Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Off to the Races (Special Edition)

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Off to the Races (Special Edition) by Elsie Silver

9 reviews

witcheep's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The story provides what the blurb promises: a romance that is heavy on lust. Any other plot is secondary to that, even though the bond between the FMC and the horse she trains gets a lot of focus as well. The romance is quite entertaining, but nothing special. (I must add, though, that I managed to get through this book easily even though it feels like I'm in a reading slump atm.)

The romance is built on insta lust based on looks, but acting on that takes some time. Some of the smut scenes made me cringe with

how they emphasized possessiveness by talking about how by day the FMC works for the MC and by night she works under him or that she belongs to him.

That made my skin crawl in a very creepy way. I guess possessive dirty talk is – if not a red flag – a heavy turnoff for me. This is not the first time I've struggled with this concept in a romance plot.

I wish the other plot aspects of the romance were stronger, but even the biggest relationship conflict of

lost trust is resolved somewhat easily with a grand gesture provided by money

. The plot might aim for deep background of the MCs being wronged by their close family, but the book as a whole still feels a little too shallow.

I might continue to the sequel at some point; maybe Violet or Mira will have more substancial romances, if they get their turn in the sequels.

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sammymilfort's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My summary:

Vaughn Harding is reeling in the wake of his grandfather’s death and the allegations that his grandfather fixed horse races. Desperate to save the reputation of Gold Rush Ranch, the very same place his grandfather raised him, Vaughn wants to clear the ranch’s name. He starts by clearing house and hiring a new general manager, Hank. When Hank suggests bringing in an up-and-coming young horse trainer, Vaughn has no idea what he’s in for when the feisty Billie Black rolls into the ranch. Billie has spent the last decade escaping her own family drama, and just wants to train horses and win races. As both Vaughn and Billie try to put past family scandals to bed, fireworks erupt between them.

My thoughts:

I’m not sure I have a spirit animal, but I definitely have a spirit author—and it’s Elsie Silver. Her writing style is my favorite for romance books. Her female characters are strong, her language could make a sailor blush, and her spicy scenes are hot.

I love the fiery and feisty women that Elsie writes. And Billie Black is this and more! I love the fireworks between Vaughn and Billie when they first meet. It’s the complete opposite of a meet cute, and I am totally here for it.

Honestly, I found myself rooting for the love story between Billie and DD way more than with Billie and Vaughn. The connections we can have with animals is such a blessing. I have the world’s best Golden Retriever and it is easy to extrapolate my feelings for her to be similar to what Billie feels with DD. I was super emotional through all of the DD scenes!

I really enjoyed this book but it overall left me wanting a bit. The happily ever after was a little too abrupt and contrived for me. I liked the outcome, I just wish it hadn’t felt so rushed.

This is Elsie Silver’s debut novel. And it’s the seventh book I’ve read by her. I started with her newest, Wild Love, and absolutely loved it. Then I read the Chestnut Springs series and loved those books even more! I was nervous to read her debut series, because I know authors really change and develop their writing more with each book. But her debut novel is overall great and I’m excited to read the rest of this series while I wait for Wild Eyes to come out in September!

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

irisvdn's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

edietz22's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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chelle22's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted

4.0

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hapalyn's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book wasn't my absolute favorite by Elsie, but I think that this series will still be fun to read through. Vaughn was just not my favorite mmc, and Billie was cool (but she felt off in the 2nd half of the book, like a different person).

I think the 3rd act breakup was just... annoying I guess. I think if the book was longer, there would've been more time to realistically build the characters' relationship up. I just didn't feel like we had enough scenes of them together (especially any with a lot of tension) to believe their relationship was real. Like, yeah, they had sex, they argued, blah blah blah; but, I didn't feel like they actually had any reason to like each other more than they would a different random person?

I think reading Chestnut Springs before this series wasn't a great idea, but regardless I did have fun reading the book and will continue on with the series. (I'm interested to see Stefan's character arc and redemption!!)

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apolen's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted

4.0

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