4/5 ⭐️
For someone who is not the biggest fan of cowboy romances, I do love me some Elsie Silver. She writes with just enough romance, and just enough backstory. You will stay invested in the characters the whole time, while hoping and guessing who is going to be the next book.

I did not realize when I received this book that it was part of a series. However, I will now go read all of the other books in the series because of how heartwarming this story was. I did not think that you had to read the first book to completely understand the story; it worked just as well as a standalone.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

⛰️ Book Review ⛰️

A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver
⛰️
I enjoyed Off to the Races, but I loved A Photo Finish. My heart was not prepared for Cole. He’s so broken and sad and guarded, but he’s also sensitive and sweet, and I just love him so much and want to give him a big hug. Violet is small but mighty and is basically the human personification of a ray of sunshine. They were opposites in every way, but they were perfect for each other. This book has some of my very favorite tropes. The second chance romance, mixed with forced proximity, plus his shameless pining, made for the best tension ever. Violet and Cole’s chemistry was explosive and I adored them together. In conclusion, this book was perfect.
⛰️
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
⛰️
Read if you like:
▫️damaged military veteran
▫️age gap
▫️billionaire
▫️grumpy x sunshine
▫️small town
▫️dual POV
⛰️
Thank you to Bloom Books, NetGalley, and Elsie Silver for the gifted copy. I received it for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Who doesn’t love a grumpyXsunshine story?! This was a kinda spicy, super sweet novel with a lot of heart! Cole is that sexy unreachable man you feel like you could change and Violet is the perfect girl to break him, if you’ll forgive my horse jokes. Would definitely recommend to any romance lover!

Short synopsis: After falling off a horse and breaking her leg, Violet ends up staying with Cole a man from her past.

My thoughts: This is my first by this author, and while it’s spicier than I tend to prefer it definitely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed the second chance aspect of this, the time flashbacks from their Internet “dating” and watching them both open up and share their vulnerabilities.

Cole was the grumpiest of grumps, but some experiences from his past really made me understand why. But can we talk about his use of a therapist! I absolutely loved the mental health aspect and using resources to better his life.

Violet was sweet but I feel like compared to Cole we got more surface level from her. It could partially have to do with me not reading the previous books she’s tied to though. I’m excited to try them to get more of her family history.

Read if you love:
- Horses and ranches
- Forced proximity
- Second chance romance
- Grumpy sunshine
- War heros

Could not set it down. "A Photo Finish" flows so well and has such a strong sense of character and setting. This is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone and is also connected to Elsie Silver's Chestnut Spring series. So many good books to read!

Major themes that stood out to me: grief, loneliness, and independence. These are balanced by strong notes of healing, intimacy, and passion. I love that this book is written with a dual point of view - the doubt and love are so clearly felt. And the best part was the positive portrayal of therapy. A relationship didn't magically heal Cole's or Violet's issues, they had to work for it! I appreciate how much they wanted each other, but were committed to taking responsibility for their own growth.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

I love this author but was worried I wouldn't like this series as much as Chestnut springs. I was just as enthralled with these characters. It's a winning formula and I can't wait to get through the whole series.

I LOVE Violet, she was my fave in Off to the Races, and was so excited for her story!

Her and Cole's tension in this book was *chef's kiss!*, their past interactions on how they initially knew each other were hilarious. There were times that I was giggling and kicking my feet!

Cole was such a grump, but also super sweet and I loved how the author made his character feel so real and relatable. I just wanted to put him in my pocket and protect him at all costs!

I loved how headstrong and determined Violet was and how she continued to stick by Cole throughout. My heart sang when Cole finally got the best sleep ever when he was with Violet, SO sweet!

Violet and Cole met IRL because of their job and find out they already know each other from internet. During that time, they became very attached, even in love, until Cole upset her and Violet disappeared. They don't want to spend time together, but Violet hurts herself and has to live with Cole.
I really enjoy this book. The second characters are sweet and funny. Cole is grumpy bue we fall in love with him when we learn more about him. Can't wait to read the other book of this saga!

a photo finish is my top 3 elsie silver book! i love a second chance, grumpy-sunshine, tortured hero romance.

cole was dealt with a bad hand after witnessing a traumatic event on the race track that left him dealing with ptsd. he sees himself as nothing but damaged goods and undeserving of love. violet left home so she could be independent, make something of herself, to forge her own path, keeping a distance from being coddled by her overprotective dad and brothers. i love the journey it took for them to rekindle their friendship and help each other through their struggles. she always shows up for him and refuses to give up fighting for their relationship. cole gradually opens up to violet, giving in and letting her see all the broken and ugly pieces of himself he has kept hidden all his life. no matter how many times cole pushes her away, she keeps coming back. she refuses to give up on him and wants to show him that he is worthy of love and attention. i also love the tension, push-and-pull, angst, pining, and the way he fell for her first and hard.

one thing i absolutely love about the series is how elsie writes about the special bond the characters have with their horses. seeing cole take care of pipsqueak is just so endearing and made me fall for him a little more!

thank you to elsie silver, bloom books, and netgalley for the arc! <3

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

✔️ Second Chance
✔️ Online Friends
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Small town romance

Thank you @netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book!

I fell absolutely in love with Elsie’s story telling in the Chestnut Springs series so when I realized the Eaton sister story was out there I was SO excited to get my hands on it! However I may have hyped it up too much….while I really thought I was going to love this one I really felt myself struggling to finish. 💔

While I hate starting on a negative Cole was a selfish jerk most of the book and although he had good reasons I really never connected with his character. I did however love Violet. Violet was absolutely everything I wanted in a FC - sweet, smart, and badass. She really carried the book for me. I also thought they had a really cute story and loved their chemistry and banter. They had some really cute moments that were truly enjoyable. Overall this book was good but it didn’t hit me like the Chestnut Springs series does.

“You? Us? I think we’re meant to be. You found me, and I found you. Over and over again. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.”

A Photo Finish is the second book in the Gold Rush Ranch series, following Off To The Races. In this book, we get Violet's story - a crossover character from the Chestnut Springs series.

This book has:
-forced proximity
-second chance romance
-grumpy x sunshine

While I did enjoy this more than Off To The Races, it just didn't captivate me as much as romances usually do. I was intrigued by the "before" timeline, and wanted to know what had happened there, but the present-day timeline fell a little flat for me.

Not bad but not very memorable for me, unfortunately.

Overall, this is a cute read. Violet and Cole met in an online chat after she posted a risqué photo of herself. Through messaging, they became good friends until she wanted to take things further and he wasn’t ready. Now, Violet is a new jockey, racing horses, and Cole sees her again. Things are tense between them because of how their chatting left off. Also, Violet’s career goals and Cole’s PTSD create organic tension. I was rooting for them to get together.

I read this book as a part of the larger series and I just loved it! The tension was on point, and both of these characters had me rooting for their HEA. This was one of my favorites in the series and Elsie Silver is becoming a must read author for me.

After meeting in an online chat room years ago, Violet re-meets Cole when he outs himself as her old time pen pal at one of her races. She’s a jockey for his families ranch. They had a sexual, and also deep connection online, and now she’s thrust into his orbit again.

Told as Violet, the sunshine but hard as nails jockey, and Cole, the dark and damaged PTSD soldier, we recount their old conversations, and their rocky path into friendship. But how can old feelings and emotions translate from the internet into the real world when Cole holds himself back from everything good.

I found that although the characters have deep engraved histories and stories, they were also somewhat flat. I found their connection mostly flat and one dimensional, with glimpses into depth that didn’t fully play out. I found myself wanting more, and not getting it.

The steam was steamy for those who enjoy that.

Elsie Silver is phenomenal at writing the perfect man. I said it and I refuse to take it back.
A photo finish was everything I’ve ever needed with Cole and Violet. I read Chestnut Springs first so I was already ready for this!

I'm always a sucker when it comes to grumpy veteran military soldier and a sunshine girl.

We saw glimpses of Violet and Cole in the first book so I'm so intrigue on what happened to them, and this book advertised as a 'second chance' romance. Cole opened up a new company and is overseeing it so he opted to stay in Gold Rush Ranch and Violet got injured so she's staying with him.

I finished the first book, then I cannot stop thinking about our main characters so I opted to just read it asap and I did finished it in a day!

I love our main characters individually and together. It was very cute, wholesome and written well. I do think that it's a bit long for my liking because of the constant push-and-pull situation they were in, but I did appreciate the overall themes of the story.

We juggle the past and present timeline so we knew their history together and the way they are circling around each other in the present. Is it too soon to say this is my favorite in the series?

I read Chestnut Spring series first so it's a good thing that I finally read Violet's story!

A Photo Finish is book two in Elsie Silver's Gold Rush Ranch series, and happens to be the book that introduces Violet, the sister of the Eaton boys who are the MMCs in the Chestnut Ridge series, which I (and everyone else) am obsessed with. For a while with this book, I was pretty sure it was going to be right up there with Heartless as a favorite book in the Elsie Silver series, but ultimately, nothing can actually top Cade Eaton and Willa for me. That said, this book brought the angst, the tension, and the full cast of found family that makes Elsie's writing shine, in my opinion.

Essentially, Violet and Cole had an online relationship wherein Violet had posted one artistic nude and Cole responded and they struck up a virtual friendship. Fast forward, and something went down and now Cole and Violet are both living at Gold Rush Ranch and they are... not getting along well. Throw in some forced proximity, a horse, and a lot of tension and eventually, the two of them manage to find their way to one another.

Important things to know about this book: First, Cole is a veteran and has a prosthesis that he refuses to let anyone know about and has a lot of internalized self-consciousness about it. I would call it ableism, but it doesn't exactly feel like that? But anyway, he's working through that throughout the book. Second, Cole's also dealing with PTSD, not just from the war, but from watching his dad die during a horse race. Given what Violet's career is (a jockey), there's some tension.

I loved the way this book takes a very reticent hero (Cole) who is so wildly reluctant to open up, to talk about his feelings, and puts him in situation after situation to let the way he can't stop caring shine through. And Elsie's plotting really shines through here because I am a huge fan of "romance reasons" but there's not a single bit of that here. The plot all makes sense, it doesn't feel like there's an author in the background manipulating things. Now, Billie (Violet's BFF) may be pulling some strings in the background, but that's another story. ;) I also adore the relationships between all the characters, main and side. I love the tension between Violet and Cole and loved even more when they eventually give into it. I think this book would have benefited from me reading it in dead tree form because there was a lot that I wanted to highlight and for some reason my ARC copy wasn't letting me do that.

(Also, also, there's a line from Cade in here that made me want to fling myself into his arms for a hug and also re-read Heartless, but I've resisted thus far.)

I absolutely adore anything that Elsie Silver writes. I love this series so much and the way she brings her characters to life really makes me feel like I’m immersed in their world. Elsie’s descriptive voice of her story makes the reader become drawn to the characters and the story. I overall really enjoyed this book!

I liked this. It didn’t hook me like her books typically do. I thought it was good still. It did have a slower pace at some parts. Overall i enjoyed it

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!