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