to read and review.