Chasing the Fire is a spicy smalltown cowboy romance featuring the accidental pregnancy, morally grey, and forced proximity tropes. It is the final book in the Silver Pines Ranch series of interconnected standalones, and I would recommend reading the series in order for an optimal reading experience. This book explores themes and topics like secrets and lies, crime and punishment, pregnancy, loss of loved ones, adoption, family and found family, facing past trauma, fires, and appearance versus reality. It would be perfect for fans of Heartless by Elsie Silver, No More Secrets by Lucy Score, Breathe with Me by Becka Mack, Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage, and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings.

Asher and Olivia’s spicy chemistry has been hinted at throughout the series, especially in the last book, Freeing the Wild, so I was very excited to finally read their story. Chasing the Fire was different from other cowboy romances that I’ve read, which was refreshing, plus Asher’s morally grey past and redemption arc were definitely unique and memorable. I loved how, even though he’s quieter and has trouble expressing his feelings, Asher shows his love and appreciation for Olivia through acts of service and handmade gifts—I thought that this was super swoony, and I think that other readers will too. Lastly, even though there was a lot of “will they, won’t they” vibes in Olivia and Asher’s story, there wasn’t a big third act break-up, which I really appreciated.

On the flip side, I didn’t really like that the pregnancy took up such a big portion of the book; accidental pregnancy isn’t my favourite trope, and whilst life-changing, I wasn’t expecting it to be the main focus of Olivia and Asher’s story. Also, Chasing the Fire included some more serious or darker topics than the other books in the series, such as crime families, loss of parents and adoption, and deadly fires, which I wasn’t expecting and could be triggering for some readers.

Overall, I loved this series and would highly recommend it to fans of spicy interconnected cowboy romances!

Chasing The Fire is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 14th 2026.

Will you be picking up Chasing The Fire? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

Laurel Creek’s fire chief is good at putting out fires and keeping secrets, but the town sweetheart is determined to burn through his defenses in the blazing-hot finale to the Silver Pines Ranch series.

She’s as wild as fire. He’s ready to burn for her.

The owner of a popular boutique, Olivia Sutton is the darling of Laurel Creek. While Olivia may be as sweet as the baked treats she loves to create, beneath her good girl exterior, she harbors a secret desire: a man who can take control.

Enter Asher Reed, the town’s fire chief. Asher keeps everything in his life carefully controlled . . . except when it comes to Olivia, the copper-haired beauty who has captured his attention in ways he can’t ignore.

When a moment of weakness leads to two pink lines, Olivia and Asher agree to spend more time together, determined to be friends.

But when Olivia realizes the smoldering firefighter might be the key to the future she’s always dreamed of, will their spark ignite—or be extinguished by the weight of his secrets?

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Freeing the Wild is a spicy smalltown cowboy romance featuring the forced proximity and forbidden love (boss’ sister-in-law) tropes. This book and the entire Silver Pines Ranch series is perfect for fans of steamy open-door cowboy romances like the Chestnut Springs and Rose Hill series by Elsie Silver and the Rebel Blue Ranch series by Lyla Sage. Freeing the Wild deals with themes and topics like trauma and PTSD, loss of a parent, parental abandonment, career-ending injuries, mental health, addiction, fame, loneliness and isolation, quest for happiness, family and friendship, as well as love and loss. Freeing the Wild is the fourth book in the series, however perhaps it shouldn’t be read as a standalone since we meet and are introduced to both of the main characters earlier in the series (Cassie is Ivy’s sister and Haden works at Silver Pines Ranch) and there are a lot of references to events that happened in previous books.

Even though Freeing the Wild touches on some more serious topics (like a deadly trampling, panic attacks, and verbal abuse), I appreciated that the book was still cosy, fun, and swoony. Reading about the sweet found family dynamic at Silver Pines Ranch was a delight, and I enjoyed mentally visiting the idyllic smalltown setting of Laurel Creek. As a fan of horseback riding, I especially loved all of the horseback riding scenes, and I thought that the horse rehabilitation that Haden does was very cool and interesting to read about. Lastly, the end of Freeing the Wild perfectly sets up the plot for the next book, Chasing the Fire; after witnessing Asher and Olivia’s slow burn tension in the past few books, I can’t wait to finally read their story!

The only real downside for me was that I found the plot to be predictable, and that the characters and storyline were similar to those in other cowboy romances I’ve read.

If you’re looking for a super steamy cowboy romance, then I highly recommend picking up the Silver Pines Ranch series (the first book is Holding the Reins).

Freeing the Wild is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Freeing the Wild? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A country music star finds inspiration in a ruggedly handsome cowboy while visiting Silver Pines Ranch, but can their budding love story ever become more than a one-hit wonder?

She’s a star on the rise. He just wants to see her shine.

Rising country star Cassie Spencer’s music career is just taking off when tragedy strikes mid-tour. Seeking solace, she retreats to rural Kentucky to escape the spotlight and visit her family.

Haden Westbrook, the charming heartthrob of Laurel Creek, only wants one thing: a peaceful life tending to the Silver Pines Ranch and his rescue horses. But when free-spirited Cassie hurricanes back into town, his world turns upside down. Especially since the last time he saw her ended with a steamy night in his truck.

They’d promised then it would be a one-time thing. But now, as Cassie and Haden spend more time together, their undeniable chemistry reignites. Cassie’s stay at Silver Pines was meant to be temporary. But as their spring fling turns into something deeper, can Haden convince her to stay?

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