Member Reviews

I loved every minute of my time with this book! The perfect small town, brothers bestfriend, and found family.


Thank you NetGalley for a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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I wanted to love this SO BADLY. And I just didn’t. Cowboy romance is my fave. I dove in so excited. But found it to be really slow at the beginning. The writing was just a little clunky and I couldn’t ever sink into the story. Thanks for letting me try.

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If Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Spring series and Lucy Score’s Blue Moon series had a baby this is it. What more do you need with a part time cowboy who is also a retired NHL player and businessman. The list of tropes is excellent, brother’s best friend, age gap, workplace, forced proximity, and more. It was very hot and southern.

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An absolutely beautiful first book to the Silver Pines series. Any lover of Elsie Silver will fall in love with this series and characters. Cecelia Rae is a character any female can feel for. The way her feelings, friendships, family are described hits close to home. Paisley Hope does an amazing job describing Nash Carter and his trauma. It was easy to understand how he felt and why he is the way he is. This book is a beautiful love story that I think any lover of small town romance, cowboy romance, hockey romance should read. I have a longer more in depth review on my Goodreads.

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I couldn't put this book down! I really loved Cece, Nash, and the rest of the cast! Cece's support group was amazing and so much fun! The group texts, bar scenes/ Sangria Sundays had me laughing out loud!

Cece finding her independence and her firey personality was one of my favorite parts of the book! I am a sucker for the heroine picking herself up after something happens, in Cece's case, finding her fiancé cheating.

I loved how protective Nash was with Cece from day 1 and the little things he did to show he cared. I swooned every single time Nash left coffee on Cece's porch!

There was the perfect amount of drama and spice... I didn't want the story to end and I can't wait to read more!

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Holding The Reins (e-arc)
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 4/5

Quote:

“We’re not a phase. We’re the exact opposite of a phase. You’re my always. I fucking love you more than I’ve ever loved anything in this life and I came here to make sure you knew it”

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. You hold the reins, baby, I’m just here for the ride, and I’ll sure have fun trying, but…”

Plot:
After a messy, toxic relationship, Cecilia Ashby decides to break up her engagement and come back home to Kentucky to her family. Now retired hockey player, Nash Carter has become a hometown hotshot known to “never settle down” and an unofficial member of the Ashby family. Nash has always been there to help out the Ashby family and when Cecelia returns in need of a job, he helps. As they work closely, the bickering and tension leads them to a heated situationship with them both wanting different outcomes from their relationship.

Thoughts:
Okay, this!! It was such a fast pace book with really good spice! Personally, I love small town romances where your business becomes everyone’s business (but only in books lol). And I also love it when he’s a hockey player, so this was perfect for me! Also, the brother’s best friend trope will always have me in a chokehold!! But let’s move on from that haha Cece and Nash’s relationship, I WANT THAT. Nash had me weak in the knees with how you supported the Ashby family and Cece. The promises he made to Wyatt before he passed away made me cry and not once did Nash not do as he promised! Also, when Cece left to Seattle to pick up her things and Andrew pulled the stunt of making her friends (more like his friends) try to convince her to stay in Seattle and act like everything was normal between them…I was ready to fight but thank god Nash was there! Andrew, it’s on sight when I see you! Oh, and let me tell y’all, THE SPICE!! I ate it up lol Now the scene of them using bourbon will live rent free in my head (thanks!!). OH MY GOD, WHEN CECE SAID “CRAWL TO ME” — I SCREAMED. I was obsessed with this!! This book had more spice than I expected and I loved every bit of it! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read about Wade and Ivy 🫶

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After leaving her longtime fiancee, CeCe Rae moves back home to Kentucky. She's coming out of a nasty relationship, isn't looking for love, and definitely doesn't count on falling for her brother's best friend, Nash. But fate has other plans.

This is a spicy small town romance about loss and finding love despite it. CeCe Rae is a firecracker of an FMC, and you can't help but relate to and love her. Nash is a swoon worthy hockey player/bartender/part-time cowboy. Their love story is adorable, and this was a quick, fun read. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Silver Pines Ranch Series.

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YALLLLLL I think just found my new favorite cowboy romance!!

First off I’m so mad it took me so long to read this. Not because I wasn’t liking it, because I was loving every minute of it. So how dare my personal life get in the way of reading Nash & CeCe love story. Also I’ve been reading some meh arcs lately but thank god for Ms. Paisley Hope for writing one of my favorite romcoms of the year and getting me out of my arc reading slump.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. Nash & CeCe chemistry was off the charts. They had be giggling and kicking my feet over them. Also let’s not forget about the spice. Because Lordy, the spice scenes in this book are some of the best I’ve ever read.

Let’s also not forget CeCe’s family and friends they were also great side characters and I can’t wait for her brothers to get their own love stories.

Again I cannot stress this enough please read this. I haven’t read a good cowboy romance since Elise Silver. So if your a fan of her books then you will also love Paisley Hope. Big thank you NetGalley & Dell for providing me with an arc of this book!

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Cece moves back to her hometown in Kentucky after finding out her fiancé cheated. She leaves the ring he gave her in the other girls panties he cheated with on the kitchen table. It’s petty and I loved it. Upon moving home Cece starts working for her brother’s best friend Nash. The two spark a romance as they work side by side. Age gap romance between Cece and Nash which I am always down for. I also love cowboys, I will always go for a cowboy romance.
I liked this book but feel it leaned too much into the southern tropes. Like Cece’s mother called Mama Jo’s who makes the best sweet tea and the bar with Jack Daniels bottle as light fixtures at the bar named Horse and Barrel, ect. Like we get it, we are in the south in cowboy country. Yee haw. It just felt very heavy handed. Also how Nash was a cowboy and a retired hockey player. I’m not saying men can have many interests but it seems like shoving tropes in tropes.

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This book was absolutely amazing. Small town cowboy romances do it for me but then add in a hockey player. Yes please.

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Nash and Cece are cute but it all felt too quick and to repetitive for me personally. I do love a cowboy romance but this one just wasn’t for me. :(

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YALLLLLL SMALL TOWN ROMANCE IS SO BACK 😩

i cannot get over how good this book is, it took me straight out of my reading slump. i couldve easily read 200 more pages of these two!!!

i was giggling and kicking my feet the whole fucking time, oh my god the chemistry between nash and cece was INSANE, i have truthfully gotten really bored of smut scenes lately and theirs MY LORDDDDD, the bourbon?! THE CRAWLING 😮‍💨 the way the anticipation and sexual tension was built up for them was holy wow. i was getting frustrated for them before they finally said fuck it 😂

every last bit of this story was just phenomenally done to me, i have been craving the hell out of a cowboy small town romance lately and adding in an ex nhl player with a heart of gold on top of it?! yes fucking please 🤭

i really dont have any coherent thoughts other than do yourself a fucking favor and read this one bc nash and cece are superior

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Absolutely loved!!!!

I have been highly anticipating this book since I discovered the author on instagram. Cowboy romances are definitely having their moment right now so with so many out tot can be hard to make something feel unique. Paisley Hope makes this romance feel fresh and new. I devoured this book.

Loved the romance here. It’s brother’s best friend and there’s so much delicious tension between CeCe and Nash. Their chemistry was outstanding and these two were hot! The spicy scenes were so good and hot!!! There’s a bourbon scene that will melt your panties 😂

I also liked the ranch setting.

Loved this and can’t wait for second book in series!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Paisley Hope, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I enjoyed their love story. I loved the discussions of grief and toxic relationships. There is a lot of spice in this one. The way the side characters were introduced into the story was perfect. It makes me want to know about their love stories. If you are a fan of the Rebel Blue Ranch series or the Knockemout series then I think you would enjoy this one!

I recommend it!

✨Brother’s best friend
✨8 year age gap
✨Grumpy/ Sunshine
✨Small town romance
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

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The cover is deceptively innocent - this was way spicier than I expected! I LOVE the best friend's sister trope so I really enjoyed this one. Not crazy about the amount of spice and crude language, but small town romance is another of my favorite tropes so the odds of me reading the rest of the series are really high. LOVE the Kentucky setting!

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Holy spice! This book combines two of my favorite things, small town and sports. Nash is unlike any character I’ve ever meet. NHL star, part-time cowboy, and so gone for his best friend’s little sister. I enjoyed this book so much! I love the characters! You feel like you get to know them so well, and the relationship development is great! You genuinely feel happy for them, and everything that comes. There is so much between these two-I can’t even begin to describe it. Also, the spice is unmatched. I can’t say enough good things about this book!! I will 100% read this again and recommend it to everyone! Can’t wait for the next book!

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

OH. MY. GOD. THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING.

Nash? Daddy fucking Nash?????? The things I would do for this man. If he punched me in the face, I would thank him and pay for the bandage for his hand. Jesus Christ. The man knows what he’s doing in the bedroom and if that isn’t the hottest thing on the planet… 🥵

Cece is the light of my life. I absolutely LOVE HER. I love that she was done wrong but she didn’t cower. She stood up for herself and what she wanted and refused to chase a man again. YOU 👏🏼 GO 👏🏼 GIRL 👏🏼

The side characters in this book had me DYING. Ginger? She’s my new bestie. Cole? I need character art of this man in uniform… for science. 👀 Wade is a lil bitch but I still love him. We love a good broody, grumpy man. Abel Mabel. SWEET BABY SHES SO CUTE. CAN SHE GOVE ME A MANI????? 🥺

The fact that this was a debut blows my mind. You’d think that Paisley has been writing for decades with the way this was written and how easy it was to get into the story. Honestly, I’m so obsessed with this book and it’s all anyone will hear about from me for the next few months. 🥰

Thank you so much for the ARC of this beautiful book 🫶🏻 I can’t wait for book 2!!!!!

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Retired hockey player turned cowboy? Say less. I loved it. Nash was such a babe and this book was so damn hot. The cute storyline honestly took a backseat for me once CeCe and Nash decided to get it on. Whew 🔥 But seriously, this was just a fun and feel good romance. Love brothers best friend/boss/childhood crush. All fabulous. Loved it all. Ueehaw., Ride a cowboy 🤠

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This book was such a fun, feel good read!! There was the cute, small town where everyone knows everyone (blessing and a curse haha). There was the strong, loving, protective bond of the Ashby family, including Nash, that instantly made you fall in love. There was the silly, fierce friendship of the “Not Angels”. And there was Nash and Cece. Nash as the selfless, kind, passionate, HOT “part-time” cowboy that has to face his biggest fear for love. Cece as the spirited, determined, strong accountant that navigates a new lifestyle and finding herself again. They had such a strong pull to each other, their chemistry off the charts. They’re both full of so much love. And the spice… don’t even get me started!! Can’t wait to see how the other stories unfold!!

Only thing I will say is that I noticed there were some moments where it skipped ahead maybe too much? Like when Nash saves CeCe from that disastrous dinner in Seattle. It just skipped to them being at the hockey game. It mentioned that she got her half of the condo shares after selling but not much. And I think it would’ve been cute to read more about the festival since that was a big factor in what brought them together. It mentioned that it was very successful but I personally would’ve liked to hear more about it. And lastly, I think there was a little hiccup in the timeline in the epilogue. This might just be because it is not filled edited yet?

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OMG THIS BOOK WAS SO HOT. I really enjoyed this, it was a pretty classic small town/cowboy romance. I wish there was more that made it stand out, but overall, it was a really fun read.

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