Review: Keep You Safe by Annabeth Albert (Second Chance Ranch #2)


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

We're moseying back to Colorado with Annabeth Albert's second novel in her Second Chance Ranch series. It would be easy to slap the grumpy/sunshine romance label on Keep You Safe, but as always, there's more to the main characters and their story than meets the eye. It was pretty obvious in the series starter, Want You Back, that the ranch foreman, Grayson, and the hospitality expert from California, Adler, were hyper aware of each other. The thirty-two-year-old didn't mind pushing every single button he could push when it came to the grump of an older man he called Foreman Foxy; on the other hand, the forty-six-year-old is trying his darnedest to resist giving in to his baser instincts and his desire to see what it would be like to get up close and personal with the guy who felt like he brought all of that California sunshine to Colorado. (FYI, I'm basing Gray's age off of him mentioning he had his father by his side for forty years and that it had been six years since he lost him, quickly followed by his father's beloved dog.) Experience has taught Gray to not expect people to stay, but Adler is hellbent to convince Gray that Adler wasn't going anywhere, and that they would be much better together than apart.

Keep You Safe surprised the heck out of me, but when I gave myself to really think about it, I shouldn't have been all that surprised. After all, this isn't my first Annabeth Albert book, and I know just how good she is at creating layers when it comes to her characters--both the main and supporting ones--and that while there's a guaranteed happily-ever-after for those MCs, they had a story to tell, and Albert doesn't shortchange her readers. In the beginning, we see Adler prodding Grayson, hoping just enough will push the latter over the edge and give in to what they both want. And yes, at the onset, it seems like nothing more than a physical thing, and keeping things under wraps is both convenient and necessary, what with Gray not being out and him being Adler's boss while Adler is working as a ranch hand. These two have nothing in common. Right? Once we learn more about their back stories, it becomes increasingly clear that they're not as different as they may have originally seemed. And goodness, once they start to fall, you just want to smack them--okay, mostly Gray--so that they'll come to their senses sooner rather than later. But Albert makes the wait worthwhile, because their journey is just as good as their HEA. 4.5 stars!

Release Date: 07 August 2025

Date Read: 01 August 2025

Learn more about Annabeth Albert.

Pre-order Keep You Safe on Amazon.

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