Out of the Gate by Elsie Silver | Book Review

Book reviews

23 Mar

Out of the Gate by Elsie Silver
An Origin Story Novella

Series: Gold Rush Ranch, Book #1.5
First release date: March 23, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 112
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My rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 (3.5/5)
Spice level: 🌶🌶 (2/5)

📕 | This book follows Dermot Harding’s story, the grandfather of Vaughn and Cole’s Harding. It’s an origin story about his love with Ada Wilson and how their family businesses started. Ada has been in love with Dermot since she was a kid and before he left for the Army she kissed him goodbye. Three years later he’s back, at age 31, struggling to adjust, and he’s back working at Gold Rush Ranch, where he’s been working for her family breaking horses for the summers since his twenties. Ada grew up there, she’s now 21 and once she graduates her dream is to race horses. But she needs Dermot’s help with her new horse… and we get to see how the story evolves with him feeling regretful about not kissing her back before he left, her being embarrassed about it and a tension between them bigger than their age gap.

👍🏼 | Finishing this book, I’m left quite satisfied. This is a feeling I always crave when I finish a book and to feel it with a book of 100+ pages only, it’s such a pleasant surprise.

✍🏼 | It’s a complete novella to me and it’s something that I tend to mention about novellas. It’s been crafted in a way that has enough depth to feel as though you know the characters well enough to be invested and excited to read more and learn more about what’s next. I seriously consider it a huge success when I read novellas with a steady pace that doesn’t rush it in the end!

💖 | It was a lovely and fast-paced story. I liked how we got to see Ada’s dream coming to life, her being persistent and putting the work and effort towards her dream. Being strong and also stubborn when it comes to him and at the same time, I liked how Dermot is struggling internally with the situation they’re in and believes that he’s not enough for her but is eventually working himself out to get the girl!

👎🏼 | Unfortunately, I didn’t feel connected with all the dialogues, especially on Ada’s part. She was often acting opposite to her internal dialogues, maybe immaturely and her lines were not my favourite. Also, I’ve read Off to the Races and A Photo Finish first, and I wish we could have seen more of the future in Dermot’s life, so we could see Vaughn and Cole in his life and their time together in Gold Rush Ranch. I believe that this, would have made Dermot’s story more complete and more tied with the rest of the books.

❝ She’s practically glowing, and the smile she gives me now? It’s like looking into the sun—downright blinding. ❞

🗣 | If you enjoy second-chance and age gap (10 years) tropes and you like novellas (100+ pages), this one is for you. I’d also recommend reading the rest of the series, too, but to read this one first!

✨ | Overall, an enjoyable novella with a nice plot, some spice, solid characters and heartwarming moments!

tropes + micro tropes :

second chance
age gap (10 years)
childhood crush
small town
forced proximity
forbidden romance
sports/horse racing

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