Off to the Races

The romance follows Billie Black, a scrappy horse trainer hired at Gold Rush Ranch, and Vaughn Harding, the grumpy owner mourning his grandfather. Their boss-and-employee friction powers the book's enemies-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine arc.

Yes. Off to the Races (2021) was Elsie Silver's first published book and the opener of the Gold Rush Ranch series. She originally released it as a self-published indie author before signing with a traditional publisher.

It blends grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, boss/employee, age gap, forced proximity, and found family, all set against small-town horse racing.

On a working racehorse ranch in the fictional small town of Ruby Creek, in the interior of British Columbia, Canada — the same province where Elsie Silver lives.

Yes. Like most of Elsie Silver's books, it's an open-door contemporary romance with explicit scenes woven through its banter and slow burn.

Each book centers on a different couple and works as a standalone, but reading in publication order (starting with Off to the Races) gives the clearest picture of the recurring Ruby Creek cast and the ranch's ongoing storylines.