Series review - chestnut springs

The hold this series has on me is unreal. The perfect amount of romance, conflict & spice all wrapped up in a small town package.

I've added my rankings, ratings & reviews for all 5 books below. I've tried my best to omit any spoilers by sticking to what is written on Goodreads & the backs of each book.

I will preface this by saying that I am not a huge spicy book reader, I've rated all 5 books with a 4/5 spice level, so please that with a grain of salt if spice is your usual jam. I will say that each story had a great deal more plot than I expected (based on previous experience with some spicy books), so I was pleasantly surprised,

Have you read the series? If so, which book was your favourite? Are you team Rhett, Cade, Jasper, Theo, Beau... or Harvey?

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BOOK 1 - FLAWLESS

SUMMER & RHETT

RANKING IN SERIES - 3rd

SYNOPSYS

Rhett Eaton is the face of professional bull riding. The golden boy. Or at least he was until it all blew up in his face after a public brawl. Now his agent says he has to clean up his image, and sticks Rhett with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as "full-time supervision."

REVIEW

I had read a bunch of mixed reviews about this one - mostly that the series is great but the first book is the worst of the bunch... I was very surprised at how much I loved it though. The plot drove the story forward, which I appreciated & the main characters were beautifully written. Summer & Rhett’s banter was so sweet & though I don’t normally like a 3rd act breakup, I didn’t mind this one. The whole book was just really well written 

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BOOK 2 - HEARTLESS

WILLA & CADE

RANKING IN SERIES - 4th

SYNOPSYS

Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

REVIEW

I flew through this book. Though I can say with certainty the age gap/nanny tropes are not for me, the story itself was really sweet, I loved watching Willa & Luke’s relationship develop throughout - she became his safe space.

Cade is depicted as a hardworking, incredible father & I very much respected that about his character. Not a fan of her jokingly calling him “Daddy Cade” - it gave me the ick. They drew attention to the age gap a lot more than I felt was necessary, which just made that joke & him calling her “baby” really off-putting.

I loved the story though & the character development was extremely well done.  

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BOOK 3 - POWERLESS

SLOANE & JASPER

RANKING IN SERIES - 2nd

SYNOPSYS

Two childhood friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything. That’s all this was supposed to be. After all, I’ve been living in the friend zone for years now. To his fans, he’s the handsome, talented athlete on TV. But to me he’s still the lost boy with sad eyes and a heart of gold. The man I’ve loved in secret for years.

REVIEW

I’ll start off by saying, this was a nice little break from the small town/cowboy vibes in the series, There were still elements thrown in, but it was more of a sports romance than a cowboy romance & that was refreshing.

I was absolutely consumed by both characters. I loved the childhood friends to lovers theme throughout, though the miscommunication between them was a little much at times & made me want to jump into the book & shake them both. I just loved how protective they were of each other (was nice to see it reciprocated through Sloane).

It was also fun to see every character written so far (including the remaining 4 couples & couples from the ‘Gold Rush Ranch series) featured throughout. Really fun way to tie all the books together. Gripping story right up until the very last page. 

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BOOK 4 - RECKLESS

WINTER & THEO

RANKING IN SERIES - 1st

SYNOPSYS

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider, notorious ladies' man, scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he's looking at me like I might be his next meal. I'm almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look at Theo is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

REVIEW

Never has a book sold me on the dedication alone like this one did. The accidental pregnancy trope isn’t usually a favourite of mine but this was so well done that I didn’t even care. Reading about all the struggles of motherhood was so raw & accurate that I gained a respect for Winter’s character that I didn’t think I would (based on her minor appearances in other books).

Reading her description of Theo’s relationship with Vivi made my heart absolutely melt. He became an instant papa bear & took such incredible care of Winter. Also the banter - hands down the best of the series.

Such an incredibly empowering story with the most adorable characters. Hands down my favourite of the series.

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BOOK 5 - HOPELESS

BAILEY & BEAU

RANKING IN SERIES - 5th

SYNOPSYS

Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past. I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two. He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé. We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point. He once told me he’d never fall in love. And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.

REVIEW

Though this wasn’t my favourite of the series (far from it), it did a great job of tying up all the storylines. I loved their banter back & forth but the age gap was a little too much for me. Some of hte spice got really awkward, really fast because of the emphasis on her virginity & the 13 year age gap.

I did, however, love that they were both able to help each other through their issues. The maturity Bailey possessed in every other aspect of the book made me forget about the age gap... but then they very quickly reminded me.

Like the rest of the series, it was extremely well written & both characters were very likeable, just wasn’t my favourite.