Book Review: A Photo Finish

Happy Easter to all who celebrate! I am celebrating with family today and enjoying the spring weather. I go back to work tomorrow after a nice week off. I can’t believe the week flew by so fast.

On to today’s book review, though. Ever since I read the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver, I have been wanting to read about Violet Eaton’s love story in the Gold Rush Ranch series. Violet is the younger sister to the Eaton brothers in the Chestnut Springs series. She is mentioned throughout the series and makes appearances. I knew from those books that she lived hours away and works with race horses on her husband’s family’s ranch. So I was excited to get to book 2 of the Gold Rush Ranch series – A Photo Finish, to finally read her story!

As mentioned above, the novel follows Violet Eaton and Cole Harding. We met Violet in the first book of the series, Off to the Races. She originally starting working at Gold Rush Ranch as a groom and during Off to the Races she got promoted to jockey by Billie since she was one of the only people she trusted to ride DD. A Photo Finish takes place a year after the events in Off to the Races, but also has an alternating timeline between past and present. Two years ago, Violet was settling into life at Ruby Creek – a fresh start far from home. She loved Chestnut Springs and her family, but being the only girl with 3 older brothers and a dad, she felt overprotected and wanted to get out on her own. Besides living on her own, she decided to do something really out of character and post a nude photo on an app. She began talking to a guy on an almost daily basis for a year and developed feelings for the mystery man. But when she tried to take things to the next step, he refused, and she deleted the app out of hurt feelings and mortification. Little did she know that the mystery man she had started to have feelings for was none other than Cole Harding – one of the owners of the ranch!

Afraid that Cole will reveal they know each other and tell people about how they met, Violet anxiously waits for the other shoe to drop. But when a year passes and nothing happens, she thinks she can move on, despite missing the daily conversations she used to have with Cole. But then, Cole moves to the ranch from the city to be closer to a company the Hardings recently bought. Now, Violet will have to see Cole all the time and wonder what happened between them. Likewise, Cole has to be close to the girl he developed feelings for but was unable to take the next step with because of secrets about his life that he was afraid to share.

I loved reading Violet’s story and loved her and Cole. The tension between the two of them was thick and perfect. The slow burn was worth the wait. It was a little frustrating how close the two kept getting to actually getting together and Cole pulling back each time. But, it made sense with the story and the secrets he was keeping from everyone. He had a lot to overcome with his trauma from his military history and witnessing his father’s death. All the obstacles Violet and Cole had to overcome was worth their happy ever after.

Read this if you want a spicy cowboy romance with the second chance romance trope.

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