Reviews

The parallels to Done and Dusted were hard to overlook at first.
-Only daughter of a rancher family and the guy she's know her whole life who's basically another son to her parents
-She still only sees him has he was, even though she hasn't really seen him in
-Death of a parent and a breakup send her back home
-One brother has a daughter, and is divorced, but also clearly has a flirt-hate relationship with one of her best friends
-Other brother is a hardass, no fun-type, will end up falling for the woman who is brought in to help the ranch

All that said, I did enjoy the book, I haven't read many cowboy adjacent books, so maybe this is how they all are, I dunno.

CeCe is pretty annoying in the beginning (and really throughout). She gets offered the job, then when she learns Nash owns the place she plans to turn it down. Even though he had nothing to do with her getting the job.

Nash has some big ole trauma from his childhood, understandably too, and he's working through it. But at times she sorta just tries to ignore it, like losing his parents didn't alter how he views things.

I didn't like how quickly their romance went. She was with douche bag Andrew for 8 years, and now

Spoiler

after 3 months she's gunna marry Nash

. It felt unnecessarily fast.

Point on contention - it's the University of Washington OR Washington State University. Not Washington University.

I'll still read the next one when it comes out.

cassidy_rain's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

“She’s looking like a whirlwind of things right now but the two that stand out the most are really fucking beautiful and really fucking off limits.”

Nash Carter the man that you are! I am a sucker for a small town cowboy romance and this did not disappoint. Holding the Reins is the first book in the Silver Pines Ranch series. It follows Cece, who moves back home to small town Kentucky after a difficult break-up and starts putting the pieces of her life back together. Yes it’s a little cringey at times, but aren’t they all? This is a fun time. I love the characters. I love the town. I love the storyline. I love a man who yearns.

Tall ☑
Hockey player ☑
Cowboy ☑
Hot boss ☑
Brother’s best friend ☑
Tattoos ☑
Touch her and I’ll bury you ☑
Secret dating ☑️
Found family ☑️

Nuff said.

“Your dad told me I have two choices, let it consume me or keep holding the reins. So, I keep holding the reins and wait for the next day to come.”

Content Warnings

ugh_itsjane635's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jesspiazzon's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.5

tbrbacklog's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

4.25

We love a man who protects his woman.
The way Nash barely tried to fight being attracted to his best friend's younger sister 🤣🤣 but when it came to his over protective alpha male instinct 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 sign me right tf up.
I greatly appreciate the barely 3rd act breakup.
What do you expect when you just ran back home after a toxic relationship to find your brother's best friend all grown up and completely different than what you remember? What's that saying "Save a horse ride a cowboy" 🤣🤣 and ride the cowboy did she LMFAO.
Mhhh the angst and forbidden nature in this book were just perfect. Knowing damn well they shouldn't do anything but not being able to resist it. Personally loved the friend group LMFAO they were the perfect group of friends to keep you honest but have you burning calories from laughing too much.
I really want to know about everyone lol like there are so many little moments that have me like "oop will they be a couple?" Can't wait to read more of this series.

valeriaana_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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