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Review

4.5 stars

The third book in the Chestnut Springs series, this is an emotional and heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance with all the feels.

Since the moment she met him when they were children, Sloane has loved Jasper. He was the best friend of her cousin, taken in by the family when he had nowhere else to go. So, when she travelled to their farm to spend the summer with her cousins, Jasper was always there. Now, he’s a NHL star, and her feelings for him over the years haven’t gone away. But he rejected her once, and has never shown any sign of interest since, so she’s done her best to move on with her life. She’s on the cusp of marrying another man when she realises she’s making a huge mistake, and it’s Jasper who swoops in to save the day, whisking her away from the church and home to the farm that she loves so much.

It doesn’t matter that my love for him is pathetic and tragically unrequited, it just is. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and I’ve loved Jasper Gervais since the first day I laid eyes on him.

When tragedy strikes soon after, it’s Jasper who falls apart, and Sloane is there for him like she’s always wanted to be. And when the two ‘friends’ take a road trip to help out the family and take their minds off things, everything suddenly starts to change.

I’ve been staring at him since I was ten years old. And suddenly, he’s staring back.

It’s a wonderful set-up, and emotions are running high from the very beginning. You can tell there is so much between these two that has never been unleashed, and every moment between them is just sizzling with anticipation.

They’re both carrying a lot of emotional baggage from their past, and from the situations that they find themselves in, but being alone together allows them to forget about all of that. They’ve stepped away from real life, they’re together 24/7 and all up in each other’s business, and everything is changing.

“Times have changed, Sloane. I’m not scared anymore. You’re not my fucking friend. You’re just mine.”

And when they finally confront the inevitable, holy hot damn!

“Sunny, you’re gonna make me lose my mind.”
“Good,” I murmur against his mouth. “We’ll be insane together. I’m so tired of doing it alone.”

Jasper is a bit of a wild one with surprising Dominant tendencies, and luckily Sloane is there for it. The sexy time is intense and wildly hot, and becomes such a natural extension of the close relationship they have always shared.

It’s not an easy road by any means. Jasper is carrying so much pain, and he’s so used to putting his feelings for Sloane in a box. And she, after so many years of perceived rejection, isn’t sure whether she can trust Jasper’s huge change in attitude. They both know that being rejected by the other would shatter them, and they both have reasons to be tentative, but their feelings are strong, and I loved watching them figure it all out.

“None of that shit matters. Because we’re me and you. We’re us. Unlikely and inevitable all at once. We’re forever.”

It’s a beautiful story that is heavy on the emotion, but there are lots of light, fun, joking moments to balance it all out. The relationship between Jasper and Sloane is easy, familiar and natural, and their playful teasing shifts so easily as things change between them. And the text messages with the family are so entertaining and had me giggling at their fabulous dynamic.

I was completely wrapped up in Jasper and Sloane’s story, and I loved their journey.

“I love you so damn hard I don’t even know what to do with it. You’re my person. And I think I’m yours too.”
“You have always been my person.”

4.5 stars!

 

Chestnut Springs