Flawless by Elsie Silver Series: Chestnut Springs #1
on April 6, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Pages: 416
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads
"The rules were simple. Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble. But now I'm stuck with her. There's only one bed. And well, rules are made to be broken. I'm the face of professional bull riding - the golden boy. Or at least I was, until it all blew up in my face. Now my agent says I have to clean up my image, so I'm stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my 'full-time supervision.' But I don't need a goddamn babysitter, especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can't stop running. A mouth I can't stop thinking about. Because Summer isn't just another conquest. She sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn't run - she pulls me closer, even when she shouldn't. She says this means nothing. I say this means everything. She says there are boundaries we shouldn't cross. That my reputation can't take any more hits - and neither can her damaged heart. I say I'm going to steal it anyway."--Publisher.
No one is more shocked that I am that a cowboy romance actually worked for me than me. This is a series that I have seen everywhere in the book world over the last several months, and I was able to get my hands on the audiobook through a previous Audible sale. After deciding to give this a try (and largely because Sebastian York is an incredible narrator), I fell in LOVE with this book and could not stop listening. This was such a fun romance and a great way to dip my toe into cowboy romances.
TROPES
Cowboy, small town, age gap, off limits, dislike to love.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Sexual content, medical content, death of a parent (historical), toxic relationship, abuse, adult/minor relationship (historical; referenced).
WHAT WORKED FOR ME
Watching Rhett and Summer’s relationship grow throughout the story is the main reason that I loved this as much as I did. She puts up with none of his shit, even from the beginning. Her showing him that she cared and didn’t try and talk him out of continuing to bull ride was honestly sweet. She never tried to change him. Rhett wanted nothing more than to continue bull riding and when he realizes that Summer is trying to help him be able to continue to do that he definitely softened a bit toward her.
The small town aspect also played a role in my enjoyment. There’s something about a city person finding themself in a small town that is incredibly appealing; especially in a romance. And while Summer was only there because of her job, it didn’t stop her from figuring out who she is and what she wanted. That’s the joy of a small town romance. It’s not only the romance, it’s the growth of the characters to become the best versions of themselves, which ultimately translates to the dynamic of the relationship.
The narration also played a huge role in why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Sebastian York is a stellar narrator and that can truly make or break a book. Combining his voice, Emma Wilder’s voice and Elsie Silver’s words and you end up with a fun small town romance.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
It’s not uncommon for the external conflict in a romance to be related to one of the main characters family dynamics. In a lot of the books I’ve been reading over the last few months, the familial external conflict has often resulted in abusive and terrible support behavior of the family. In this book, it felt that aside from her best friend, no one was rooting for Summer. Her dad acting like he was rooting for her, but really ended up treating her like a child in a lot of ways. I didn’t love that aspect of this.
The internal conflict I didn’t care for was how Rhett blurted out Summer’s business to people without considering the implications of him doing so. Not for others, but because Summer explicitly didn’t want that to occur. Candidly, I think that she forgave Rhett too quickly for that.
Also, and this is more personal preference than anything else, having children named Summer and Winter did not work for me. In the moment and reading the story, I could look past it. But now that I’m writing this review, not a fan of these names.
SPICE RATING
I put this at a 3 on the spice scale. It certainly has it’s spicy scenes, but I wouldn’t have been embarrassed if someone heard the scenes while I was driving.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I had a really good time with this book. The combination of the small town, the character development and the romance itself made this a fun first dive into cowboy romance. I will be continuing in the series and cannot wait to see what the rest of Rhett’s family gets up to in Chestnut Springs.
