I really enjoyed this one so much more than the first book. I just wanted to scoop Cole up and hold him tight. His loneliness was so obvious and his connection with Violet through the internet was so raw. The fact he kept sending messages even though she wasn't responding 😭 and I just adore Violet. She's a little firecracker and absolutely makes Cole face things head on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ARC Review

This was my first Elsie Silver book and it didn’t disappoint. Although it is book two in the Gold Rush Ranch series, it worked well as a stand alone. It introduced a lot of characters that are in her other books. I loved Violet and Cole! There was some real grumpy/sunshine going on here and I love that in a book. Cole was such a multi-faceted character. He had so many sides and just couldn’t only be defined as a soldier with PTSD or a business man. His story really pulled at my heart strings and I just loved how Violet was with him.

There were even a few shocking parts of the book that I didn’t see coming and really enhanced the book and answered so many questions. This is a spicy read and can’t be read by just skipping most of the spice. Some adult themes are woven in, so I can’t fully recommend to the closed door reader. Also some language and you should review the trigger warnings first. Overall I really did enjoy this one!! I loved the horses and the racing and the “western” lifestyle!

Favorite Quote:
“Everything about us feels so unlikely, and yet so fated. After all the bad things that have happened to me in my life, it’s hard to wrap my head around the universe shoving a gift like Violet in my face over and over again. But it’s too much to ignore.”

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to the author Elsie Silver and Net Galley for the electronic advanced copy of the book!

I’m genuinely shocked by how bad this book is. I’ve read the Chestnut Springs series and I’ve heard all about Violet and Cole and how amazing their relationship was so I was expecting something great. If this was real life, these two would’ve had an on-again off-again relationship where all they did was fight at parties and write long paragraphs on Facebook about their ‘ups and downs’, had an oopsie baby followed by a shut up ring and a shotgun wedding, another kid to save their relationship, and finally, a messy divorce with tense custody dropoffs and awkward school events for the rest of their lives. The dialogue was cringe, I didn’t get them as a couple, and I really struggled to get through this. When Elsie Silver hits, she hits HARD. But when she misses, someone’s getting clocked in the face with a foul ball. This easily holds the place for my least favorite Elsie book.

Every Elsie book I read, I can't put down! She gives us such wholesome and beautiful love stories where the couples grow together and they learn to fix their broken pieces together! This book was no exception and I fell head over heels for their love story!

So good!! I cannot wait for the next installment of this series. I love the characters and setting!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

ABSOLUTELY loved this book. the tragic mmc was to die for. this was by far my favorite elsie silver book she’s ever written.

I loved this book so much! The small town romance was done perfectly! And the romance was amazing! Would highly recommend!

this was kind of just what i needed. it was easy to read, easy to get into. pacing was good. cole wasn’t my favorite mmc but i did like how sensitive he was under his had exterior. i didn’t read the first book in the series and i feel like i had a fine grasp on the setting and characters.

#netgalley

Elsie cannot go wrong with a small town romamce! Thank you for this copy, Elsie delivers once again. Will recommend this series.

Elsie silver has such a way with characters. Especially men who are grumpy for reasons.
This is a quick read with some spice.
I enjoyed it.

I appreciated the real struggle part of the story - something I enjoy with all of her books. Parts were a bit too spicy for me, but I still enjoyed the well-developed characters and setting.

I love Elsie Silver’s characters so much. I love that this is not your typical relationship and shows some real issues. The relationship between Violet and Cole makes you feel all of the emotions. Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC!

I love Elsie Silver's characters so much. They just feel like real people with relatable issues. I love how Cole and Violet worked through their problems and seeing Cole's growth as a character throughout the book.

This book is an underrated gem of Elsie's. I know she gained popularity with her Chestnut Springs series, but people are still sleeping on her debut series, Gold Rush Ranch. I absolutely loved Violet and Cole's story. Violet is the sister of the Eaton brothers so if you love their books, you'll love Violet's book.

- Small town
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Second chance
- Age Gap

A PHOTO FINISH - Elsie Silver
Thank you @authorelsiesilver, @read_bloom, and @netgalley for this eARC!
+ BLURB:
"I've seen every square inch of Violet Eaton's delectable body and she has no idea who I am.Until now. What happened between us online, in our chats, was meant to stay anonymous and in the past. Until it didn't.It's a small world, but Ruby Creek is even smaller."
艹 THOUGHTS：
First, I'm loving these new covers! They are so pretty!
I absolutely loved this story! It was so nice to see an Eaton again, but I'm really enjoying the new location and the new stories. This one had an interesting start and it definitely kept me interested! I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Violet and Cole had a somewhat anonymous and salacious online relationship for a year until things ended, and they didn't speak again. They don't encounter each other again until they both realize Violet is a jockey for the ranch Cole and his family own. Their initial plan to ignore each other falls apart when Violet gets injured and has to move in with Cole while she recovers.

"A Photo Finish" was my first Elsie Silver and, boy, do we love a forced proximity romance! A slow burn! A second chance! It's peak grumpy/sunshine and the tension between them is so well done. I am obsessed with Cole's damaged and broody schtick, especially since it's actually valid here.

There are so many great little moments with their accidental campout, Violet's race, etc. This one was such a pleasant surprise.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and Bloom Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
A Photo Finish re-releases July 23, 2024

1.5

Yikes. Every book that Elsie Silver writes featuring military ptsd, ends up being my lowest rated out of her entire oeuvre… at least she’s consistent.

Not long ago, Violet posted a nude image of herself online and struck up a year-long conversation with an anonymous user on the site. After revealing her entire self through a sexual video chat, she ghosts “Golddigger85” when he fails to reciprocate.
It’s just her luck that the man who initially propositioned her to sell her nudes, ended up being the co-owner of the ranch she works at, whom she’s forced to live with for a month after suffering an injury on the race track. (Very naïve of her to never consider the possibility that she was talking to a dangerous sex offender.)

The romance was so <b>dry</b>. I can’t fathom falling in love with someone over an online chat when they refuse to even show their face or give away information about themselves with enough detail that would render them identifiable.

Using Cole’s disability (prosthetic leg) as a plot twist like it was supposed to be some shocking reveal that would drastically alter his character was really gross. I would have rather read about Cole being open about his fears of other people knowing about his amputation within his own pov chapters through his inner thoughts, rather than framing it as a major plot device and keeping it a huge secret as if it’s a bad thing to be disabled.

It’s common knowledge to the characters that Cole has ptsd from the military and watching his father die when he was younger, but the way Violet treats Cole’s ptsd in conjunction with her expectations of how he should love her rubbed me the wrong way.

When Cole says: <I>“The shit in my head? It doesn’t just get better because I want it to,”</I> Violet replies with: <I>“Do you want it to? Do you want to get better? Because from everything I’ve seen, you’re pretty stagnant.”</I>
STAGNANT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If Cole was stagnant, he would have never attempted to sit at the track level while she was racing. If Cole was stagnant, he would have never gotten close with her horse Pippy by feeding her or building her an enclosure. If Cole was stagnant, he would have never laid himself bare, showing his most vulnerable state without his prosthetic leg.

Violet also says: <I>“Seems like an extreme reaction to a simple spill off a horse.”</I>
What does she not get about the fact that he had to watch his father die on that very same track in a similar scenario???

The fact that Violet gave Cole a two week deadline to get over his trauma was outrageous and disgusting. She constantly boasts about having empathy since her brother is also a veteran with ptsd, but then she negates all of that by acting so childish and selfish.

Another thing that drove me bonkers was the inconsistency in timelines from when Cole revealed his identity at the race versus how much time had passed since Violet ghosted him. If you compare the events from <i>Off to the Races</I> and <I>A Photo Finish</I>, they do not add up.

I've just got into Elsie Silver this year and I'm in LOVE. After the Chesnutt Springs Series, it was fun to get a story for the Eaton sister, Violet. These books are just so fun and warm, while being very spice. Elsie Silver's dialogue is spot on, seems so real and has laugh out loud moments.

I'm so glad I read this one because I was a little hesitant after the first. I liked Billie and Vaughn better in this book than their own, and I loved Violet and Cole! Elsie Silver managed to capture their strengths and weaknesses well and I loved how she portrayed Cole's PTSD and Violet's struggles to prove herself. The story moved quickly and was engaging the whole time! The only thing I didn't love was how Violet handled Cole's PTSD, but they worked it out in the end!

Review on Goodreads 7/28 and @evelynlainebooks 7/28.

5/5 stars! I couldn’t put this book down and finished reading it in one sitting. A Photo Finish is book two in the Gold Rush Ranch series. I have not read every book in the series yet but I can’t wait to. I have read almost every Elsie Solver book and this one did not disappoint, I have loved all of her books. Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, Elsie Silver and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.