[61] Reckless (Chestnut Springs #4) by Elsie Silver
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, fourth in series, Kindle

Synopsis: Winter and Theo’s meet cute is NOT that cute. They’re both driving to the same destination in a snowstorm and Winter is freaked out and driving super slow and Theo is riding her ass. He gets out laughing about it and she immediately chews him out. He’s instantly attracted to how feisty she is. They spend a night together that changes their life forever… but don’t see each other again until a year and a half later.

Review: This book really took me through the ringer. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is a huge miscommunication at the beginning that made me SO mad. And it gets talked about right away but it’s undoable and heartbreaking. All that being said, it was fun to see Winter (she is Summer’s sister from the first book) get a love story, and I loved her and Theo’s (he is the bull riding protege of Summer’s fiance from the first book) chemistry.

Recommend? Yes

[62] The Women by Kristin Hannah
Fiction / Women, heard about from everyone, read with Mom & Snis, audio

Synopsis: Frankie is a 20 year-old nurse and joins the army so she can go to Vietnam to be with her brother. He dies before she even gets there, but she still goes, and her life is forever changed by her service there, the relationships she makes, and her struggles when she returns home.

Review: It was such an emotional journey listening to this (I was so excited when I saw Julia Whelan was the narrator!), but I loved it. Hannah creates such an amazing sense of space/environment that you feel like you can almost understand the horror Frankie is seeing in Vietnam, and her struggles when she gets back. And you’re more connected to Frankie’s story because of that. I love historical fiction like this that tells a story in such a memorable way that I’m actually learning about new parts of history I didn’t know about – like the women who served in Vietnam. There were so many themes explored in this book, but I especially loved the focus on female friendship, and the lifelong friends Frankie made in the other nurses she served with. Their absolute love and devotion to one another was inspiring (and really, a lot of what got Frankie through all her hardships).

Recommend? Absolutely yes

[63] Hopeless (Chestnut Springs #5) by Elsie Silver
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, fourth in series, Kindle

Synopsis: Beau is not himself after returning from being captured in Afghanistan, and starts spending a lot of time at the local watering hole, where Bailey, his much younger neighbor, works. Bailey’s family has a horrible reputation – her dad’s in jail, her brothers are drunk petty thieves, and her mom split a long time ago. Bailey is honest and works hard, but everyone in town just sees her as being as horrible as the rest of her family. She can’t get another job anywhere, so Beau offers to be fake engaged to her to help with her reputation, since his family is so beloved.

Review: I really enjoyed this book and the chemistry between these two. Honestly, it was probably my fave of the series! I wish the author would get to the “we actually like each other and this isn’t fake” part of the story a bit faster, but they gotta build suspense, right? I really enjoyed this series overall, and the little universe created and how it ties in with Wild Love and Wild Eyes.

Recommend? Yes, all 5 in the series!