Bailey Jansen can't get away from the stigma of being part of the notorious Jansens. The only job she can get in Chestnut Springs is bartender. Her fondest wish is to move out of town and start a new life where nobody knows her family. Beau Eaton wishes he could start over too, but he can't seem to break out of a crippling depression that has taken over his life ever since his return from Afganistan where he saved another soldier's life and seriously injured his feet. Bailey and Beau start to find common ground at the bar where she works, and decide to fake an engagement in hopes of enhancing both of their lives.

Hopeless starts out as a fairly typical fake dating situation with most of the differences relating to Beau's mental state and Bailey's family. Bailey is quirky as the young bartender with no filter who raises Beau's spirits. Both characters are well developed as they deal with depression, PTSD, and non-functional families, while their romance jumps right into a heavy physical relationship, so much so, that the scenes become tedious and repetitive. The best parts of the story include those in which the banter between the main characters and with Beau's family are emphasized. Overall, Hopeless is a good ending to the Chestnut Springs series, bringing back all of the characters from previous books and giving Beau a happily ever after. ( )

I really like this series because of how the characters carry through from book to book. This book was missing that. It makes sense why, in all of the other books Beau kept the details of his life to himself, even from his family. But I still missed the other characters, they were there but not as much as the other books. ( )

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Hopeless is a book that I had such high hopes for and I really had some high expectations on this one especially coming off of Reckless which was only released a couple of months ago. I wish that I could say that I loved this book unfortunately it didn't quite meet up with my expectations. It was a bit disappointing. It did feel very rushed and not enough flow with the story and the tropes. And was really hard to stay invested. However, it had its moments that kept me reading it. And for those that want Beau's book, then I highly recommend it.

First Line
I thought pissing my brother off and storming away would make me feel something.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Beau Eaton
A tortured military Vet, injuries both inside and outside, and a bit of a surly grump caught up in the terrors of his past

The Heroine: Bailey Jenson
High spirited outcast of the town. Despirate for a fresh start.

Summary
Beau Eaton is the town hero, he is much revered by the whole town and everyone wants to befriend him. The problem is...Beau couldn't care less. He is suffering wounds from serving in the military and is haunted by those demons that no one seems to understand including his own family. Then we have Bailey, who is a Jensen. Her family is consider the outcasts of the town, and unfortunately her family has earned their bad name and Bailey is a innocent bystander from it and the town does blame her and won't give her a solid chance to prove that she is different from them. Beau and Bailey have a very quick connection and Beau proposes that they have a fake engagement so that his name can bring her what she needs...that clean slate and it will help get his family off of his back. But both Beau and Bailey have a fierce attraction to each other and a connection that they both want to explore ....will they be able to make a true engagement work or will it fail...

What I Loved
Despite my issues with the story itself, there are many factors in the story that I really did enjoy. The first is that I had a blast with the connection at times that we see from Beau and Bailey. Especially in the first half of the story, I was really behind these two being together. They have such a easy way of being together and seeing the way in which they get along was almost infectious. Their in the middle of the night meet ups in the river were so delicious and the chemistry between them was done just right. Their dialogue with each other was easy going and they stand up to each other and know when to back down and when not to. The family bantering was just delightful and enjoyed how welcoming they were of Bailey. Beau is so tortured and his journey was beautiful and the way in which we see how protective he is of Bailey, melted my heart completely.

What I Struggled With
The pacing in this book is really off and most especially in the second half it just didn't quite deliver. It got to the point where I just wanted to get to the end, I just became bored with the couple and there seemed to be such a rush for the ending. It really felt like the author was writing to just finish this off and not really dig into the issues and explore it as she has done in the previou books. And some of the snark comments from the heroine was a bit off putting and didn't quite mesh right. Not sure why authors seem to want a snarky heroine in every book these days, but Bailey's dialogue could have been handled much more delicately to bring out her character to be more likeable.

Overall View
Hopeless had a easy romance that is fun to get behind....some fantastic tropes and has a small town setting that will endear the reader to this world...

Favorite Quote(s)
“I know you’re scared of losing control around me.” Her chin tips up as though she’s told me something that will make me back down. Run me off. It doesn’t. “No, I’m scared of you becoming something I can’t live without.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance
Character Types: Military, Abused, Tortured
Themes: Small Town, Family Saga, Lots of Laughs, PTSD
Tropes: Fake Relationship, Grumpy Sunshine, May to December, Opposites Attract

Book Perspective
DUO Pov

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict

Song This Book Inspires
Hold My Girl by George Ezra

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalones

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes. ( )