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Lauren

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Lauren is currently reading

Hopeless (Chestnut Springs, #5)

by Elsie Silver (Goodreads Author)

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Lauren said: " This was a hard read. The book is number 5 in the Chesnut Springs series but it is advertised as a standalone. I read this book without reading the others because I found the synopsis the most interesting out of all the other, but I just could not pu This was a hard read. The book is number 5 in the Chesnut Springs series but it is advertised as a standalone. I read this book without reading the others because I found the synopsis the most interesting out of all the other, but I just could not pull through.

The story leans so much on the other books that its almost impossible to truly find anything believable in the book without having read the other books. There also isn't enough happening in the book to keep the reader engaged in my opinion and the only character that truly felt fully developed and drawn out was Beau.

The FL was underdeveloped in my opinion and she kept on saying "Everybody in this town hates me." but then she'd go to work and nobody would be giving her any grief. Everybody in town is supposed to hate her because of her family, but when you read this story as a standalone, the author doesn't give us enough information about what the brothers have done to make them infamous in the ENTIRE small town. The most we got of people in the town hating her specifically in the first quarter of the book was one awkward interaction with a high school bully at the shoe store, and all the bully did was give her a funny look. WHERE IS THE DRAMA?!!! Not to mention the glorification of Beaus's family, I felt like they were so overly nice when finding out about the engagement that it completely defiled Beau's whole motive of his family always riding his ass about everything he's doing.

I got 50% through the book, up to the point where they finally start admitting to each other that these feelings are so strong that this has to be more than a bet and I realized that this story was truly going nowhere. The whole foundation of the plot relies on Bailey getting a job because of her association with Beau, but even that concept felt lazy to me because BAILEY ALREADY HAS A JOB! The whole reason she even wants this job is so that she can get out of this town.

What did Beau stand to gain from this bet? nothing. but we knew that from the beginning and let it slide. Overall this book was boring and the plot was put together almost lazily. It doesn't make sense unless you loved the series and are already equipped with enough background information about the characters to really dive in. ...more "

Feb 28, 2025 09:45PM · see review