Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Off to the Races

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Off to the Races by Elsie Silver

10 reviews

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I’m enjoying the Chestnut Series and the Rose Hill series so when I saw the new covers getting announced, I was so excited to start it. I loved seeing where Elsie Silver started.

This book has two points of view. The first one is Billie Black, and she is a talented horse trainer who has travelled all over the world in the most prestigious places, but when a good friend and father figure Hank, calls in a favour to come and work on a small-town ranch called Gold Rush Ranch in Ruby Creek. She makes the trip, but the second she lands, she is dealing with the arrogant Vaughn Harding who think Billie is there on his mother request for a date. They but heads and Vaughn gives Billie a deal, she has three months to make his most difficult horse into a race winner. The second point of view is Vaughn Harding, and he has taken a leave of absence from his job to get things sorted out his grandad’s ranch especially after his grandad is getting bad press about fixing major races. He is determined to keep things professional with all of his employees, but he can’t stop thinking about Billie. She's mouthy and so damn tempting. They clash from the moment they met. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it’s hard to keep your distance. It's even harder to keep the friction from turning to fire. But keeping his distance? That might be the biggest struggle of all. Because Billie is the whole package. They both drive each other crazy. Every smart-mouthed little comment, every game they play, they both want more. Suddenly Vaughn doesn’t care about winning race, he wants to win the girl.

I love that Elsie has a way of writing these found family, small town vibes. Like everyone instantly loved Billie where Vaughn was wanting her out of his hair as soon as possible. I loved that the girl group was formed, and they were all looking out for each other but also if they didn’t want to talk about the men in their life being a pain in the ass, they would just get drunk instead. I loved Billie instantly, how she was standing up for herself from day one and didn’t give a shit about her past she just wanted to make sure she proved herself. My favourite chapter was actually when Billie wacked the hell out of the jockey that hurt her horse after she specially told him not to hurt the horse and then screamed at Vaughn’s brother. I adored Hank, he reminds me of Harvey and how he loves the lads he adopted like Vaughn but Vaughn hurt his adopted daughter, so he is like I adore you, but I'm pissed off at you right now and told him some hard truths.

Vaughn was a walking red flag, he took a while to grow on me, he sorts of reminded me of Rhett. Cold, then warm, then cold again. Can't speak his mind. Then makes promises he can’t keep and then a man has to tell him that he fucked up. Like dude, could you not tell by the fact that Billie broke up with you, handed in her notice and was planning to leave the country towards the end of the book. Vaughn had his major character development within the last three chapters when the third act conflict happened, which I don’t believe was needed.

I love how Elsie has already introduced most of the characters from the ranch and the Harding family and this book was a solid first book in the series and I cannot wait to see what happens within the Gold Rush Ranch.

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witcheep's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

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!

Content Warnings

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!!)

Content Warnings

apolen's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted

4.0

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