Small Town Latin/e Romance: Second Chance at Rancho Lindo by Sabrina Sol
The prodigal son and the sunshine-y woman who likes everyone but him.
Hi Librarygoers!
This week we’re going to small town California. Small town romances have a special place in my heart and on my shelves (I actually have a portion of my shelves dedicated to small town romance!). For me they signify warmth and family and the safety to find yourself.
That’s exactly what we get out of Second Chance at Rancho Lindo. This book has been on my list for a while and I was lucky enough to pick up a signed mass market copy at SteamyLit bookstore in South Florida earlier this summer.
There are also so few POC small town romances that I couldn’t not read this. I drew out reading it over about a week so that I could grab onto that warm, fuzzy feeling reading a sweet contemporary small town romance brings.
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But first …
Before we get to Rancho Lindo, I have a little announcement/surprise/more to come. This week I finished the first draft of my first romance novel! I’ll spend the next while editing the novel, hating it, then editing again. Every once in a while I’ll share tidbits about my author journey but thank you for letting me celebrate in my little corner of the internet.
What is this story about?
Imagine you (Nora) rage quit your job because they won’t let you attend the funeral of the uncle who raised you. You return to the small town Esperanza, California and the farm Rancho Lindo, where you spent most of your summers.
Before you get the chance to leave, the family that owns the farm offers you the chance to stay on as their brand new horticulturist. You accept! You learned your love of plants on this farm and are excited to revitalize the produce in your own image. Pretty soon you’re launching microgreen production and attending farmer’s markets across the region.
All is well until he returns. Gabe, the Ortega brother you had the biggest crush on, who may or may not have broken your teenage heart. You’re a big girl now, and absolutely over it (100%), but that doesn’t mean you have to be nice to him.
Gabe is back from the Army and feels broken in body and spirit. He was forced into retirement because of an injury that won’t heal enough for him to return to duty but he’s lost. The farm hasn’t been his home in years and he has no real direction on what he wants to do next. He figures he’ll help out on the farm in the meantime, but doesn’t think this could be his forever. He’s almost always hated the farm because he never felt good enough for his father or older brother. He’s absolutely looking at the farm as a point in his journey, not the final destination.
He’s absolutely confused as to why you hate him but you don’t actually. You just feel the way the rest of his family feels, that he’s not around for the long haul. You don’t see the point in getting invested in his being here if he’s just going to leave again. Especially after how he left the first time.
So, anyway, he’s here and he keeps finding ways to be near you. It seems like equal parts hiding from his family, not admitting that his injuries are bothering him, and wanting you to like him again (after he remembered who you were!). As he sticks around longer, you two end up gravitating towards one another. First as friends, then as two people avoiding the feelings of more, and finally as two people enjoying one another’s company—even though it feels questionably permanent.
What is the tone of this book?
Everyone (kind of) hates Gabe. Well, not exactly hate but they’re all weary of them. Alongside discovering the beauty of Rancho Lindo, we get to watch everyone waiting on Gabe to make up his mind. Gabe left for the military abruptly and has not spent a significant amount of time in Esperanza since. Everyone, Nora, his brothers, his parents, his grandmother are waiting on him to decide to make the farm his home again.
His mother and grandmother are trying to entice him into staying by plying him with food while the men in his family have different varieties of a conversation that sounds like “shit or get off the pot”.
Nora, reluctantly at first, is his refuge. Often Gabe is with her to literally hide from his family. Either in her greenhouse or attending farmer’s markets with her. Nora is relatively new back to farm life and though she fits in at the farm and enjoys her work, she’s reluctant to do anything else.
They’re both searching for something and it’s beautiful to see them searching for one another, even before they realize it.
Why do I love the small town vibes?
Smalltown romances are like a warm hug and this one has particularly comforting elements.
Gabe’s family - The entire family is involved in farm life. The women in the family are happy to have Gabe back while the men (4 brothers and a father) all have conflicted feelings of Gabe being back, mostly due to his history of leaving.
The town loving Nora - Gabe’s family has all but adopted Nora over the years of her growing up and that hasn’t changed since she returned to the farm full time. She also has a warm reception at the farmer’s markets she normally attends.
Their entire world is that farm - The farm is huge. So huge that Gabe is able to find little cubby holes for afternoon naps and there’s space to keep the farm running and bring in borders.
Who would you recommend this book to?
Small town romance lovers will get lost in this story! If you’re also interested in the second chance romance journey, especially one where the main characters are discovering their new normal after a change in career, this is absolutely for you.
Are you also a fan of small town romances? Let me know if you’ve already loved this or if you’re adding it to your TBR!
HOORAY!!! Congrats on finishing your first draft. So thrilled for you!! And this book sounds amazing. BTW I just finished A Love Like The Sun and adored it. Thank you for highlighting it!