Thank you to Netgally and Dell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars- cowboys, small town, hockey yup I was hooked. Nash is iconic. The relationship between him and CeCe is perfect!!! Love the banter. Love the history. Love the love!

Now onto read the next one as I just got the ARC today!

Paisley Hope just knows how to write spice. Holding the Reins has a small town, found family, her brothers best friend micro troupe. Nash is a retired hockey player with a traumatic past who know is rejuvenating their hometown in Kentucky. Cece moves home to her family’s ranch after escaping a terrible relationship. Once they become intertwined , they can’t deny the sparks between them. I appreciate that each character has growth and love found family. Can’t wait to see what else this series brings!

<b>3 stars</b>

wow! i really want a cowboy/hockey player bf now. nash and cece were sooo cute and i loved their relationship’s development. the setting and plot were also developed really well, i haven’t read any “country/southern” books so this was a really good intro to that genre!

i definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to cowboy romance fans!

<i>thank you to net-galley, the author, and the publisher, for granting me access to this arc!</i>

What a fun, sexy, satisfying ranch romance!
I didn't go in expecting a cowboy AND hockey romance, but somehow Paisley managed to weave them together in a way that just made sense. It hit every trope perfectly - small town, ranch, brother's best friend, small age gap, pining, protective alpha MMC. These are some of my favorites, and I think that Nash and CeCe's story was written really well, with a lot of heart and heat! Definitely looking forward to continuing this series.

Holding the Reins is a compelling introduction to a series. I am very interested in the future character couplings and will be glad to return to the town and spend more time with the family.

After ending her engagement, CeCe leaves the city and returns to her small hometown to live on her family's ranch while she re-sets her life. She is surprised to find that recently retired NHL star, Nash, is very active in the community and has maintained a close relationship with her family. While CeCe and Nash try to ignore their connection and chemistry, it becomes more and more difficult when they end up being around each other so much. Neither thinks they want a serious relationship, but during their time together they unexpectedly begin to help each other process and heal from their past hurts and traumas.

Tropes and Themes:
•Brother’s Best Friend
•Age Gap (less than 10 years)
•Small Town
•Found Family
•Workplace romance

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have found my new favorite series! I’ve been in a Chestnut Springs hangover and the series has slid into number one.

I loved how deep Nash was! I wasn’t expecting to love a cowboy/hockey player, I thought it was going to be too much, but Paisley tied the two together perfectly and did a phenomenal job peeling back the layers of his childhood trauma.

Nash and CeCe’s love story is one for the ages and I’m so sad her dad won’t be around to see it!

I’m jumping into book two now 😉

As someone who loves a small town cowboy romance, this definitely met all my expectations! I felt like this book was written with so much detail that I started to feel like I was southern by the end of it. It took me awhile to pick this one up, but once I did it was a really quick read. Nash and Cece are the perfect couple to me, was definitely rooting for them the entire time. Would highly recommend reading this one and can’t wait to continue the series!!

Nash and Cece have been a part of each other's lives for years. He's her older brothers best friend and practically part of the family. When she comes home after ended her engagement to a weasel of a man, sparks fly. This book is heavily character-driven as opposed to plot-driven so the spice is much higher. But don't let that stop you! I found it so satisfying to see the relationship grow between them! I cannot wait to find out what happens to Wade in the next book!
Main Points:
❤️Forbidden- brother's best friend
🤠steamy cowboy romance
❤️some hockey thrown in
🤠character driven
❤️F*ck it moment
🤠it'll fit - IYKYK
❤️Coffee is life
🤠he's always been protective of her

Received this book as a arc copy and I absolutely fell in love with the story from the beginning. I loved the authors way of describing details and how realistic to southern life she made her character right down to the twang in which they speak. Nash is a women's dream man and the spice was so so good🔥 overall an amazing read and highly recommend to everyone who loves small town romances. Can't wait to read more from Paisley Hope in the near future!!

Hold the Reins by Paisley Hope is a cowboy romance set in Kentucky. Cece has returned to town after breaking off her engagement with a subpar human (to put it mildly). Nash is her brothers’ best friend and a former NHL player, who happens to a part-time cowboy at her family’s ranch. This book kept me engaged from cover to cover. The banter was incredible, the spice was 3 flames and the side characters were compelling! I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

Tropes: Brothers’ Best Friend, Age Gap, Cowboys, Small Town, Alpha Male, Secret Relationship, Pining

CW: Death of Parent, Abuse (not between MCs).

5 stars!

Cecilia “Cece” Rae Ashby takes the reins of her like back from the beginning of the story. Starting us back in her home town, Laurel Creek, Kentucky, after leaving her good for nothing fiancé. This dual POV narrative jumps us around between CeCe, and Nash Carter. Nash Carter is a recently retired NFL player as well as a part-time cowboy. *cough* Save a horse, ride a cowboy. *cough*. Nash is the unofficial fourth child of the Ashby family aka older brother’s best friend trope coming in hot!!!! Outside of the trauma of dealing with an emotionally manipulative and cheating ex partners, the book also dives into the grief of losing family. Not everything takes a serious toll, such as casual Monday which is absolutely essential and probably one of my favorite parts of this book. Nash can be VERY overprotective and I ate up every single moment of it. I also feel like it’s extremely important to include that the country song references chosen are phenomenal.




Pub Date October 22 2024

ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

3.5 stars! I read this book in one sitting, and it was a great, quick read! It had me feeling all the things - giddy, sexy, and then crying into my kindle at times. Nash Carter is king, what a man! I loved that the book was dual POV and we got to see his vulnerability and character develop throughout. I love the whole dynamic within the family, and I hope the next books focus on the brothers! Overall, a fun little western romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

“We’re not a phase. We’re the exact opposite of a phase. We’re always."
•

Cecilia “CeCe” Rae Ashby is fresh off a break-up with her cheating fiancé when she moves back to her family’s Kentucky ranch. In need of a job, she interviews for one that seems perfect for her. Little does she know, the boss would be her brother’s best friend, Nash Carter. It’s been a lot of years since she and the Stanley Cup-winning hockey legend and notorious playboy have been in the same place. but she’s not a little girl anymore, and he looks extra good in those Wranglers when he’s working as a part-time cowboy and bartender.

they resist for as long as they can, although it’s not long before Nash and CeCe cross the line they never thought they would. what begins as “just one night” quickly morphs into something more serious. but Nash has never wanted anything serious before, especially because his biggest fear is losing someone he loves; and Cece has no plans to fall for a womanizer that might break her heart. so what are they supposed to do when they realize it might already be too late to turn back?

Let me just say that Holding the Reins is hot, y’all. Nash and CeCe are irresistible, and so is the whole cast of characters. I’m officially in love with Silver Pines Ranch, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
•

this and that:
♡ boy with baggage
♡ brother’s best friend
♡ dive bars
♡ family ranches
♡ found family
♡ fishing
♡ friends-with-benefits
♡ he chases her
♡ hockey
♡ hurt x comfort
♡ open door spice 🥵
♡ reformed playboy
♡ sangria sundays
♡ small town
♡ secret relationship
♡ she wears his jersey
♡ when he washes her hair
•

triggers:
☞ cancer
☞ car accident (descriptive)
☞ death of loved ones
☞ grief
☞ infidelity

bless my boots, this cowboy debut blew me awayyy! Paisley has a gift for storytelling! this one has quite literally everything we girlies love about a cowboy romance…small town big family feels, swoony southern boys, feisty females, and spicy spice! Nash-part cowboy, hockey player, boss man, brother’s BFF-is top tier book husband material. And CeCe is every southern man’s wet dream and every southern girls ideal bestie! loved it so much!

A cute small town romance with a hockey man?? Ill always gobble up.. this? Ugh I absolutely LOVED. I cant wait for the rest of the books in this series. Nash absolute PERFECTION. Cece ALSO PERFECTION. She was that girl you rooted for. She realized she didn’t deserve this crap and she GOT OUT and she stayed out! I absolutely loved she was that strong female character and Nash was nothing but supportive and that alpha take care of man ughhh drool. These two were perfect fiery and passionate when it came to each other. I LOVEDDDDDDDDDD that he FOLLOWED HER. NASH you MANNN !

This series is set up so perfect for the brothers to have some great stories next so I cant wait for books 2 & 3!!

5 stars!
This book is everything to me it's absolutely perfect no notes.

**Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Paisley Hope for sending over an arc in exchange for an honest review!**

I loved this one so much! Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope was such a fun read! Definitely more 🌶️ than I was expecting 🤭 but the relationship between Cece and Nash was so good, and I was literally laughing out loud from the opening scene on page one! 😂 I’ll be reading book two when it comes out, for sure!

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ebook.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️


This one didn't grab me right away. The first time Cece and Nash get together, my first reaction: the spice, the banter "absolutely generic and unoriginal." As they develop a relationship, I think the banter improves as well as the pacing. I thought it was interesting that the more he cared for the sweeter and more heartfelt the spicy scenes came across.

I'd like to stick around for Wade and Ivy (Book 2) and this first read was sweet overall, and is a good starting point for the series.

A little bit cowboy romance, a little bit small town, a little bit workplace romance, brother’s best friend, grappling with grief, starting over after a breakup, and much more.

It’s got found family and spice, and ugh, I loved it SO much!

A fun read, the story of Cece and Nash. He is a friend of her family, but will be become more to her now she is back.in town? I liked how it was told from both points of view and look forward to the next books in this series.