Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Hopeless

Beau Eaton has always been the happy-go-lucky golden boy of Chestnut Springs and an elite special forces soldier. After going missing on his last mission and then returning home injured, Beau has struggled to find a purpose in life without his military career. That is, until he starts spending time around Bailey Jansen. Bailey has grown up in Chestnut Springs with the stigma of being the youngest daughter of the trashiest family in town. Her only goal is to save up enough money to get away from this town and never look back. But then Beau offers Bailey a fake engagement that seems too good to be true. And as Bailey helps Beau feel whole again, Beau makes her feel loved for the first time ever.

My thoughts:

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Chestnut Springs series and I was really excited to get to Beau’s story to wrap it up.

Beau is introduced early in the series as the fun brother and a badass special forces soldier. Then, we find out he is missing in action. And after he returns home from convalescing from his injuries, he is quiet and withdrawn. And now we get his story.

Bailey is adorable and I just want to scoop her up but also simultaneously knock out every jerk in town that is rude to her. I enjoy the banter and interactions between her and Beau. And Beau is complicated, yet sweet with Bailey. But all of the age gap references do get a little tiresome. I get it, I get it—she’s a lot younger than him.

I love that the other books in this series have sweet nicknames: Princess, Red, Sunny, Tink (as in, Tinkerbell), ….. and then we have Sugar Tits. Hilarious!

This series has been so good that I’ve even overlooked her use of the word “folds”. And it takes an excellent romance book to overcome that usage.

Overall, I adore this series and every book is so good! My favorite is Heartless, then Flawless, Powerless, Reckless and, lastly, Hopeless. My favorite girl is Willa and I’m going to have to go with Jasper as my favorite guy (followed closely by Harvey!). And I’ve found out that I really enjoy cowboy romances!

Content Warnings

cielosiluminado's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

what the fuck did i just read!? just no. what the hell happened!!

genuinely no sympathy for a white man who willingly enlists into a military complex to go unalive brown people across the world and then comes back home and is ‘all woe to me’.

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chelseabee17's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lousnewchapter's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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nicolecurlsuptoread's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ • 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️½

📌 You’ll dig this if you like
» Fake dating
» Small town
» Age gap
» Touch her and 💀
» Slowest of burns (worth it, I promise!) 🔥 😮‍💨

The fifth and final instalment of Chestnut Springs gives us Beau: the super soldier, broody, and hot as hell middle Eaton brother.

Back from Afghanistan after a harrowing experience when he missed his ride out, he has a whole lot of trauma to unpack. His physical injuries have healed, but getting out of his head is another thing.

He feels like he lacks purpose, but then Bailey gives him one. The town has treated her like trash since forever and he's convinced that giving her his last name will turn things around for her.

He's 35 to Bailey's 22 and even though she knows better, she takes his bet.

What she doesn’t know is how long he’s been secretly pining for her, and the lengths he will go to ensure her happiness and safety. Yet.

→ Oh. My. God. I’ve had this on my shelf for a few months and have been procrastinating because I really didn’t want to come to the end of Chestnut Springs. Hopeless was worth the wait.

→ Elsie Silver has masterfully built a world and draws emotion from readers with such acuity that she cements herself as an auto-buy, favourite author for me 💯

📌 What stood out
» Beau has the protective/ possessive vibe on lock. Anyone who dares to look at Bailey the wrong way will immediately regret their decision.

» Bailey has been a social pariah her whole life, but the Eaton wives have her back and show her the love she deserves.

» We get a little bit of each of the other couples which felt like a hug and a comforting way to tie everything up.

📌 Moments
» Bailey’s spine comes out and she gives a verbal lashing to some folks who deserve it 👏

» Beau puts a ring on her finger at the bar in front of her favourite patron and IT IS EVERYTHING!! 💍❤️🥹

» I’ve never been a bath gal, but I’ve never wanted a soaker tub more in my life. 🛀

🚫 Contains bullying, alcohol(ism) and drug use, war trauma, severe injury, PTSD. Please check warnings.

Content Warnings

karlapardo's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this book a lot but it wasn't my favorite out the the Chesnut Spring's series. It was very different from the other books too. I was hooked with Beau from the beginning of the series, I knew he would make a great male main character and I wasn't wrong. Beau is a great character and his story is so unique compared to the others of the series that I was surprised by it. I loved that Beau was so confident in his feelings for Bailey and he showed it so well that it just made everything better. Bailey was such a great character! I loved how she was willing to discover new things about herself throughout the book and seeing her development was wonderful. Their relationship was great, their banter was just divine and the fact that they were each other's rock and make each other laugh was beautiful. I think that their banter was the best part of the book. The only reason why this is not a 4.0 or 4.25 star book is because I think the Bailey's story and past could have been explored a little bit more, to maybe add a little conflict throughout the story. It was a wonderful book and a great way to finish such an amazing series and I would definitely re-read it.

Memorable Quotes
"I relax when I'm looking at her"
"You don't tell a person you love them with the expectations they'll say it back. You tell them because you want to. You tell them because it's true.
"It bothers me that what we're doing here can be filled away as fake when it's the most real thing I've felt in my life."
"This girl has brought me back to life without even trying"
"He's beautiful almost always. But he's blinding when he smiles."
"You asked me who I wanted to be once, and it's this. Me. Right here. Right now. With you."

Content Warnings

taylorgabs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was my most anticipated book in the Chestnut Springs series, and unfortunately, it did not live up to my hopes. Thankfully, about halfway through, things got better, and I started to really enjoy the plot. Sadly, for the first half of the book, Beau feels so immature. And the constant mentioning of Bailey’s age bothered me. I also understand that Beau wanted to separate from his family after the accident, but not having as many of the extended family scenes as the previous books had me a bit sad. Beau thankfully developed as a character and became more like I imagined he would be based on the other books in the series. I liked Bailey’s honesty and sex positivity, but at times in the beginning, it felt like they only had lust, not love (or the beginnings of) for each other.

Content Warnings

lemonsforyu's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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