A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver
POV: Dual 1st Person
Series: Gold Rush Ranch book 2
PoP: 70%
Tropes: Slow Burn; Enemies to Lovers; Close Proximity; Second Chance; Damaged Hero; Sports Romance
Rate: 5/5 Stars
There are moments you start a book by an author and go into it thinking there is no way that the second book that they have published is going to be as good as the first. But then book two blows book one out of the water. Elsie Silver surprised me when I read book one and continues that with a strong sophomore showing. Cole and Violet have a history that doesn’t become clear until halfway through the book. You get snippets of their history, and you think that you know where it is going, but Silver takes you a different direction.
Cole is a man who went to war as one person and came back completely different and not quite whole. Violet is a woman who was sheltered by her family and is making a name for herself. She is doing that has a jockey for the Gold Rush Ranch. Cole has moved back to the ranch for a short time because of some business dealings that he is working on.
I loved their characters and the way in which their story progressed together as well as apart. Cole is an extremely troubled person, and while he is working through a lot of those issues, he still holds back so much. Silver treats Cole’s PTSD and personal issues and hang ups with great care. Violet fights the feelings that she has been harboring for Cole because of the outcome of the last time she put herself out there. There are so many excellent points in this book, but one of my stand-out favorites is the way in which they have their third act break-up. I don’t want to give anything away, but the way in which Violet treats Cole is extremely important. And Silver treats Cole’s PTSD and personal issues and hang ups with great care. There aren’t forced moments, or a forced break, everything in this book moves forward naturally and makes sense. If you haven’t give Elsie Silver a chance… you are missing out.
