Elsie Silver’s A Photo Finish delivers all the charm, tension, and emotional depth fans of the author have come to expect. With its engaging characters, picturesque setting, and a love story that simmers with just the right amount of heat, this book is a satisfying ride from start to finish.

The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and Silver takes her time letting their relationship develop, making every stolen glance and moment of vulnerability feel earned. The backdrop of small-town life and ranch culture is lovingly detailed, grounding the story in a setting that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly authentic.

While the romance is beautifully written, a few plot points feel slightly predictable, and certain secondary characters don’t receive as much development as they could. However, these minor shortcomings are easily overlooked thanks to the story’s charm and emotional payoff.

A Photo Finish* is a perfect pick for readers who love heartfelt, character-driven romances with a dash of cowboy flair. Silver once again proves she’s a master at capturing the complexities of love, life, and second chances.

After reading the first book in the series - I am unable to pick this up. I don’t like Elsie’s writing and can’t connect with the characters unfortunately.

Definitely one of my all time favorite Elsie Silver books! I had read her other series prior to this and was always curious about Cole and Violet. Elsie did a really great job of weaving the two timelines of the past and the present. The angst between these two was so delicious and made for such a satisfying ending. Also, that twist about Cole!! Totally blew me away. These two might be my favorite pairing of the Gold Rush Ranch books.

Elsie Silver is a queen and she can do no wrong in my eyes in terms of cowboy romance. I highly recommend picking this one up!!

Elsie Silver is my new “auto-buy” author. All her books are so good! She’s incredibly talented at writing well ball ad never romance stories with good characters and plot.

Look, Chestnut Springs had me singing cowboy take me away for months. The author is an auto-buy for me. This premise on this one was a bit hard to swallow *insert Beavis and Butthead snickering* but I still really enjoyed it. I love the angst and the tension and really appreciated the mental health rep.

Definitely one of my all time favorite Elsie Silver books! I had read her other series prior to this and was always curious about Cole and Violet. Elsie did a really great job of weaving the two timelines of the past and the present. The angst between these two was so delicious and made for such a satisfying ending. Also, that twist about Cole!! Totally blew me away. These two might be my favorite pairing of the Gold Rush Ranch books.

Elsie Silver is a queen and she can do no wrong in my eyes in terms of cowboy romance. I highly recommend picking this one up!!

Elsie Silver is easily one of my favorite authors. I loved Violet so much! Her and Coles story is one of my favorites! I especially loved when the close proximity when she gets hurt and it forces them together.

I'm glad we finally got our spin-off from chestnut springs. This was cute but I didn't see the growth I'd liked to have seen in the characters.

This was another Elsie Silver hit! Violet and Cole are just meant to be. Cole is a great character. We se his growth the most from his PTSD form the military and watching his dad die to talking to other. I love show their online chats were incorporated and how he learns how to communicate. I really appreciated that we see him seeing a therapist multiple times and talking about what he’s learned and what he is supposed to practice. Well done Elsie! Kiley is a strong, independent, kind, caring, vocal woman and I loved her. Tiny but mighty as they say! I loved all the racing and horse parts especially Pippy. She sounds like a great animal and I would love to have been able to actually meet her.

Overall a great read and can’t wait for more!

Honestly this may be a case of wrong book, wrong time. Since I have gotten this, I have tried reading it three different times and the beginning seems like every other Elsie Silver book I have read. There isn’t a problem with that at all, but I personally think that I need to read books like this very sparingly. So unfortunately, for now at least, it’s a DNF for me.

Another amazing read by Elsie Silver. I enjoyed how she had the characters match each others energies. I was intrigued by how she set the plot line up and had the story arc be conflicting but enjoyed the resolution as the MCs figured out the HEA. I also really enjoyed this western almost cowboy and jockey vibe the story had. It was refreshing and heartwarming with just enough spice in the romance!

This book was so good! I loved it so much more than the first one. I felt like there were a lot of good elements regarding a soldiers life after war that made it so good and made me not want to stop reading. I loved the way the relationship developed and I loved the main character. The writing was wonderful. I can’t wait to read the next ones in the series

this story was WOW, it was vulnerable and painful but in such a beautiful way. seeing both cole & violet’s journeys was amazing!

Very solid read! Overall made me want more! This was my first of this author but will not be my last. I flew through this one so quickly.

ELSIE SILVER HITS EVERYTIME!! Violet Eaton and Cole Harding are the perfect pairing !! It’s the definition of grumpy met sunshine, she’s sweet ,caring but she’s also stubborn and I love her for that !! And he’s complex and complicated like most me, rough around the edges and gives off Doberman boyfriend vibes, the touch her and you die every girl needs in their corner .! They are both vulnerable and dealing with their own issues and I love that we get to go for a ride along in their story and all the other stories Elsie has written with these top tier couples !!

I loved this book!!!! The new cover is amazing and just as beautiful as the storyline. I can't recommend Elsie Silver enough!!!

What you come to expect from Elsie Silver is put on full display in this story. A strong headed heroine, a swoon worthy love interest, and just enough spice to keep you wanting more. I am so happy Elsie is putting Canada on the romcom map. Horses, misunderstandings, and love.

This was my first Elsie Silver book and I am so bummed it took me this long to find her. This is book two of a series but can certainly be read as a stand alone.

The character development in this story was amazing. The author had the triggering topics (PTSD) beautifully. You really rooted for them. The flashbacks were great and added to the overall development/story.

This grumpy sunshine, close proximity romance was a great read! Violet Eaton was a real go-getter. Once she sets her mind on something, she perseveres until she accomplishes it. When she comes face to face with Cole Harding, she panics. He's part of the past she'd like to leave behind. The things she did need to stay in the past especially now that she's got her dream job as a jockey. Cole has PTSD, which makes interactions with people difficult for him. When an injury forces Violet to live with him, the layers of Cole's demeanor start to peel open. They may have started out with an anonymous interaction on the internet, but being with Violet IRL is the balm Cole needs to heal himself from the inside out.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Amazon Review pending system approval
Blog post goes live Oct 15th
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube wrapup

TL;DR: A great example of a grumpy/sunshine type of story.
Source: Netgalley, thank you to the publisher!

Plot: Two people who had an online fling end up forced in close quarters and have to work things out. This was pretty original (for me) in the setup.
Characters: I liked these characters okay, though Violet wasn’t my favorite. She’s very pushy.
Setting: You gotta love a ranch right? This one wasn’t as rich on setting and focused much more on their inner monologue.
Romance: These two had it bad for one another and that was very obvious.

Thoughts:

I really liked A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver, with some caveats. This one is a great take on a grumpy/sunshine with Violet, who finally has her dream job as a jockey. She wins her first big race and in that moment in the winners ring comes face to face with the man she had an intense online fling with a few years ago. Not only that but he’s her boss’s brother in law and she’s forced to share a house after an injury soon after.

Violet is for the most part, very positive and go getter. She goes for what she wants and works hard to get it. Cole is a veteran with PTSD and he’s intense withdrawn. At the beginning of this Cole was a huge asshole, like HUGE asshole. But he slowly comes around and we see more of his personality and why he is the way he is. I started off disliking him and slowly grew to understand him on a lot of levels and I really appreciated a twist that Elsie snuck in there. Violet on the other hand began to feel pushy and abrasive and I lost a lot of love for her in the later half.

Their romance is intense. You can tell they have it bad for each other, and I liked the setup and ranch. My main issue was just Violet and especially her treatment of Cole in the last portion of the book. He suffers from PTSD from seeing his father’s death and augmented by his time in the military. As someone with personal experience with that I really, really, hated how she treated him and his triggers and anxiety. I’m aware it’s going to be different for each person, but if someone treated me that way I would absolutely not react how he did and even reading it was upsetting.

That’s a small complaint, and one that I do know is entirely personal to my own brain/emotional soup. Otherwise this was a very good romance, with clear chemistry and a fun arc to follow. If you like Elsie Silver this one is probably going to be a hit for you.