This was a perfect cowboy romance! If you love Elsie silver then you should definitely read this book! I highly recommend this book!

I’m a sucker for a good cowboy romance and I’ve definitely found one here. I always love good character development and when characters grow together and individually.

Nash Carter is a dream. CeCe reclaims her power. And their whirlwind relationship is a beautiful thing to read. You’ll have to pry cowboy romances out of my cold, dead hands.

Thank you to NetGalley, Paisley Hope, and Dell / Ballantine Books for a review copy.

"No this kind of love feels all encompassing. It's a need I have from the depths of my soul to be near him. It's practice scribbling my name kind of love, or fantasizing about growing old with him, chasing grandkids around the yard kind of love."

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for this eARC!

Y'all this book was so good! This cowboy romance is perfect for fans of the Chestnut Springs series! CeCe returns to her family's farm in Kentucky dealing with the grief of her father's passing and the end of her long-term toxic relationship. Nash Carter is CeCe's brothers' best friend, and the most eligible bachelor in town. When he sees CeCe has returned to town and needs a job, he feels like he has to help her. They can't take their eyes off of each other, and despite their best attempts to avoid it, their feelings end up growing past what they had as childhood friends.

"F*** the stars, there's nothing more beautiful than her."

Elsie Silver and Chestnut Springs ignited my love for cowboy romances this year. Paisley Hope and Holding the Reins caused the fire to burn even brighter. There's something about a man in a cowboy hat that just does it for me every time. I loved this one! It is very very spicy though, just as an fyi!

Closed door modifications: chapter 24, 25, 26, 41, 43, 46, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59

A quick and easy read but not a standout. This is a small town cowboy romance but did not have much of a plot and seemed pretty similar to another cowboy romance series by another author. The family and side characters were fun, but everything seemed a too over the top and unrealistic. There were many tropes and micro tropes packed into the book that it seemed like it was trying to tick them off a list. As a country music fan, I did love that songs were mentioned in the book and could hear them in my head while reading.

Holding The Reins is book one in the Silver Pines Ranch series by Paisley Hope.
I loved this steamy cowboy romance!
This small town, brother's best friend story was phenomenal!
The characters were amazing and the spice was hot!
I can’t wait to read book two!

I had very high expectations for this book, but sadly, they were not met. I was expecting this to be a cowboy romance due to the name, but the only cowboy-type things were just mentions of them owning a ranch. I did appreciate the fun banter and the family aspect, but that's about all. Despite having tropes that should have created tension or angst, there was none. The spice felt repetitive. I did enjoy that the MMC had a traumatic past so that gave him some grit, but I wish that had been explored more or tied into the plot more. The ending felt a bit rushed. They're only apart for maybe two chapters and, again, there was no tension with any of it. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series, but I did like the side characters so we'll see!

NASH!!!!!!!!!! 😍😍 I love this book!! Easily slid into one of my top favorite books!! The story of Nash & Cecilia was everything I could have wanted and more. Nash’s dirty mouth was chefs kiss!!!

Holding the Reins is book 1 in the Silver Pines Ranch series by Paisley Hope. It is about Cecilia “CeCe” Ashby who just broke her engagement, ended her toxic relationship, and moved back home to Laurel Creek, KY, and Nash Carter, newly retired hockey star, hometown hero, notorious bachelor and her brother’s best friend. Noah is the unofficial 4th sibling of the Ashby family, so CeCe is definitely off limits. But they work together and see each other every day and sparks begin to fly.

I read this super steamy cowboy romance in 1 day. This one was a lot of fun, had lots of entertaining side characters and hilarious witty banter but also incorporated serious topics, such as, death of family members, cheating, a manipulative ex, trauma and coping with tragedy. Read this one if you love:

-small town romance
-cowboy romance
-brother’s best friend
-age gap
-found family
-funny banter
-dual POV
-super spicy
-HEA

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of Holding the Reins in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fantastic! Nash and CeCe’s story was an EPIC love story that I was excited to finish. Paisley Hope is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and this book is a top read for me this year!
I’m so excited to read the other books!

solid 4.5/5 stars!!!
First off, I'd like to say thank you to Paisley Hope and Random House for letting me read this eARC through NetGalley!
This book combined two of my absolute favorite things ever, hockey and cowboys and wow did it deliver!

Holding the reins begins with CeCe leaving her cheating fiancé and coming home to her family's home in a small town in Kentucky where her world collides again with none other than Nash Carter. Nash has also somewhat recently returned to town after retiring from his NHL career and has been helping CeCe's brothers around the barn. From the moment that Nash first saw CeCe in the town bar that first Sunday night, I could just tell that these two would have such good chemistry, and boy was I right! The banter and longing early on was perfect and it really showed the attraction between these two even though they hadn't seen each other much over the years. I also just loved how Nash came to CeCe's defense when he saw her ex in town and gave him what he deserved! Seeing their relationship develop was just so precious and I loved every single scene we got! Nash and CeCe really truly learned to love and trust each other despite their different past traumas. My ebook was highlighted from beginning to end with sweet moments these two shared, ugh I just love them so much.

The reason for the 4.5 stars was that their romance just seemed very lusty to me at first and that we didn't get to see too much of their romance out and about (granted, they were trying to keep it under wraps from her family, but still). Even though, Nash Carter will live in my head rent free, no doubt!

I absolutely loved The Ashby family and the side characters in this story! I did get to read the added content of Training the Heart and I cannot wait to read it, I have a strong feeling that Wade will become one of my new favorites.

If you are looking for a small town cowboy romance series, this one is definitely for you!

3.5 stars

Retired hockey player and part-time cowboy? 🤠 YES PLEASE. This book was HOT 🥵 and cute. I’m excited for the rest of the series!

I also loved that this was set close to where I live hehe

Thanks to Dell for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgally and Dell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars- cowboys, small town, hockey yup I was hooked. Nash is iconic. The relationship between him and CeCe is perfect!!! Love the banter. Love the history. Love the love!

Now onto read the next one as I just got the ARC today!

Paisley Hope just knows how to write spice. Holding the Reins has a small town, found family, her brothers best friend micro troupe. Nash is a retired hockey player with a traumatic past who know is rejuvenating their hometown in Kentucky. Cece moves home to her family’s ranch after escaping a terrible relationship. Once they become intertwined , they can’t deny the sparks between them. I appreciate that each character has growth and love found family. Can’t wait to see what else this series brings!

<b>3 stars</b>

wow! i really want a cowboy/hockey player bf now. nash and cece were sooo cute and i loved their relationship’s development. the setting and plot were also developed really well, i haven’t read any “country/southern” books so this was a really good intro to that genre!

i definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to cowboy romance fans!

<i>thank you to net-galley, the author, and the publisher, for granting me access to this arc!</i>

What a fun, sexy, satisfying ranch romance!
I didn't go in expecting a cowboy AND hockey romance, but somehow Paisley managed to weave them together in a way that just made sense. It hit every trope perfectly - small town, ranch, brother's best friend, small age gap, pining, protective alpha MMC. These are some of my favorites, and I think that Nash and CeCe's story was written really well, with a lot of heart and heat! Definitely looking forward to continuing this series.

Holding the Reins is a compelling introduction to a series. I am very interested in the future character couplings and will be glad to return to the town and spend more time with the family.

After ending her engagement, CeCe leaves the city and returns to her small hometown to live on her family's ranch while she re-sets her life. She is surprised to find that recently retired NHL star, Nash, is very active in the community and has maintained a close relationship with her family. While CeCe and Nash try to ignore their connection and chemistry, it becomes more and more difficult when they end up being around each other so much. Neither thinks they want a serious relationship, but during their time together they unexpectedly begin to help each other process and heal from their past hurts and traumas.

Tropes and Themes:
•Brother’s Best Friend
•Age Gap (less than 10 years)
•Small Town
•Found Family
•Workplace romance

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have found my new favorite series! I’ve been in a Chestnut Springs hangover and the series has slid into number one.

I loved how deep Nash was! I wasn’t expecting to love a cowboy/hockey player, I thought it was going to be too much, but Paisley tied the two together perfectly and did a phenomenal job peeling back the layers of his childhood trauma.

Nash and CeCe’s love story is one for the ages and I’m so sad her dad won’t be around to see it!

I’m jumping into book two now 😉

As someone who loves a small town cowboy romance, this definitely met all my expectations! I felt like this book was written with so much detail that I started to feel like I was southern by the end of it. It took me awhile to pick this one up, but once I did it was a really quick read. Nash and Cece are the perfect couple to me, was definitely rooting for them the entire time. Would highly recommend reading this one and can’t wait to continue the series!!

Nash and Cece have been a part of each other's lives for years. He's her older brothers best friend and practically part of the family. When she comes home after ended her engagement to a weasel of a man, sparks fly. This book is heavily character-driven as opposed to plot-driven so the spice is much higher. But don't let that stop you! I found it so satisfying to see the relationship grow between them! I cannot wait to find out what happens to Wade in the next book!
Main Points:
❤️Forbidden- brother's best friend
🤠steamy cowboy romance
❤️some hockey thrown in
🤠character driven
❤️F*ck it moment
🤠it'll fit - IYKYK
❤️Coffee is life
🤠he's always been protective of her

Received this book as a arc copy and I absolutely fell in love with the story from the beginning. I loved the authors way of describing details and how realistic to southern life she made her character right down to the twang in which they speak. Nash is a women's dream man and the spice was so so good🔥 overall an amazing read and highly recommend to everyone who loves small town romances. Can't wait to read more from Paisley Hope in the near future!!