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karentje's review
5.0
Another beautifully written story in this amazing series—the best one yet! Elaina is my favorite Robidoux, no doubt. I knew she’d be awesome! I love how strong she is, persevering, keeping her chin up and armor in place, protecting her vulnerable heart and the genuinely caring person underneath. I adore Alex for her! His determination to take things slow(er), in love and life, the way he truly sees her. He finds himself in a very difficult position, caught between so many conflicting interests and trying to do right by everyone he loves. Some of it is a trainwreck waiting to happen … and I loved seeing Elaina come out on top and getting everything she ever dreamed of, and even things she never thought were possible. Recommend this story so so hard!!
supersoprano1's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
melinda's review
4.0
Review Here: https://smexybooks.com/2021/03/review-careless-whispers-by-synithia-williams.html
First of all, this series has the most beautiful covers, I can’t stop staring at the forehead touch on this one! And the colors are so gorgeous and exactly how I imagine Elaina and Alex. I’ve been really looking forward to getting Elaina’s story because we’ve seen glimmers of her in the first two books of the series and it was clear that there was so much going on there. She’s been so career-driven and I wanted to know more about her and what’s been her real determination.
Jackson Falls, the series, has been just the epitome of soap opera drama and this book was no different, which is sometimes exactly what you’re in the mood for. Jackson Falls, the city, reminds me of Pine Valley in All My Children because it seems like such a hot bed of of political and corporate intrigue. But more to my interests, it’s a major source of family and romantic drama, which sometimes is exactly what I need. Elaina has always been promised her family’s company is basically her birthright so she’s been working towards it her entire life – to the detriment of everything else in her life, relationships romantic and otherwise. We’d seen her be incredibly hard to her siblings in the other books but had no clue why.
I thought that Elaina’s background and family history with her father was really well developed and helped explain so much about her character. I particularly loved the development in this book between her and India. The relationship between her and her father was extremely complicated and I didn’t quite get how it was concluded in the end – it felt that Elaina got what she wanted but I didn’t understand how her father basically just let go at the end.
Spoiler:
Elaina was successful with her own business venture – which I loved – but then she also got her family’s company so I was confused at what that meant for her venture. I just wanted a brief note there about that to make me content
I did love Alex and Elaina’s relationship so much, it was steamy and felt like there was a reasonable (and hot!) amount of push and pull between the two. I loved that Alex allowed Elaina to be who she needed to be, but also allowed her to be soft, in her own way. Their relationship is what I loved about the book and this part of it was great for me. However in the previous books, and this one, Elaina has a drinking problem. It’s mentioned multiple times and she talks about how she knows when to stop but also that she knows she has a problem…
Spoiler:
But she never gets help. No one ever mentions to her that she should get help. At the end she mentions she has a therapist briefly but we don’t know for what. This was my main issue with the book that I couldn’t not think about – I just wish that it was mentioned that she was at least not drinking anymore. It felt odd to me that her drinking was mentioned so much but then never dealt with.
love the romance so much and felt like that part was great and that was what I was here for and was incredibly satisfied with that part. I just wanted a bit more on the other details.
CW: manipulative parents, alcohol abuse
First of all, this series has the most beautiful covers, I can’t stop staring at the forehead touch on this one! And the colors are so gorgeous and exactly how I imagine Elaina and Alex. I’ve been really looking forward to getting Elaina’s story because we’ve seen glimmers of her in the first two books of the series and it was clear that there was so much going on there. She’s been so career-driven and I wanted to know more about her and what’s been her real determination.
Jackson Falls, the series, has been just the epitome of soap opera drama and this book was no different, which is sometimes exactly what you’re in the mood for. Jackson Falls, the city, reminds me of Pine Valley in All My Children because it seems like such a hot bed of of political and corporate intrigue. But more to my interests, it’s a major source of family and romantic drama, which sometimes is exactly what I need. Elaina has always been promised her family’s company is basically her birthright so she’s been working towards it her entire life – to the detriment of everything else in her life, relationships romantic and otherwise. We’d seen her be incredibly hard to her siblings in the other books but had no clue why.
I thought that Elaina’s background and family history with her father was really well developed and helped explain so much about her character. I particularly loved the development in this book between her and India. The relationship between her and her father was extremely complicated and I didn’t quite get how it was concluded in the end – it felt that Elaina got what she wanted but I didn’t understand how her father basically just let go at the end.
Spoiler:
Elaina was successful with her own business venture – which I loved – but then she also got her family’s company so I was confused at what that meant for her venture. I just wanted a brief note there about that to make me content
I did love Alex and Elaina’s relationship so much, it was steamy and felt like there was a reasonable (and hot!) amount of push and pull between the two. I loved that Alex allowed Elaina to be who she needed to be, but also allowed her to be soft, in her own way. Their relationship is what I loved about the book and this part of it was great for me. However in the previous books, and this one, Elaina has a drinking problem. It’s mentioned multiple times and she talks about how she knows when to stop but also that she knows she has a problem…
Spoiler:
But she never gets help. No one ever mentions to her that she should get help. At the end she mentions she has a therapist briefly but we don’t know for what. This was my main issue with the book that I couldn’t not think about – I just wish that it was mentioned that she was at least not drinking anymore. It felt odd to me that her drinking was mentioned so much but then never dealt with.
love the romance so much and felt like that part was great and that was what I was here for and was incredibly satisfied with that part. I just wanted a bit more on the other details.
CW: manipulative parents, alcohol abuse
sielantgem's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've been waiting for Elina's story from her introduction in the first installment of the Jackson Fall series and this one did not disappoint. I knew she was a complex character and though this story feels like it was more focused on the overall story and not the romance I was still engaged in Elina's growth to open up to Alex. I really can't wait for the next installment which I'm hoping is going to be the cousin that is always mentioned.
justkeyreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Ever since reading the first book in the series, I was always interested in how Elaina's character, because her personality and how she treated her sister; I knew I had to her book to get a better understanding of the ice queen exterior and knew there was more to her than I was reading and the distaste she had for Alex which I hoped would be her love interest, but wasn't keeping my hopes up.
I really enjoyed getting to know Elaina, the older sister who was always working for her family's company and going to be next in line as CEO. On the outside to everyone and even her family she's seen as some up uptight, rigid personality and cold-hearted; but with the pressure from her father (who I didn't like) and her constant butting with Alex, it all comes to a boiling point when her father fires her. Yeah, you read that. Her dad firing her set off a domino effect that helped her open herself up to others, showing affection to her family even. I could see myself in her because she (as well as black women in general ) has been drilled in our heads that we need to be strong and especially in a world that makes it seem that expressing your feelings makes you weak. I loved how Elaina being slowly opening herself and Alex pushing her to go outside her comfort zone and being better whether it was romantically or at work.
I really enjoyed getting to know Elaina, the older sister who was always working for her family's company and going to be next in line as CEO. On the outside to everyone and even her family she's seen as some up uptight, rigid personality and cold-hearted; but with the pressure from her father (who I didn't like) and her constant butting with Alex, it all comes to a boiling point when her father fires her. Yeah, you read that. Her dad firing her set off a domino effect that helped her open herself up to others, showing affection to her family even. I could see myself in her because she (as well as black women in general ) has been drilled in our heads that we need to be strong and especially in a world that makes it seem that expressing your feelings makes you weak. I loved how Elaina being slowly opening herself and Alex pushing her to go outside her comfort zone and being better whether it was romantically or at work.
cakt1991's review
emotional
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
4.5
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Careless Whispers is the third in the Jackson Falls series. It can work as a stand-alone, however there is some drama and character backstory from the first book that influences this one, so I think it would be a good idea to read that one first.
I had mixed feelings about Elaina going in. I like a complicated heroine, but I also didn’t know how I’d feel after having seen her through India and Travis’ perspective first. However, that ended up only enriching my experience, as she’s wonderfully complex and layered, always wanted her father’s respect but has made some mistakes that have led him to undervalue her. To have someone she actively dislikes be given the position she wants is yet another slap in the face, as she can’t seem to succeed in either her professional or personal life, and I felt for her, while rooting for her to succeed. That her siblings actually do have a lot of respect for her and they end up being the ones to help her when their father is determined to cut her down yet again is incredibly rewarding.
I really liked Alex, especially as he never saw Elaina in the same adversarial light she did him. He seems able to manage these complicated people, from placating Grant Robidoux to challenging Elaina both personally and professionally. He is the sort of balance she needs, being supportive, yet also having goals of his own.
As a final note, given my disappointment with the way the politics unfolded in Byron’s book, I did like seeing that he did end up becoming mayor in Jackson Falls. However, that does only continue to illustrate the issues I broached in that review, and present the reality in action that red states can have blue communities, and not commenting on the deeper implications of his senatorial loss vs. his local win still feels a bit in bad taste.
I liked this book overall, and this is the strongest in terms of the character development and romantic arc. If you’re looking for a soapy, dramatic romance, I think you’ll like this.
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