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A review by fandomsandfiction
The Front Runner by Elsie Silver
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
what to expect:
- morally grey “bad guy” MMC
- hyper independent career-driven FMC
- best friends’ enemy / enemy’s best friend
- a reluctant bargain leading to (secret) fake dating
- small town ranch life with lots of wholesome horse content 🥹
“The Front Runner” is book 3 in the “Gold Rush Ranch” series, but you don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one… I sure didn’t!
TFR was my first introduction to the work of Elsie Silver and I surprisingly really enjoyed it???? It’s the horses. It had to be the horses.
I’m generally skeptical about trending romance authors, so I went into this one with an open mind + heart but not much expectation. It started off prosaic, but as the narrative picked up I came to love it. While miss Silver does draw on well-used (and well-loved) character tropes and traits, the main characters have a depth and freshness to them that keeps things interesting. The sexy scenes were SEXY🥵, the resistant attraction was tantalising, and the declarations of love made me soft. But most importantly, the horses!!!! The animal element and farm/ranch town setting really came for my small town animal-loving heart 💘 OF COURSE I melted under the heartwarming cute + cosiness.
The only thing stopping me from rating this a full 4 stars is my own petty (or justified?) displeasure. While the author does state that she used a sensitivity reader, I still didn’t enjoy the highly stereotyped Indian family dynamics. Sure the interracial relationship of the FMC’s parents defies the stereotype, but the qualities and characteristics of certain characters annoyed me with their clichés. Yes, SOME of these stereotypes ARE the reality for SOME people. But something about a white woman writing these stereotypes bothered me. That being said, it was really just small things! And it’s highly unlikely that these characteristics would even be noticed by many other readers. It only rubbed me the wrong way because I personally felt just a little 🤏 offended… overall still an enjoyable read!
- morally grey “bad guy” MMC
- hyper independent career-driven FMC
- best friends’ enemy / enemy’s best friend
- a reluctant bargain leading to (secret) fake dating
- small town ranch life with lots of wholesome horse content 🥹
“The Front Runner” is book 3 in the “Gold Rush Ranch” series, but you don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one… I sure didn’t!
TFR was my first introduction to the work of Elsie Silver and I surprisingly really enjoyed it???? It’s the horses. It had to be the horses.
I’m generally skeptical about trending romance authors, so I went into this one with an open mind + heart but not much expectation. It started off prosaic, but as the narrative picked up I came to love it. While miss Silver does draw on well-used (and well-loved) character tropes and traits, the main characters have a depth and freshness to them that keeps things interesting. The sexy scenes were SEXY🥵, the resistant attraction was tantalising, and the declarations of love made me soft. But most importantly, the horses!!!! The animal element and farm/ranch town setting really came for my small town animal-loving heart 💘 OF COURSE I melted under the heartwarming cute + cosiness.
The only thing stopping me from rating this a full 4 stars is my own petty (or justified?) displeasure. While the author does state that she used a sensitivity reader, I still didn’t enjoy the highly stereotyped Indian family dynamics. Sure the interracial relationship of the FMC’s parents defies the stereotype, but the qualities and characteristics of certain characters annoyed me with their clichés. Yes, SOME of these stereotypes ARE the reality for SOME people. But something about a white woman writing these stereotypes bothered me. That being said, it was really just small things! And it’s highly unlikely that these characteristics would even be noticed by many other readers. It only rubbed me the wrong way because I personally felt just a little 🤏 offended… overall still an enjoyable read!