Elsie Silver does no wrong!! Loving the Gold Rush Ranch Series so much. I love Cole and Violet's story and love the depth this book had especially with Cole's mental health journey!

What to expect:
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Small town romance
✨ Western/ Racehorse farm
✨ Dual POV
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ Mental health rep

🐎Small Town
🐎Forced Proximity
🐎Second Chance
🐎Grumpy/Sunshine
🐎Age Gap

A Photo Finish is book two of the Gold Rush Ranch series of interconnected standalones. After reading Flawless and Heartless I couldn’t wait to read the little sister, Violet’s story. It has some of my favorite tropes such as grumpy/sunshine, age gap, small town, and forced proximity.

Cole is Vaughn’s brother from Off To The Races and he has temporarily moved out to the family horse ranch to help with one of their businesses. While there he runs into Violet who he recognizes as someone from his past…and he’s not too happy with her. I loved his grumpiness and the angst it causes. He is closed off and doesn’t care for people…especially in his space that he likes to be spic and span! And along comes Violet to tear down all his walls. Violet is such a sweetheart but isn’t one to let others push her around. She finally has her own life away from her family and she isn’t about to let anyone get in the way of her dreams.

I love Cole and Violet together. They help each other heal and Violet is there to help Cole with his insecurities of feeling like he doesn’t deserve happiness. This is a slow burn but the build up to the spice makes it even better when it finally happens…and boy was it HOT! I can’t recommend this book or author enough! I can’t wait to keep reading more of her stories!

Elsie Silver’s A Photo Finish is such an addicting romance novel! The story revolves around Violet Eaton and a mysterious former soldier whose online encounters were supposed to remain anonymous and fleeting. However, fate brings them face to face in the small town of Ruby Creek, where they must confront their past and the undeniable chemistry between them. The author writes a sizzling romance with deep emotional resonance. Cole’s struggle with invisible wounds from his past, juxtaposed with Violet’s vibrant and captivating presence, creates a dynamic that is both intense and tender. His grumpy yet vulnerable facade slowly melts away as he and Violet share a roof, revealing the layers of his character and the scars he hides.

This book is amongst my top Elsie books I just loved it. 5 easy stars. I love a broody dark with demons mmc, and being on the ranch seeing the eatons, I love it so much. I have zero complaints and only wish I could read again for first time again….

For all the fans of Chestnut springs please read this series! This is such an underrated favorite of mine. It has Violet Cade aka the sister of all the boys at Wishing Well Ranch. This book also deals with heavier topics like PTSD and therapy. Like all of Elsie’s books this is the perfect small town romance book. You fall in love with not only the main characters but the secondary characters as well. This is a group of found family who are all there for each other.

“We all make choices. That’s what he told me once, and he wasn’t wrong. It’s why I moved on. It’s why I disappeared without a word. It’s why this awkwardness between us now is on him, not me. My head knows exactly what choices to make where Cole Harding is concerned. But my heart? It’s not so sure.” — A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver

Just over here loving everything that Elsie Silver writes! Gah, she is a mastermind with words and I can’t get enough!

I read Elsie’s Chestnut Springs series before starting her Ruby Creek series so I knew about Violet going into this story, but that definitely did not prepare me for who she is as a character nor did it give any inkling to how she met Cole or who he is.

I adored Violet. She’s sweet and quiet at first but also very spunky and has a wild side she’s afraid to unleash. Cole was such a great grumpy hero. He’s a war vet with PTSD and Elsie handles this with such care and openness and it was done so well. He and Violet are a perfect example of the grumpy/sunshine and second-chance tropes.

If you haven’t read Elsie before, you’re seriously missing out! If you have read her then you know you need this book/series in your life asap!

Violet Eaton left her family to make something of herself. She ended up at Gold Rush Ranch helping where she could, she never expected to become a jockey and race horses in the process. Enter Cole, Vaughn's older brother. He's cold and stand-offish. But when he encounters Violet after she wins a race, everything changes. Secrets, previous encounters and an injury thrust these two into the same orbit once more. Will they put aside their differences for a second chance or will they crash and burn?

After making it through Chestnut Springs and the first Gold Rush Ranch book, I FINALLY got to read about Violet Eaton! I have been dying to read her story ever since she popped up in the Chestnut Springs series. The promise of Violet's story within the Gold Rush Ranch series was the main reason I had started this series.

I absolutely adored this book! The tension between Violet and Cole was so drawn taught that I couldn't wait for it to snap and when it finally did...I was in pieces.

When Elsie writes her characters she breathes life into them These characters were very well rounded. I specifically enjoyed the evolution of Cole's character and it's safe to say he probably ended up being one of my favorite characters throughout this entire series. (I could go on and on about Cole but for the sake of spoilers I digress.)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it has ended up being my overall favorite of the series. If you're looking for something to pick up after Chestnut Springs, I highly recommended Gold Rush Ranch...you will not be disappointed.

This is one of my favorite Elsie Silver Books EVER.

Cole and Violet? SWOON.

There is just something about a hard, grumpy man and a woman he softens up for.

The banter was everything. Their relationship was amazing. I loved how it trickled in bits of their past connection throughout the story.

I loved the ending more than anything. I would read Elsie Silver’s shopping list.

"You don't look at me like I'm tragic. You look at me like we're inevitable."

I am so glad Elsie Silver is republishing the Gold Rush Ranch series because, in this version we get a bonus chapter where Cole and Violet are AT WISHING WELL RANCH!! (Honeyyyyyy I'm homeeeeeee).

UGH MY HEART!! I knew I was going to love Violet Eaton, but I didn't know it was going to be this much. Her and Cole are sooooo <3333 When I met Cole in "Off to the Races", I was shocked he was going to be the mmc in this book, but I was so so wrong about him. In the very first chapter you learn him & Violet already know each other and when I learned how... my jaw was on the floor. This was equal parts swoony, funny, and overall entertaining.

As someone who's favorite book from the Chestnut Springs series was Heartless, this was everything to me. Cole is very similar to Cade (minus the child) and Violet says as much during her pov twice.

Tropes:
💛forced proximity
🩶small town
💛grumpy x sunshine
🩶age gap
💛he falls first
🩶dual pov

A Photo Finish is my first book by Elsie Silver and I enjoyed it. I adored Cole and Violets storyline especially in reference to the mental health aspect.

I always love a good online/ pen pal romance and thought this author did a nice job with that. Cole meets Violet online. Violet does not know anything about Cole, and the only thing Cole knows is what Violet looks like. When they do meet in person, Cole reacts poorly and .

Fast forward to a few years later no and their friendship has rekindled when Violet has an accident and needs to recover and enter the forced proximity situation.

As time passes their relationship has grown, and the feelings they have for each other. They really fought for each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy for review

Rounded up from 4.5
Sweet and sassy Violet has gone from groomer to jockey. But when she is injured, she is forced to cohabit with grumpy Cole, who she met on a special website a year ago...
This second chance, forced proximity, grumpy sunshine romance is book 2 in the Gold Rush Ranch series, and I loved it! I liked book 1 better, this one gave me a bit less of the feels, but this was still very good! The tension was great, and so was the spice.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

HOLY SHIT. this being violet’s origin is crazy i didn’t know she had a book 😭😭😭 (i wanted one the entire chestnut springs series, shame on me for never looking into elsie’s backlist) anyhoo, what the fuck 😃

seeing them happily married in chestnut springs is BEYOND insane when you find out how they met…and fell in love…i’m just completely flabbergasted!!!! i loved violet, but cole was just there. when grumpy toes the line between uncommunicative bastard, i can’t really get behind it and he was actually a lot more frustrating than he was swoon worthy most times, and violet’s a better woman than i.

her writing has improved TREMENDOUSLY in the romance aspect. she’s nailed butterfly inducing stories to a t, but i’m still excited nonetheless for the rest of gold rush ranch

After powering through the Chestnut Springs series, I was super excited to be able to read this series and learn more about Violet and her life/friends!
I will be honest that this one was a little hard for me to get into initially. I generally love a grumpy, broody MMC but Cole was SO GRUMPY that it felt like it got in the way of the chemistry a little bit in the beginning.
That being said, there’s definitely a little “twist” I wasn’t expecting about halfway through, and I’m so glad I kept reading to that point because it explained a lot for me about the characters! Cole ended up being one of my favorites, and Violet was so easy to like. I love that she never gives up on Cole and was such a fierce ray of sunshine the entire time.
I blew through the last half of the book - I love Elsie Silver’s writing so I knew she wouldn’t let me down and she didn’t!
What a beautiful small town romance!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom books for the ARC!

Hot take: Elsie’s original series is PHENOMENAL and deserves all the attention, if not more than Chestnut Springs!

We get the first Eaton siblings love story in this book & Violet and Cole are just magnetic. Their romance is so fun, quirky, and hilarious. This grumpy x sunshine pairing was just written perfectly and Cole being a veteran battling PTSD makes you wanna wrap him up in a hug sooo much (their camping scenes just did something to my heart 🥹)

5⭐️, 3🌶️

Read this if you like:
•cowboy romance
•grumpy sunshine
•age gap
•forced proximity

I love that we get Violets story here as I love the cade brothers. I love the life she built on her own. Definitely read this one!

"I don't need you to love horses, but I need you to love me."


Similar to the first two books in this series, I was not vibing with this book. However, the last third of the book really won me over. I like Violet and Cole's communication skills and how they resolved their issues (aka Cole getting his shit together haha). And the epilogue was just the cutest thing ever. These books awaken my inner horse girl, especially this one. I love Violet being a jockey and getting that unique perspective. My favorite book in the series so far!

If you liked The Nanny by Lana Ferguson, you'll enjoy this one!

Wasn’t expecting to like this book at first but the plot twist pulled the rug out from under me. I wish we got to see more of Violet’s family though. Initially, I thought Cole had no storyline and when I found out the truth wow. Nicely done Elsie Silver! You’ve done it once again 😱 I was really surprised with this book and how the story all tied together. I felt undeniable chemistry between both main characters.

Tropes:
🐎 Second Chance
🐎 Military Rep
🐎 Small Town Romance
🐎 Forced Proximity
🐎 Age Gap

This book was amazing, like elsie and narration love it.
I love the set up.
Violet and Cole dynamic was great.
I like how they both work their problems and how it is a whole process.
Also the representation of a amputee very well done and it does deal very tactfully with ptsd and other mental issues.
Overall I really enjoy it and this was a fun and very good read