Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a super sweet cowboy romance. Nash and Cece are full of steamy lust for each other.

The writing throughout was good although the plot was very familiar to other cowboy romances. The love between the characters felt pretty shallow too. It went for zero to one hundred with no real depth.

Overall it's a nice little read but I probably won't remember it.

You know a book is going to be good when its dedication makes your jaw drop. Holding the Reins is an emotional, romantic and hopeful story of grief, trust, and new beginnings.

CeCe and Nash grew up together under the wise eye of Wyatt Ashby, CeCe’s father. Following his death, Nash’s retirement from the NHL and CeCe leaving her awful fiancé, both characters find themselves back in their hometown, trying to build a life and, more than that, a future. They aren’t kids any more, and their attraction is obvious from the start.

Both CeCe and Nash have been hurt and, frankly, traumatised in their lives. Holding the Reins explores the difficulty that comes with wanting to break down the walls that you have built for yourself, while being utterly terrified to do so. Holding the Reins teaches you that just because something awful happened once doesn’t mean it will happen again.

Holding the Reins is life-affirming: “if you’re struggling, you’re living.” Nash experienced the worst possible thing that could happen to somebody as a fifteen-year-old, making him terrified to love or let anybody into his heart. CeCe’s acceptance of his fears and will to offer him whatever comfort she can, while so importantly understanding that she may not always be able to, was gorgeous, and is everything somebody needs in a support system when living with their trauma.

Aside from the love story, Holding the Reins features a gorgeous family and a beautiful community, one that is wholly accepting of everybody and just wants to love. CeCe’s mother holds a Monday night dinner each week so that, even if your week has started badly, you still have something to look forward to. That aspect of love, comfort and community is everything you could hope for, and so many of my favourite scenes in this book featured the entire Ashby family (and their found family). I adore a story in which we come to learn about each of the side characters and build relationships with them too. I hope we can learn more about these characters as the series continues, and that they all get their happy ever after.

Nash maintains perfect control of the thin line between possessive and protective. Flags that may appear red quickly become clear to show that his actions have always been made with CeCe’s best intentions in mind. He never seeked recognition for this and, in fact, actively allowed CeCe to believe that he was being cruel and territorial in order to save her feelings.

Watching CeCe learn to accept the love that she deserves is another big positive of Holding the Reins. From her father to her brothers to Nash, she enables herself to recognise real love and stops allowing herself to be mistreated by her long-term partner. Even through his emotional abuse and enforced control of her, CeCe uses the words of her family and her respect for herself to maintain boundaries and protect herself, something that is not easy to do. She is an inspiration to victims of toxic relationships everywhere. In turn, she also teaches readers that just because you can do something alone doesn’t mean you have to. You can set boundaries and maintain control of your own life while accepting help from others, a very important life lesson that many of us need to learn.

Elements I would have liked to explore more with Holding the Reins were Nash’s day-to-day when he is on his own, more backstory about Olivia and Ginger and how they and CeCe grew up, as well as more of CeCe’s relationship with her brothers. We dip into all of this, but I’d like to have explored them in more depth. There were also a couple of scenes/plot lines that I felt were slightly rushed, e.g. CeCe’s return to Seattle and what happened after that in relation to her condo.

Cowboy romance is a real favourite of mine. I really enjoyed this, its a little fast burn but the two main characters have tons of history so you know wheres probably been some build up to this over the years and its just finally reaching its turning point.

Nash is hot, successful but considered a womaniser and hes also best friends with Cece’s brothers. Cece has returned home after a toxic relationship and she’s here to stay, which is a recipe for trouble for Nash.

This book is spicy fun throughout!

A captivating contemporary cowboy romance that's beautifully written! The author skillfully intertwines rugged landscapes with tender emotions, creating a heartfelt story that lingers. Highly recommending!

a fun and cute read. cece and nash had good banter and i loved hearing about their history. everyone in the town was unserious and silly i loved it. the set up for the future books/couples have a lot of potential i’ll definitely come back for the rest of the series

I liked some parts of this book and it was fairly well-written for what it is – but the patronising, overprotective alpha men did not do it for me. The story was also kinda boring and overall I wanted more. Three stars because I did enjoy the first half.

I flew through this. But while I did enjoy this and the characters I definitely see some red flags with Nash. It's the type of relationship I don't see lasting. Which is totally fine. But I do wish some of his issues were addressed in the book instead of seen as a great thing for a boyfriend to be like.
Overall this is a cute book. I'll definitely be picking up future books

I think this had a lot of potential to be a good, strong story, however it just lacked a connection for me.

It didn’t grip me from the start, it felt very flat and unfortunately I ended up DNFing around the 15% mark (which is unusual for me).

I’d be interest to see what else the author writes, as I think their writing style could be good, this story just wasn’t for me I’m afraid :(

I loved loved loved this book! What a fantastic debut. Nash and Cece were amazing characters that I couldn’t get enough of. I really hope we get books for Cece’s brothers too.

After breaking up with her fiancé, Cecilia returns to her family's ranch in their hometown in Kentucky. Nash, a long-time friend of Cece’s family, has transitioned from a hockey career to managing a few local businesses. He also lends a hand with the horses on Cece’s brother Wade’s property—a bit of a part-time cowboy, if you will. The longstanding relationship between Cece and Nash brings a depth of trust and care that’s evident even before their relationship deepens. I appreciated how the story realistically addressed grief and trauma, making the characters feel like real people.
Cecilia 's a bit of a free spirit, fiercely protective, and unyielding. She's also grappling with the loss of her father, who was the cornerstone of their family. I admired how she balanced considering others’ perspectives while still prioritizing her own needs. Her close relationships with her family and the way she supported Nash were incredibly touching—my heart melted for them.
Known for his fierce protectiveness, Nash is the type who would say, “Touch her again, and you’ll regret it.” His loyalty and protective nature, especially towards Cece, made me adore him. He has been looking out for Cece for years, and his struggles with his own family and the grief over losing Cece’s dad were heart-wrenching. Watching him overcome his fears to build a life with Cece was truly heartwarming.
Another highlight of the book was how the characters handled their conflicts. They might react impulsively at first, but they communicate openly when ready, which made it easy to root for them. I also enjoyed the dynamics with Cece’s brothers, Wade and Cole, and her friends Ginger and Olivia. I’m excited for the next books in this series, especially with the hints we got here.
As for drawbacks, it took me quite a while to stay fully engaged with the story—it wasn't a quick read for me. And, being someone who isn't fond of epilogues, that part didn’t do much for me either. Despite these minor issues, I still enjoyed the book overall!

The story features plenty of banter and chemistry, along with moments of heartfelt grief that tug at the heartstrings. If you’re seeking an all-consuming, sweet, and spicy romance set in a small-town ranch, with the brother’s best friend dynamic and the perfect blend of a hockey player and cowboy, this is the book for you.

3.5/5.

I am fully in my romance era right now + this was book PERFECTION 🙌🏽 The plot, the characterisation, the spice, the emotion.. PHENOMENAL. This book is everything. From page one I was completely hooked and I loved every second.

Both the main, and supporting, characters are beautifully curated and are authentic, relatable + fun. Smart, witty, sweet but sassy Cece was so much fun and fiercely independent, and Nash; well Nash is a grumpy, dirty talking part time cowboy, part time bar owner and part time hockey place. Are you convinced yet? The perfect amount of protective; plus he’s tall, dark, handsome AND he’s tattooed. He reminded me a lot of my partner 🫶🏽

There was plenty of banter and chemistry but also some exploration of grief + moments that pulled on my heartstrings. If you’re looking for an all-consuming, sweet and spicy romance with a small town ranch setting, brother’s best friend + the perfect mix of hockey player and cowboy, this is your book!

This was Hope’s DEBUT NOVEL and she smashed it — I absolutely cannot wait for book two!

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for an advanced copy! All opinions are my own. Review also posted to Instagram (@redheadbookgirl), GR & Storygraph.

Thank you very much for the honor of reading an advance of Holding the Reins. Unfortunately the book doesn’t contain a summary underneath, but the gorgeous cover absolutely drew me in! I look forward to sharing a full review and thoughts very soon upon completion. Thank you again