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taylorgabs's review
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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Classism, Bullying, and Drug abuse
allisonm009's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
a great palate cleanser. carefree, quick, enjoyable
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Alcohol and Classism
ambercunningham's review against another edition
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Violence
abidavisf's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.75
I have blitzed through this series in 4 days so you know I enjoyed it!
Speaking on Hopeless itself, I enjoyed Beau and Bailey’s story and the camaraderie that they share, coming from traumatic pasts and both living with insecurities around the unknown parts of their lives. It makes sense that they would be drawn together, though, like Beau, I do find the age difference slightly awkward. That being said, Bailey is clearly a 22-year-old who has had to be wise before her years, and Beau’s years in the military probably mean that his 20s and early 30s were not as progressive socially as they could have been. Maybe they meet in the middle.
Hopeless did not grab me as much as the other books in the series did, which is why my rating is slightly lower. I felt myself gravitating more towards the snippets of the other characters’ lives and wished we’d had more of that.
That being said, I still found Beau-Bailey endearing, hilarious and, frankly, emotional. I giggled and blushed and cheered for them. I hope they’re happy together forever, and I hope those Jansen boys get far away from Chestnut Springs.
Speaking on Hopeless itself, I enjoyed Beau and Bailey’s story and the camaraderie that they share, coming from traumatic pasts and both living with insecurities around the unknown parts of their lives. It makes sense that they would be drawn together, though, like Beau, I do find the age difference slightly awkward. That being said, Bailey is clearly a 22-year-old who has had to be wise before her years, and Beau’s years in the military probably mean that his 20s and early 30s were not as progressive socially as they could have been. Maybe they meet in the middle.
Hopeless did not grab me as much as the other books in the series did, which is why my rating is slightly lower. I felt myself gravitating more towards the snippets of the other characters’ lives and wished we’d had more of that.
That being said, I still found Beau-Bailey endearing, hilarious and, frankly, emotional. I giggled and blushed and cheered for them. I hope they’re happy together forever, and I hope those Jansen boys get far away from Chestnut Springs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Classism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Bullying
torilovesheas's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.25
It kills me that this one was a bit of a miss for me. I sort of feared this one wouldn’t work for me and while I did really like some parts, it’s definitely my least favorite in the series.
The best part of this was Beau and Bailey as people and how they navigate a relationship when they don’t *really* know what they want to do with their lives. The time they spend with each other is sweet and I felt like that fit as a couple. Truly the best parts of the story are the intimate moments between Beau and Bailey where they’re just talking or making memories together. The age gap + virgin FMC worked for me in this one because Bailey’s reasons for remaining a virgin make sense and it never feels like her virginity is fetishized. (And she really doesn’t give a shit about it, tbh). Bailey is tougher than she seemed in earlier appearances and Beau is a bit softer than I was imagining which I loved! I love that we get to see the areas they compliment each other because it made their relationship believable in a set-up that was a bit non-sensical.
Which leads me to what didn’t work for me. There really was no reason why a fake relationship needed to be here and the reasons behind the fake engagement were very thin. In the grand scheme of things, this would have worked just fine as an age gap between a bartending town pariah and the big shot town hero without a buzzword trope thrown in. I need a trope like that to make sense and it didn’t here. There weren’t stakes high enough to warrant an entire engagement.
And as a final little grievance, if you’re going to have a character that very clearly needs therapy (in this case, due to PTSD from war), having them be totally anti-therapy isn’t going to work for me. And it’s probably largely personal because…living with and loving someone that suffers from PTSD isn’t going to be fixed by a happy relationship.
I am sad the series is at an end and I’m glad to know we’ll be Chestnut Springs adjacent in the next series! (Which I’m really excited for).
Thank you to Elsie for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
The best part of this was Beau and Bailey as people and how they navigate a relationship when they don’t *really* know what they want to do with their lives. The time they spend with each other is sweet and I felt like that fit as a couple. Truly the best parts of the story are the intimate moments between Beau and Bailey where they’re just talking or making memories together. The age gap + virgin FMC worked for me in this one because Bailey’s reasons for remaining a virgin make sense and it never feels like her virginity is fetishized. (And she really doesn’t give a shit about it, tbh). Bailey is tougher than she seemed in earlier appearances and Beau is a bit softer than I was imagining which I loved! I love that we get to see the areas they compliment each other because it made their relationship believable in a set-up that was a bit non-sensical.
Which leads me to what didn’t work for me. There really was no reason why a fake relationship needed to be here and the reasons behind the fake engagement were very thin. In the grand scheme of things, this would have worked just fine as an age gap between a bartending town pariah and the big shot town hero without a buzzword trope thrown in. I need a trope like that to make sense and it didn’t here. There weren’t stakes high enough to warrant an entire engagement.
And as a final little grievance, if you’re going to have a character that very clearly needs therapy (in this case, due to PTSD from war), having them be totally anti-therapy isn’t going to work for me. And it’s probably largely personal because…living with and loving someone that suffers from PTSD isn’t going to be fixed by a happy relationship.
I am sad the series is at an end and I’m glad to know we’ll be Chestnut Springs adjacent in the next series! (Which I’m really excited for).
Thank you to Elsie for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: War and Violence
abicaro17's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Pregnancy, War, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
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