A Photo Finish

Cole and Violet are the perfect grumpy sunshine couple. Cole's growth was absolutely amazing and I just loved him. Violet was exactly what he needed. I loved seeing Billie and Vaughn and Mira. Their interactions with each flowed so well. I really enjoyed this book.

I really liked this book. I am a sucker for a broken soldier. And Cole is so broken but not just because of his scars from the war but the death of his father on the track. I loved how he slowly crept out of the darkness to feel the warmth that was violet. I loved his hard struggle to get healthy for her and himself. My only hang up was Violet. Sometimes I think she wasn’t soft enough with him at certain times. Too much tough love. Also I went into this thinking it was of an epistolary romance where they get together online first and fall there and then later figure out who they are in person. That’s not this romance. The online part is the beginning of each chapter but they know who they are in the present from the first chapter.

Such a fun read!!! I’ve never read a trope like this (think that’s what you’d call it) and was not expecting it AT ALL but I loved every second! So so good! The amount of times I said omg and I love this! She wrote Cole so well and I loved every second of him!

I enjoyed Cole and Violets story, they were complex but right for one another. I enjoyed seeing the flashbacks to their text messages and how their “arrangement” first came to be. I loved seeing Billie and Vaughn throughout the book because they always make me laugh🤭. I didn’t like that it took Cole so long to figure his sh*t out and realize he was good enough to be with Violet, but I understand that dealing with everything he was dealing with was hard. I didn’t like how rushed their ending was, I dislike when authors try to fit a baby(s) and marriage into the epilogue when it’s not needed. Cole and Violet being married and having a baby within a year of making it official just seemed unrealistic for them. I know Elsie was setting up this book for Chestnut Springs series but I wish we could have seen Harvey and the Eaton brothers make an appearance whether it was just for one of Violets races or in the epilogue for the wedding🤷🏽‍♀️ I’m excited to see what Mira and Stefan’s book is going to be like, because I already enjoy Mira’s character🥹

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Characters: 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗Oh y’all, where do I start with this one?!?Maybe with the fact that I was NOT expecting to freaking cry like a little baby at Violet and Cole’s story 😭🥹😭❤️ I’m a pile of mush after this one!!For context, I’ve read the entire Chestnut Springs and Rose Hill series and absolute loveeeed them. Some much more than others, but gah I love Elsie’s writing! Might be her #1 fan at this point.Being that I’ve read the others series, I think Violet already had a special place in my heart because I felt like I already knew her. Especially after reading Powerless (Sloane and Jaspers story). Let me tell you, I love her even more than I thought I would.She is 100% her father’s daughter🥹. Pure-hearted to the core, sunny and so kind. Loves without reservation. But also deeply driven and soulful and so devoted to her loved ones. Shes also extremely mature and wise beyond her years. She’s the kind of friend every girl needs. She makes other people feel safe to be themselves.🥹When it comes to Cole - I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t like his character as much because he’s depicted as super cold and grouchy in Billie and Vaughns story. BUT I ***should have known better*** though because the same thing happened to Cade’s character in the first Chestnut Springs (Flawless) book. And Cowboy Cade might be the most 🥵🔥😍🥰🥵of all of Elsie’s guys. So just trust me. Cole is on par with that. Also with the 10 year age difference 🔥I will also say, I don’t *love* the whole tortured and closed off trope….usually. But dang, there’s just something about Cole 🥵🥵🥵. Weak in the knees. Even though he has some heaviness to him, he’s so tender towards Violet and just adoresssss her. Gah I just love him. So much. 😭Cole and Violet have a very deep, tender, and soulful connection. This story is the perfect depiction of safe, secure love, and how that type of love can be deeply healing. With that said, there’s also a refreshingly simple, lighthearted aspect of their love that I just melted over. There’s an inevitability to them that reminds me so much of Cade & Willa and Theo & Winter (my favs ❤️)I should also mention that their chemistry is intoxicating. Off the charts. Like made me blush and swoon too many times to count. The spark was sparking until it was a whole dang forest fire 🥵🔥🌶️🥵🌶️🥵🌶️🔥Also, let me just say how much I freaking ADORE Billie. Omg that is my girl!!! And we get to meet a different side to her in this book after just reading her story in Off To The Races. She and Willa Grant could be sisters - they have VERY similar personalities in that they ride hard for the ones the love, aren’t intimidated by grumpy closed off guys, and have the most refreshing and loving spirits. Billie has an incredible way of making even the most difficult people feel so safe and secure in her presence. Be it a horse or a grown man, she has such a beautiful healing quality to her that just squeezes my heart. She’s truly a horse and people whisperer. It’s beautiful. I adore her so much!! Just as much as I adore Willa.I also LOVEEEEE Billie and Cole’s exchanges - especially all of Chapter 27. I could re-read it over and over. It broke my heart in the best way. Completely melted. Ugh 😭❤️I especially loved Elsie’s addition of the horses personalities and what they represented. Horses are truly like people and can teach us so much about ourselves and she so beautifully depicted that in this story. Sweet little Pipsqueak was so healing for Cole and I swear I turned into a puddle at the end of their story. In the best way 🥹😭🥰❤️ Im already wanting to read this again.Ok that’s it. Clearly I love Elsie Silver. ❤️