A False Start

Gold Rush Ranch, Book 4

De: Elsie Silver

Narrado por: Sebastian York, CJ Bloom

I kissed my best friend’s little sister, and the world stood still.

That night we were two perfect strangers, the town’s grumpy recluse and a gorgeous girl in the back of a bar. Until we weren’t.

Because Nadia Dalca isn’t just some girl. She’s the girl I can’t have. Fourteen years younger than me and completely off-limits.

My plan is to stay away, but the universe keeps pushing us together. It’s like some sort of cosmic joke, to give me a taste of something so electric—so real—something that breathed life back into me.

Because I can look, but I can’t touch.

Her sinful curves, her light-hearted laughter, her wild side . . . I’m addicted to every last bit of her.

And when she turns those sultry eyes on me–the ones so full of longing and so free of judgement? I’ve always considered myself a strong man. But when she looks at me I’m weak.

To give in to our connection would be a betrayal. My life is beyond complicated, and she has the world at her fingertips. Her brother is the only family she has left, and sad as it sounds, he’s also my only friend.

But I kissed her again anyway.

And now I can’t stop.

©2022, 2024 Elsie Silver (P)2024 Elsie Silver

Loved this book!!!

Overall, it’s my favorite of the series. It’s just a great story! The way Nadia and Griffin both need each other is so heartwarming.

super cute story

this was sweet. not my favorite of the series but I still liked it. it seemed out of place maybe because you didn't get much Griffin in the previous books but I did like this couple. I liked how they worked on themselves in order to be better together. very healthy.

Small town, age gap, brother’s best friend perfection!

A False Start is a small town, age gap, brother’s best friend romance and it was so so good! Easily my 2nd favorite in the Gold Rush Ranch series now, after A Photo Finish!

Nadia and Griffin are everything I love in a book couple! She’s sassy and goes head-to-head with him often, he’s mostly quiet and grumpy but soo into her! They first meet when they share an impulsive kiss one night while out, but he leaves and she gets angry. Later things get complicated when she realizes he’s her brother’s best friend! Her brother is Stefan and she works at the vet clinic with her sister-in-law Mira (the couple of The Front Runner). Griff and Nadia see a lot of one another and slowly realize they have a lot in common with emotional pasts. He’s a former pro football player who is still struggling with his past, she has traumatic familial events from her past.

I loved so much about this one! He’s gruff and grumpy but so sweet too. He adopts a three-legged dog, as well as rescues and buys her a former racehorse whose owner was about to put him down. This is age gap (she’s 21, he’s 35), he calls her “Wildflower”, we get a fun “F it” moment, he has a stutter, their time at his house and on his land, his horse Spot, Tripod the dog, how much crap she gives him, how he loves how much of a brat she is. The audiobook was narrated by CJ Bloom and Sebastian York and the pairing was so good! I could probably be nitpicky about a couple things that weren’t perfect for me, but I don’t really care to be since I honestly had such a good time with this one!

Finished too quick

Amazing!! Loved it!! Been waiting too long for it to show up in Audible!! I loved the characters and the trauma.

The story was magnificent!

I just loved this series so much. Perfect ending to a perfect series. Griffen and Nadia were everything.

4.5 stars

Another amazing audio production! Loved the narrators, and I felt like they really brought these characters to life. The age gap was also done well. I liked how the characters still wanted their HEA - one healing from his past and another chasing her dreams. They were the perfect ideation of what real love should be like!

Love Nadia and Griffin!

A False Start is a small town, 14-year age gap, brother’s best friend romance and it is SO good! There is also a found family feeling!

I love Nadia and Griffin. He is quiet and stoic, and the way he goes head-to-head with Nadia’s no fucks given attitude and her fierce determination to love him. Both are broken from trauma in their pasts. They give each other the strength they need to deal with their pasts mistakes, more so for Griffin than Nadia. He calls her “Wildflower,” which fits her spirit. There is as a “f*ck it” moment in a tent, and how both rescue a horses and a three legged dog called Tripod. Ultimately, they both chose to fight for each other, and to give the time needed for healing from their pasts. The whole group from past books make an appearance, and it feels they are all one big family. CJ Bloom and Sebastian York killed it! I love how they brought these two dynamic characters to life.

CW: references to alcoholism, domestic/childhood abuse, sexual harassment,TBI discussed, and self-loathing depicted

Really good!

I definitely feel like this was a pretty good book. I honestly wasn’t expecting griffin to be an ex nfl player turned cowboy? That was definitely a shock to me. I also really thought it was interesting to give such a strong male character a stutter. Similar to Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez, I love when authors give stronger male characters some type of mental or physical obstacles. I don’t know why but it kind of warms my heart seeing these brudy testosterone jacked characters have a little “flaw” about them that only they themselves see as a flaw but is actually just sad/adorable/sappy whatever tf you wanna call it. I feel like Nadia‘s trauma was a little overlooked and could have been dived a bit more into. I know that we got a little bit of background from Stefan, considering they’re siblings, but I was hoping we could see a little more insight into her trauma with her dad specifically and not just her absent mom. I thought this book would take the number one spot up until the point where she left for school. I think that was an OK part of the plot. I understand that there needed to be a point in time where they needed to separate. he needed to go to rehab and she wanted to achieve her goals. I just feel like someone going to college and living at said college for a long period of time is more of a plot rather than a sub plot, which I felt like that was. It just felt super rushed, considering that was a big phase in her life. Other than that, the way everything played out when she came back for winter break was super cute and just ugh omg. Everything giffin did for her was 1000/10 and just amazing. Overall for the series, it was genuinely really good. Not as amazing as the chestnut springs series was though cmon now. I definitely found myself getting bored a few times throughout each of these books which is completely fine, but that’s just something I noticed. give me a book that stands out from the rest. Is the front runner. That book really just pulled so many heart strings for me. As for the rest of the books, I feel like I’m just ranking which one I didn’t like more. Again, not that they were bad, but in my head I wish some things would have been tweaked and changed. Time for the overall rankingggg
1) the front runner
2) off to the races
3) a false start
4) a photo finish

Loved it.

False Start was deeply emotional. Nadia and Griffin pasts weren’t pretty nor easy but together their relationship was magical. This story was a slow burn with a lot of ups and downs while both Nadia and Griffin worked on themselves. The story was good, made me teared up a few times, nevertheless, another beautiful book from Elsie Silver.

💗💗💗

Absolutely loved this whole series! Everyone needs to listen and fall in love with all these characters!!