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Out of the Gate
by Elsie SilverSeries: Gold Rush Ranch #1.5
Published by Self-Published, Bloom Books on March 23, 2021
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Dermot Harding is ten years older than me.
A family friend. An employee on my father’s ranch.
But I’ve loved him as long as I can remember.
At eighteen, I kissed him and he pushed me away. He said I was too young.
The army took him from me for three long years, but now he’s back at Gold Rush Ranch—looking at me like he’s never looked at me before. Letting his hands linger longer than they should. Offering to help me train the racehorse I’ve always dreamed of owning.
I say that I’ve moved on, but our chemistry? It’s electric. It’s overpowering. And soon all our reasons for staying away from each other fall away, along with our clothes.
He says he’s too old and too broken for someone like me. He says we can never work. But his body tells another story.
I put my pride on the line for him once before.
Am I a fool to risk it again?
One of my goals for 2024 is to read more New To Me Authors, and I consider Elsie Silver still fairly new, even though I read the first book in her Gold Rush Ranch series last year. I enjoyed the first book and couldn’t wait to dive more into this series.
Out of the Gate is a short and fast-paced novella with 100+ pages. It’s a great addition that gives the origins of where and why the horse racing business started on the Gold Rush Ranch. It also gives us the love story of Vaughn Hardin’s grandparents, Dermot Harding and Ada Wilson, which is a heartwarming story that I’m glad I read.
Ada was a spitfire who hadn’t forgotten that Dermot pushed her away after she kissed him when she was eighteen, right before he left for the Army. She may be forced to work with him again at her father’s ranch, but that doesn’t mean she’ll make it easy for him. Dermot knows he should stay away from Ada, especially since she’s younger and he works for her father, but he can’t stop thinking about what he did to Ada and how his feelings changed for her while he was gone.
I love tormented heroes and storylines where the MMC doesn’t feel like he’s good enough for the FMC and has to work over that hurdle first before he gives in to those feelings. There is a third-act breakup, but don’t worry, there’s a ‘grovel’ that tugs on the heartstrings, especially when Ada doesn’t take Dermot back that easily. He has to work for it, and he proves his love to her with something special.
This was a short and sweet Age Gap Romance that I’m glad I took a chance on, and now I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Gold Rush Ranch series, but each book can be read as a standalone.
Would I recommend this novella? Yes. I recommend this to readers who enjoy reading Age Gap Romances (ten-year age gap) and love Elsie Silver’s books.
Genre/SubGenre: Romance | Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap | Childhood Crush | Friends to Lovers | Forbidden Romance | Forced Proximity | Small Town | Western Romance | Sports/Horse Racing
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