Powerless Chestnut Springs, #3

I’m flying through this series now it seems and reading them back-to-back is always one of my favourite feelings as it means that I get to be fully emersed in the world and characters. For me this one just left me feeling a little weird as I closed the back cover.  

Sloane has always loved Jasper since the age of 10, but because of their age difference and other factors at play, the pair have never gone past friendship territory. Now Fast forward and Sloane is at her weeding day and after receiving a video of her husband-to-be cheating on her; from an anonymous person Sloane wants to escape & Jasper is there to help. Soon the two of them embark on a road trip. in the close confines of their journey, their suppressed feelings bubble up to the surface and jasper starts to see Sloane in a new light.

This one just didn’t hit like the previous books in the series, It felt like it was full of filler in the middle and then it all kicked into gear in the third act and then was rush until he ending. The romance itself felt a little wrong and I just struggled to connect to the character like I have in the past and it felt like they were both not in the right headspace for a relationship. It felt like a mishmash of these characters hiding their feelings and stifling their emotions for majority of the story and that they just needed to have an open and honest conversation with each other.  

I think that the constant Cousin jokes make this one feel weird. Sloane and jasper essentially grew up as “cousins” since he was adopted into the Eaton family. even though they didn’t share that relation, the “cousin jokes” kind of threw me off because I just wouldn’t go there and it would make me extremely uncomfortable.

Elsie River books are my new guilty pleasure

this is a soft 3… more like a 2.75 stars. it was just .. boring. like i didn’t care about either of them?? i was just like ok, who cares? also im SO sick of the men being in their mid/late 30s and all the women barely having a fully developed brain. honestly this whole family is like .. really intertwined in weird ways. and it’s freaking me out that they’re all married to somebody else’s mom/sister/cousin?? like there are SO many fish in the sea, you don’t need to fuck your sorta cousin who is like 25.

definitely ended abrupt and left a major plot point hanging but i enjoyed

ngl, i was bored out of my mind. like I still cared and jasper being a hockey player saved me cause there's only so many farmers I can take but...

3.75 keep it in the family they say i love these series

honestly. i don’t understand why this book is hated. it’s so good i love sloane and jasper they’re such sweethearts and i loved the micro trope of the road trip. i did wanna skip this one but im so glad i didn’t.

This book was so perfect.

I loved the sense of found family and the way that both Sloane and Jasper developed as characters and acted on their love for each other. The ranch setting really comforts me too. I can’t wait to read Reckless!

“Perfectly handsome with sad eyes”

2.75, this was not my jam. Had to force myself to finish.

“getaway car” and "i wish you would" (taylor's version) by taylor swift
“ruin the friendship” by demi lovato

childhood friends to lovers will alway hit for me hehe

Oh my GOD? The middle was a little annoying and redundant with a lot of sex and back and forths of him being broody. The last 100 pages were so good they made me cry. A good love story but also love that the fmc grew a lot and found her voice

I do love friends to lovers so that part of this was fun, but it was more one-sided childhood crush to lovers. I did not love a lot of the rest of it though? Also this is the first one that isn't a cowboy, it's a NHL player and a ballerina.

Based in Calgary & surrounding areas. I thought it was really good, I have a soft place in my heart for the childhood friends to lovers trope.

Friends to lovers 🔥 goodness

“I just want to go back to where I always felt safest as a little girl. I long for that place and the simplicity of life that came with it.”

“She might not look it, but she’s strong. She’s a got a huge heart. A gentle soul.”

“That’s probably what you tell all the girls, Gervais.” “Nah, Sunny. You’re my only girl.”

“Violet: He needs you more than he realizes. Don’t leave him. You’re his person.

Sloane: I won’t.”

“Because I’ve been staring at Jasper Gervais since I was ten years old, and suddenly . . . he’s staring back.”

“I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed.”

“He doesn’t just listen to me. He hears me. He sees me. And there’s something precious about that, the way he can look at someone and make them feel like the only person in the room. He’s not showy, he’s not the life of the party, but he knows how to make a person feel special, to feel loved and cared for.”

“Jasper: I don’t like talking to people. Sloane: You talk to me.

Jasper: You’re not people.

Sloane: Lmao. What am I then?

Jasper: My person.”

“If making yourself sick with jealousy were an art form, I’d be a master at my craft.”

“And if I’ve figured out anything in this Shakespearean tragedy of a life, it’s that life is just moments all strung together like multicolor Christmas lights. You always end up liking some colors better than others. Joyful, tragic, peaceful, funny. Unforgettable moments, and moments we wish we could forget.”

“I feel like I could crumble under the weight of not wanting to disappoint you. I’m paralyzed by my fear of losing you.”

“It’s always been you, Jasper. It will always be you.”

“The real question is, do any of those other people matter when I only ever see you? When I only ever think about you? When I’ve done nothing but become more and more obsessed with you since I was told to stay away from you?”

“Sloane is downstairs starting the laundry, and I’m feeling really fucking domestic and happy about the entire situation as I fold the basket she just brought up. I can see us doing this forever. Taking trips together. Napping together. Doing chores together. Me walking up and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek, just because I can, and then carrying on with my shit. Even doing boring stuff is infinitely less boring with Sloane by my side.”

“She’s the air I breathe and that fucking terrifies me. Because no matter how fiercely I love someone, I know they always leave.”

“When I close my eyes, I see you. When you’re away from me, I dream about you. When I need someone to lean on, you are always there for me.”

When Jasper Gervais helps her escape from a wedding Sloane Winthrop didn't even want, the two of them get a chance to explore the relationship they never had. Together, they go into hiding on the ranch in Chestnut Springs, but when news of Jasper's adopted brother, Beau, a special forces operative, going missing, the entire Eaton family becomes paralyzed with fear and worry. Jasper and Sloane take the opportunity to help the family by taking a truck filled with hay to sister Violet's ranch, and the trip opens their eyes to long-held feelings for each other.

Powerless is an emotion packed romance with likable, quirky characters. However, the plot is light on substance, requiring repetition of events and conversations in order to fill an entire book. The motives and backgrounds of supporting characters could have been better developed, adding more depth into the narrative. Also, the ending is almost too perfect to be believable. Overall, though, Powerless is an addicting romance with enjoyable characters but little substance.

I had a feeling that this would have been the one for me. I live a good hockey guy in a romance book. This was that, then add one of my favorite tropes childhood friends to lovers. I’m there, I’ll pretty much love it because I have loved this series. The characters, great. The plot, amazing. The spice, top-tier. There wasn’t anything in here that I didn’t love. It had some build for the next book that I’m excited for even for the fifth book a little bit. Elsie Silver just knocked it out of the park with this series and I currently would say Powerless is my favorite.

wasn't my fav, but it definitely got better as you keep reading. didn't love that jasper originally was like "she's not the little girl i used to know" and switched to "i've always loved you, i just thought i wasn't good enough". felt like the plot was lost a bit in there. overall easy read that got really good once the main couple actually got together 😊

Like every Elsie Silver book a 5/5 romance read

well that was a HUGE letdown. i was so excited for this because i love a good friends to lovers, especially childhood friends. however, i think it’s important to have a good foundation in the friendship and see how everything started. the lack of flashbacks just made me not click with sloane and jasper

🌶🌶

I liked it, very swoony. Some of the spicy parts were not particularly my fav but they were still fine. Jasper and Sloane were super cute. The ballet and hockey duo was interesting.

Yeah, I wish I liked this more than I do because it's really not a bad book, but after reading Heartless and loving the bejesus out of that one, this one just feels meh to me. Can't wait for Winter and Theo's book, as well as Beau's book.