Review: Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope

Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope

Series: Silver Pines Ranch #1

Publication date: October 22nd, 2024

Pages: 416

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

In this steamy cowboy romance, a woman returns to her family's ranch after a broken engagement and finds herself falling for her brother's best friend--the first novel in the Silver Pines Ranch series.

Take a deep breath and let go of the reins.

Cecilia "CeCe" Ashby is finally escaping the toxic relationship that has consumed her entire adult life. She's returning to her hometown of Laurel Creek, Kentucky, and to her family's equestrian ranch, unsure of what the future holds.

Nash Carter, the newly retired superstar of the Dallas Stars, is Laurel Creek's hometown hero, local business owner, and notorious bachelor. He's also the unofficial fourth sibling in the Ashby clan. It's been years since his days of tormenting CeCe with her older brothers Wade and Cole. So, when CeCe needs a job, he feels drawn to help her.

Nash can't seem to take his eyes off of his best friend's sister, and it seems she's been staring right back, not without animosity left over from his childish teasing back in the day. Despite their initial reluctance, the fire between them ignites and it isn't long before they jump into the flames.

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Story:

I loved the shared grief between Cece and Nash. They were both dealing with some traumatic pain and really needed to lean on each other. Their pain and the way they were there for each other created a really well done romantic read. The characters had life and heart which smoldered with heat. Their strong denials of their feelings for each other making the characters seem like forbidden fruit was a page-turner. I was severely frustrated with Nash a lot of the book but was glad that he eventually came to his senses. The feel of family in this story and showing that little glimpse into the Ashby family was a great way to set up the story for a sequel with any of the other Ashby family members.

Characters:

• CeCe - I love that Cece is this ray of sunshine on Nash's dark cloud. She radiates this take-no-bullshit aura even when we see her vulnerable parts. She would do anything for her family and that includes uprooting her life for them. She really grew throughout the book and became the strong, dependable woman that her parted father would have been proud of. Her personality melted off the pages and was one of the few characters in all the books I've read this year.  

• Nash - Nash was a golden retriever pretending he was a german shepherd. He tried desperately to stay away from Cece but the more time he found to spend with her he started to grow into his own. His sadness coupled with Cece's plucked at the heartstrings. He was really well described and it was easy to see why the female protagonist would be interested in him. 

Writing:

When I first picked up the book I was thoroughly not a cowboy romance type of reader. I had never found it all that appealing, but after reading Paisley Hope's first book in the Silver Pines series, I think I might have changed my mind. She had a way of tying in the well-known romantic tropes and wrapping them up in leather and spurs. You don't look at the innocent cover of this book and think you're going to get as much heat as you do in the story. This was a scorcher and so addictive I could barely put it down.

Overall:

I really liked how so many of my favorite tropes were represented in the book that I would not have normally thought I'd like. I have officially changed my mind and look forward to reading even more of the author's work.