I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two and all… virgin.
He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.
We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.
It’s win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.
He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.
But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines.
It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all.
This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.
He once told me he’d never fall in love.
And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
BRING ON BEAU! I cannot say enough about Elsie Silver's Chestnut Springs series. I absolutely adore every character she writes, even her villains. She really gives each and every character their own spark, personality, and arc. And this was the one I was truly waiting for. The ever elusive Beau. We don't learn too much about about in the previous books, just the cursory on the surface details: he's an Eaton brother, he's Jesper's best friend, he's the middle Eaton, and he's a military guy who was injured in the line of duty and honorably discharged. So for Silver to give him his very own book was a long time coming!
I love this friends to lovers, close proximity, age gap story the author created. The way she slowly builds the relationship. How she reveals the quirks of each character and incorporates that into their personalities and their interactions with each other. The emotionally charged interactions that keep you on the edge of your seat. It all comes together for a perfect story.
Beau, oh Beau. What can I say. He's definitely got a ton of PTSD. Which Silver writes well. You get the glimpse of what his life was like on the front lines and what he was willing to do for those he was ordered to protect. This flows over into his family and others that surround him. But he holds secrets. Secrets he doesn't tell anyone and keeps close to his heart. He's not one to open up and let people know what is bothering him, what he's gone through, what he's going through.
And Bailey she is one tough cookie. Kept down all her life because of her family name. Treated like she's less than because of it. She's just biding her time, trying her hardest to make the best of her situation until she can get the heck out of doge. She's strong and no nonsense. She doesn't take anything from anyone: her family, the townies, Beau. She's not afraid to speak her mind but she also keeps a lot close to the heart because she doesn't want to cause any trouble, or seem like she's causing trouble.
Put these two together and BOOM chemistry and so much fun. The banter between Beau and Bailey is classic Silver. She really knows how to write humor into situations. But also knows how to put that slow burn chemistry into things. The way she has Bailey caring for Beau and Beau protecting Bailey. Even in ways she knows nothing about. And the sexual tension between these two is amazing. Of course your cheering for them to finally see they are so good for each other and belong together.
Silver absolutely knows how to build a story. The world building , which I already know because of the previous books but could be understood easily if you haven't read those, as well. The character development is on point. I love a good slow reveal. And the pacing keeps you reading. I didn't want to put this one down.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I am hoping for a spin off that will include Willa's brother because he really needs a story!
Author:
No comments:
Post a Comment