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Rose Hill #4
Wild Card
Sebastian Rousseau is a grumpy, hot as hell fire pilot who is too damn good with his hands.
It’s the perfect combination. But unfortunately for me, he’s also my ex-boyfriend’s dad.
A chance meeting brought us together and a missed connection has kept us apart.
One year later, a stroke of fate has us living under the same roof—which makes everything between us downright messy.
Because even after all this time, he’s still the man I think about when I fall asleep. The one I can’t get over no matter how hard I try.
He’s working on mending a fragile relationship with his son and we both know acting on these urges would be the ultimate betrayal.
But I see the heat in his eyes. That look of need that never fails to send a shiver down my spine.
The mutual longing is borderline unbearable and the simmering heat between us is downright palpable.
We both know there are rules when it comes to situations like this.
But then again…following the rules never has been my strong suit.
It’s the perfect combination. But unfortunately for me, he’s also my ex-boyfriend’s dad.
A chance meeting brought us together and a missed connection has kept us apart.
One year later, a stroke of fate has us living under the same roof—which makes everything between us downright messy.
Because even after all this time, he’s still the man I think about when I fall asleep. The one I can’t get over no matter how hard I try.
He’s working on mending a fragile relationship with his son and we both know acting on these urges would be the ultimate betrayal.
But I see the heat in his eyes. That look of need that never fails to send a shiver down my spine.
The mutual longing is borderline unbearable and the simmering heat between us is downright palpable.
We both know there are rules when it comes to situations like this.
But then again…following the rules never has been my strong suit.
464 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2025
16893 people are currently reading
151270 people want to read
About the author
Elsie Silver
33 books69k followersElsie Silver is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of sassy, steamy, small town romance. She’s a born and raised Canadian girl who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. Her books promise banter, tension, and a slow burn that comes to a screeching halt.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 16,134 reviews
September 11, 2025
"you look at her like she hung the moon, and she's the only woman in the world who finds your shitty attitude to be endearing."
4 stars !!!!
if you know me or my reviews, you know that ex-boyfriends' dad trope ALWAYS gets me. i literally read this whole series because i saw a tiktok saying the trope for this one and knew i had to tune in beforehand.
and elsie silver DELIVERED.
this may be a hot take, but i think every book in the rose hill series got progressively better and better. the chemistry, storytelling, romance, etc. have improved with each book.
and wild card was the best yet. gwyn and bash's relationship felt authentic: from their first meeting in the airport to their heartfelt epilogue. the age gap (12-13 years) also wasn't a main conflict which was extremely refreshing to read considering they were both consenting adults.
and clyde!!!!! i'm so happy that we as readers were able to learn more about him and his backstory. i absolutely loved his relationships with gwyn and bash. the father figure (and cupid) they both needed.
my only complaint is the slight immaturity from bash at times. this was more prevalent at the end, and kind of came out of left field. he was calling his son immature, but maybe it was a genetic trait.
but at the end of the day, this book served age gap and grumpy x sunshine, so i really cannot complain too much.
pre-read: streets are saying this is ex bfs dad ??? yall already know im UP
4 stars !!!!
if you know me or my reviews, you know that ex-boyfriends' dad trope ALWAYS gets me. i literally read this whole series because i saw a tiktok saying the trope for this one and knew i had to tune in beforehand.
and elsie silver DELIVERED.
this may be a hot take, but i think every book in the rose hill series got progressively better and better. the chemistry, storytelling, romance, etc. have improved with each book.
and wild card was the best yet. gwyn and bash's relationship felt authentic: from their first meeting in the airport to their heartfelt epilogue. the age gap (12-13 years) also wasn't a main conflict which was extremely refreshing to read considering they were both consenting adults.
and clyde!!!!! i'm so happy that we as readers were able to learn more about him and his backstory. i absolutely loved his relationships with gwyn and bash. the father figure (and cupid) they both needed.
my only complaint is the slight immaturity from bash at times. this was more prevalent at the end, and kind of came out of left field. he was calling his son immature, but maybe it was a genetic trait.
but at the end of the day, this book served age gap and grumpy x sunshine, so i really cannot complain too much.
pre-read: streets are saying this is ex bfs dad ??? yall already know im UP
September 17, 2025
Ex boyfriends daddy will get me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Listen I’m biased at this point if Elsie silver writes it I’m reading it and devouring it no questions asked. My comfort author forever. Was this my favorite of her books? No. Was Bash a bit of a man child? Yes. Did I still giggle and kick my feet the entire time and read it in 24 hours? Absolutely. Idk what it is about her writing but she just puts crack in her books. I also LOVED Gwen!!! Bash is such a grumpy sad boy and I fear his mouth made me fold like a lawn chair.
September 25, 2025
One of my top 2 favs of the series!
I liked both our main characters & I think the emotional connection/communication is what I was looking for in the previous book (Wild Side) - and this one had it! I was worried I wouldn’t like the tropes (ex bf’s dad + age gap), but it was done well and made for a very sticky situation (which added that much more tension to all the forced proximity they had). I do think this one lacked a bit of that banter & flirty-ness that I know and love from Elsie, but I enjoyed my time and it was super bingeable!!
I liked both our main characters & I think the emotional connection/communication is what I was looking for in the previous book (Wild Side) - and this one had it! I was worried I wouldn’t like the tropes (ex bf’s dad + age gap), but it was done well and made for a very sticky situation (which added that much more tension to all the forced proximity they had). I do think this one lacked a bit of that banter & flirty-ness that I know and love from Elsie, but I enjoyed my time and it was super bingeable!!
September 12, 2025
slayed! i’m not gonna lie tho.. I did feel bad for his son LMAOOO
I usually don’t in this trope but tripp just wasn’t that bad in my humble opinion??? — like… “I can fuck u better than him” is wild. that is your son my guy, stop beefing with him HAHAHAHA
regardless I loved it.
I need emmett to have a book asap! ☝🏻
I usually don’t in this trope but tripp just wasn’t that bad in my humble opinion??? — like… “I can fuck u better than him” is wild. that is your son my guy, stop beefing with him HAHAHAHA
regardless I loved it.
I need emmett to have a book asap! ☝🏻
September 14, 2025
Wild Card – Rose Hill’s Wildest Goodbye!
Chef’s kiss and a mic drop. That’s how you end a series...
With Wild Card, Rose Hill reaches its final act. Four books. Four couples. four colors. Four stories tangled in small-town secrets, betrayals, and second chances.We’ve seen enemies fall in love, broken hearts learn to heal, families fracture and stitch themselves back together—and through it all, every connection in Rose Hill felt like threads in the same tapestry.
Now comes Sebastian Rousseau—the grumpy fire pilot with off-limits written all over him—and the forbidden story that doesn’t just end the series, it crowns it.In EX's Dad we thrust!
Here’s to the tropes we devoured-Enemies-to-lovers, second chances, We had the sunshine and grumpy, the found family vibes that stitched each story together forbidden romances—Rose Hill had them all, tied together with family, gossip, and heartbreak. the characters we claimed, the angst we survived, and the small-town chaos that felt like home. And Wild Card? The finale that took every ounce of tension, temptation, and small-town chaos—and gave us the best book of the series.Wild Card isn’t just the finale—it’s the one I’ll remember the most.
Best book of the series so far, you cannot convince me otherwise🤺 Review (and unhinged ramble) to follow soon…💌
--------
ೃ ⁀➷ pre-view: 🎯
The moment has arrived- Let the chaos begin!🤸🏻♀️
----
Guess who just snagged the ARC!?(spoiler: it’s me, and I’m feral)
BRB, Speedrunning My CR- So I Can Dive Into This ASAP!
----
💜Daymn! Purple hues. Small town. Big secrets. Dark temptation. Off-limits tension. Total disaster incoming.🎴
જ⁀➴WHAT TO EXPECT (and survive):
👨✈️ Sebastian Rousseau — Fire pilot. Full brooding mode. Built like sin and always fixing something... preferably shirtless...
📌 Forced proximity. One house. Zero willpower.
👀 “I see the way you look at me” and “don’t start something you can’t finish” energy
🚫 Off-limits AF. (Does it stop anyone? Nope.)
🔥 Grumpy x Chaotic, but make it absolutely feral
😏 Enough tension to snap a hair tie
🫠 Unspoken things. Like I still think about you every night and hate myself for it.
💋 The kind of forbidden where guilt tastes sweet and want never really left 💅 THE VIBE?
FMC: He’s shirtless, in sweatpants, making pancakes.
BFF: Ex’s dad???
FMC: I can’t.
BFF: Girl, you need therapy.
FMC: He licked syrup off his thumb. I’m dead.
Cue-Bad Idea Right❓▶•၊|။||။၊|• 1:00
Imagine soft dusk light pouring through windows. A record crackling. You’re in his T-shirt. You said it would never happen again.
It’s happening again.
Regret in his eyes.
Need in yours.
You’re in trouble.
🖍️ COLOR THEORY MOMENT:
Each book in the Rose Hill series? A perfectly color-coded heartbreak. And Wild Card? OH. PURPLE?! SAY. LESS. 👑💜
Get ready for a rollercoaster of forbidden temptation, messy decisions, and too close for comfort vibes. This is the kind of tension that makes you want to throw your phone across the room and scream.The art? Flawless. The vibes? Immaculate. My patience? Gone faster than my impulse control when I entered a book-store!
Chaos, drama, and all the bad decisions? Bring it. 🥂 Popcorn’s mandatory 🍿, and I’m hitting repeat on Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd. We’re talking undeniable chemistry, jealousy in overdrive, and enough angst to leave you on the edge of your seat. 90% impulse, 10% regret, and 100% bad choices. LET'S F*CKING GOO!!🚨🔥
PS: Exams are winning right now, so I’ll be lowkey. If I’m MIA, it’s because I’m drowning in books, caffeine, and existential dread. brb! once I can think beyond formulas and lectures. Until then, keep the chaos going, send me good vibes... I’ll catch up soon.
Chef’s kiss and a mic drop. That’s how you end a series...
With Wild Card, Rose Hill reaches its final act. Four books. Four couples. four colors. Four stories tangled in small-town secrets, betrayals, and second chances.We’ve seen enemies fall in love, broken hearts learn to heal, families fracture and stitch themselves back together—and through it all, every connection in Rose Hill felt like threads in the same tapestry.
Now comes Sebastian Rousseau—the grumpy fire pilot with off-limits written all over him—and the forbidden story that doesn’t just end the series, it crowns it.In EX's Dad we t
Here’s to the tropes we devoured-Enemies-to-lovers, second chances, We had the sunshine and grumpy, the found family vibes that stitched each story together forbidden romances—Rose Hill had them all, tied together with family, gossip, and heartbreak. the characters we claimed, the angst we survived, and the small-town chaos that felt like home. And Wild Card? The finale that took every ounce of tension, temptation, and small-town chaos—and gave us the best book of the series.Wild Card isn’t just the finale—it’s the one I’ll remember the most.
Best book of the series so far, you cannot convince me otherwise🤺 Review (and unhinged ramble) to follow soon…💌
--------
ೃ ⁀➷ pre-view: 🎯
The moment has arrived- Let the chaos begin!🤸🏻♀️
----
Guess who just snagged the ARC!?(spoiler: it’s me, and I’m feral)
BRB, Speedrunning My CR- So I Can Dive Into This ASAP!
----
💜Daymn! Purple hues. Small town. Big secrets. Dark temptation. Off-limits tension. Total disaster incoming.🎴
જ⁀➴WHAT TO EXPECT (and survive):
👨✈️ Sebastian Rousseau — Fire pilot. Full brooding mode. Built like sin and always fixing something... preferably shirtless...
📌 Forced proximity. One house. Zero willpower.
👀 “I see the way you look at me” and “don’t start something you can’t finish” energy
🚫 Off-limits AF. (Does it stop anyone? Nope.)
🔥 Grumpy x Chaotic, but make it absolutely feral
😏 Enough tension to snap a hair tie
🫠 Unspoken things. Like I still think about you every night and hate myself for it.
💋 The kind of forbidden where guilt tastes sweet and want never really left 💅 THE VIBE?
FMC: He’s shirtless, in sweatpants, making pancakes.
BFF: Ex’s dad???
FMC: I can’t.
BFF: Girl, you need therapy.
FMC: He licked syrup off his thumb. I’m dead.
Cue-Bad Idea Right❓▶•၊|။||။၊|• 1:00
Imagine soft dusk light pouring through windows. A record crackling. You’re in his T-shirt. You said it would never happen again.
It’s happening again.
Regret in his eyes.
Need in yours.
You’re in trouble.
🖍️ COLOR THEORY MOMENT:
Each book in the Rose Hill series? A perfectly color-coded heartbreak. And Wild Card? OH. PURPLE?! SAY. LESS. 👑💜
Get ready for a rollercoaster of forbidden temptation, messy decisions, and too close for comfort vibes. This is the kind of tension that makes you want to throw your phone across the room and scream.The art? Flawless. The vibes? Immaculate. My patience? Gone faster than my impulse control when I entered a book-store!
Chaos, drama, and all the bad decisions? Bring it. 🥂 Popcorn’s mandatory 🍿, and I’m hitting repeat on Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd. We’re talking undeniable chemistry, jealousy in overdrive, and enough angst to leave you on the edge of your seat. 90% impulse, 10% regret, and 100% bad choices. LET'S F*CKING GOO!!🚨🔥
PS: Exams are winning right now, so I’ll be lowkey. If I’m MIA, it’s because I’m drowning in books, caffeine, and existential dread. brb! once I can think beyond formulas and lectures. Until then, keep the chaos going, send me good vibes... I’ll catch up soon.
September 29, 2025
3.75 stars (rounded up for Goodreads)! Elsie Silver books are always sooo funny and easy to fly through. I was worried going into this one that I wouldn't like the main trope - ex-boyfriend's dad. But it was a lot less weird than I thought and made for such an awkward, hard to navigate, and unique conflict haha
I also love the main characters soooo much. Bash is very brooking but so kind and caring. And Gwen's bubbly and heartfelt personality compliments his so well.
I don't really have any complaints with the book, I think I've just read other Elsie Silver books I loved more so that's the only reason I wouldn't rate it higher.
I also love the main characters soooo much. Bash is very brooking but so kind and caring. And Gwen's bubbly and heartfelt personality compliments his so well.
I don't really have any complaints with the book, I think I've just read other Elsie Silver books I loved more so that's the only reason I wouldn't rate it higher.
September 19, 2025
➳ colonizing yoga ☆
⤷ “that he was a fool to let you get away. but that it was just as well because i could fuck you better.” bro is 40 years of age and beefing with his non-existent, good for nothing, mommy's boy son. 👹👹👹
characters = mid. setting = mid. plot = mid. writing = mid. insta love = obviously. concept = mid. trope = wasted. development = mid. cover = cute. smut = VERY mid. pacing = piss poor. my braincells = completely gone. my intertest in reading this book = how did we get here?
it’s wraps for everybody. holy flop. this rating hurts me a lot because i went into this book with the highest expectations but came out deeply disappointed. i can't believe such a good trope was wasted on this book — on these characters. this review will have‼️SPOILERS‼️obviously, this is a romance, so there isn't much to spoil, but i will be going into the details of why this didn't work. my opinion is just that — MY opinion. take everything with a bucket of salt. a huge shoutout to my girl, though. i am grateful i read this with my queenie, laura. i love you, bestie. 🦢🤍
how this book went:
1. meet up at the airport
2. both are of them are horny, wet, hard, and obsessed
3. miscommunication for 8+ months
4. homegirl starts fucking his son for no reason
5. bro is pissed at his so-called son for no reason
6. grown adults behaving jejune and petty, trying to see who let's go of their ego first
7. cringe smut
8. goodnight
😎🤏🏼🥱🤏🏼
now...i am not trying to hate but that's all she wrote. that's it, folks. this book was all hype, no substance. my first age-gap/ex bf's dad trope was none other than, birthday girl. with penelope douglas, i do have beef with her and some of her terrible books, but i can confidently say, she really set the bar for most of the popular romance authors these days. you cannot out-do the doer. the entire time i was reading this book, i kept comparing gwen & bash to pike & jordan. with birthday girl, we as readers are able to feel their love, their friendship, and the small moments that make up their story. with wild card, none of those aspects are present. we don't get to see or feel their love. i can't even tell you why they like each other, and guess what? neither can they.
this is the basic plot of this plotless book:
for starters, this book makes NO sense. we have our main characters who meet at the airport and from there, they spend an entire red eye night due to a layover. from the very first chapter, this 40-YEAR-OLD MAN, is super hard, possessive, obsessive, and downright gooning over a woman he doesn't know. from here, they get drunk on some sugary margaritas and then proceed to run around the airport like children, while also wanting to fuck each other. following this mess, they exchange numbers and promise to call when they are back home. 8 months go by, and bash's dumbass texted a few times with no response, so he gives up and leaves her alone. right after this, bash gets invited to his son's birthday and shocker, the son's new girlfriend, gwen, is the mystery woman bash is obsessed with. all this nonsense aside, they resolve their miscommunication SO FUCKING FAST, because gwen tells bash that he got the number wrong and she was also upset he never reached out...
this is reading like a soap-opera. how can you take “ex-boyfriend’s dad” — one of the best tropes out there — and make it the most mundane thing ever. the first 50 pages were solid and i thought it was headed somewhere, only for the rest of the book to be the most useless fucking thing ever. there is no reason gwen should've been with bash's son, and there is no reason gwen and bash needed to hide this loser ass relationship. the forced proximity in this was beyond embarrassing because again, there is no reason they both need to be around each other. everything that happened with these characters happened because of plot armor. gwen was in a very brief, very stupid relationship with tripp — bash's son — but there was no reason for this besides filling up the trope. from here, it's so clear neither gwen nor bash cared enough about that man to keep it a secret. they didn't even care to do anything about it because as soon as bash comes back to rose hill, gwen purposely takes up a job as a yoga instructor there.
this book is chaotic and all over the place. there is an entire dedicated plotline of this older man, clyde, who has to get a liver transplant and in turn, ends up brining these two jejune babies together. sorry, but i don't care about this man and his liver. i just don't. gwen was acting like thanos in this book. she was a part time yoga teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a therapist, and a teacher all in one. instead of building up the relationship with bash and allowing herself to let go of her insecurities and grow into a better person, we had her playing god, trying to save oldie from death. there is no real relationship with the son — he shouldn't even be in the picture honestly — and everything was so clearly done just to fit this forbidden trope in. but here's the thing — this shit ain't taboo, it's not hot, it's not fun, and it's done in poor taste. there wasn’t even chemistry to save us as readers. just blather.
there are literal scenes in this book where the main character — grown man mind you — is beefing with his son and saying the following:
i saw her first. 💀
she was mine first. 💀
i choose gwen. 💀
BITCH LMFAO!!! i am so grateful my parents are not like this because i would've been in jail. i don't care that bash didn't have a relationship with his son because of the obvious plot development, but this is so corny. after finding out, though, bash said he wanted to right his wrongs, but he really did not. this man was a bozo, selfish piece of shit who was equal parts embarrassing and puerile. this is not how a SANE grown man speaks — how he conducts himself. this book read like a cartoon and i cannot believe this is what i was excited for. the buildup of this relationship meant nothing since we got everybody's lustful thoughts by page one, followed by ZILCH. when we got to the smut — the terrible smut — i clocked myself out because i could not take it anymore. everybody in this book is chopped as hell. these trifling ass people need to get out of this small town and go explore the world with dora. i'm so done with these superficial romances. sometimes, things can be fun and mindless — while still making sense. these side quests pissed me off so bad. stop. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
utter fucking tomfoolery on crack cociane. ruining such a good trope is a hate crime. major props to connor crais, because his vocaltussy never fails me. the cover is also stunning & looks beautiful next to the rest of the series. i’m sorry, elsie. i still love you! 🤓
⤷ “that he was a fool to let you get away. but that it was just as well because i could fuck you better.” bro is 40 years of age and beefing with his non-existent, good for nothing, mommy's boy son. 👹👹👹
characters = mid. setting = mid. plot = mid. writing = mid. insta love = obviously. concept = mid. trope = wasted. development = mid. cover = cute. smut = VERY mid. pacing = piss poor. my braincells = completely gone. my intertest in reading this book = how did we get here?
it’s wraps for everybody. holy flop. this rating hurts me a lot because i went into this book with the highest expectations but came out deeply disappointed. i can't believe such a good trope was wasted on this book — on these characters. this review will have‼️SPOILERS‼️obviously, this is a romance, so there isn't much to spoil, but i will be going into the details of why this didn't work. my opinion is just that — MY opinion. take everything with a bucket of salt. a huge shoutout to my girl, though. i am grateful i read this with my queenie, laura. i love you, bestie. 🦢🤍
how this book went:
1. meet up at the airport
2. both are of them are horny, wet, hard, and obsessed
3. miscommunication for 8+ months
4. homegirl starts fucking his son for no reason
5. bro is pissed at his so-called son for no reason
6. grown adults behaving jejune and petty, trying to see who let's go of their ego first
7. cringe smut
8. goodnight
😎🤏🏼🥱🤏🏼
now...i am not trying to hate but that's all she wrote. that's it, folks. this book was all hype, no substance. my first age-gap/ex bf's dad trope was none other than, birthday girl. with penelope douglas, i do have beef with her and some of her terrible books, but i can confidently say, she really set the bar for most of the popular romance authors these days. you cannot out-do the doer. the entire time i was reading this book, i kept comparing gwen & bash to pike & jordan. with birthday girl, we as readers are able to feel their love, their friendship, and the small moments that make up their story. with wild card, none of those aspects are present. we don't get to see or feel their love. i can't even tell you why they like each other, and guess what? neither can they.
this is the basic plot of this plotless book:
for starters, this book makes NO sense. we have our main characters who meet at the airport and from there, they spend an entire red eye night due to a layover. from the very first chapter, this 40-YEAR-OLD MAN, is super hard, possessive, obsessive, and downright gooning over a woman he doesn't know. from here, they get drunk on some sugary margaritas and then proceed to run around the airport like children, while also wanting to fuck each other. following this mess, they exchange numbers and promise to call when they are back home. 8 months go by, and bash's dumbass texted a few times with no response, so he gives up and leaves her alone. right after this, bash gets invited to his son's birthday and shocker, the son's new girlfriend, gwen, is the mystery woman bash is obsessed with. all this nonsense aside, they resolve their miscommunication SO FUCKING FAST, because gwen tells bash that he got the number wrong and she was also upset he never reached out...
this is reading like a soap-opera. how can you take “ex-boyfriend’s dad” — one of the best tropes out there — and make it the most mundane thing ever. the first 50 pages were solid and i thought it was headed somewhere, only for the rest of the book to be the most useless fucking thing ever. there is no reason gwen should've been with bash's son, and there is no reason gwen and bash needed to hide this loser ass relationship. the forced proximity in this was beyond embarrassing because again, there is no reason they both need to be around each other. everything that happened with these characters happened because of plot armor. gwen was in a very brief, very stupid relationship with tripp — bash's son — but there was no reason for this besides filling up the trope. from here, it's so clear neither gwen nor bash cared enough about that man to keep it a secret. they didn't even care to do anything about it because as soon as bash comes back to rose hill, gwen purposely takes up a job as a yoga instructor there.
this book is chaotic and all over the place. there is an entire dedicated plotline of this older man, clyde, who has to get a liver transplant and in turn, ends up brining these two jejune babies together. sorry, but i don't care about this man and his liver. i just don't. gwen was acting like thanos in this book. she was a part time yoga teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a therapist, and a teacher all in one. instead of building up the relationship with bash and allowing herself to let go of her insecurities and grow into a better person, we had her playing god, trying to save oldie from death. there is no real relationship with the son — he shouldn't even be in the picture honestly — and everything was so clearly done just to fit this forbidden trope in. but here's the thing — this shit ain't taboo, it's not hot, it's not fun, and it's done in poor taste. there wasn’t even chemistry to save us as readers. just blather.
there are literal scenes in this book where the main character — grown man mind you — is beefing with his son and saying the following:
i saw her first. 💀
she was mine first. 💀
i choose gwen. 💀
BITCH LMFAO!!! i am so grateful my parents are not like this because i would've been in jail. i don't care that bash didn't have a relationship with his son because of the obvious plot development, but this is so corny. after finding out, though, bash said he wanted to right his wrongs, but he really did not. this man was a bozo, selfish piece of shit who was equal parts embarrassing and puerile. this is not how a SANE grown man speaks — how he conducts himself. this book read like a cartoon and i cannot believe this is what i was excited for. the buildup of this relationship meant nothing since we got everybody's lustful thoughts by page one, followed by ZILCH. when we got to the smut — the terrible smut — i clocked myself out because i could not take it anymore. everybody in this book is chopped as hell. these trifling ass people need to get out of this small town and go explore the world with dora. i'm so done with these superficial romances. sometimes, things can be fun and mindless — while still making sense. these side quests pissed me off so bad. stop. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
utter fucking tomfoolery on crack cociane. ruining such a good trope is a hate crime. major props to connor crais, because his vocaltussy never fails me. the cover is also stunning & looks beautiful next to the rest of the series. i’m sorry, elsie. i still love you! 🤓
September 19, 2025
I feel like i either totally love Elsie’s books or I cringe so hard that idgaf about the book. Sigh. This one didn’t do anything for me really. I didn’t hate it so 2 stars instead of 1, but yeah this one was kinda cringe for me.
Book 1 meh, but two and three 🔥 and this one cringe.
Giving this one a go 🤞🏻
I can't wait to read this one. And the covers for this whole series are so freaking pretty! 😭 Can't wait to add them all to my shelves.
💜Small Town
💜Grumpy MMC
💜Forbidden Romance
💜Close Proximity
💜Western Romance
💜Age Gap
💜Ex-Boyfriend’s Dad
Book 1 meh, but two and three 🔥 and this one cringe.
Giving this one a go 🤞🏻
I can't wait to read this one. And the covers for this whole series are so freaking pretty! 😭 Can't wait to add them all to my shelves.
💜Small Town
💜Grumpy MMC
💜Forbidden Romance
💜Close Proximity
💜Western Romance
💜Age Gap
💜Ex-Boyfriend’s Dad
November 17, 2025
I read it in one breath, I didn't even eat or drink anything, that's how consumed I was by it and honestly it's been a while since that happened to me..
Elsie has a way of making you truly feel for her characters, it's why I love her books so much, and this one made me feel so many things... I was giggling and kicking my feet so much, I felt anxious and laughed and cried and fell in love..
I loved Bash, an aerial firefighter, he's truly a man after my heart, grumpy and prickly, but with a heart of gold. He was hurt far too many times and it honestly broke my heart. His struggle with keeping everything in, with doing what he thought was right and the way he was made to feel second best, was heartbreaking. Seeing the way Gwen made him feel lighter and happier and how he always loved every part of her, how he grew and slowly started to take charge of his life and the way he truly worked on himself, made my heart flutter. We love a man that can not only recognize, but actually do something to make amends for his behaviour. His control around Gwen was both entertaining and frustrating, but seeing that control slip was the highlight of the book. It was everything..
Gwen was such a light, positive and confident and I loved her passion for her work as a yoga teacher. She had her own baggage, but she never let it bring her down. She went after what she wanted, but never at the expense of others. She gave Bash all the space, but never gave up and she always stood her ground. She told him off when he really needed someone to do that, but she never let him feel second best, she choose him every time. I absolutely loved how she was with Clyde, he was like a father she always wanted to have.
Clyde is, without a doubt, one of my favourite characters ever. Him stirring up trouble was hilarious and I loved everything he did for his two doofuses. He did make me cry a few times and I'm so happy he's okay. Bash giving him his kidney was one the kindest things you can do. Their friendship was my favourite and seeing them rib each other was so entertaining.
I also loved seeing everyone else, I adore every single character and I'll never tire hearing about them, especially West.
And, while I was a little worried about Tripp, he wasn't that bad. Hope we learn more about him. And Emmett too..
I have to say I was afraid, with the main conflict being the fact that Bash is her ex-boyfriend's dad, that everything is going to be too complicated, but they handled the situation pretty well. It was a more boring approach, but it fit..
I loved their meet-cute, the limes and tequila, and even more, I loved how their story progressed. All that tension and angst and so much chemistry.. Bash and his battle with guilt and the feelings he felt for Gwen, their instant connection and all those moments they were so close to losing control, but never quite there, gave me everything I needed. And when that control finally snapped, ohhh, that was so hot. That flight scene and what came (pun intended) after, was so good..
I also loved all the small moments, every time he let Gwen help him when everything became too much, all the raw and vulnerable moments, especially that moment on the balcony that made me cry far too much for my liking and of course we can't forget the racoon..
This book truly pulled on my heartstrings, I took everything way too personally and honestly any book that makes me feel that way is an incredible book in my eyes. And what happened at the end, hit a little too close to home, because we had a close call with a fire this summer...
I can't believe this is the last book, I'm a little sad, but so excited for the next series!!
༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺
𝓣𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓾𝓽𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘’𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓾𝔂 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓾𝓹 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰.
𝓘’𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓪𝓭.
𝓣𝔀𝓸 𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓷𝓾𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓼.
𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓷.
𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭—𝓼𝓷𝓪𝓹 𝓲𝓽 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓘’𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓾𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝓪 𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓿𝓮. 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓾𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽.
“𝓣𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓼 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓪 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱.”
“𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓼, 𝓖𝔀𝓮𝓷, 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓶𝓮, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓼𝓴.”
“𝓕𝓾𝓬𝓴 𝓲𝓽. ”
𝓘 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮. 𝓘 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓮𝓫𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓡𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓪𝓾 𝓲𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓭, 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓰𝓮𝓽. 𝓘𝓽 𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝔀.
𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼.
𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓫𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮.
𝓘’𝓭 𝓼𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽.
𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓼, 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓼.
“𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓯𝓾𝓵.”
“𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓱. 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼,” 𝓑𝓪𝓼𝓱 𝓪𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓼.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓘 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝓱𝓮’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓸𝔀.
𝓗𝓮’𝓼 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓮.
“𝓐𝓽𝓽𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵. ”
“𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮. 𝓘𝓽. 𝓐𝓵𝓵. ”
“𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭. 𝓤𝓷𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓷 𝓭𝓪𝔂. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓸𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶. 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾.” 𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓬𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼. 𝓢𝓸 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽. “𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓷’𝓽 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓰𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”
𝓘… 𝓖𝔀𝓮𝓷, 𝓘 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱. 𝓘𝓽’𝓼… 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷’𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾.
“𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼, 𝓑𝓪𝓼𝓱. 𝓘’𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓪. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮? 𝓦𝓮’𝓻𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓪 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓼, 𝓸𝓴𝓪𝔂?”
.·:*¨ ¨*:·.
Tomorrow can't come soon enough!!
I'm so excited, I already know I'm going to love this... 💜
Elsie has a way of making you truly feel for her characters, it's why I love her books so much, and this one made me feel so many things... I was giggling and kicking my feet so much, I felt anxious and laughed and cried and fell in love..
I loved Bash, an aerial firefighter, he's truly a man after my heart, grumpy and prickly, but with a heart of gold. He was hurt far too many times and it honestly broke my heart. His struggle with keeping everything in, with doing what he thought was right and the way he was made to feel second best, was heartbreaking. Seeing the way Gwen made him feel lighter and happier and how he always loved every part of her, how he grew and slowly started to take charge of his life and the way he truly worked on himself, made my heart flutter. We love a man that can not only recognize, but actually do something to make amends for his behaviour. His control around Gwen was both entertaining and frustrating, but seeing that control slip was the highlight of the book. It was everything..
Gwen was such a light, positive and confident and I loved her passion for her work as a yoga teacher. She had her own baggage, but she never let it bring her down. She went after what she wanted, but never at the expense of others. She gave Bash all the space, but never gave up and she always stood her ground. She told him off when he really needed someone to do that, but she never let him feel second best, she choose him every time. I absolutely loved how she was with Clyde, he was like a father she always wanted to have.
Clyde is, without a doubt, one of my favourite characters ever. Him stirring up trouble was hilarious and I loved everything he did for his two doofuses. He did make me cry a few times and I'm so happy he's okay. Bash giving him his kidney was one the kindest things you can do. Their friendship was my favourite and seeing them rib each other was so entertaining.
I also loved seeing everyone else, I adore every single character and I'll never tire hearing about them, especially West.
And, while I was a little worried about Tripp, he wasn't that bad. Hope we learn more about him. And Emmett too..
I have to say I was afraid, with the main conflict being the fact that Bash is her ex-boyfriend's dad, that everything is going to be too complicated, but they handled the situation pretty well. It was a more boring approach, but it fit..
I loved their meet-cute, the limes and tequila, and even more, I loved how their story progressed. All that tension and angst and so much chemistry.. Bash and his battle with guilt and the feelings he felt for Gwen, their instant connection and all those moments they were so close to losing control, but never quite there, gave me everything I needed. And when that control finally snapped, ohhh, that was so hot. That flight scene and what came (pun intended) after, was so good..
I also loved all the small moments, every time he let Gwen help him when everything became too much, all the raw and vulnerable moments, especially that moment on the balcony that made me cry far too much for my liking and of course we can't forget the racoon..
This book truly pulled on my heartstrings, I took everything way too personally and honestly any book that makes me feel that way is an incredible book in my eyes. And what happened at the end, hit a little too close to home, because we had a close call with a fire this summer...
I can't believe this is the last book, I'm a little sad, but so excited for the next series!!
༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺
𝓣𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓾𝓽𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘’𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓾𝔂 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓾𝓹 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰.
𝓘’𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓪𝓭.
𝓣𝔀𝓸 𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓷𝓾𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓼.
𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓷.
𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭—𝓼𝓷𝓪𝓹 𝓲𝓽 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓘’𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓾𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝓪 𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓿𝓮. 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓾𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽.
“𝓣𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓼 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓪 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱.”
“𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓼, 𝓖𝔀𝓮𝓷, 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓶𝓮, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓪𝓼𝓴.”
“𝓕𝓾𝓬𝓴 𝓲𝓽. ”
𝓘 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮. 𝓘 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓮𝓫𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓡𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓪𝓾 𝓲𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓭, 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓰𝓮𝓽. 𝓘𝓽 𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝔀.
𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼.
𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓫𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓮.
𝓘’𝓭 𝓼𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽.
𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓼, 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓼.
“𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓯𝓾𝓵.”
“𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓱. 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼,” 𝓑𝓪𝓼𝓱 𝓪𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓼.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓘 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝓱𝓮’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓸𝔀.
𝓗𝓮’𝓼 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓮.
“𝓐𝓽𝓽𝓪 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵. ”
“𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮. 𝓘𝓽. 𝓐𝓵𝓵. ”
“𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭. 𝓤𝓷𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓷 𝓭𝓪𝔂. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓸𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶. 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾.” 𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓬𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼. 𝓢𝓸 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽. “𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓷’𝓽 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓰𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”
𝓘… 𝓖𝔀𝓮𝓷, 𝓘 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱. 𝓘𝓽’𝓼… 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷’𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾.
“𝓨𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼, 𝓑𝓪𝓼𝓱. 𝓘’𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓪. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮? 𝓦𝓮’𝓻𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓪 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓼, 𝓸𝓴𝓪𝔂?”
.·:*¨ ¨*:·.
Tomorrow can't come soon enough!!
I'm so excited, I already know I'm going to love this... 💜
September 20, 2025
4.5 Stars
August 28, 2025
4.75 stars
this series came to an end pretty prematurely compared to the author’s previous ones, and I’m definitely left with an Elsie Silver book hangover- craving more.
Wild Card was no surprise—I simply devoured it. It had that forbidden “ex-boyfriend’s dad arc” that was truly addictive and made it impossible not to crave more from the characters and the story. revisiting Rose Hill was, without contest, a nostalgic experience, especially since this is the last installment. We had a final glance at beloved characters from earlier books living out their happily-ever-afters, and it was absolutely heartwarming.
Gwen is what we can describe as a nomadic and free-spirited woman, a yoga instructor who’s been through some tough battles, yet still found a way to connect with herself on deeply introspective and inspiring levels. Bash is at the antipodes of her character: hard, a veritable grump who divides his sacred time between his heroic profession—piloting firefighting planes—bowling, and taking care of his very old friend, Clyde, who in my opinion was the highlight of this novel. but Gwen and Bash had one thing in common: their scars. both of them were portrayed with flaws that shattered my poor heart into pieces, but they played a beautiful role in their journey of finding each other, rediscovering each other, and most importantly, falling in love with each other.
I think I’d better stop on this note, because I could go on and on and probably spoil one or two points. some of the books in the Rose Hill series are my favorites by this author, but this one might have stolen my heart from start to finish.
many thanks to Periwinkle Pony PR for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
—-
GOT THE ARC🥂 it’s ✨tiime ✨🤭
”Gwen, I need you. Like my next breath. It’s… I can’t breathe without you.”
this series came to an end pretty prematurely compared to the author’s previous ones, and I’m definitely left with an Elsie Silver book hangover- craving more.
Wild Card was no surprise—I simply devoured it. It had that forbidden “ex-boyfriend’s dad arc” that was truly addictive and made it impossible not to crave more from the characters and the story. revisiting Rose Hill was, without contest, a nostalgic experience, especially since this is the last installment. We had a final glance at beloved characters from earlier books living out their happily-ever-afters, and it was absolutely heartwarming.
Gwen is what we can describe as a nomadic and free-spirited woman, a yoga instructor who’s been through some tough battles, yet still found a way to connect with herself on deeply introspective and inspiring levels. Bash is at the antipodes of her character: hard, a veritable grump who divides his sacred time between his heroic profession—piloting firefighting planes—bowling, and taking care of his very old friend, Clyde, who in my opinion was the highlight of this novel. but Gwen and Bash had one thing in common: their scars. both of them were portrayed with flaws that shattered my poor heart into pieces, but they played a beautiful role in their journey of finding each other, rediscovering each other, and most importantly, falling in love with each other.
I think I’d better stop on this note, because I could go on and on and probably spoil one or two points. some of the books in the Rose Hill series are my favorites by this author, but this one might have stolen my heart from start to finish.
many thanks to Periwinkle Pony PR for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
—-
GOT THE ARC🥂 it’s ✨tiime ✨🤭
September 10, 2025
All the stars. Phenomenal audiobook. Fav Elsie Silver book ever. No notes. No review needed just go read it.
Read
September 21, 2025DNF 🥀
October 10, 2025
1.75 stars
There will be minor spoilers in this review.
The irony in the title Wild Card is that this book was so predictable, it turned a fun trope into a full-on SNOOZEFEST. This book is so unserious, I'm appalled at how stupid it was.
We have our main characters (Gwen & Bash) who meet at the airport, spend an entire red-eye night due to a layover in what I guess was supposed to be a meet-cute except no, it was not very meet-cute to me—I just didn't give a shit about them or take them seriously because this 40-year-old man is immediately horny, obsessing over someone he doesn't even know like some creepy stalker. Then they basically get super drunk and run around the airport acting like children right off the bat. How tf am I supposed to take these absolute loons seriously when they're acting like they belong in a daycare??
Of course, they exchange phone numbers and promise to keep in touch, but their drunk dumbasses give each other wrong numbers, so Bash never gets a response and just gives up like the pathetic loser he is. Eventually, he gets invited to his equally pathetic son's birthday, son has a girlfriend named Gwen (shocker), and somehow they magically resolve all their miscommunication bullshit at lightning speed while simultaneously having forced proximity but still avoiding proper conversations like a bunch of emotionally stunted losers.
For a 40-year-old man, Bash is the definition of a manchild. His emotional intelligence is pea-sized—this old-ass mf acts like a 2-year-old, literally punching a hole in the wall because he's jealous. Bro was severely immature, and it made whatever hotness he was supposed to have turn to a pile of ashes. How is Elsie Silver writing the most forbidden angst trope ever—ex-boyfriend's dad—and this old man is arguing with his son repeatedly saying "I saw her first"??? Bitch, be so for real and grow up!!
I don't understand why Gwen and Bash had their "meet-cute" at the airport only to accidentally exchange wrong numbers like a pair of braindead teenagers. This whole ghosting/wrong numbers bullshit is getting old and annoying. Contemporary romance authors keep recycling this tired-ass miscommunication device, and the way it's written just pissed me off because it could have been so easily avoided—it just added more stupidity to these characters. After months of not speaking but still yearning for each other like lovesick idiots, Gwen goes off and dates Bash's son, Tripp, which could have been avoided if anyone in this godforsaken book had half a brain cell. I don't understand what the point of it was. It felt forced as hell. I don't even understand why she dated the son other than to shoehorn in this trope.
Gwen was an incredibly boring fmc. There was absolutely nothing about her that stood out to me. Yeah, I guess she had a big heart, helping everyone around her like some kind of saint, but her entire personality could be summed up as generically nice girl with daddy issues and nothing more.
Speaking of daddy issues, her storyline with her dad got so ridiculously repetitive because it wasn't even explored in any meaningful way. We just kept being told over and over and over again—it literally bangs you over the head with the fact that she had daddy issues and her dad didn't accept her, blah blah blah—that's literally it, whatever, I'm tired.
And let's talk about the elephant in the room: why tf was she running around caring for Clyde, acting like his full-time nurse when she's a yoga instructor?? This shit is so unserious I can't even lmao. What's next? Is she going to perform brain surgery because she once watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy? I hope to god Elsie knows the difference between the qualifications that yoga instructors and nurses need because from this trainwreck of a book, I seriously doubt she knows the difference.
Tripp—I mean, of course, in this type of book, they need to make the ex-boyfriend annoying and useless, but I felt like the author was trying way too hard to make him insufferable. Like, we get it, he's the obstacle, but did he have to be such a whiny little bitch about everything? And then I don't understand what the point of that sob story was toward the end, where we're supposed to suddenly feel sorry for his pathetic ass. Yeah, I guess I was supposed to empathise with his backstory or whatever, but unfortunately, I'm a heartless bitch who doesn't give a flying fuck, so I just found his whiny ass annoying till the very end. The author really thought she could make me care about this dickhead with one sad scene? Please.
Another side character is an old man named Clyde, who needs a liver transplant and somewhat helps bring Gwen and Bash together. Let me tell you, I did not care about this old man at all. I guess I was supposed to sympathise with old and ill characters, but unfortunately, his personality annoyed me so much that you could not pay me to care. Everything he does and says was meant to add humour and lightness and show how big a heart Bash had by giving his kidney to Clyde, but I could not muster a single care.
This was probably my least favourite Elsie Silver book—it seemed like she just threw in a trope and wrote it according to that trope, making it lack everything from substance to tension and making it severely boring. I honestly felt like I was losing brain cells from reading about all these dumb mfs stumbling through their pathetic excuse for a romance.
I swear, most contemporary romance authors these days are writing stuff that just aligns with whatever trendy tropes are popular without giving a single thought about actual storytelling. I'm not even trying to be a hater here—I go into these books with the lowest of the low expectations and still come out severely disappointed every single damn time. What the hell is in the air these days? Are we just accepting that books can be complete garbage as long as they check off the right trope boxes?
This might come as a surprise given my reading taste, but honestly, Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas is still, in my humble opinion, the most entertaining book that does the ex-boyfriend's dad trope and is definitely the prime example of how to execute this trope well.
There will be minor spoilers in this review.
The irony in the title Wild Card is that this book was so predictable, it turned a fun trope into a full-on SNOOZEFEST. This book is so unserious, I'm appalled at how stupid it was.
We have our main characters (Gwen & Bash) who meet at the airport, spend an entire red-eye night due to a layover in what I guess was supposed to be a meet-cute except no, it was not very meet-cute to me—I just didn't give a shit about them or take them seriously because this 40-year-old man is immediately horny, obsessing over someone he doesn't even know like some creepy stalker. Then they basically get super drunk and run around the airport acting like children right off the bat. How tf am I supposed to take these absolute loons seriously when they're acting like they belong in a daycare??
Of course, they exchange phone numbers and promise to keep in touch, but their drunk dumbasses give each other wrong numbers, so Bash never gets a response and just gives up like the pathetic loser he is. Eventually, he gets invited to his equally pathetic son's birthday, son has a girlfriend named Gwen (shocker), and somehow they magically resolve all their miscommunication bullshit at lightning speed while simultaneously having forced proximity but still avoiding proper conversations like a bunch of emotionally stunted losers.
For a 40-year-old man, Bash is the definition of a manchild. His emotional intelligence is pea-sized—this old-ass mf acts like a 2-year-old, literally punching a hole in the wall because he's jealous. Bro was severely immature, and it made whatever hotness he was supposed to have turn to a pile of ashes. How is Elsie Silver writing the most forbidden angst trope ever—ex-boyfriend's dad—and this old man is arguing with his son repeatedly saying "I saw her first"??? Bitch, be so for real and grow up!!
I don't understand why Gwen and Bash had their "meet-cute" at the airport only to accidentally exchange wrong numbers like a pair of braindead teenagers. This whole ghosting/wrong numbers bullshit is getting old and annoying. Contemporary romance authors keep recycling this tired-ass miscommunication device, and the way it's written just pissed me off because it could have been so easily avoided—it just added more stupidity to these characters. After months of not speaking but still yearning for each other like lovesick idiots, Gwen goes off and dates Bash's son, Tripp, which could have been avoided if anyone in this godforsaken book had half a brain cell. I don't understand what the point of it was. It felt forced as hell. I don't even understand why she dated the son other than to shoehorn in this trope.
Gwen was an incredibly boring fmc. There was absolutely nothing about her that stood out to me. Yeah, I guess she had a big heart, helping everyone around her like some kind of saint, but her entire personality could be summed up as generically nice girl with daddy issues and nothing more.
Speaking of daddy issues, her storyline with her dad got so ridiculously repetitive because it wasn't even explored in any meaningful way. We just kept being told over and over and over again—it literally bangs you over the head with the fact that she had daddy issues and her dad didn't accept her, blah blah blah—that's literally it, whatever, I'm tired.
And let's talk about the elephant in the room: why tf was she running around caring for Clyde, acting like his full-time nurse when she's a yoga instructor?? This shit is so unserious I can't even lmao. What's next? Is she going to perform brain surgery because she once watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy? I hope to god Elsie knows the difference between the qualifications that yoga instructors and nurses need because from this trainwreck of a book, I seriously doubt she knows the difference.
Tripp—I mean, of course, in this type of book, they need to make the ex-boyfriend annoying and useless, but I felt like the author was trying way too hard to make him insufferable. Like, we get it, he's the obstacle, but did he have to be such a whiny little bitch about everything? And then I don't understand what the point of that sob story was toward the end, where we're supposed to suddenly feel sorry for his pathetic ass. Yeah, I guess I was supposed to empathise with his backstory or whatever, but unfortunately, I'm a heartless bitch who doesn't give a flying fuck, so I just found his whiny ass annoying till the very end. The author really thought she could make me care about this dickhead with one sad scene? Please.
Another side character is an old man named Clyde, who needs a liver transplant and somewhat helps bring Gwen and Bash together. Let me tell you, I did not care about this old man at all. I guess I was supposed to sympathise with old and ill characters, but unfortunately, his personality annoyed me so much that you could not pay me to care. Everything he does and says was meant to add humour and lightness and show how big a heart Bash had by giving his kidney to Clyde, but I could not muster a single care.
This was probably my least favourite Elsie Silver book—it seemed like she just threw in a trope and wrote it according to that trope, making it lack everything from substance to tension and making it severely boring. I honestly felt like I was losing brain cells from reading about all these dumb mfs stumbling through their pathetic excuse for a romance.
I swear, most contemporary romance authors these days are writing stuff that just aligns with whatever trendy tropes are popular without giving a single thought about actual storytelling. I'm not even trying to be a hater here—I go into these books with the lowest of the low expectations and still come out severely disappointed every single damn time. What the hell is in the air these days? Are we just accepting that books can be complete garbage as long as they check off the right trope boxes?
This might come as a surprise given my reading taste, but honestly, Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas is still, in my humble opinion, the most entertaining book that does the ex-boyfriend's dad trope and is definitely the prime example of how to execute this trope well.
September 14, 2025
⭐️ 3.5 — 3.75 stars / rtc
——
Ex-boyfriend’s dad! What in the Sara Cate is this?! But also, I’m kind of intrigued? 🫦🤠
——
Ex-boyfriend’s dad! What in the Sara Cate is this?! But also, I’m kind of intrigued? 🫦🤠
September 6, 2025
MY FAVORITE BOOK IN THE ROSE HILL SERIES HANDS DOWN!!!!
💜 🕊️ 💟 ☁️🪻
ELSIE WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS BECAUSE YUMMY IN MY TUMMY, this book was so dang good I have nothing but positive things to say about Bash and Gwen. They were perfection, heaven on earth, a match made to last, Wild Card was everything and more and I CANNOT WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO READ THIS!!!! My lips are sealed on anything else because spoiler free queen, just do yourself a favor and get ready for this book to release BECAUSE IT IS DIVINE.
Thank you to Elsie for an early copy of this book.
💜 🕊️ 💟 ☁️🪻
ELSIE WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS BECAUSE YUMMY IN MY TUMMY, this book was so dang good I have nothing but positive things to say about Bash and Gwen. They were perfection, heaven on earth, a match made to last, Wild Card was everything and more and I CANNOT WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO READ THIS!!!! My lips are sealed on anything else because spoiler free queen, just do yourself a favor and get ready for this book to release BECAUSE IT IS DIVINE.
Thank you to Elsie for an early copy of this book.
October 4, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ my favourite book in the series
September 28, 2025
⌗ 1/5 stars
- minor spoilers
the first line of the summary says “Sebastian Rousseau is a grumpy, hot as hell fire pilot who is too damn good with his hands.”
there are 2 truths and 2 lies:
the truths: grumpy & fire pilot
the lies: too damn good with his hands & especially hot as hell (unless hot as hell means middle aged man with extreme anger issues.)
i am more disappointed with this than I ever have been with an elsie book. i didn’t like a few of her other books, but none of them have been as bad, boring, icky, or as stupid as this one. 🗑️🚮
i. bash rossuaeu or however you spell it (I really don’t care!). why did Elsie think writing him with raging toxic masculinity and wall-punching issues was a good idea? this man gave me the ick from the start. throughout the book, he was constantly jealous of his SON and continuously trying to one up him 💀 his SON. his train of thought throughout the entire book was “i can fuck her better than him” “i can treat her better than him” him being his SON. my last straw was when he yelled “I SAW HER FIRST!!” directly at him while gwen was RIGHT next to him. beefing with your 24 year old son as a 40 year old man is just crazy to me, i’m sorry! not to mention he punched the wall in the first 50 pages.
ii. gwen she is THE pick me girl. oh my gosh her annoying ass personality throughout this book made ME want to punch the wall. her only personality trait was being delicate, a yoga instructor, and having the biggest boobs to ever exist. her boobs were mentioned at least 10 times in the book, maybe 30 if we count the spice scenes. ”My palms slap the table as I pitch forward, breasts pressing against the edge. His gaze drops to my chest briefly, but I don’t call him on it. My boobs are pretty damn big and they’re constantly in the way.” around page 10 by the way - when they first meet!
iii. gwen & bash. where was the chemistry??? the tension??? the meet cute already set the book off to a bad start when they were sprinting across the airport together. you’re telling me no one saw that? no security guard? bsfr rn🫸🏻 bash was so rude to her throughout the entire book, and she just took it? she called out tripp for his bullshit but just let bash treat her like a mat 😐 there was at least 2 times that he treated her like dogshit and a few pages later wow, they’re doing it! the “best” thing that he did for her in this entire book was feed raccoons with her 💀
iv. tripp. his random redemption arc at the end 😭? were we supposed to forgive him or feel bad for him after spewing all his misogynistic shit..? i’m confused.
elsie could’ve just written another book about rhys and tabs and i would’ve been happy. (still cannot wait for fever dream though 🤭)
thank you so much to my beautiful best friend, mads, for reading this horrendous book with me. reading this with you was the only good part about it. i love you down 🫶🏻
⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹
⋆𓂃ꕤ pre read
one of my most anticipated reads of the year... sebastian PLEASE don't disappoint 😩🙏🏻
୭ impromptu buddy read with one of my favorite girls, madi! (since pati won't read it with us)
- minor spoilers
the first line of the summary says “Sebastian Rousseau is a grumpy, hot as hell fire pilot who is too damn good with his hands.”
there are 2 truths and 2 lies:
the truths: grumpy & fire pilot
the lies: too damn good with his hands & especially hot as hell (unless hot as hell means middle aged man with extreme anger issues.)
i am more disappointed with this than I ever have been with an elsie book. i didn’t like a few of her other books, but none of them have been as bad, boring, icky, or as stupid as this one. 🗑️🚮
i. bash rossuaeu or however you spell it (I really don’t care!). why did Elsie think writing him with raging toxic masculinity and wall-punching issues was a good idea? this man gave me the ick from the start. throughout the book, he was constantly jealous of his SON and continuously trying to one up him 💀 his SON. his train of thought throughout the entire book was “i can fuck her better than him” “i can treat her better than him” him being his SON. my last straw was when he yelled “I SAW HER FIRST!!” directly at him while gwen was RIGHT next to him. beefing with your 24 year old son as a 40 year old man is just crazy to me, i’m sorry! not to mention he punched the wall in the first 50 pages.
ii. gwen she is THE pick me girl. oh my gosh her annoying ass personality throughout this book made ME want to punch the wall. her only personality trait was being delicate, a yoga instructor, and having the biggest boobs to ever exist. her boobs were mentioned at least 10 times in the book, maybe 30 if we count the spice scenes. ”My palms slap the table as I pitch forward, breasts pressing against the edge. His gaze drops to my chest briefly, but I don’t call him on it. My boobs are pretty damn big and they’re constantly in the way.” around page 10 by the way - when they first meet!
iii. gwen & bash. where was the chemistry??? the tension??? the meet cute already set the book off to a bad start when they were sprinting across the airport together. you’re telling me no one saw that? no security guard? bsfr rn🫸🏻 bash was so rude to her throughout the entire book, and she just took it? she called out tripp for his bullshit but just let bash treat her like a mat 😐 there was at least 2 times that he treated her like dogshit and a few pages later wow, they’re doing it! the “best” thing that he did for her in this entire book was feed raccoons with her 💀
iv. tripp. his random redemption arc at the end 😭? were we supposed to forgive him or feel bad for him after spewing all his misogynistic shit..? i’m confused.
elsie could’ve just written another book about rhys and tabs and i would’ve been happy. (still cannot wait for fever dream though 🤭)
thank you so much to my beautiful best friend, mads, for reading this horrendous book with me. reading this with you was the only good part about it. i love you down 🫶🏻
⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹
⋆𓂃ꕤ pre read
one of my most anticipated reads of the year... sebastian PLEASE don't disappoint 😩🙏🏻
୭ impromptu buddy read with one of my favorite girls, madi! (since pati won't read it with us)
October 5, 2025
Boring Card
October 14, 2025
➸ 4/5 stars.
okay, i did not expect to enjoy this book as much as i did and it was a very pleasant surprise. it’s my first elsie silver book too! i have “chestnut Springs” and the first three books of this series “Rose hill” all in my TBR and i’m planing to get to them all soon but i’m glad this was my introduction to her 😍
the whole plot or let’s say the conflict of this book revolve around the fact that the heroin (gwen) dated her ex-boyfriend’s dad — and i’m so relieved with how elsie wrote the entire situation. she didn’t suffocate me with it but didn’t ignore it either. there was proper resolution for it and i highly enjoyed that because i was scared of how it will play out.
➷ gwen dawson is a 27 who’s bratty sunshine reincarnated. she’s been emotionally neglected by the first people who should’ve showed her support, her family. yet the bright and vibrant and positive way she moves through life and the way she takes everything as a lesson and the way that she believes that everything happens for a reason and she’s not gonna overthink the bad things that happen along the way is generally inspiring to me. yes i’m learning things from a fictional character 😭 she is very funny, wholesome and sweet. she is charismatic and confident. she’s friendly and put people around her at ease. she’s a helper with everyone she meets. incredibly understanding and emotionally mature about what every situation she gets into. I remember saying in one of my past reviews that I don’t like reading about people pleasers and gwen was. she even said it herself, but I’ve never felt annoyed by it. because while, yes she is? it never made her doormat who can be pushed around. she does it because she’s naturally sweet and love helping people also, her passion with yoga was SO WHOLESOME!!
➷ Sebastian Rousseau. or dash as everyone call him is a 39 year old. very grumpy and emotionally distant man. he doesn’t know how to understand even his own emotions sometimes which leaves him to shut down and not communicate properly, which made me kinda annoyed. and trust me I get it. I get his reasons and insecurities on why he overthinks. he had two past relationships where both women has left him and got the better “picture perfect families” he felt like he had always been the pit stop for others—a place they paused before moving on to finally find what they wanted, which was never him. but at the same time… man you’re 40 you should’ve been better!! this thing didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth because he did change by the end and learned to become better, and I adored that. but yeah, it annoyed me at the start when it was happening. beside from that bash is an amazing person. who in some kind of way, just like gwen? they both pride themselves in being helpful and reliable. I mean… his entire job is to help people and save lives. and he literally donated his kidney to his friend, how selfless is that?! he even built gwen a yoga studio just so she can feel that she have her own place in rose hill. i just find him hot>>> his restrain and control and the way he didn’t let himself act like a hormonal teenager just because he was attracted to her was one of the best things about him. he thought things a lot before doing them and i appreciate that quality as well. he’s stern and grumpy from outside but soft and caring and providing on the inside ahh 😩
— I absolutely loved the development of their love. as i said at the start, I was afraid of how elsie will play out the situation of the “ex-boyfriend’s dad” but it was all was greatly done!! there wasn’t any childish actions or drama, in my opinion it all got figured out in a very realistic way. truly like the outcome. I know that from the time they first met each other it started on a mutual attraction but I appreciate that it didn’t stay that way. they grew much more then that. every single transition their relationship has jumped into? it all took its perfect time and slowburn and moments and scenes.
i’m very picky with pacing in books and in my opinion this one was cooked very nicely ✨
the spice scenes were seriously so so HOT and yum too 🤭
➸ The only reason this didn’t get a perfect score is because the book dragged a little. and the final chapters could’ve focused on them making up for that last argument instead of saving gwen from the fire and all that action that occurred. i adored them start to finish but oh yeah… it did feel a bit long after the 70% mark. and one last thing: the writing is addictive as hell, i seriously couldn’t put it down even though no crazy actions were happening, it was just very engaging!!
(AND CLYDE NEED A BOOK 🗣️)
***ARC Provided by The Publisher—Bloom Books—in exchange for an honest Review.***
"You're a fucking wild card. Unpredictable and never what I expect.”
okay, i did not expect to enjoy this book as much as i did and it was a very pleasant surprise. it’s my first elsie silver book too! i have “chestnut Springs” and the first three books of this series “Rose hill” all in my TBR and i’m planing to get to them all soon but i’m glad this was my introduction to her 😍
the whole plot or let’s say the conflict of this book revolve around the fact that the heroin (gwen) dated her ex-boyfriend’s dad — and i’m so relieved with how elsie wrote the entire situation. she didn’t suffocate me with it but didn’t ignore it either. there was proper resolution for it and i highly enjoyed that because i was scared of how it will play out.
➷ gwen dawson is a 27 who’s bratty sunshine reincarnated. she’s been emotionally neglected by the first people who should’ve showed her support, her family. yet the bright and vibrant and positive way she moves through life and the way she takes everything as a lesson and the way that she believes that everything happens for a reason and she’s not gonna overthink the bad things that happen along the way is generally inspiring to me. yes i’m learning things from a fictional character 😭 she is very funny, wholesome and sweet. she is charismatic and confident. she’s friendly and put people around her at ease. she’s a helper with everyone she meets. incredibly understanding and emotionally mature about what every situation she gets into. I remember saying in one of my past reviews that I don’t like reading about people pleasers and gwen was. she even said it herself, but I’ve never felt annoyed by it. because while, yes she is? it never made her doormat who can be pushed around. she does it because she’s naturally sweet and love helping people also, her passion with yoga was SO WHOLESOME!!
➷ Sebastian Rousseau. or dash as everyone call him is a 39 year old. very grumpy and emotionally distant man. he doesn’t know how to understand even his own emotions sometimes which leaves him to shut down and not communicate properly, which made me kinda annoyed. and trust me I get it. I get his reasons and insecurities on why he overthinks. he had two past relationships where both women has left him and got the better “picture perfect families” he felt like he had always been the pit stop for others—a place they paused before moving on to finally find what they wanted, which was never him. but at the same time… man you’re 40 you should’ve been better!! this thing didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth because he did change by the end and learned to become better, and I adored that. but yeah, it annoyed me at the start when it was happening. beside from that bash is an amazing person. who in some kind of way, just like gwen? they both pride themselves in being helpful and reliable. I mean… his entire job is to help people and save lives. and he literally donated his kidney to his friend, how selfless is that?! he even built gwen a yoga studio just so she can feel that she have her own place in rose hill. i just find him hot>>> his restrain and control and the way he didn’t let himself act like a hormonal teenager just because he was attracted to her was one of the best things about him. he thought things a lot before doing them and i appreciate that quality as well. he’s stern and grumpy from outside but soft and caring and providing on the inside ahh 😩
— I absolutely loved the development of their love. as i said at the start, I was afraid of how elsie will play out the situation of the “ex-boyfriend’s dad” but it was all was greatly done!! there wasn’t any childish actions or drama, in my opinion it all got figured out in a very realistic way. truly like the outcome. I know that from the time they first met each other it started on a mutual attraction but I appreciate that it didn’t stay that way. they grew much more then that. every single transition their relationship has jumped into? it all took its perfect time and slowburn and moments and scenes.
i’m very picky with pacing in books and in my opinion this one was cooked very nicely ✨
”I've got a laundry list of ways I'd like to watch you work for it, and none of them involve poker”.
the spice scenes were seriously so so HOT and yum too 🤭
➸ The only reason this didn’t get a perfect score is because the book dragged a little. and the final chapters could’ve focused on them making up for that last argument instead of saving gwen from the fire and all that action that occurred. i adored them start to finish but oh yeah… it did feel a bit long after the 70% mark. and one last thing: the writing is addictive as hell, i seriously couldn’t put it down even though no crazy actions were happening, it was just very engaging!!
(AND CLYDE NEED A BOOK 🗣️)
***ARC Provided by The Publisher—Bloom Books—in exchange for an honest Review.***
September 10, 2025
This was my wild card of being bored to death by a book with one of my favourite tropes.
It was so bland it should have been beige.
If this book was just the prologue.. on track for 4 stars. Tension, chemistry, silly fun time vibes. Screaming and giggling. Alas, it was all too good to be true because how did ex-boyfriends dad become such a snooze fest? I can read the same predictable plots over and over again, if they are executed well, but this wasn’t it. How did two people go from all that angst to the most forced ‘oh we can’t be with each other’ - biggest eye roll of 2025.
Less than 30% in I completely lost interest, their chemistry became nonexistent and the insta-lust crept in. SOS. The forced proximity was just that, forced. How are these two living together but actively avoiding even having a proper conversation.
I don’t understand the plot line with Clyde either, what? Is she a yoga teacher or a nurse? Make it make sense please. It felt such a random story line to run with. Other than that, what even happens? Where is the build up of their relationship? Where is the tension and longing? It gave absolutely nothing. Zero depth to make me believe they felt anything for each other but lust, which sucks because as I said, at the very beginning the chemistry between these two was so good!! It did a complete 180 so quickly.
I also don’t even understand why she even dated the son, other than to make it the trope. It made no sense.
No one is more disappointed than me because this should have been the one for me. 😭 It just had no spark or anything to make it special and I found myself irritated by how predictable and corny it became. This is a great example on how not to do ex-boyfriends dad.
Some positives: the concept of Bash is hot as fuck. That’s not even a question. Also, I laughed a lot, that’s not necessarily a good thing; but I laughed either way.
This whole series has pretty much been a miss for me. Chestnut springs is so fun, reckless and heartless are perfection… but this just felt so bland in comparison. This is coming from me, the queen of Daddy issues solved by reading about fictional Dads. How did this miss so badly?
My Rose Hill Rankings:
🩷 Wild Love (4 stars)
🧡 Wild Eyes (3 stars)
💚 Wild Side (2.5 stars)
💜 Wild Card (2 stars)
Buddy read with my Queenie manas - ily 🤭🦢
It was so bland it should have been beige.
If this book was just the prologue.. on track for 4 stars. Tension, chemistry, silly fun time vibes. Screaming and giggling. Alas, it was all too good to be true because how did ex-boyfriends dad become such a snooze fest? I can read the same predictable plots over and over again, if they are executed well, but this wasn’t it. How did two people go from all that angst to the most forced ‘oh we can’t be with each other’ - biggest eye roll of 2025.
Less than 30% in I completely lost interest, their chemistry became nonexistent and the insta-lust crept in. SOS. The forced proximity was just that, forced. How are these two living together but actively avoiding even having a proper conversation.
I don’t understand the plot line with Clyde either, what? Is she a yoga teacher or a nurse? Make it make sense please. It felt such a random story line to run with. Other than that, what even happens? Where is the build up of their relationship? Where is the tension and longing? It gave absolutely nothing. Zero depth to make me believe they felt anything for each other but lust, which sucks because as I said, at the very beginning the chemistry between these two was so good!! It did a complete 180 so quickly.
I also don’t even understand why she even dated the son, other than to make it the trope. It made no sense.
No one is more disappointed than me because this should have been the one for me. 😭 It just had no spark or anything to make it special and I found myself irritated by how predictable and corny it became. This is a great example on how not to do ex-boyfriends dad.
Some positives: the concept of Bash is hot as fuck. That’s not even a question. Also, I laughed a lot, that’s not necessarily a good thing; but I laughed either way.
This whole series has pretty much been a miss for me. Chestnut springs is so fun, reckless and heartless are perfection… but this just felt so bland in comparison. This is coming from me, the queen of Daddy issues solved by reading about fictional Dads. How did this miss so badly?
My Rose Hill Rankings:
🩷 Wild Love (4 stars)
🧡 Wild Eyes (3 stars)
💚 Wild Side (2.5 stars)
💜 Wild Card (2 stars)
Buddy read with my Queenie manas - ily 🤭🦢
November 8, 2025
𐙚⋆˚✿˖° I’m actually in pain right now because HOW did an Elsie Silver book do me this dirty 😭
⭐️ 2 stars …and honestly that’s me being generous because I didn’t actively throw the book across the room.
──★ ˙🧷 ̟
Okay so first of all…this book SHOULD’VE been my Roman Empire. Ex-boyfriend’s dad?? Age gap?? Forced proximity?? Small town drama?? Like HELLO?? That’s basically a buffet of chaos and tension and forbidden “you shouldn’t be doing that sir”. But nope. Instead I got 400 pages of mid-life crisis tantrums and zero chemistry. I swear I could’ve gotten more tension from two trees staring at each other in silence.
Alse Bash made me hate the age gap romance trope. The 40-something-year-old rage, the jealous wall-punching, the constant saltiness at his SON…like, it’s giving “toddler stripped of his iPad”. That’s not hot. That’s therapy homework.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
👨🦳 Bash (aka middle-aged baby) → supposed to be this hot grumpy pilot… instead, he’s a literal manchild punching walls, whining about his son like a toddler who lost his favorite toy. “I saw her first”?? Dude, grow the hell up. Not attractive, just repulsive.
🙄 Gwen → the “sweet girl with a heart of gold” stereotype. Yoga teacher slash nurse slash random savior of old men, constantly annoying, boobs mentioned every 3 seconds like that’s supposed to be a personality trait.
🧢 Tripp → written like the author needed someone to hate. Whiny, annoying, zero purpose except to scream “look guys forbidden trope!!!”
🛌 Clyde → idk why he existed besides making Gwen play nurse like she’s doing community service hours.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
Also it all felt physical only. Like where was the longing?? The emotional pull?? The “I shouldn’t want you but I do” fire?? It was just lust + tantrums + small town side quests that made no sense.
By the halfway point I was begging for SOMETHING—yearning, tension, forbidden glances, ANY spark. Instead I got predictable plot beats, cringe smut, and side characters that irritated me into a reading slump.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
Closing thought:
I’m gonna go cleanse my brain with something messy, chaotic, and actually romantic because I deserve compensation 😭
Thanks for coming to my TED talk about why age-gap romance should NOT include middle-aged men with toddler rage ✌️
⭐️ 2 stars …and honestly that’s me being generous because I didn’t actively throw the book across the room.
──★ ˙🧷 ̟
Okay so first of all…this book SHOULD’VE been my Roman Empire. Ex-boyfriend’s dad?? Age gap?? Forced proximity?? Small town drama?? Like HELLO?? That’s basically a buffet of chaos and tension and forbidden “you shouldn’t be doing that sir”. But nope. Instead I got 400 pages of mid-life crisis tantrums and zero chemistry. I swear I could’ve gotten more tension from two trees staring at each other in silence.
Alse Bash made me hate the age gap romance trope. The 40-something-year-old rage, the jealous wall-punching, the constant saltiness at his SON…like, it’s giving “toddler stripped of his iPad”. That’s not hot. That’s therapy homework.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
👨🦳 Bash (aka middle-aged baby) → supposed to be this hot grumpy pilot… instead, he’s a literal manchild punching walls, whining about his son like a toddler who lost his favorite toy. “I saw her first”?? Dude, grow the hell up. Not attractive, just repulsive.
🙄 Gwen → the “sweet girl with a heart of gold” stereotype. Yoga teacher slash nurse slash random savior of old men, constantly annoying, boobs mentioned every 3 seconds like that’s supposed to be a personality trait.
🧢 Tripp → written like the author needed someone to hate. Whiny, annoying, zero purpose except to scream “look guys forbidden trope!!!”
🛌 Clyde → idk why he existed besides making Gwen play nurse like she’s doing community service hours.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
Also it all felt physical only. Like where was the longing?? The emotional pull?? The “I shouldn’t want you but I do” fire?? It was just lust + tantrums + small town side quests that made no sense.
By the halfway point I was begging for SOMETHING—yearning, tension, forbidden glances, ANY spark. Instead I got predictable plot beats, cringe smut, and side characters that irritated me into a reading slump.
─── ౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
Closing thought:
I’m gonna go cleanse my brain with something messy, chaotic, and actually romantic because I deserve compensation 😭
Thanks for coming to my TED talk about why age-gap romance should NOT include middle-aged men with toddler rage ✌️
September 12, 2025
5 star. Are we even surprised?
August 28, 2025
He said "I could f*ck you better" and I accidentally ran into my doorframe
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2025
Elsie cooked and I ATEEEEEEEEE it up in one night
September 7, 2025
4.5 STARS!! some of elsie’s angstiest, steamiest best work yet and I mean ittttttt!!!
never thought I would be so down bad for an ex-boyfriends dad trope but who tf am I kidding?? of course I ate this sh*t up because the messier the better ladies ;*
perfect way to end the rose hill series, i was obsessed with all the cameos and (as usual) the found family & banter was top top tier, going to need Fever Dream immediately pls:)
never thought I would be so down bad for an ex-boyfriends dad trope but who tf am I kidding?? of course I ate this sh*t up because the messier the better ladies ;*
perfect way to end the rose hill series, i was obsessed with all the cameos and (as usual) the found family & banter was top top tier, going to need Fever Dream immediately pls:)
September 11, 2025
Now what???😭 I'm not ready to let this series go that I'm mad at myself for flying through it but when I tell you I couldn't stop reading!!!😭 Elsie's writing - the atmosphere, the vibes in all her books is just pure comfort! I get lost her universe so easily - let's not forget credit where it's due - her MMCs??? OH MY HEART - I wouldn't be able to rank even if my life depends on it - especially Rose Hill series but let me tell you she put her all in tbe "finale" I mean she didn’t stop at age gap but also Ex boyfriend's dad aka fire pilot - I ate that shit up!!! I loved them sososo much🥲 the chemistry, the tension, dialogues!!!! OH LORD THAT ONE SCENE 🤭💜
ONE OF THE BEST AGE GAP, EX BOYFRIEND'S DAD BOOKS!!
ONE OF THE BEST AGE GAP, EX BOYFRIEND'S DAD BOOKS!!
December 1, 2025
⭑.ᐟ3 stars
⤷ spoiler-free review
"don't go, okay? I know everything here is complicated and terrifying.
but don't run this time. please stay. we will work it all out."
⤿ 🍃 # tropes ⁞
- grumpy x sunshine
- small town
- ex boyfriend's dad + age gap
- forbidden romance
⤿ 🍋🟩 # my thoughts ⁞
I was terrified going into this one from some of the bad reviews and while this was far from a new favourite, I managed to enjoy a few things about this book. lets get into it, shall we?
what I liked:
– Clyde. I was always curious to know more about him from the previous books and seeing the father / son relationship he had with Bash was very sweet and their banter was entertaining. and the way him and Gwen began to care for each other so deeply as well was just so so so cute. I loooove Clyde 🥹
– the prologue oh my god the prologue started the book off SO strong. I was immediately hooked to the story and very drawn to Gwen (this changed throughout the book though). I thought it was goofy and ridiculously adorable and entertaining.
– Bash hear me out.. we'll get into it.
– the ending + epilogue the ending chapters when the chaos begins to go down was a biiiiig redeeming factor for me. before that, the story was losing me a bit because nothing really significant was happening. without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say the last few chapters had me going through all the motions, I even cried a bit.
what I didn't like:
- the execution of the "ex boyfriend's dad" trope. I could easily devour this trope if it was done well but unfortunately, this one really missed the mark. the way it was written ultimately had the dad appearing to be less mature than his own son at times. it didn't give me that "🫣😏🤪" feeling that this trope usually would give me.
- Gwen we'll get into it.
- the lack of events. this book just felt bland at many points in the middle. I genuinely think if it wasn't Elsie Silver who wrote this, I would have liked this even less. she just has this charm that she adds to her stories that keep me entertained but I really was hoping for a bit more from the final book of the series.
- the pacing of gwen and bash's relationship. I'll discuss this more later.
⤿ ⛰️ # characters ⁞
gwen dawson 🧘🏼♀️
guys my age -hey violet
I have to be honest, I didn't love her. I thought I really would in the beginning of the book but her character got really repetitive and bland in my opinion. every other page was "I was never good enough" or "my dad hated me" and it's like, okay yeah that's awful but we need to get to a point where that isn't our whole personality. it just got soooo annoying. like please. I did love the way she wanted to help Clyde but... me and her just don't vibe and that's that.
sebastian rousseau 🛩️
life is a highway -tom cochrane
so… HEAR ME OUT. is he my fav mmc of Elsie's? no. in fact, he's probably my least favourite one in this series but to be fair I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Elsie's men from this series. he was questionable at times for sure. I mean, was punching a wall really necessary?! fuck no. was acting like a straight up man–child to Gwen and his son necessary? absolutely not. did he give me the ick at times? ohhh yes. he is not the type of mmc you would catch me swooning over. HOWEVERRRR, there is something about him that I... enjoyed? he has a big heart and he deeply cares about others. he respects women and will often be the first one to put someone in their pace for speaking to them poorly or being disrespectful. he obviously needs to work on himself in many ways but I don't think he's a bad person at all and I will stand on that!
sebastian + gwen 💜
she's so high -tal bachman
so they were super cute in the prologue. I felt tension and the potential for success between the two of them. but after the prologue it gets a bit confusing. the way everything went down so quickly with Gwen coming to rose hill, living with bash and clyde, it was all just very convenient. not much logic was there. and then, it's all of a sudden they went from 0-100. like one minute they were ignoring each other and the next they were jumping each others bones. I felt no build up of tension at that point and their relationship just fell so flat. it was unfortunate because they were cute in the epilogue but I really don't care about them at the end of the day.
⤿ 🌅 # overall ⁞
this book was fine. it didn't give me that giddy feeling when I finished where I know the story is going to live in my head for months to come which is what I need when it comes to a romance. if you have already started this series, I would say yes, read this to finish it off but don't have high hopes.
⤿ 🤍 # official series ranking ⁞
1. wild eyes 🧡 {6 ✰}
2. wild love 🩷 {5 ✰}
3. wild card 💜 {3 ✰}
4. wild side 💚 {2.5 ✰}
*ੈ✩‧₊˚--pre read ۶ৎ
this series was straight 5 stars for me until the last book and i’ve been putting this one off because almost all my mutuals seem to hate it 😭 i don’t have high hopes but i pray this surprises me🤞🏼💜
⤷ spoiler-free review
"don't go, okay? I know everything here is complicated and terrifying.
but don't run this time. please stay. we will work it all out."
⤿ 🍃 # tropes ⁞
- grumpy x sunshine
- small town
- ex boyfriend's dad + age gap
- forbidden romance
⤿ 🍋🟩 # my thoughts ⁞
I was terrified going into this one from some of the bad reviews and while this was far from a new favourite, I managed to enjoy a few things about this book. lets get into it, shall we?
what I liked:
– Clyde. I was always curious to know more about him from the previous books and seeing the father / son relationship he had with Bash was very sweet and their banter was entertaining. and the way him and Gwen began to care for each other so deeply as well was just so so so cute. I loooove Clyde 🥹
– the prologue oh my god the prologue started the book off SO strong. I was immediately hooked to the story and very drawn to Gwen (this changed throughout the book though). I thought it was goofy and ridiculously adorable and entertaining.
– Bash hear me out.. we'll get into it.
– the ending + epilogue the ending chapters when the chaos begins to go down was a biiiiig redeeming factor for me. before that, the story was losing me a bit because nothing really significant was happening. without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say the last few chapters had me going through all the motions, I even cried a bit.
what I didn't like:
- the execution of the "ex boyfriend's dad" trope. I could easily devour this trope if it was done well but unfortunately, this one really missed the mark. the way it was written ultimately had the dad appearing to be less mature than his own son at times. it didn't give me that "🫣😏🤪" feeling that this trope usually would give me.
- Gwen we'll get into it.
- the lack of events. this book just felt bland at many points in the middle. I genuinely think if it wasn't Elsie Silver who wrote this, I would have liked this even less. she just has this charm that she adds to her stories that keep me entertained but I really was hoping for a bit more from the final book of the series.
- the pacing of gwen and bash's relationship. I'll discuss this more later.
⤿ ⛰️ # characters ⁞
gwen dawson 🧘🏼♀️
guys my age -hey violet
I have to be honest, I didn't love her. I thought I really would in the beginning of the book but her character got really repetitive and bland in my opinion. every other page was "I was never good enough" or "my dad hated me" and it's like, okay yeah that's awful but we need to get to a point where that isn't our whole personality. it just got soooo annoying. like please. I did love the way she wanted to help Clyde but... me and her just don't vibe and that's that.
sebastian rousseau 🛩️
life is a highway -tom cochrane
so… HEAR ME OUT. is he my fav mmc of Elsie's? no. in fact, he's probably my least favourite one in this series but to be fair I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Elsie's men from this series. he was questionable at times for sure. I mean, was punching a wall really necessary?! fuck no. was acting like a straight up man–child to Gwen and his son necessary? absolutely not. did he give me the ick at times? ohhh yes. he is not the type of mmc you would catch me swooning over. HOWEVERRRR, there is something about him that I... enjoyed? he has a big heart and he deeply cares about others. he respects women and will often be the first one to put someone in their pace for speaking to them poorly or being disrespectful. he obviously needs to work on himself in many ways but I don't think he's a bad person at all and I will stand on that!
sebastian + gwen 💜
she's so high -tal bachman
so they were super cute in the prologue. I felt tension and the potential for success between the two of them. but after the prologue it gets a bit confusing. the way everything went down so quickly with Gwen coming to rose hill, living with bash and clyde, it was all just very convenient. not much logic was there. and then, it's all of a sudden they went from 0-100. like one minute they were ignoring each other and the next they were jumping each others bones. I felt no build up of tension at that point and their relationship just fell so flat. it was unfortunate because they were cute in the epilogue but I really don't care about them at the end of the day.
⤿ 🌅 # overall ⁞
this book was fine. it didn't give me that giddy feeling when I finished where I know the story is going to live in my head for months to come which is what I need when it comes to a romance. if you have already started this series, I would say yes, read this to finish it off but don't have high hopes.
⤿ 🤍 # official series ranking ⁞
1. wild eyes 🧡 {6 ✰}
2. wild love 🩷 {5 ✰}
3. wild card 💜 {3 ✰}
4. wild side 💚 {2.5 ✰}
*ੈ✩‧₊˚--pre read ۶ৎ
this series was straight 5 stars for me until the last book and i’ve been putting this one off because almost all my mutuals seem to hate it 😭 i don’t have high hopes but i pray this surprises me🤞🏼💜
September 21, 2025
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.75/5
I never thought I would see a day when I gave an elsie silver book anything under 4 stars rounded up because the first three books in the series were good and reckless from Chestnut Springs as well. Wild Side was great even and it's one that I know I'll reread at some point, but this one fell flat for me. I loved the cameos of characters from the previous books in this series, but this book on an overall level, I didn't really like or connect with.
I went feral for the main characters in every other Elsie Silver book I've read. Like I mean, can you blame me, we had Theo, Winter, Rosie, Ford, West, Skylar....and the most special mention to my loves: Tabitha and Rhys. I have yet to read the rest of Chestnut Springs, but I know I'll love those characters too because I loved them in Reckless, but with these two, I'm conflicted. It feels like Bash and Gwen were the odd ones out in that sense that I couldn't completely hate them, but at the same time, I didn't love them.
Sebastian "Bash" Rousseau. His nickname is not it if I'm being super honest because having a hot as fuck name like Sebastian and going by Bash should be a crime.
As for his character, I felt so bad for him since it felt like bad event after bad event for him. Finding out that the girl he was with in high school had their son and didn't tell him. His ex-wife didn't want children with him. Gwen was dating the son that he didn't know about.
Although, if I'm being honest, the whole thing with the son seems irrelevant was just there so that the ex-boyfriend's dad trope would play out in some way. I don't even want to talk about the son because that boy was raised with a lot of entitlement and it shows.
And then we have this line:
Genuinely, what the fuck was that? It's giving a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of the toy aisle. 🌚
Gwen Dawson. I have to go with a "no" for her. I didn't really like her from an overall level.
She's a yoga instructor. I already have my qualms about how people approach the concept of yoga as a mainstream concept and how they have integrated it into their culture, so I didn't have the best opinion of her from the very beginning. I didn't go in with any previous judgement about her, but I just couldn't look past that either.
The romance. It was mid if I'm being honest. I can't really see it and putting the age gap aside, their whole relationship was like watching a movie on times 10 speed and it ends with them happy together but you have no idea how.
And even their first meeting or "meet-cute" wasn't super special. I thought it bordered on annoying and the things that they did that meeting was very out of character for them. It's like they were having this weird out-of-body experience and it wasn't cohesive with their behavior in the rest of the book.
Then, the smut. I've definitely thought that the smut was cringey this whole series and I've pointed it out in my other reviews, but the tension carried in those books. However, it wasn't the same in this book. I was missing that spark-like feeling between them, instead I was just getting lust and lust and more lust.
I'm giving this a 2.75 rounded up to a three because the cameos were so good and it made me nostalgic, especially Wild Side. Otherwise, I would have rounded down to a 2.
Final Series Ranking:
1) Wild Side
2) Wild Love
3) Wild Eyes
4) Wild Card
Funny how it goes down the list in the order that I read them.
Anyways, I'm fairly disappointed at the outcome of one of my anticipated reads of 2025. I think this is the third book that I was anticipating with bated breaths and it flopped for me, so now I'm scared for the rest of them.
Fever Dream next year though...I'm so ready for it and I will be breathlessly anticipating it.
--------
pre-read: I've been so ready for this book even though a couple of the tropes have me skeptical, but in Elsie we trust. 🙂↕️
I never thought I would see a day when I gave an elsie silver book anything under 4 stars rounded up because the first three books in the series were good and reckless from Chestnut Springs as well. Wild Side was great even and it's one that I know I'll reread at some point, but this one fell flat for me. I loved the cameos of characters from the previous books in this series, but this book on an overall level, I didn't really like or connect with.
I went feral for the main characters in every other Elsie Silver book I've read. Like I mean, can you blame me, we had Theo, Winter, Rosie, Ford, West, Skylar....and the most special mention to my loves: Tabitha and Rhys. I have yet to read the rest of Chestnut Springs, but I know I'll love those characters too because I loved them in Reckless, but with these two, I'm conflicted. It feels like Bash and Gwen were the odd ones out in that sense that I couldn't completely hate them, but at the same time, I didn't love them.
Sebastian "Bash" Rousseau. His nickname is not it if I'm being super honest because having a hot as fuck name like Sebastian and going by Bash should be a crime.
As for his character, I felt so bad for him since it felt like bad event after bad event for him. Finding out that the girl he was with in high school had their son and didn't tell him. His ex-wife didn't want children with him. Gwen was dating the son that he didn't know about.
Although, if I'm being honest, the whole thing with the son seems irrelevant was just there so that the ex-boyfriend's dad trope would play out in some way. I don't even want to talk about the son because that boy was raised with a lot of entitlement and it shows.
And then we have this line:
“I saw her first!”
Genuinely, what the fuck was that? It's giving a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of the toy aisle. 🌚
Gwen Dawson. I have to go with a "no" for her. I didn't really like her from an overall level.
She's a yoga instructor. I already have my qualms about how people approach the concept of yoga as a mainstream concept and how they have integrated it into their culture, so I didn't have the best opinion of her from the very beginning. I didn't go in with any previous judgement about her, but I just couldn't look past that either.
The romance. It was mid if I'm being honest. I can't really see it and putting the age gap aside, their whole relationship was like watching a movie on times 10 speed and it ends with them happy together but you have no idea how.
And even their first meeting or "meet-cute" wasn't super special. I thought it bordered on annoying and the things that they did that meeting was very out of character for them. It's like they were having this weird out-of-body experience and it wasn't cohesive with their behavior in the rest of the book.
Then, the smut. I've definitely thought that the smut was cringey this whole series and I've pointed it out in my other reviews, but the tension carried in those books. However, it wasn't the same in this book. I was missing that spark-like feeling between them, instead I was just getting lust and lust and more lust.
I'm giving this a 2.75 rounded up to a three because the cameos were so good and it made me nostalgic, especially Wild Side. Otherwise, I would have rounded down to a 2.
Final Series Ranking:
1) Wild Side
2) Wild Love
3) Wild Eyes
4) Wild Card
Funny how it goes down the list in the order that I read them.
Anyways, I'm fairly disappointed at the outcome of one of my anticipated reads of 2025. I think this is the third book that I was anticipating with bated breaths and it flopped for me, so now I'm scared for the rest of them.
Fever Dream next year though...I'm so ready for it and I will be breathlessly anticipating it.
--------
pre-read: I've been so ready for this book even though a couple of the tropes have me skeptical, but in Elsie we trust. 🙂↕️
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