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.

A Photo Finish is another fun and easy romance romp by Elsie Silver.

Any bookworm looking for an easy, breezy romance should pick up one of Elsie Silver's books. They are a fast and enjoyable read while still possessing a decent amount of depth. A Photo Finish is the second book in the Gold Rush Ranch series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed this book. It may not be one of my favourite Elsie Silver books, but I think anyone looking for a small-town country romance will be entertained by the story and characters Elsie has created. This story is told from Cole and Violet's POV, which I loved. It was great getting to see what was happening inside these characters' heads as they dealt with the curve balls life kept throwing at them while also learning to live together in close proximity. One of the things that Elsie Silver did exceptionally well with this book was hooking her readers in. At the beginning of this book, Violet has just won her first race and is on top of the world. But that joyous feeling comes crashing down when she meets Vaughn's (MC from the first book in the series) brother Cole, who tells Violet he is the mysterious man she had been chatting with online. The problem is that many of those chats were very spicy, and Cole saw every inch of Violet's body. I was hooked, especially when Violet hinted that their online chatting had ended abruptly because of some issue. The noisy bookworm in me wanted to know what happened and how these two would react to interacting with each other in person.

The overall story was wonderful. Elsie knows how to write an entertaining and enjoyable story. She knows when to add twists and is the queen at building up that lusty tension between her two MCs. There is plenty of fun and flirty banter, and this book is bursting with those moments between Violet and Cole that got this bookworm's heart racing. I really, really enjoyed Cole's relationship with his therapist, Trixie. It was heartwarming and delightful and had me laughing at times.

Cole's character arc is what stood out in this book. He is the grumpy in this grumpy sunshine love story. But what is great about his character is that he isn't just that typical grumpy and mad-at-the-world hero. Cole is struggling with PTSD from his time in the military and some childhood experiences. This has left Cole incredibly guarded and rigid in his routine. Hell, his relationship with his brother Vaughn is not even a close one. Really, the only person Cole talks to is Trixie. It was great watching as Cole slowly started to open up to those around him. His journey in this book was believable and will sometimes have your heart-wrenching. I wanted to give him a big old hug and show him that he is worthy of being loved. Violet is a pure ball of sunshine who was determined to show the world and her slightly (ok, very) overprotective family that she could be a success and stand on her own two feet.

The romance in this book is spicy and very hot. If you are new to Elsie's books, get ready for plenty of dirty talk and banging that will get your heart racing. I love a good grumpy sunshine romance, and Elsie is one of the best romance writers out there when it comes to writing a satisfying and perfect grump sunshine romance. I loved Cole and Violet. The beginning or how they first meet is really quite different from other rom-coms that I have read. As the book progresses, we see how their online "relationship" started, progressed, and abruptly ended. There is, of course, plenty of lusty tension between these two. There is this great balance of those spicy, sweet, and quiet moments. All of these different moments really come together to create a wonderful romance, and I found myself rooting for these two.

If you are a fan of grumpy sunshine, forced proximity, second chance, a broken hero, opposites attract, and slow-burn tropes, you will definitely enjoy this book.

A Photo Finish is an easy-to-sink-in book that will make you feel swoony.

Cute and easy to read. A Photo Finish is the second book in the Gold Rush Ranch series. I enjoyed this story; it has some of my favorite tropes! It has an age gap, veteran, forced proximity, and spice. This story has some great character development. I loved that it kind of had a dual timeline going with building the characters' relationship.

The story follows the ranch's jockey, Violet Eaton and Cole Harding, Vaughn Harding's older brother. They initially met anonymously online after Violet posted a revealing photo of herself on the internet. Violet never found out Cole's true identity. Later she discovers it's her boss's older brother. After an accident at the races, she was left in a cast and ended up staying with Cole. Cole has secrets that he plans to keep only to himself, but Violet discovers what they are and helps him to bring his walls down.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Violet and Cole have a history...only they don't know it right away. After they spend some time anonymously chatting online, they had come to terms with they fact that they would never meet. But when Violet starts working on Cole's family ranch, and realizes who she is, he just can't stay away. A riding accident leaves her sharing his home, and he cannot stop thinking about her. But his scars run deep and he's finding it hard to open up to her....as much as he wants to..

What I liked: I loved everything about this book. The forced proximity, their first time meeting in person, their storied history....it was all perfect. I wasn't expecting to love them as much as I did. I could read this one over and over!

What I didn't like: I could have read 200 more pages of them!

Elsie Silver is a romance queen!

It's no secret that I love Elsie Silver's books. First of all, I think these characters are my favorite couple in this series. While the other couples leaned heavily on the physical, which is fine and all, I prefer the couples who get that established connection first. I also love the fmc here. She's smart, prickly, and will not put up with any BS. The chemistry she has with the misunderstood villian from books 1 and 2 is fun to read. And that boy fell so hard. The mmc had some fantastic, swoony lines in there. I really loved the mmc interactions with the fmc family. Really heartfelt.

There's not much to dislike here. The fake dating is always a fun trope to play with. He falls first. I love the horses. Great banter. And a killer last few chapters that had me holding on for dear life.

I will say the beginning was tough. TW here: death of an animal.

Violet and Cole’s online connection is sweet and sizzling, and their eventual real-life meeting is both sweet and exciting. I don't usually like back and forth in the timeline but I really enjoyed this story and felt it added to the overall plot. Elsie Silver’s writing is engaging, and the supporting cast adds depth to the story. Cole has his own big secret and insecurities to deal with and having family members with similar issues I think things are handled very well. Without spoilers make sure you read the trigger warnings. Plenty of steam and a touch of spice.

This is my first E Silver novel and I am going to be adding her to my TBR for sure! Starting w/ the first book in this series. I don't think I missed out on anything by not having read the first book. Glad to have received and A R C from the publisher and happily submitting my honest review.

I absolutely love this series and Violet and Cole will forever be my favorite. Cole has been through so much and i love watching him finally get past his past so that he could have the most beautiful future with Violet. These two were perfect for each other and they will forever have my heart

I give this book 3.5⭐️! While I did like it, I probably would have loved it a whole lot more if I had read it prior to Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Springs series. I do love seeing Elsie’s growth as a writer, but because this was one of her first books, it fell a little flat after reading others she’s written. I am glad to have some of Violet’s story, as well as Cole’s, because they were such a mystery. But, I missed the dynamic of the whole Eaton family together! I’m ready for a book that combines both!

(While the ARC was archived before I was able to read it, I did read this book on Kindle Unlimited.)

This is probably one of my favorite Elsie Silver books!
I just devoured everything about these characters and this world!
Second Chance romance in a small town written by Elsie Silver? Yes please!
I was hooked from the very beginning and I love everything about this book!

iss Elsie Silver is always just such a hit, like all she does is create solid good stories. I love her writing and this book lived up to my expectations. I hadn't read this series, but boy was I missing out. This books has it all, and I love Elsie wrote and brought this story to life. As always elsie knows how to deliver!! that's all.

This book features two people who have been through a lot of trauma but come out authentically themselves at the end of it. Violet is easy to cheer on as she establishes her own life in her own time. Cole has secrets he is desperate to keep hidden and traumas he is desperate to hide from. But with therapy (shown on page, which I love!), hard work, and support, he works through some of his barriers and is able to find love. Featuring lots of horses, angst, and grumpy sunshine energy, this book was a great introduction to Elsie Silver for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC.

I am a sucker for all things Elsie Silver. You know you’re in for romance, a fun setting, super spicy scenes, and an overall enjoyable read! While this wasn’t my favorite Gold Rush Ranch couple (Mira! Dalca!), this was still really enjoyable and heartfelt. I thought the veteran perspective was unique and I was rooting for Cole and Violet! Their online chat wasn’t my favorite but the present timeline was great.