Book Review: Hopeless

I’m sad that I’ve finished the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver. I’ve really loved every book in the series! I finished the last book last week, Hopeless.

This novel follows Beau Eaton and Bailey Jansen. Bailey has made little appearances throughout the series as the young bartender The Railspur – the main bar in town. She’s also a Jansen and her family’s land neighbors the Eaton’s ranch and her family has a reputation in town as being bad news. Her brothers are often drunk or high and they have let their land go to hell. But Bailey is different. She’s always been quiet and kind. The Eatons, especially Beau, have always been nice to her.

When the novel begins, Beau – a former special forces soldier – is still adjusting and struggling after a traumatic experience that ended his military career. He begins to spend more time at the bar and sees just how badly people treat Bailey due to her family. They get to talking and decide a fake engagement would benefit them both. Bailey has been looking for a better job or an additional job for ages in the hopes to save up enough to be able to leave town and start a new life in the city, but no one will hire her because she’s a Jansen. She thinks if her last name wasn’t Jansen, people would treat her a lot better. Beau thinks if he has a “fiancée his family will get off his back and stop worrying about him all the time.

The two spend a lot of time together, pretending to be engaged, and helping each other. The engagement may be fake, but their attraction and growing feelings for one another are very real. Will the engagement become real too?

I loved this book and Beau and Bailey’s slow burn, tension filled relationship was so hot. There is an age gap in this book – she’s 22 and he’s 35, but it never seemed like a big age gap because she’s basically been on her own her whole life so she acts much older than her age. But at the same time, she’s never had someone take care of her or care for her so Beau being there for her was so heartwarming and beautiful.

The epilogue and the bonus Harvey chapter was the perfect wrap up to the series too! I already miss the whole Eaton clan.

Read this if you want a spicy cowboy romance with the slow burn, fake dating, and age gap tropes.

*This post contains affiliate links.*