3.5 stars, this was a great debut novel! Fans of Elsie Silver will gobble this brother’s best friend/ close family friend love story. I loved both main characters and how they grew and changed throughout the novel. I felt the pacing of the novel was a little slow at times otherwise this would have been a 4 star read for me! Some of the dirty talk didn’t work for me either. At times it felt like too overdone and drawn out rather than a build up moment. I’m looking forward to the other books in the series.

This book was a delightful read. Cowboy romances are always a win for me personally.
I loved the family moments and connections. The romance was hot and sweet at the same time. The only thing is that I wish we had more slowburn.
But overall I still had fun with it!

That beautiful cover, I loved the story at first, but it started to fall flat towards the end. This book mixes together the best aspects of all my favorite cowboy romance novels, and I loved every second of it. excited about the next book, and the covers are fucking stunning.

Thank you again to NetGalley & Penguin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I cannot wait to read more from Paisley Hope and have these stunning covers on my bookshelf.

Friggin OBSESSED. Nash owns my heart. THE book boyfriend of my dreams. He can sweet talk you like no other but the dirty talk? The dirty talk had me gasping 😮‍💨😮‍💨I can’t wait to read book 2. Thank you Paisley Hope, NetGalley, & Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 *

This was cute! A solid little romance with likeable characters. It did kind of feel like every trope imaginable was thrown in for the heck of it (a cowboy AND a hockey player? Really.), but it worked!

This could have benefitted from someone reading the dialogue out loud and asking, "is this how people actually talk?" That did improve as the book went on, but the beginning was a little bit rough.

Retired pro hockey player & part time cowboy… I’M SAT. Oh and he’s tatted 🫠
This book was a whole vibe, IYKYK 😂

Cece is your small town girl to moved to the big city and is now moving back home after a bad breakup. Nash AKA “Mr. Carter” is the sweetest man with a traumatic backstory and a FILTHY mouth. This book does touch heavy on grief from multiple angles, so be ready for that.

Sometimes felt a bit trope heavy with being brothers best friend, found family, hockey, cowboy and workplace romance but it works since it’s a very small town.

Cece and Nash may have won my cutest couple award but something tells me Wade and Ivy may give them a run for their money… I will for sure be reading the next book!

This was pretty good although not sure why the hero Nash was a retired ex hockey player when it was really not an integral part of the story. I just feel like it was to add sports hockey trope to the story, but that’s just how I see it.

Now Cece returns to her families Kentucky ranch after a breakup from a long term toxic relationship. Nash is Cece’s two brothers best friend so they’ve know each other for since childhood. He’s the small town bachelor hasn’t settled down and is a local business owners and teaches kids. The two spend a lot of time together and can’t deny their attraction. Nash is one jealous /possessive diirty talker though. Not bad for a debut and I think it was a bit lacking for the climax as it seemed just basic to me. I’m excited for Wades story next though.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

4.25 stars

If you want a mix of hockey and cowboy romance with a bit of age gap and a little brother's best friend plus boss/employee, well this book is for you. CeCe returns to her hometown and her family's ranch after being cheated on by her fiance. There she falls for the the reformed playboy, retired NHL player who is basically a part of her family already and also becomes her boss. This was a fun romance full of some beloved tropes without feeling overwhelmingly tropey if that makes sense? There was also a ton of spice (and good spice!) if that's your vibe. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and more from this author.

I do feel like we could have taken out one or two tropes because there were a lot of major ones that I don't think was necessary. And at times the dialogue about sex (but not during it) got just a tiny bit cringey. Also, how the hell did she take off tights without removing her heels??

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

He’s a retired hockey player turned cowboy, it’s an instant 5 stars for me because what more could you want past that? Maybe a lil dash of spice, and trust me, there’s plenty🤭

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙚𝘾𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙗𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥.

Cece comes home after ending her engagement and really won the lottery when it comes to brothers friends. Because Nash? That’s a whole man😮‍💨

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚”

Nash is the regular protective, hot cowboy. But enhances, because of the hockey. He went so above and beyond to make Cece feel secure, even when she wasn’t aware of it. And then plans a Shania Twain cover band girls night for her… she won.

Brothers best friend, third act fight, cowboy romance, retired hockey player, spicy

I overall enjoyed this book snd it was a very fast read. It is definitely one of those books that is more spicy scene heavy than character development heavy, but the story plot was still there. There were places where the spicy scenes came out of nowhere and there maybe could've been more focus on the characters themselves, but the characters were also well written so it helped with the flow.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an early read. Al thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

✨️Small Town
✨️Age Gap
✨️Brother's Best Friend
✨️Former Hockey Star / Part-time Cowboy
✨️Protective MMC
✨️Grief and Loss
✨️Found Family

Where do I even begin? This was definitely not the 4-5 star book I expected it to be. I didn't resonate with the writing style. It didn't flow well, it had an awkward sentence structure and it was often cringey. The plot seemed nonexistent, slow moving, sometimes repetitious and the book was simply too long. I couldn't get into it at all and called it quits at 24%.

The tropes were overdone. It was as if the author was trying to include as many popular tropes as possible but it just didn't come together. A former hockey player who was also a part-time cowboy and her brother's best friend? It needed to be more focused.

The setting was ridiculously cowboy/southern and didn’t feel authentic, distracting me from the story. The small town aspect was OTT with everyone knowing your business and the opening vibrator scene made me roll my eyes which I found myself doing quite often while reading.

Nothing about this book gripped me. I couldn't connect with the characters at all. CeCe was a weak FMC, immature and judgmental, clearly not understanding that women need to support and uplift other women. Slut-shaming is absolutely never okay, no matter what. The bar fight at the local bar was completely unsettling and uncalled for.

Nash set off red flags too and not in a good way like the morally grey characters we love. I found nothing swoon worthy about him other than how he gave back to the community and his interactions with CeCe didn't feel natural or organic. I felt no tension or convincing connection between him and CeCe.

I love books that make me feel something, especially in the romance genre, but here I only felt complete disappointment, expecting so much more.

* Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Available now in paperback.

3.5 Stars If you love Shania Twain and hockey playing part-time cowboys, you are going to love Holding the Reins!

Returning to her small hometown in Kentucky after a broken engagement, Cecelia "CeCe" Ashby is unsure of what the future holds. Luckily, her brother's best friend, retired NHL star Nash Carter extends a job offer to get CeCe on her feet. As the unofficial fourth Ashby sibling, Nash has always felt protective of CeCe, but he's surprised by how drawn he is to the grown up version of her. It isn't long before CeCe's initial dislike of Nash turns into a burning attraction.

I love both the cowboy romance and hockey romance tropes, so getting a mix of the two is the best of both worlds! I'm always a fan of the reliable small town and brother's best friend tropes as well. The characters are cute and the banter is both hilarious and delightful! Holding the Reins is a sweet romance with a lot more spice than the cute cover lets on.

Thank you Dell and Paisley Hope for the ARC 💗 Holding the Reins is out now!

Sure cute book. I love a good cowboy romance. I wasn’t a huge fan of the MMC but it was still good nonetheless.

✨ Holding the Reins ✨

"What even is feminism when I'm naked with Nash Carter?"

I am obsessed with this book and CeCe and Nash and all things Silver Pines Ranch. I want to be a part of CeCe's family- I'm moving in. The chemistry between these two was insane and the mouth on this man was everything. *drool* I also think this book has the hottest "Crawl to Me" scene I have ever read. Trust me. It's goooood. I loved how much they wanted each other physically but also how they quickly found deep intimacy through their heartache and past struggles. All the one liners and funny sayings had be cracking up. Nash was fighting the relationship hard but I loved how strong willed and sassy CeCe was. Even though he was the alpha, she never hesitated to put him in his place. There was so much depth in both main characters and it was so much fun to watch them grow into exactly what the other needed.

What made this book really special though, was all the sub characters, banter, and one liners. I am Paisley Hope's biggest fan and cannot wait to read everything she writes!

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (all the starssss)
🔥Spice Rating: ❤️‍🔥

✨ Small Town
✨ Brother's Best Friend
✨ Tatted MMC
✨ Age Gap
✨ Retired Hockey Player
✨ Part Time Cowboy
✨ Crawl to Me
✨ Touch her and 💀

"Have fun, girls! Break some hearts, not the law."

Steam Meter
🤍 clean romance
💗 closed door/ fade to black
❤️ sexual content
❤️‍🔥 explicit, play-by-play
🖤 graphic, more than vanilla

Holding the Reins was my first adventure into more of the cowboy-themed subset of romance novels and I absolutely thought it was an entertaining read! Nash and CeCe have a great dynamic built on years of knowing each other (since Nash is unofficially a member of CeCe's family) and the banter comes across as both endearing and biting, when the plot calls for it. I also thought that the discussion Paisley Hope built into the novel about grief were powerful and an excellent use of the concepts in exploring character development for both Nash and CeCe. While the spice was definitely SPICY at times, I did think that there were times where the possessiveness was a bit much for me. However, the characters were able to establish boundaries where needed and ultimately that will not stop me from reading the second book. Overall, I thought this book was fun and I will now be listening to a lot of Shania Twain for the foreseeable future!

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A super fun, quick read. Delightfully romantic and smutty - with characters who (while apparently extremely attractive as we are often reminded) have relatable flaws.
I also loved meeting the characters that are going to be in future books!
Mama Jo is a fav.

Holding the Reigns was a fun read! The author manages to successfully combine a bunch of great tropes resulting in a sweet and spicy brother's best friend, age gap, cowboy/hockey player romance. I enjoyed Cece and Nash's emotional story, the small town vibe, and cast of great side characters. I look forward to revisiting Laurel Creek in future books!

wow I don't even know where to begin with how amazing this book was. CeCe and Nash were * chefs Kiss together. So CeCe has known Nash almost her whole life he has been there for the Awkard years and he is now present in her life when she least expected him to be and twist of fate has him as her new boss, than we have Nash , Nash has loved CeCe from afar for as long as he can remember but now Shes everywhere Shes in his space she is at his job because surprise Suprise she is new employee.. the way these two love one another was something special to see. plus hot ex hockey player / hockey player in jeans yes please sign me up ..

Wow! Holding the Reins was such a great story. The story follows CeCe who moves back home after a bad break up. And Nash, a retired NHL hockey player who moves to his hometown after his retirement. Nash is CeCe’s two older brothers best friend, and he grew up as a sort of adopted brother to her. Nash is protective, and sweet and CeCe can’t really just doesn’t want to enter into anything after such a bad breakup. This book has everything you want in a cowboy, SmallTown romance. I literally loved every single part of it. Thank you for letting me read it! I can’t wait for the next book!

“We’re not a phase. We’re the exact opposite of a phase. You’re my always.”

wow this was sooo good. As soon as I picked this up, I knew I was going to love it. I loved the banter between cece & nash. their chemistry was everything. seeing how nash has always been there to protect cece was everything. my heart broke for him & cece. the things they went through. they are definitely soulmates.

the spice was hot. I did feel like towards the end it was a bit too much.

not gonna lie this had me emotional. especially towards the end. I loved the family dynamic & friendship here. I LOVED ginger. hopefully she gets a book.

thank you netgalley for this arc. I’ll be picking up a physical copy asap.