Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Hopeless

My lord I feel so tricked by all the reviews here.
This book really... I didn't like it. I don't care about Beau or his cock tbh

First off, the age gap? Why did she need to be 22, and a virgin, and the book basically follows him teaching her as well as the holy grail of virginity?
I don't mind an age gap but Bailey is 22 and Beau is 35. 22 and 35 is just so icky, especially since she asks him so many questions about sex.

The stuff with PTSD etc is just not nuanced enough. A lot of Elsie's books lack nuance, but it's really prominent here.

The whole "it doesn't feel fake." WHEN WAS IIT EVER FAKE? It's insta love as hell and they want to fuck after 50 pages minimum. I didn't feel tension I just wanted them to get it over and done with so I'd stop hearing about Bailey's virginity and her toys.

Content Warnings

midnightmoon_dreamer's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.75

The story was really good and I absolutely loved Beau and Bailey. But, and there is a big but, there’s a couple of things I didn’t like and others that made me uncomfortable. Number one, the plot twist/conflict at the end felt very out of no where, rushed and useless. Second, I hated the age difference. I don’t love age gaps but the fact that he had know her since she was young and that she is 22 and he is 35 was weird. Added to that the fact that there was a big emphasis on the whole virgin thing made it even weirder. On the flip side, I did like the development of their relationship. I do wish Beau had been more upfront about how he was feeling to his family. I had high hopes cause I loved Beau in the other novel so I felt a bit let down. Still a good read overall (I imagined she was 25 and he was 30).

Content Warnings

hannah_farnsworth_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

Final rating: 4/5
Spice rating: 3/5

Out of the whole Chestnut Springs series, this one was by far my favorite.

I liked seeing a new side of Beau we hadn’t seen before and getting to know him better.

Bailey….she was hilarious. The fact she had NO FILTER, especially regarding sexual questions was hilarious and made me lol more than once.

My rating for the whole series, favorite to least:
#1 Hopeless
#2 Heartless
#3 Flawless
#4 Reckless
#5 Powerless

Would recommend for this who enjoy:
- grumpy x sunshine
- Dual POV
- finding yourself
- fake engagement/dating
- forced proximity
- contemporary western romance

Content Warnings

bsteel29's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The final installment in the Chestnut Springs series. Beau has returned from his final deployment after suffering from burns and as a result, PTSD. He is struggling to find his place in the world and adjust to civilian life. That is, until he befriends Bailey, an outcast trying to hide away from the shame, missed opportunities and prejudice that her last name brings. Bailey instills a sense of purpose within Beau and he bets that he can win the town over and change their minds about Bailey if they they get engaged.

I enjoyed getting to know Beau more as he has been a mystery throughout this series. I thought that the way Elsie portrayed his PTSD was done well, it was realistic while still being sensitive to those that may suffer. I loved how strong Bailey was and how she supported Beau. This book wrapped the series up well and I felt emotional reading the last few chapters. I just felt like this book lacked something for me. Perhaps, it was the build up to finding out about Beau as it had been hinted at throughout the series. So, this book felt a little anticlimactic. There was also repetition of some similar themes. For example, I felt that the age gap was similar to the second book and not an element that was necessary and it was also mentioned a lot. I think it could have just focused on the fake dating element. It was still an enjoyable read and one that I'll read again. Harvey's jokes were on point, as per 👌🏻.

Content Warnings

More...