Off to the Races by Elsie Silver | Book Review

March 20, 2024 nanafark

Off to the Races by Elsie Silver
A Small Town Enemies to Lovers Romance

Series: Gold Rush Ranch, Book #1
First release date: April 29, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 388
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My rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 (3.5/5)
Spice level: 🌶🌶.5 (2.5/5)

📕 | This book follows Vaughn Harding grieving for the loss of his grandfather, trying to restore the legacy and name of his family ranch while dealing with a scandal in which his grandfather appeared to be involved. For that, he’s on the hunt for a horse trainer. Billie Black, who is the perfect candidate for the job, although inexperienced, is back from overseas and looking for a fresh start. Their first encounter is rather unfortunate. They find themselves in a tricky situation where Vaughn assigns her to train a tough horse within a time frame, believing that she won’t succeed and that he will not need to hire her permanently. Billie though, wild and passionate for her job is going to try and prove him wrong.

👍🏼 | First and foremost, I liked that it was a “different” kind of small-town romance. It didn’t focus on the dreamy vibes that we often meet (which I don’t particularly appreciate because they’re absolutely unrealistic). The concept of ranch and horses is completely new to me and it’s been very interesting to read.

✍🏼 | This one is Elsie Silver’s debut novel and if you didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to tell. Her language is effective, rich and vivid and I found it aligned with my taste. The main characters were well-crafted. They had depth and secrets almost throughout the whole book and you couldn't wait to uncover them. This kept me hooked and I honestly struggled to put the book down.

💖 | There is a lot of steamy tension between them, a lot of bickering, chemistry and heartwarming moments. It also shows It also shows the very strong bond between animals and humans. Billie has a heart of gold and Vaughn although grumpy is undeniably charming, slightly damaged and in search of himself, they’re sort of opposites but their attraction is apparent from their very first interaction. Another great addition is the whole horse racing element that had me completely on my toes and I felt as if I was on a seat somewhere there waiting near the finish line. Also, I liked how the side characters complete this novel in an ideal way and with the perfect amount of teasers!

👎🏼 | If there is something that I didn’t like, I’d say that I found Billie’s character almost not believable. I can’t imagine someone talking to their employers like that, however sassy or strong-minded they might be, it’s rude and although she acknowledges it, she continues to be rude towards him. Also, sometimes the pacing was a bit off. A couple of times I felt as if I didn’t know where the time went.

❝ She’s a live wire, and I am the idiot happy to see what happens when I pick up the loose end. ❞

🗣 | If you love enemies-to-lovers, small towns but not in the typical way, this book is for you. I haven’t read anything similar so I haven’t anything to compare it, but I’m sure that no one would be disappointed with this.

✨ | Overall, an enjoyable book with a good plot, lots of steam, solid characters and cute moments! I am more than excited to read A Photo Finish which is the second book in the series and we’ve been delivered a huge easter egg about it.

I hope you found this review helpful. If you did, consider sharing it with people who might be interested. Also, if you have anything more to add, please write it in the comments section below so everyone can see it. Until next time!

Love,
Christina xx