Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Hopeless

OMG, do I love this series! I’m sad it’s at an end, because I’m legitimately going to miss these characters (especially Harvey and all of his inappropriateness) I’m so glad we finally got Beau’s story. And Bailey was amazing! Elsie Silver writes the most emotional, character driven stories and I am totally here for it! She’s officially an auto-buy author for me.

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kat7794's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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sdupont's review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0

Start to finish this series has been *chef’s kiss* Elsie Silver can do no wrong! I really enjoyed Beau and Bailey’s story. I just love when fake dating/engagement are never really that fake because at least one of the MCs has real feelings. Bailey and Beau are well matched- she calls him out and keeps him on his toes, and he provides her love and care that she never had had. They are a couple you will root for. Theirs is a bit of a slower build up than some of the other books but it suits them and their story. This book is great for someone looking for an emotional romance with some spice.

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sami_leigh's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
🌶️🌶️.5/5

“Trust your struggle, Beau…If we’re struggling, we’re still in motion, yeah? Heading somewhere better.”

We sit on the riverbank, side by side. Both of us practising being okay with not being okay — together.

“I’m scared of you becoming something I can’t live without.”

“Still not letting my guard down. Not when I’ve got you to keep safe.”

This girl has brought me back to life without even trying.

“You’re not used to anyone showing up for you, Bailey. This is what that looks like.”

“You asked me who I wanted to be once, and it’s this. Me. Right here. Right now. With you.”

☕️ First person dual POV
☕️ Series (can be read stand alone)
☕️ Age gap
☕️ Fake engagement; he wants his family off his back, she needs a new last name around town
☕️ Ex-military / bartender
☕️ His family are well known & loved around town, hers are the opposite
☕️ Protective MMC who is a cinnamon roll for her
☕️ He falls first
☕️ Well established secondary characters; Harvey & Cordelia, Cade & Willa (Book 2), Rhett & Summer (Book 1), Sloane & Jasper (Book 3), Winter & Theo (Book 4), Gary, Grant (hoping for a book 🤞🏻)
☕️ MC growth; communication, risking a relationship, military trauma & childhood trauma, self-worth/being worthy of love.
☕️ Epilogue
☕️ My comfort read series (and author) 😍
☕️ Elsie Silver is an instant must-read author for me

⚠️ Parental abandonment (past), toxic relationship (family), childhood trauma/verbal abuse (minor), fire injury/injury detail (explicit, revisit injury on page), war/military (past, revisited on page), medical trauma (past, revisited on page), PTSD (Moderate), death of a parent (past), pregnancy (not MC), sexism/sexual harassment.

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amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

Beau is an Eaton, Chestnut Springs royalty and a military hero with a tortured past. Bailey is an outcast, daughter of the most hated family in town. They strike a deal to fake an engagement to get his family off his back and to help restore her reputation.

I am not going to lie. I had high hopes for this one and I love Beau, but this just fell flat for me. It seemed to be rushed and quality that was present in the rest of this series, just wasn't there. I'm sad to say that this was my least favourite, but there was SO much potential!

I loved that all of the other characters were intertwined within this story and we got some of the dad's wild humour.

I appreciate how sensitive Silver was with the the discussion of PTSD and Beau's injuries. That said, the book barely goes into detail about what happened to him. Exploring his past would have given so much more depth to the story.

I don't understand the "bet" angle. There wasn't really a bet, it was more of a deal or a pact.

Beau gave me whiplash. I guess that was the point, since that is what Bailey is experiencing, but how does he switch to such extremes?

Bailey was hypersexualitized throughout the whole book. It was like her whole personality was an outcast virgin. There was SO much focus on the fact that she was a virgin by Beau and she was so hyperfocused on sex, that it became pretty much the entire plot!

Something that really annoyed me was this idea of love conquers or cures all. Both of these characters have serious mental health issues and PTSD that they don't deal with. There is the underlying theme that their relationship is going to cure all their issues, it's not. Both of these characters should be in therapy. I don't understand why there had to be an anti-therapy angle to this book.

Tropes: fake engagement, age gap, virgin FMC, tortured MMC, small town

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danicam's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

1.5

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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

5.0

I am sobbing rn. Beau is such a grumpy sweetheart and Bailey just gives it right back to him. I was so excited about this book and it did not disappoint! I still think Theo and Winter are the best couple of the series but Beau and Bailey gave them a run for their money for sure. I was kicking my feet and giggling the WHOLE time. I am devastated that this series is over.

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