Review: ‘Training the Heart’ by Paisley Hope
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Training the Heart
by Paisley HopeSeries: Silver Pines Ranch #2
Published by Dell on October 17, 2024
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: AudioBook, eBook
Pages: 448
Narrator: Brooke Daniels, Thomas Oakley
Length: 11 Hours And 38 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby, Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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In this steamy cowboy romance, a grumpy ranch owner and a sunny horse trainer must learn to work together—the second novel in the Silver Pines Ranch series.
Wade Ashby doesn’t let anyone in. With the death of his father and his failed marriage, plus the weight of the family business on his shoulders, Wade has plenty to deal with. He thrives on being the one constant and steady thing in his family’s life and on their ranch, Silver Pines.
Ivy Spencer knows two things for Animals make better friends than people and she can only count on herself. After a turbulent childhood and a string of bad luck since, Ivy is excited to start fresh at Silver Pines Ranch and live out her dream of training a racehorse en route to the Kentucky Derby.
Wade needs help on the ranch, but with two entirely different views on how to train his star horse, it makes absolutely no sense why he allows her to stay on. She’s chaos and he’s control, but it doesn’t take long for the levee to break and their passion to ignite.
Training the Heart is the second installment in Paisley Hope’s Silver Pines Ranch series. I was excited to read this book because I enjoyed the first one in the series, and the tropes mentioned by Paisley Hope caught my interest. One of these tropes is the Grumpy/Sunshine dynamic, which I always appreciate in romance novels, especially when written well. Paisley did an excellent job with Wade and Ivy. Wade is the grumpiest cowboy, while Ivy is the cheerful horse trainer who simply wants to do her job.
Both characters are dealing with exes who just won’t leave them alone, and I really empathized with Ivy because her ex was an emotionally abusive jerk who didn’t deserve her. She definitely deserved someone like Wade, who would treat her much better. As for Wade’s ex, I found her quite annoying because she acted as if she still had a say in Wade’s life. It’s no wonder Wade was grumpy; she was probably the reason for it.
I really enjoyed the banter between Wade and Ivy at the beginning of the book. They were both trying to resist their attraction to each other, but it was clear that they were destined to end up together, especially given how quickly their relationship progressed in the book. If you like books with a lot of spice, you’ll likely enjoy this one since it has quite a bit of it.
Now, with that being said, I felt this book was similar to the first book when it came to storyline. I literally thought I was reading the same book, just with different characters, if that makes sense, just with some additional tropes flown into the mix. One of them is a trope that some readers may not enjoy. I didn’t mind it since it actually made sense to Wade and Ivy’s storyline.
Overall, this was a good read, and I give it 3.5-stars. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
Single/Dual POV: Dual POV.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s an interconnected standalone in the Silver Pines Ranch series.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are looking for a Spicy Small Town Cowboy Romance, then check out this book, as well as the first book in the Silver Pines Ranch series.
What to Expect:
🐎Small Town Romance
🐎Workplace Romance
🐎Grumpy/Sunshine
🐎Boss/Employee (Cowboy/Rancher and Horse Trainer)
🐎Only One Bed
🐎Spicy Lessons
About Paisley Hope
Romance author of small town alpha men, and the women who bring them to their knees
Spicy HEA's a must
Wifey & Mama
All the 90's country
If I'm not writing I'm probably in my garden
Will work for dark chocolate and lattes
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