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Review

5 stars!

God, I am in a world of romantic heaven after finishing this book! What a beautifully romantic, swoony and emotional read! I was a little nervous going into this one, but Elsie Silver ticked all the boxes, and I loved the characters, their romance, and every little moment of how their story played out. I’m on a binge of this series, and this is my fave so far, I freaking loved it!

Winter and Theo have been introduced in earlier books of the series. Winter is the estranged sister of Summer, and Theo is a bull rider, the protégé of Rhett (Summer and Rhett are the couple from the first book in the series, Flawless). You can easily read this one as a standalone.

What we’ve seen of Winter in the series so far is that she’s considered an ice princess – cold and heartless, yet feisty when she needs to be, and not particularly likeable. But there’s something about her that intrigued me. She is brave and bold, and I have been looking forward to seeing her get the chance to shine. Her complete opposite, Theo is a charmingly irresistible player. He’s open, funny, sweet and flirtatious, and very determined when he’s going after what he wants, which serves him well with what he’s up against in this one.

Winter and Theo meet when she’s in the middle of ending her marriage. She’s not in a good place emotionally, and though she can certainly appreciate looking at the sexy bull rider, she wants nothing to do with men. So when he flirts, she snarks back, and their bickering is so entertaining. And while Winter gets more and more infuriated, Theo gets off on their sparring, and he’s completely smitten.

“Careful. That one’s got claws,” Cade offers right as Willa shoves a pointy elbow at his ribs.
I grin. “That’s okay. I like having my back scratched.”

But the chemistry between them sizzles, and after a few drinks, they end up spending the night together, completely rocking each other’s worlds. Their connection is unlike anything they’ve ever felt, but they agreed to one night only so in the morning they go their separate ways. Theo heads back to touring the bull riding circuit, and Winter is moving on with her life… until she discovers that she’s pregnant.

I won’t go into detail about how the story unfolds from here, because you just need to dive in and experience it. It’s surprising, but handled so well, bringing maximum emotional impact, and I adored how it all happens.

“I’m still a mess now.”
… “Maybe I don’t care. Maybe I want to be messy with you forever.”

There’s so much feeling between these two, and with a baby in the mix, it just makes everything more intense. But while Theo is ready to go all in, Winter has a lot of baggage, and my heart just broke for her! She’s never known family, acceptance, trust or love, and she’s got so many lessons to learn and issues to overcome. But wouldn’t you know it, she’s in the exact right place to do that. Not only does she have her sister and the extended family around her, but Theo is a rock – completely devoted and determined to love her the way she deserves.

“I could fucking bury whoever made you believe you’re as unlovable as you seem to think.”

Theo freaking Silva. Oh my god, the man stole my heart so completely in this book! There is something about a man so openly smitten and in love – with both his girl and their daughter – and he is just amazing as he inserts himself into Winter’s life. He patiently cares for and supports her, reassuring her and guiding her to a good place and convincing her of his feelings, and the fact that she is deserving of them. He is sweet, funny, sexy and flirtatious (and the man is a filthy sex god. Holy hot damn!), the ultimate cinnamon bun hero, and I just adored him!

“It strikes me that perhaps I’m not an easy woman to love, but Theo does it so effortlessly that I feel like I could be. Like I deserve to be.”

And when he needs it, Silver gives it all right back to him. They have a lot to deal with, and it is heartbreaking in places, but it’s fun, functional and honest, and I loved watching them come together.

“I love you. I love you so much it paralyzes me to think of carrying on without you. You’re not allowed to shut me out. Because you made me need you, and now you have to deal with the consequences.”

Between their relationship, their careers and family drama, they both have work to do in order to find their way forward, and I loved the ride as they do just that – honestly, openly, and with no game playing or stupid behaviour, which I loved! Their fall into deep, all-consuming, heart-pounding yet functional love is beautiful to watch, and I adored their romance!

The whole Eaton clan are there to support and tease, and I loved the strong family themes. This is such a beautiful story, and I loved it so much.

5 stars!

 

Chestnut Springs