I loved this book, it gave me real Elsie Silver vibes. I loved the main characters and can’t wait to read the brother’s stories and hopefully CeCe’s friends too.

I love romance stories where, although the lead characters are obviously meant to be together, but the female lead still has strong control of her own life. A really fun read!

Wow, thank you so much for letting me read this beautiful story early.
I loved how they was destined to be together, but cece made sure she was in charge of her life not letting someone control her again after her previous relationship.
I cant wait to read more about the family in the next books

A good love story, well written and fast paced

The ex ice hockey player angle and his family history gives it some more emotions than your standard love story book!

Nice :)

dnf @ 6%

this might be a lovely book for anyone who loves cowboy romances but i had to dnf moments after the mmc was introduced. i'm not a big fan of the writing style and i'm tired of reading books that i don't immediately love, because reading it always feels like a chore. i'm also not the hugest fan of the small-town trope and this just serves as a reminder of why i'm not.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book took me a little bit of time to get into but when I did I couldn’t put it down! I feel I’m love with both main characters and really enjoyed watching them develop and find their way in life! The spice was next level hot which was an added bonus! Looking forward to the rest of the series now.

This was a sweet Southern romance that I really enjoyed. The spice was hot and I couldn’t stop reading. Would recommend to anyone after a sweet romance with a lovely HEA

I found Holding the Reins a quick and easy read. A little Jilly Cooper mixed with Fifty Shades it was certainly 🌶️🌶️🌶️ although I did find parts a bit repetitive. A distinctive lack of horses for my liking (based on the promise of the title and description) the story was a little cheesy and predictable.
Many thanks for the ARC, 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I like Christian small town romances, and absolutely love horses. The horse ranch and overall settings were very well done. I found myself wanting to go to the town and ranch. However, the characters felt flat and not fleshed out enough. I felt confused by the plot and it was hard to follow and take things in.

I did like how the characters were with the horses, and found myself looking forward to any mention of the horses, riding, or of Nash's organizing riding classes. Any mention of horses and riding makes me think of my experiences with therapeutic riding.

I really wanted to like and feel for the characters, but I didn't feel anything for them.

Thanks to Paisley Hope and Penguin for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

3 stars

3.5 🌟 small town romance with hockey and cowboy connections! Strong family ties, loved reading about the back story of the family and the impact their experiences had on the main characters. He falls hard despite his damaged past. They both have moments of self discovery finding their way into adult life. Not a higher star as very similar storyline to other books I’ve read. Off to read book 2 though!

This is my first ever Paisley hope book and I was hooked from the first page!! As soon as I started to meet the characters I already wanted to be there for dinner at the Ashby’s on a Monday night. I always love it when the FMC is strong and independent and doesn’t let any one push her around. It’s the perfect mix of super sweet and super spicy. Cece and Nash are honestly the sweetest and I can’t wait to see more of them and to meet and get to know everyone more in the next book ☺️


Thank you to the publishers penguin roundhouse and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review

Absolutely loved this book. The will they/won't they vibes between CeCe and Nash were tingling and all the reasons why they shouldn't were so clear. A perfectly told story full of conflict and spice. Also there was all the small town community feel, full of endearing characters and heart warming family. It was the perfect combination of heart-warming and spice. The secondary characters were all interesting and you're already rooting for their stories. Nicely built up for the next in the series and personally I can't wait to visit the next book.
My only criticism would be, there's a little too much spice - maybe one scene too many and I found Nash a little bit overbearing but that's just my opinion (and the sign of a well drawn character when I completely believe him).
Fantastic start to a series and I can't wait for the next one already. Congratulations to Paisley Hope. A winning series I'm sure.

Ce Ce has returned home to her family following the breakdown of her relationship. Nash is like a family member having been brought up by the family when his parents died but the chemistry between Ce Ce and Nash is unmistakable. This book primarily is about their relationship and how it progresses.
I liked the fact that there was the flashback scene as part of Nash’s dream because it allowed me to understand his character better. Lots of interesting characters who all played a part in the book.
The book was very spicy and possibly a little over the top at times and I did cringe a couple of times with the things Nash said but overall a steamy cowboy romance book which is worth reading.

Thank you to Random House, Cornerstone (Penguin) and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book with opinions all my own.

This book was provided to me as an arc and I’m very grateful.

Marketed as a book for “fans of Elsie Silver”, I expected to love this book. Unfortunately, whilst it did have small town vibes and horse elements, I was overall unimpressed. I found the story to be slow paced and dragged out in areas. I felt no chemistry with the main characters. I also thought that there was an awful lot of characters were introduced with no real purpose.

I do hope this book falls in to the right hands with people who will love this slow paced romance!

Brother’s best friend, age gap, small town romance. I’m deep in my cowboy phase and really enjoyed this! It has Lyla Sage vibes, so would recommend if you’re a fan of her work. The spice was a little much at times but I don’t think it detracts from the story too much. A good summer read!

If you enjoy small town cowboy romances, or a steamy ice hockey romance; this is the book for you! Laurel Creek is not only the home of fond memories, but also the home of new lessons for the books FMC CeCe Ashby.

She’s a heartbroken accountant, he’s a retired hockey player who now owns multiple business', and he ends up hiring her. What could possibly happen?

This book follows the path of grief, heartbreak and CeCe once again finding her place fitting back in Laurel Creek now everything has changed. With her recent relationship breakdown from her Fiancé, CeCe is only interested in short term flings. But being in that headspace working in VERY close proximity to an extremely good looking man, doesn't always mean for smooth sailing. I adored watching her journey back into life, enjoying Sangria Sundays with the girls, Monday dinners with the Ashby Clan (Narrowly avoiding paying her niece money for her swear jar...) , and starting her new job working for her Brother's childhood bestfriend (and close family friend) Nash.

The chemistry in certain scenes in this book was ELECTRIC. (From the intro on page one of 'To all my babes that know they can be a strong modern woman, yet still shamelessly drop to their knees like the good girl they are the moment their cowboy tells them to.' I knew it'd be good.) If you're into spicey books, look no further.

The mix of power play, various tropes, and a simple love story all mixed up in the day to day life in Laurel Creek had me obsessed from the get go. I'm already waiting for the next book.

Thank you to Paisley Hope, Cornerstone, Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

Holding the Reins is a well written small town, (part-time) cowboy/ex-pro hockey player romance with some brother’s best friend aspects. I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down because of how engrossed I became. My one negative for this book is that the fight felt forced and not a natural continuation of the story. That being said I did still really enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it to everyone who likes cowboy romances.

Summary: Cecilia "CeCe" Ashby returns to Laurel Creek, escaping a toxic relationship. Nash Carter, her brothers' friend, can't resist his attraction, igniting unexpected passion and challenging rules they put in place to protect their hearts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

This romance novel hits all the points of the genre, does a great job with the tropes and is a fun read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Cornerstone, Random House UK and the author Paisley Hope for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was your typical small town/cowboy romance but throw in A LOT of spice. I always love a brother’s best friend/age gap trope and I also love that it had aspects of sports romance thrown in as well with the MMC being a pro hockey player.

I liked how the book touched on sensitive topics (parental loss) and dealt with them in a very respectful way. I also loved the family & friendship elements that were depicted as well.

Now, don’t get me wrong I did enjoy the book however for my personal taste there was a bit too much spice which I never thought I’d say! Sometimes the spice did overtake the plot of the book! As much as I enjoy elements of spice in a story for me it does need to add to the story. I did feel that some of the scenes were not needed and may have just been fillers in the book. However that is just my personal taste and that being said I did stay up well past my bed time to finish off this book. It was a fun and cosy romance and it did have me giggling and gasping at times. I look forward to reading more by Paisley Hope!

I loved this book. It's your typical brothers best friend, forbidden romance and it was definitely giving 'Layla Sage' vibes. This book was well written and incredibly hot! The chemistry and anticipation throughout the book was so captivating, and I loved the family aspect. I will be eagerly waiting for the rest of the series!