This wasn’t for me sadly and I adore second chance romance, but I just didn’t empathise with any of the characters, their behaviour or reasons for their drama, I didn’t like most the characters, so unfortunately this is a no from me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you NetGalley, HQ Digital and Shann McPherson for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I’m going to start by saying about halfway through this I realized... I’ve read this before. Only like 25 pages right in the middle so I have no idea what happened there.
Sweet Home Montana is a second chance romance following Quinn and Colt as they navigate their pasts and their future. It’s been ten years since Quinn left Colt at the altar and ran away to New York to start a new life. Ten years since she’s come home or seen her family. When she gets the devastating call that her father has passed, she knows she has to return.
Quinn is a strong, successful woman who made one very big mistake. I read another review comment that she didn’t like Quinn’s reason to leave Colt and her home, but I completely understand. Is leaving someone at the altar ok? Never. But she would have regretted NOT leaving. Not chasing her dreams. I myself have struggled with this idea myself. I have lived in Iowa my whole life, my entire family is here, my career is here, but I can never get that nagging feeling that I NEED to travel out of my head. So I totally understood. My boyfriend and I were friends who lost contact for a few years and when we found each other again we were in a much better place to have a much better relationship. I think if Quinn and Colt had gotten married all those years ago it never would’ve worked.
The twist wasn’t too surprising my holy cow; my anxiety was through the roof waiting for it to be revealed. My heart hurt with Quinn. I can’t even imagine that situation and I liked how Shann McPhearson handled it!
Sweet Home Montana was a clean and quick romance that reminds you that we are all worthy of redemption and your past does not define you.

{Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review}

How far would you go to follow your dreams?

Quinn makes the ultimate sacrifice, leaving her family, home and her fiance to chase after her dreams in New York. Filled with shame and regret she can't bring herself to come home until she receives devastating news that forces her to finally make amends with her past mistakes.

I really felt for Quinn, even from the beginning. It's clear she's not living her dream in New York, as much as she's trying to. She's working too much, she has no real friends except for her assistant, and within the first chapter, her job is on the line. It was easy to root for her as a character and hope for the best. The amount of remorse she feels is heart breaking. You can really feel the fear she has about coming home and facing up to her past.

It's a fear that is realised when she does go home and receives a luke-warm welcome at best. The only ones who seem happy to see her are her older brother and his wife. I really liked Cash and Shelby, I actually kind of wish they'd had a bigger part to play because apart from Quinn, they were the only characters that were actually nice.

And that was my biggest issue with this book, why I can't rate it any higher than 3 stars. I am, primarily, a romance reader and I hated the romance in this book. I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters. They had too many issues separately to really work as a couple. Colt spends most of the novel telling Quinn he hates her, making her feel low and guilty whenever she's around him. I get that Colt had his own problems, but most were of his own making. He could have followed Quinn, he could have done anything than what he did. And then there was the way he treated Quinn, which was disgusting. (view spoiler) I also really didn't like Tripp, but the less said about him the better. There were a few times when I just wanted Quinn to say screw them all and just go back to New York. I could not understand why she kept apologising over and over to them when they just kept on repeating that they hated her.

I absolutely loved the way the author tackled some big issues however. She does not shy away from exploring the effects of a mother's death and words on her daughter. Quinn is deeply hurt by her mother's past actions and they colour everything she does.

And my gosh, the grief the siblings go through was beautifully written. Each one deals with it differently and it was wonderful how the author explored all of them. My favourite parts hands down were those when they all sat around discussing the good times, they were so heart warming and emotional.

So overall, as a book dealing with redemption and grief it was brilliant. Just for me, it didn't work as a romance.

Sometimes you have to find yourself to face the errors from the past.
This is the story of Quinn Wagner, she had left her groom at the altar ten years ago, now her father is dead and she has to return home. Is she ready to face everything that she left behind or it will be too much for her?
This is a romantic story, yes, but don’t stay only with the romantic part of the story, because it has much more on it. Quinn left the love of her life at the altar, she knows that it was not the best choice, but she didn’t want to leave her dreams either, something I think everyone can relate too. Now, she has fulfilled the accomplishments she was eager to, she is more mature and is ready to take a step back and decide what does she really want; the family or the job?
I have to say that I really enjoyed this read, it has romance and chemistry, but family, friendship and a human touch that any reader could feel related too. I liked the friendship between Quinn and her brothers, she knows it will not be easy to have their trust fixed so soon, but they love each other and know that no matter the past, they have a future together.
I think the chore of the story is that you don’t have to be afraid to follow your dreams and leave everything behind, that if something is meant to be it will happen sooner or later, you only have to wait for the right moment.
Ready for the “Sweet Home Montana”?

I stumbled across this author on Twitter, downloaded her debut, Where We Belong, and I was immediately hooked. With descriptive writing, developed and relatable characters, Shann takes you on a journey with her words.

I really felt like I was there with Quinn. I felt her sadness, her trepidation, and I felt the guilt that was clearing eating her up inside. She’s a strong, independent woman who has made mistakes in her past, but she’s fragile and real.

Colt is a swoon worthy cowboy with a jaded past, and you can’t help but fall in love with him.

Tripp, Quinn’s twin brother, is an impossible prick you really do hate, but there‘s just something about him, and I would love to see his story next... maybe a romance is on the cards to help heal his heart with a certain curvaceous, tattooed bartender perhaps?

I loved this story.. Black Canyon is a beautiful setting and I could read more and more about the multi-dimensional characters Shann has created.

With strong K.A Tucker and Jill Shalvis vibes, I can’t wait to read more from this very talented author..

Ok so the problem here is that everyone in this is awful. I mean if I could have got past this, the book would have been fine: second chance romance, with high school sweethearts who get back together after she left him at the altar. But the issue is, I never really understood why she did it - she says it’s because her mother told her never to give up on chasing her dreams and she was too young to get married, but that it just doesn't feel like enough of a justification for running off at the altar and not coming back for a decade. I know it needed a central conflict, but I just don't think this worked well enough. And everyone else is awful or 2d or awful and 2d too. Frustrating and annoying. Never mind.

Ten years ago Quinn decided that she couldn't forget her dreams and stay in her hometown and marry her high school sweetheart Colt. Leaving him at the alter was hard but leaving her father behind was harder as she headed off to New York - never to return.

Working hard Quinn has made a naje for herself in the city that never sleeps. However, a call from her older brother telling her that her father has died sends her world into a spin. Not only did she not get to say goodbye to her dad but she now has to return to Montana the place she has been avoiding for the last ten years.

Going home isn't easy, especially when live has moved on without her. Yet she sees Colt and starts to realise what she left behind and questions whether she made the right decision.

An emotional read full of regrets and questioning decisions.

A really good read. Second chance romance that doesn’t disappoint, full of laughs, with some tears along the way. Likeable characters who you hope to meet again in the next book. Definitely a series starter.

An enjoyable read for fans of romance.
When high-flying property mogul Quinny Wagner returns from New York to her hometown in Montana, it's to a mixed welcome. Her older brother and family greet her warmly, but twin brother Tripp still blames her for his friend Colt's breakdown after she jilted him and left home forever 10 years ago. Now their father is dead and the siblings have inherited the Wagner Ranch, can Quinny repair relationships with her brother, the townsfolk who still regard her with suspicion, and Colt, whom, she soon realises, she still deeply loves?
If you like a romantic story with feisty yet vulnerable heroines and square-jawed, taciturn heroes whose muscled bodies conceal sensitive hearts, then this one is for you! Despite hints of hidden secrets, I felt the narrative lacked suspense, and I'd have liked to have learned more about Quinny's mother, who had always urged her to follow her dreams before her tragic untimely death - that would have added intricacy to the plot,
However, I did enjoy the portrayal of the different family dynamics between Quinny, her brothers and her late adored father. There's also a wonderfully camp character in Oliver, Quinny's New York assistant, who helps lighten the mood whenever things get too much for Quinny. Will she have a happy-ever-after - well, this is a romance ...

This was a quick and easy romantic read set in Montana. It is a tale of second chance love between Quinn and Colt, the two main characters.
Following a family tragedy, Quinn returns home to the family ranch where her brothers still live. She has been away for 10 years living her life in NYC and finds some challenges from her family when she returns. She also meets her teenage love and both are very aware that their feelings for each other are still not far from the surface. Quinn feels though that Colt is hiding something and I had worked out what this was before the secret is revealed, although it did not disappoint that I had worked it out. I liked the characters, the storyline was engaging and kept me turning the pages. Quinn's relationship with her twin brother Tripp was a part of the book which I felt was weaker than the rest and I thought the resolution of their differences was briefly described.
Overall, this book is a good read, it has a very likable cast of characters. and the romance between Colt and Quinn was nicely done and their ability to overcome their past experiences was touching.
I gave this book 4 stars. A good romantic read and I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick, escapist read.

Sweet Home Montana is a quick and easy read. It's a second chance romance that brings Susan Elizabeth Philips' novels to mind.

Although enjoyable, the novel was too short. It definitely could have been fleshed out more. I feel as if Quinn, the heroine, is the only character that's fully fleshed out. I even had trouble fully connecting to the male protagonist but that's likely due to the fact that the novel was written in first person POV. Additionally, if the story had started before the initial breakup and the reader could see the development of Quinn and Colt's relationship as teenagers, the novel would have more depth. As it stands, I don't think the intensity of Quinn and Colt's relationship comes across. Similarly, I feel as if Quinn's relationship with her twin brother Tripp as well as Colt's relationship with Tripp could have been explored in more detail.

Furthemore, although I enjoyed most of the novel the last 25% didn't hit the mark for me. It felt like a twist for a twist's sake. I saw it coming but I did not expect nor understand Quinn's reaction.

Despite all these points, the characters were likeable and the plot was engaging which meant that although the novel could have done with 100 more pages, it was a good read.

This story was just okay for me. I liked the writing and it flowed really naturally, but the heroine just stewed on her problems for too long. I ended up skimming parts because she was going on again about some issue that she'd already gone on at length about. I finished it, and it was fine, but it wasn't something I'd re-read.

Can you go home again?
A second chance romance between Quinn and Colt. She ran a decade ago, will she run again after secrets are revealed? Only time will tell, plus a few tears, a few laughs, some drama, and lots of feels. I was hooked from the first chapter and had a hard time putting it down. I especially liked the secondary characters of Oliver and Riley; everyone needs friends like them.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity of an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a good read. Your read felt for both the male and female leads, and the side characters of Rylie and the older brother were both really good. I found the twin brother childish yet understandable, but I feel his attitude changed too swiftly without a spark to explain it so this was the only character I didn't feel was well written. I liked the premise of the book and the story progressed nicely to a satisfying end