I enjoyed this book though it was a little too spice heavy for my personal taste. I loved the characters and wish I had more of a plot to enjoy them. I loved seeing the MCs from Holding The Reins and hope to see more of them in books to come!

Grumpy cowboy meets sassy horse trainer with a traumatic past, sweet and spicy and perfect for fans of Elsie Silver 3.5/

Book 2 in the Silver Pines Ranch series

Wade Ashby runs his family ranch, Silver Pines. He’s fiercely loyal to his job and to his family, but after his failed marriage and the death of his father he’s hardened his shell and won’t let anyone in, but when Trouble in the form of Ivy Spencer comes barreling into his ranch, sassy, independent and desperate to escape her toxic past, he may not be able to keep her out of his heart


Thoughts and Spoilers:

It was fun, the verbal sparring had me wondering who would get the upper hand. The grumpy loyal family man who doesn’t let many past his hard shell?! But when he lets her in he’s a GONER?! I’m always a sucker! He definitely gave off some strong Cade Eaton energy!

This book was full on open door spice. I usually love spicy books but honestly I think it was almost too much? The attraction and tension between them built for about 30% of the book and then? Straight smut for the next 45% then a bit of plot sprinkled back in there for a bit but I think I got taken out of the actually story cause it was just bang after bang after bang. I think it almost took away from their actual love story. Sure they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other but in a way it took me out of hair actual deeper emotional connection. But don’t get me wrong I was SWOONING and BLUSHING at some of Wades filthy lines. FILTH. SWOON!

I actually read this not realizing there was a book before it, and I definitely think I’ll read book one and the rest in the series when they come out!

Thank you NetGalley for my digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved Wade and Ivy’s story! Wade’s grumpiness/stoicism comes from the weight of keeping his family and ranch together but seeing him open up with Ivy is beautiful. Ivy has been through so much in her life but it doesn’t stop her from living it to the fullest and going after what she wants—including Wade. I love the progression of their relationship and how we get to see all the small moments of them falling in love. It’s not all grand gestures but the moments on the couch together, the taking care of and supporting each other.

Thank you, Random House Publishing/Dell, for an advanced digital copy of this book!

Returning to Silver Pines and experiencing Wade and Ivy's story was a joy. Their connection felt instant, with a perfect blend of humor and chemistry. Ivy, a fierce, sassy MFC who's been through hell, never lets her past hold her back. A cranky, heartbroken cowboy, Wade is determined not to let anyone in. It was incredibly sweet to watch them transform from guarded and grumpy to sunny and loving. Their journey, full of highs and lows, was heartwarming, and their transformation into soulmates was beautifully done.

This small-town cowboy romance is my favorite because the Grumpy x Sunshine dynamic was flawlessly executed. The book includes all my favorite tropes—angst, banter, spice, and secret longing. I loved the forced proximity, grumpy sunshine, and forbidden workplace romance elements. Despite their emotional baggage, the shared understanding between Ivy and Wade helped them realize how much they had in common. Their relationship felt authentic and profoundly moving.

The side characters are equally endearing, and I'm already looking forward to their stories. This one is a must-read if you love slow-burn, opposites-attract love stories with ALL the cowboy feels. Add it to your TBR—you won't regret it!

✨4.5✨ First of all, oh my God. When I realized this book was Wade’s story, I was saddled up and ready for the ride! I enjoyed this second book in the series so much more—it was sexier, the pacing was spot on, and I absolutely loved both main characters.

I also loved catching glimpses of CeCe and Nash’s love story, along with the rest of the characters. And the epilogue? It was perfect for Wade and Ivy.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5-star read for me was the short-lived and typical “I need space” scene, but overall, I enjoyed it and won’t stop recommending it to other readers anytime soon.

MERCY! 😏 Wade & Ivy’s story was EVERYTHING! I loved Nash & CeCe, but DANG… Wade Ashby is a FORCE! Their story and development both individually and as a couple was FANTASTIC! The heat and tension between these two was sizzling. 🥵 I can’t recommend this one enough! That bonus chapter?? HOLY CRAP! I’m feeling a Cole and Ginger story coming up… at least I hope so! There are some HEAVY subjects addressed in this one, so check the author’s trigger warnings before you read. If these aren’t an issue for you, add to your TBR ASAP!

This was such a good read! I absolutely love Wade’s story! I know the baby trope isn’t everyone’s favorite but I absolutely eat it up! Paisley always writes such beautiful stories.

Thank you for this early arc, much appreciated!

4.25/5 ⭐
2.75/5🌶️

Whew...Wade Ashby! I flew through this second ride through Silver Pines Ranch.
Training the Heart follows another Ashby sibling and the new horse trainer for their family ranch. Paisley does Cowboy Smut and I knew from the sneak peek in book 1 that I was going to love this.
What I loved:
That mouth on Wade Ashby....🥵🥵🥵 gah lee!! I also love a grumpy MC that is lowkey and teddy bear. Overall, I liked the plot, still loved each character (except Brad this time) and had a good time reading this.

Cons: As much as I loved the spicy scenes, I would have liked to see a little more from them as a couple. Loved the movie nights but what about dates, etc.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC! It was fun to be back at Silver Pines Ranch! 🥵🥵 Out in the US 12/31/24. Currently out in UK, Europe, & AUS!
In this steamy cowboy romance, a grumpy ranch owner and a sunny horse trainer must learn to work together—the second novel in the Silver Pines Ranch series.

Tropes:
🐎 Grumpy-Sunshine
🐎 boss-employee
🐎 forced proximity
🐎 One Bed
🐎 Dirty Talk

Wade Ashby doesn’t let anyone in. With the death of his father and his failed marriage, plus the weight of the family business on his shoulders, Wade has plenty to deal with. He thrives on being the one constant and steady thing in his family’s life and on their ranch, Silver Pines.

Ivy Spencer knows two things for Animals make better friends than people and she can only count on herself. After a turbulent childhood and a string of bad luck since, Ivy is excited to start fresh at Silver Pines Ranch and live out her dream of training a racehorse en route to the Kentucky Derby.

Wade needs help on the ranch, but with two entirely different views on how to train his star horse, it makes absolutely no sense why he allows her to stay on. She’s chaos and he’s control, but it doesn’t take long for the levee to break and their passion to ignite.

Wade's grumpy attitude reeled me right in
& lvy's sass was the perfect match for him


Wade was so caring & dedicated to taking
care of lvy
They helped each other grow in the best ways


These two melted me into a puddle on the
couch
And I was transfixed until the end


The spice was an added bonus

"You just give me all your burdens, all your worries, I'll be the steady, for both of you. I'll do anything you need. I'll even share my Pop-Tarts with you."

OH my goodness! This series just has a hold on me (kind of like Wade's "mine" tattoo) and I will gladly stay in it's grip! LOL
I knew as soon as I read Holding the Reins when Paisley was indie that she was going to do amazing things and I'm just so proud of what she has accomplished!!
Ivy and Wade were perfection! I loved Ivy's character and think her personality was great! I loved that she was smart, strong, and sassy! I loved that she was never afraid to speak her mind and didn't let Wade's position of boss deter her from doing her job the way she knew how! Wade was delicioussssss. His grumpiness was the best and I loved how he just couldn't fight off the attraction growing towards Ivy! I loved that both of these character were dealing with a little bit of grief- Ivy for her failed relationship and health issues she had come to terms with, and Wade grieving the loss of his father. I think they worked together amazing to be supportive to one another through these struggles and loved seeing them accomplish everything they were able to together! Overall, such a great read and I absolutely am stoked for book 3!

📚eARC Review📚

Training the Heart by @authorpaisleyhope (releases 12/31)

As I write this, I literally have no words for this story. It was equally beautiful, heartfelt, and heartbreaking all at the same time. Not only did I fall in love with Silver Pines all over again, but I fell head over heels in love with Wade & Ivy and their love.

I totally want Ivy to be my new best friend! She is so fun and feisty, but a total boss at the same time. She is a sassy queen!!! Her sunshiney soul was so well written. It made me love her more and more every time we got her internal monologue.

Wade Ashby…yee haw sir 🥵 This man 🥰 This man is everything I could ever want in a book boyfriend and more. From the very beginning, he is a man who is downright obsessed with his girl. Once he let his feelings show, there was no stopping him. The way Wade loved Ivy so wholeheartedly and without a doubt was so refreshing to see. I have found a new top tier book boyfriend! Added bonus that he is a cowboy!

I will be moving to Silver Pines Ranch until further notice because I continue to be obsessed with this world and these characters. The found family is so sweet and genuine. Getting glimpses of characters we have already meet and crumbs of stories to come has me so dang excited for the rest of this series!

Thank you so much @authorpaisleyhope & @netgalley for an eARC!

I don't know what it is about a grumpy cowboy but I can't get enough! Especially when they have a surprisingly sweet side like Wade did! Ivy was the perfect sunshine-y match to his grumpy side! I loved the banter between the two characters and the other characters in the story!

I think my favorite part of this story was seeing both of the main characters heal each other and grow together when it comes to past relationships. I love the things Wade did to take care of Ivy and how Ivy help him see things from a different point of view!

Paisley definitely turned up the heat with these two! Watching the tension building and finally boil over was so satisfying!

I really enjoyed the whole cast of characters and that we got to see more of Nash and CeCe and little hints of Cole and Ginger! I can't wait for more from the series!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book will live rent free in my brain forever. The grump that is Wade Ashby, is actually a major freaking cinnamon roll and I love him to pieces.

Wade has been through it - from the loss of his dad and running the family ranch to his ex-wife being a garbage person. You can understand more why he is as grumpy and closed off as he is. It was amazing to see his tough exterior crack bit by bit with Ivy. And his obsession with her scrunchies was unmatched and had me giggling every time he swiped one.

Ivy is sassy af and such a good match for Wade’s ruggedness. She is feisty, but at the same time such a sunshine-y person. She too has overcome a lot - from losing her dad, then her mom becoming an alcoholic due to the loss, to being in an emotionally abusive relationship with her ex-employers son, she is a strong woman. Seeing her walls also come down with Wade was so sweet and the not-angels bringing her into their group was so cute - their friendship was everything.

Wade and Ivy’s relationship started off as a friendship and then slowly escalated to more. But oof, once it hit more, it was HOT. Their chemistry was so freaking electric, I don’t think I will ever be over them. The spice was top tier, the banter was phenomenal, but the tattoo on Wade’s hand? That was next level perfection. And then with the twist, the tattoo was that much more meaningful when placed on Ivy’s body. I just loved them so much. 🥹

After reading Holding the Reins earlier this year, I was anxiously awaiting Training the Heart. This book did not disappoint and I can’t wait to read Riding the High when it’s available. Whatever Paisley writes, I will happily devour.

Thank you Dell and Paisley for the ARC! 💜

If you read the first book in this series, then you should definitely continue with this one. It was a fun and spicy read! I'd give it 3.5 stars, but I rounded up here.

I loved Cece's brother Wade and his grumpy self, but I only liked Ivy 🤷‍♀️ and I felt like it kind of dragged at times. I didn't feel completely invested in this story. I can't pinpoint why I wasn't overly excited over this one (like I was for the first book!), but it just didn't hit the same for me and seemed to take forever to read. Could be the book or could be me and the fact that I was reading it during the busy holidays, so don't let that deter you! It was still enjoyable and had lots of spicy scenes, and I'll be continuing the series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 (can I give it ♾️ stars)
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

"There is a dark and silent beauty to Wade Ashby I’m not sure anyone else in this world has ever really appreciated."

There are no words to explain how much I loved this book!!! All I can say is be ready to fall in love with Wade Ashby!! I was completely consumed with this story from beginning to end. I already knew Wade was going to be a grumpy cowboy with a sweet center but I was so surprised by how dirty his mouth could be. And I loved that Ivy gave it back to him just as good. They were a match made in heaven. This book had everything I want in a cowboy romance and I can't recommend it enough!!!
And ma'am... I thank you for that bonus chapter!!! 🥵🥵🥵

"I knew you were trouble, yet all I’ve wanted to do since the moment I met you is show you how to behave,”

"It’s like he’s training me to crave him, to beg for him. If that is his plan, it’s working. I’ve never wanted anything more."

"She grins and it lights up my f*ing soul."

💜 Boss/Employee
💜 Grumpy/Sunshine
💜 Cowboy with a dirty mouth
💜 Off limits
💜 Forced Proximity
💜 One bed
💜 He ties her up
💜 Hand Necklaces
💜 Spit on it
💜 "Mine" tattoo
💜 Amazing Chemistry
💜 She's a horse trainer
💜 No third act breakup
💜 Nicknames

Training the heart REVIEW

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paisley hope does it again…but BETTER!!

I absolutely adored training the heart. One of the best cowboy rom coms I’ve read this year.

This had me laughing, swooning, and drooling!
So many of my favorite tropes. Grumpy/sunshine, one house/one bed, “touch her and die” vibes, and found family.

Can we take a second to bow down to…the head rancher at Silver Pines Ranch, “Chief” WADE ASHBY! This grumpy/alphahole had me salivating from page one. He’s so protective of his loved ones and just overall has a heart of GOLD. Just have to scratch the surface to find it. He’s every girl’s “i can fix him” dream!

Ivy, the horse trainer FMC, is the character we all adore. The perfect amount of loving and sass. She’s “trouble” in all the best ways. Perfection. Wade wants to protect her at all costs and lays a claim on our gal right away. No ranch hands touching our girl on his watch!

Thank you so much for this amazing ARC! Available to buy 12/31! ❤️

As a lifelong equestrian I was worried in the beginning that the horse part of the story would ruin it for me (still confused what the American Quarter Association is -- a replacement for Thoroughbred Racing Association?), but it was in the background enough that I was able to enjoy the story. Ivy is absolutely hilarious and has a personality you don't see often in FMC in romance books, though Wade's grumpy facade is probably the most common. The cast of characters is great (I haven't read the first Silver Pines books) and I appreciate that the timeline is longer than the typical romance book where they meet and fall in love in a month. It was a TAD too smutty in my opinion. While I appreciated Wade's dirty mouth, the scenes began to get repetitive.

The whole storyline about the controlling manipulating a doctor into lying about her fertility was extremely weird and hard to believe. And there could have been other ways of them finding out she could have children without her getting pregnant. It was a pseudo-accidental pregnancy trope and I know many people aren't huge fans of it.

So… there are scrunchies. Ivy loves them… but Wade arguably loves them even more 👀😆

Expect 👉🏼 Small town/ranch life, cowboy, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, work romance, forced proximity, found family, accidental pregnancy, SPICY

Did you see the all caps SPICY? Is there a way to make the font bigger? 😆 this book is spice upon spice upon SPICE.

Wade is the grumpy cowboy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. His new temporary horse trainer is everything he doesn’t want on his ranch, and yet, he can’t get her out of his head. These two are magnets. They have incredible banter and chemistry and—holy cannoli—the SPICE 🔥

3.5/5

“𝕀 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕀 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕠 𝕚𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖.”

This book is truly grumpy/sunshine and I ate it up! Wade and Ivy don’t exactly start out on the right foot at her interview to become a horse trainer on his ranch. However, Ivy does get hired and it’s the best thing Wade could have done.

Wade was so grumpy and bossy. I just loved how everyone knew that and liked to mess with him about it, this had me cracking up a few times. Although he was grumpy, Wade definitely loved hard. After his father’s death, he had to jump in and run the ranch, while dealing with his ex-wife’s betrayal.

I just loved Ivy and her attitude. She had to grow up fairly quickly and didn’t have the greatest relationships. I loved how she was able to mess with Wade, but at the same time got to know him and care for him. It was fun to read about her love of spicy books too!

The chemistry between these two was off the charts. They helped each other overcome issues from their past and I just love the trust they had in one another, professionally and in their personal life. It was fun getting to read about their families and their time together. Overall, I just loved these two together.

I didn’t read the first book in this interconnected series, but I feel like I need to go back and read it just because I loved this book so much. I am looking forward to book 3, especially after reading the interactions between Cole and Ginger. If you love a cowboy, grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, spicy romance, then I would 100% recommend this book.

Thank you Paisley Hope, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC for an honest review!

DNF. I am simply going through a lot and likely won’t finish before the release date. I did start it, and it was not grabbing my attention like the first one did. I just don’t care for the characters or story at the moment, but due to how much I enjoyed book 1 I will likely be coming back to this book at a later date.