Cover Image: Mending Fences

Mending Fences

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Member Reviews

The reason this is a second chance romance is actually really sad. Imagine getting shipped to boarding school because your parents find out that you are gay. That's what happened to Grace when she was found sleeping with Bobby. Two decades later they meet again and it starts with an unexpected meeting in the clinic.

Grace seems a little naive coming to her childhood town and act all surprised when Bobby walks in her vet clinic. What do you think in a small town and with such a job? Grace is actually a very likeable person, but her actions made me dislike her a little. Again I seemed to come across a romance where there is a disturbing relationship with a mother. So that for me was Grace's "get out of jail card". In the end, after some heartbreak, stupid actions and some spoken out loud "ow come on, woman!" from my side, she understood the bigger picture and all went well.

Bobby is a tough rancher with a huge heart. Maybe not so tough as she looks like, melting over her sweet puppy and of course Grace. She has loads and loads of patience it seems, so much even it almost hurt me. Because of the indecisiveness of Grace and the patience of Bobby, it sometimes felt very imbalanced and unfair. Just barely on the right side of playing with someone's feelings.

I do think people will enjoy and can identify with this kind of trouble and indecisiveness. I, on the other hand, had some trouble with that and feel very blessed for not being able to identify and wallow in those particular problems.

This book had lots of good sex. People who read my reviews more often know I have a healthy appetite for sex in books. The sex scenes had good chemistry and were steamy. For me, I could have done without the dirty talk. It just didn't fit. Like, if I would start talking dirty to my wife she would be like, wtf? And that's exactly my reaction when I came upon it in this book. I do appreciate dirty talk in books however, it has to fit. A little more work on that side of Bobby's character could maybe have fixed that.

All in all, a very nice read and I would definitely recommend it to other readers.

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3.5 Stars. This was a cute second chance romance. Something about ranchers in lesfic, it’s like yes please bring on tall, dark, and studly. While I read this for the rancher, I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’m not the biggest second chance romance fan. I love watching chemistry build in romances so I’m not big on how the chemistry is already built in for second chances. You normally don’t even get to see the first meeting between the two characters unless it’s in flashbacks which I’m not a fan of either. However, when it came to this book I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. It stated a little slow and I thought damn, it’s just like every other second chance romance I’ve read…but then there was a little twist I didn’t see coming and all of a sudden the book got much more interesting.

It is an interesting predicament to have one main character totally crushable, while the other drove me nuts. Bobbie is our butch rancher, butch on the outside but a total softy on the inside. And Grace is our veterinarian that has no idea what she is doing in her life. Grace’s character made most of the conflict and angst so I understand why her character was written moderately unlikeable but if they didn’t have history together, I might not have understood why Bobbi likeed her so much.

If you can get over Grace being unlikable, you do have to admit these two had chemistry in bed. I have to talk about these sex scenes. I don’t know if I have ever been so confused about sex scenes before. Part of me thought they were great, the other part was rolling my eyes. It would go from hot and steamy to eye roll, it was so bazaar. Bobbi’s personality completely changed in bed and she was just "King of the dirty talk". It was actually jarring at times how much her personality changed. I did get over that part pretty quickly since some people do completely change in the sheets, what I struggled with is some of the lines where totally cheeseballs. I went from fanning myself to almost being embarrassed, it was a weird mix. This is Williams’ first books so I would say to her yes on the dirty talk, just pull it back a bit because sometimes less is more.

This is not the kind of book that is going to blow you away, but it was very readable and plenty entertaining. I liked the little twist and the steamy sex scenes. I think this was a solid debut and I have hope this author will only get better.

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Bobbie Del Rey and Grace Hammond were inseparable in school then their friendship turned into something far more serious. When their parents find out about their relationship Grace is sent away to boarding school. Twenty years later Bobbie is now running the family ranch when Grace, now married, returns home to run the local vet clinic, when their paths cross again the spark is still there.
This is quite a nice romance where the MC's get a second chance at love. The characters are likeable enough with the butch/femme roles. I did feel the storyline was a little weak with Grace already separated from her husband Jake but we didn't find out the reasons why Grace  was so torn with returning to Seattle until midway through the book. I think these reasons should have been stated earlier so Grace's dilemma made sense but overall it was a nice read.

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Ah, some nice Butch/Veterinarian fiction!

Bobbie is a rancher. Grace a Veterinarian. They grew up together and were girlfriends for a bit in high school. But, then Grace's parents pulled them apart, and shipped her to boarding school.

The book starts about twenty years later. Grace is back to settle her father's estate and pitch in while the town's vet is caring for his wife. Bobbie brings in a puppy she has found tangled in one of her ranch's barbed wire fences. Sparks fly again right away, but, there is a big speed bump in their way, as well as some smaller ones.

It was a typical sorta lesfic story plot-wise, but, the characters were really cool and interesting. There was also a nice balance between the main characters when it came to their issues.

It was a really fun read, and I now find that I need to go read all the Veterinarian lesfic novels there are!! Stat.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

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This one was a little on the difficult side for me to rate. Ultimately I give it 3.5 stars. The beginning of the book was good. It got my attention and kept it for most of the way through. I mean who doesn't like a rancher, a good looking butch rancher, that saves a puppy from a tangled fence. After saving the puppy, Bobbie takes it to the vet where she is surprised to see her first love Grace there as the acting doctor. Sparks fly like nobody's business but so do the complications. And here is where I feel the book struggled a little for me. Yes, the obstacle is a pretty big one but it was made out to be bigger than it was. And it didn't help that one thing was said and then another thing was done and then they had to constantly "talk about it." And the "it" just felt like the same thing over and over again. It got tedious and at times I found myself bored with it, but I pushed through. The dirty talking during sex also threw me for a loop. I mean, I get it talking is a great but it just seemed to come out of left field and surprised me a bit. That might just be me.

Anyway, I did like most of the story. I liked how it started and where it ended up. The middle I felt was little blah for me. I did really like Amy and Lena and I actually hope we find out more about Lena maybe in another book. I give this one 3.5stars as it's better than a 3 but not as good as a 4 in my book.

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This was good for a debut novel. There were a few content issues that made the story a little unrealistic, but Those should have been dealt with in the editing process, so I don’t blame the author entirely. Other than those minor issues, the book was very good. It had mostly believable dialog, the story had good pacing, and a great epilogue. Ms. Williams is definitely an author to keep an eye on.

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From the blurb I thought I’d like this book, but after reading it I am not so sure.

Bobbie is a rancher, when she find a puppy stuck in her fence she rushed her to the vet. The new vet in town is her high school love Grace. They were brutally ripped apart by Grace’s parents when they were teens. But what is that saying, first love never dies? I think that is what this book is about. Bobbie never got over Grace and would happily jump back into a relationship with her. Grace comes with a slightly more difficult situation, but after seeing Bobbie all is clear for her again.

Sure the story is ok, the characters are fine too, but something just didn’t sit right with me. The few chapters that were heavy on Amy and her husband were my favourite, with lots of humour. Grace is too flaky for me, and Bobbie is should be this butchy type who is just a softy on the inside. But it just doesn’t fit. Bobbie only seems like a softy, nothing butch about her, and Grace is just weird. But what I disliked most, something that didn’t fit with either of the characters for me was the dirty talk, or more specifically the dirty talked they used. Seemed extremely out of character, they could have had dirty talk that suited their characters much better.

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Well written and worth the read. I believe it's a debut book for this author. The characters are likable, the story is well written and there was just enough angst to keep the pages turning, It's a nice romance to read to escape the realities of todays world. I will recommend to my students.

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This is a pretty solid romance that starts off pretty quickly. The main driver is the second chance romance between Bobbie the rancher and Grace the veterinarian. Grace is more of the dynamic character in this one, as she was the one who was basically stolen away from Bobbie by her own family like some kind of fairy princess. It did numbers to Grace, and she spends most of the novel trying to find herself. Of course, Bobbie is a kind soul who is still hung up on Grace, and is willing to wait more for her.

This is a pretty standard by the numbers second chance romance, but the twist is that Grace was physically taken from Bobbie, so Bobbie doesn't feel any kind of resentment towards Grace for her sudden departure. It was refreshing that most of the ire is focused on Grace's parents, and that other characters get to have some hopeful skepticism with regards to Grace's commitment to come back to Bobbie. There's also focusing on building up some of the other characters around our leads, I especially found Bobbie's mom and Grace's friends from the animal hospital to be delightful.

I do have some pretty nitpicky things to talk about. While I love both of Grace's new friends- it felt really rushed. There was some weird time jump that I might have missed because they went from friendly colleagues to besties seemingly overnight. There might be some excuses in that Amy knew of one of them from 20 years ago, but it still felt like a way too quick turnaround. There is also a problem with dialog being full of exposition in my opinion. There were times where an event is described - then it feels like the character pretty much relays the event almost word for word. Also, Bobbie is very verbose during sex. It is kind of funny to me. She loves to take control, but she's such a big softy it just was adorable instead of sexy.

Even with those nitpicks, this is a solid debut and I do look forward to seeing what the author does next. Also, big tough ranchers talking to their dogs will always be adorable. I'd pretty much read Bobbie using her puppy as a sounding board all day.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I RECEIVED AN ARC OF THE BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY AND VOLUNTARILY LEAVING MY REVIEW.

BOBBIE IS A SWOON WORTHY RANCHER AND GRACE IS A VET.

THIS IS A SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE. BOTH BOBBIE AND GRACE WERE HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS UNTIL SHE MOVED AWAY. WHEN BOBBIE GOES TO THE VETS WITH HER DOG THEN THAT IS WHERE THEY MEET AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2 DECADES.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I ENJOYED THE STORY LINE, LOVED THE CHARACTERS AND FOUND LOVE IN BOBBIE LOL. NOWADAYS, I AM MORE FOR THE BUTCH CHARACTERS WHICH SURPRISES ME AS I AM MORE FOR THE FEMMES. I LOVED BOTH BOBBIE AND GRACE BUT BOBBIE IS JUST A GREAT CHARACTER WHO WEARS HER HEART ON HER SLEEVE. SHE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR YOU IF SHE COULD. SHE'S JUST AN ALL OVER GREAT PERSON WITH A HEART OF GOLD. GRACE I WOULD SAY IS A LITTLE MORE RESERVED. SHE DOESN'T LIKE TO DO THINGS WITHOUT HAVING THOUGHT EVERYTHING THROUGH, THOROUGH. BOTH MAIN CHARACTERS HAD GREAT CHEMISTRY AND YOU JUST WANTED GRACE TO MAKE UP HER MIND ONCE AND FOR ALL.

IF YOU ENJOY SECOND CHANCE ROMANCES THEN THIS COULD BE THE BOOK FOR YOU.

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3.5 stars

This is a cute debut novel about second chances. The heroines are likable, and there's little angst, the perfect read for escaping the harsh realities of life.

The parts about Grace's ex-husband wore thin. He was hurt, he understood. He was angry, he understood. They fought, they kissed and made up (not literally) but it went on for so long, it became painful.

Others mind find those bits 'interesting' but I could've done without them. Yes, she had to wrap up her marriage, but most people know what that involves. I know that sounds unfair, but I wanted to read about the leads, not the ex.

There was some humour? I think, that I didn't care for, but we all know humour can be subjective.

"Technically, I will be making the baby since it's my sperm-" John began but was cut off with a pillow to the head.
"You aren't making shit, mister. You're f*&king coming in my vagina and then walking away..."
Copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via NetGalley.

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I really enjoyed this book! It's very well written and although the topic of Second Chances is nothing new, the story line is still unique enough and there is not that much drama as in similar books. The characters are well developed and lovable, especially Bobbie. You just have to love this tough Butch, who is a total Softie at heart! I wanted to shake Grace sometimes in the story because in my opinion the decision would have been easy - but real life is never that easy, so in the end I even appreciated it that she felt she had to take her time and really think about her decision.
I would definitely recommend this book and will look forward to further books from this author. Well done!

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A nice second chance romance about Bobbie and Grace who were teenage loves until Graces parents shipped her off to boarding school. Some 20 years later they meet again in their hometown, Grace as the new vetenarian and Bobbie as the rancher who never left. The connection is still there, Bobbie is an adoringly sweet and patient butch but Grace is a bit standoffish. The why surrounding that makes sense, but I do feel like Bobbie just waiting and waiting until Grace finally makes up her mind about what she wants. As you can tell, I like one MC better than the other. Besides that it's a nice story, (it has a dog!) the story slowly moves along and not a lot of big events so it's perfect for those slow afternoons filled with relaxation.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

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This debut novel for a new author in the BSB is light and sweet with a sexy, rugged cowgirl falling back in love with heir first love, a skilled and lovely veterinarian. The plot twist is a doozy so I’ll keep mum to not spoil it but I think you’ll like story for its simplicity yet sexiness, too.

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The premise of the story revolves around a second chance meeting between Bobbie Del Ray and Grace Hammond who were best friends and lovers in high school when they were pulled apart from each other. They meet again when Bobbie finds an injured puppy when she is mending fences on the family ranch. Bobbie takes the puppy to a veterinarian who just happens to be Grace. Bobbie and Grace are immediately drawn to each other even though they've been apart for twenty years. Although they are attracted to each other, Bobbie and Grace can't get back together due to a twist in the story that I can't reveal since it would be giving away too much of the storyline.

I believe that this is the first book published by Angie Williams, and although the writing was a bit on the simplistic side, I certainly enjoyed the story and the characters including the butch/femme dynamic between Bobbie and Grace. Riley as the pup was an added bonus. Bobbie's patience in dealing with Grace's situation was commendable since I don't think many people would be as patient as Bobbie was in this story.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

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So the trend this month is Butch/Femme. I have read a ton of things recently that involve this dynamic. One thing I can say is the Angie Williams does a fabulous job on building the perfect butch woman. I pretty much swooned over Bobbie Del Rey. This is a second chance romance. Bobbie and Grace dated back in HS. There were each other's first and when Grace parents find out she is in a relationship with Bobbie they ship her off to boarding school. Now 20 years or so later (could be less), Grace returns back to her hometown. She really only plans to be in town to help her mom with her father's will, but ends up filling in for a good friend/father figure at the local Vet.
So the chemistry between Bobbie and Grace is very evident. The only wierd thing is that Grace is holding back and we don't know why. Eventually she tells a good friend/coworker what her issues are and we see why she is so stand offish.

I thought Mending Fences was good. Again, Bobbie by far was my favorite character. She was just a really good person. I like Grace good enough but she was a bit wishy washy. Sure, I understand why, I just really like Bobbie and didn't want her to be hurt. I liked how Williams did the timeline. If she did it any other way it probably would have been a bit boring. There were a few occasions that Mending Fences did stall out , but it did bounce back.

I will rate this one 3.75 stars, but I am going to round it to 4 because I really liked Bobbie.

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This is a sweet book about long lost love and reconnection. I really liked Bobby. Patience really is a virtue. I loved Riley and her role is the storyline. There really isn't much to dislike in this book besides Grace's mother, which I'm sure is intentional. All in all a great read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Nice storyline and likeable characters, it's about second chances and a long lost love well written!

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A very enjoyable second-chance romance. Long-lost first loves, reunited but with some major obstacles to overcome. Is love enough in the face of so much struggle? Heck yes it is!!

Grace and Bobbie had been best friends for ages and became girlfriends (and lovers) in high school. Upon finding out the teenagers were more than friends, Grace's parents ship her off to boarding school, effecting separating her from her first - and really only - love. Twenty years later, her father's death and the collapse of her marriage lead Grace back to her hometown. When Bobbie walks into the vet clinic at which Grace is working while in town, both she and Grace cannot resist the pull that never went away. But Grace is still married and has career aspirations that will take her away again, and Bobbie, a local rancher, is tied to her home.

Bobbie is SO sweet, patient and understanding. Grace has SO much to work through. Can the two make it work? You're rooting for them the whole way, even if you want to force Grace to just make the right choice already!

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I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Bobbie and Grace have been best friends since second grade but then their feelings change I high school and they became girlfriends only a few knew.

Bobbie and Grace was force to separate when Grace parents found abut their relationship and send her to boarding school.

They met years later when Bobbie finds a dog hurt and goes to the local vet who turns out to be Grace who is temporarily taking over because Dr. Randolph is looking after his sick wife and she needed time for herself.

Bobbie and Grace catch up and realize thoses feelings are still there but things are complicate with Grace married and her finally decide she wants to live for herself and not for others.

This was nice story I like Bobbie and how patient she was even when she thought she will lose Grace.

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