A review by jennasbookcase
Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

5.0

ARC REVIEW

I honestly don't know where to start with this one so I'm just going to jump right in. 

Nash Carter. You beautiful fictional specimen. I need to know right now where I can find a Nash Carter. Ex NHL player? ✔️ Part-time cowboy? ✔️ Dirty talker? ✔️ Takes care of his girl emotionally and physically? ✔️ There is not a single thing I would change about Nash. Paisley literally took every single microtrope I love and put them all into Nash creating the perfect book boyfriend. 

CeCe. God did I love CeCe. She's witty, fun and has amazing banter with Nash. She's also very strong especially after everything she went through with her ex. I love how she's determined, compassionate, family oriented and a little wild. Her personality complements Nash's very well. 

Not only were Nash and CeCe incredible, but the secondary characters are also amazing. I especially loved CeCe's girl gang, dubbed the Not Angels. They are totally kickass and made me laugh so hard. 

And the spice? Omg this book was so hot. Absolutely thigh-clenching. At one point, there are like 3 or 4 straight chapters of spice. The spice is perfectly scattered throughout the book and when it hits, it hits hard. When she tells him to crawl to her and he obeys, I literally lost it! 

I just can't get over how much I loved this book. This is an amazing debut. I'm really looking forward to reading more books on the Silver Pines universe. 

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes/themes

✨ Brother's best friend
✨ Dirty talk
✨ Sassy FMC
✨ Manipulative ex
✨ Ex NHL player turned part time cowboy
✨ He falls first and hard
✨ Parental loss
✨ Small town
✨ Just once to get it out of our system
✨ Touch her and die