Powerless: A sweet and steamy small-town romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Wild Love! (Chestnut Springs) Paperback – 6 April 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5🌶️🌶️🌶️/5These books just keep getting better - as do the Eaton boys! I fell in love with Rhett and thought he couldn’t be beaten, then Cade came along and stole his crown, and now we have the beautiful, tortured Jasper who stole my heart.I’ve been curious about Jasper since we first met him in Flawless, and it was both gratifying and heartbreaking to dig into what made him who he is.Sloane is such a ray of sunshine but she also made my heart break when she realised she’d been manoeuvred and manipulated by those closest to her. But I love badass independent Sloane!These two are so obviously made for each other and meant to be together, but the longing! The pining! The angst! The payoff was hard won and all the more delicious for it.Elsie Silver writes the perfect combination of lovable, believable characters, an engaging storyline, and delicious spice. I’m a recent convert but definitely a fan for life!

I screamed, I cried, I laughed, I blushed. This book is incredible. Everything I want in a story. My favourite of the series so far. I wanted to highlight so much and I never do that.

Powerless starts off with Jasper meeting Sloane’s fiancé at dinner; he instantly doesn’t like him, along with the rest of us actually because that man is so horrible, sexist and the way he treats Slaone isn’t right.But we can tell from the beginning that Slaone doesn’t love this guy and that’s made even more prominent when Sloane is getting ready for her wedding day, where she then finds out that her fiancé has been unfaithful to her, but instead of feeling devastated all she feels is relief.So, Jasper being the friend that he is, helps Sloane to become a runaway bride. They get out of there to return to Chestnut Springs, only to then be told some devastating news about Beau.In the wake of discovering that Beau is missing in action. Jasper finds himself out of sorts and his head isn’t in the game. He gets suspending by his coach; is told to take a leave of absence to get his head on right and be with his family.Sloane doesn’t leave his side, she’s there for him and supports him when he needs it. Even while she’s going through her own problems after basically leaving her fiancé at the alter. Sloane finds herself avoiding life and taking sanctuary at Wishing Well Ranch.Sloane’s a girl who wants to make those around her happy, she wants to please them and not disappoint others. (I really felt like I could resonate most with Sloane on this level.) She’s agreeable even when it hurts herself. But she’s starting to realise that if those who love her—namely her father— want what’s best for her, then they wouldn’t be asking her to compromise herself and her happiness to help better themselves.Sloane and Jasper needed to get away so while they’re on their road trip they take a little stop to rest up. Sloane takes a dip into the late and Jasper soon follows after her. Playfully, they dunk each other under the water and they’re both able to have a good laugh and let loose for a while like they needed. Jasper finds himself thinking of Slaone in non-friendly ways again, but only allows himself his 4 seconds of uncontrollable thoughts before regaining clarity.The scene where they’re having a meal at the restaurant and they’re seeing which foods best pair with the beer. Sloane notices that Jasper doesn’t mention anything about her weight but instead he just involved her in a fun game of trying each food with him.It’s his way of trying to get her to eat more, he may be worried about her weight but instead of saying anything that might make her feel insecure, he just makes sure that she gets enough to eat without making it a big deal. Which is very loving and carrying of him because he does it in such a sensitive yet reassuring way, where Sloane doesn’t have to worry about the amount she’s consuming and can just enjoy herself.I love how Sloane is so jealous at times when it comes to Jasper. If she sees or even thinks of other women with him, then she kind of gets territorial. Either she’ll torture herself with the idea or she will try to be his own personal bodyguard. So even though it kind of benefits herself, she’s still always looking out for him.The scene where the truck picks up speed on its decent down the mountain, Jasper does his best to reassure Sloane while she panics. After it’s over, Sloane is the first to move; Jasper is still in his shock, where he looks as if he’s seeing into the past. The event probably reminded him so much of the accident. Sloane moves into his lap, she’s able to bring him back from where his mind was trapped and he instantly goes to assessing her to make sure that she is okay. He no longer seems the care about himself, only that Sloane is unharmed.Throughout the book it’s clear that Sloane is the only person who can bring Jasper back from his dark places and it just intensifies the connection they have.‘Sloane is soothing. She’s the eye of the storm. True North. Somehow our compasses always bring us back to each other.’When Jasper reveals that he has liked Sloane for a while but he was scared to pursue anything with her because years ago her father warned him about going near his daughter and threatened to take away his career. Jasper was scared back then because he was new to his hockey career but now he’s not scared anymore, he’s secure in his career and doesn’t care what her father thinks. He just wants her.I loved seeing Sloane grow. She was slowly learning to speak her mind, not to hold back how she really feels and takes what she wants. She’s empowering herself by doing so.When they finally get together, Jasper shows another side of himself, he has this controlling side especially in the bedroom. Sloane realises that she also likes this side of him and that by being able to choose that with him she’s able to take back a part of herself that she hasn’t indulged in before. It also gives her a sense of control.Jasper is known for wearing his hat all the time. He uses it to hide under, to blend into the shadows with, to not be as noticeable. It’s his security blanket of a sort. But then he forgets to wear it one day and he realises that didn’t feel like he needed it, meaning that—with every going on with him and Slaone and his grief over Beau being settled now that he knows he’s fine— he is starting to feel safe, in his surroundings and the people around him.With the growing distance Sloane has from her father, she’s got perspective on how he treated and used her for his own benefit. How powerless she felt due to his actions and how he sugar-coated pulling her strings so that she would do what she wanted all the while ‘sucking the soul’ right out of her. But with the distance she’s also gained pride in herself, her capabilities and her intelligence. And surrounded herself with women like Summer and Willa who have supported Sloane and helped her to be strong. Also, by having supportive men in her life—like Jasper, Rhett, Harvey and Cade—it’s helped Sloane to be less self-conscious about the new version of herself that’s she’s becoming.I was so happy when Sloane finally got the chance to stand up to her dad, and Sterling. She was able to take back her power by not allowing him to control her anymore. Sloane told Robert that if he wants a relationship with her in the future then he needs to show her that he deserves it. It was also really nice to see Cordelia break away from the manipulations of her husband. She even says that she got the strength and inspiration to do so from her daughter, which I thought to be such an empowering thing for the both of them.When Jasper proposes to Slaone in the arena, right after winning his game, I got so emotional. It was everything and more. It proved that Jasper no longer needs to hide in the shadows, he’s not afraid to show the real him or how much he loves Sloane.“I love you, Jas.”Sunny, tell me that’s a yes.”“It’s always been a yes, Jasper.”It was such a declaration of their love. That through everything, they have pulled through and come together again and again.‘And just like that, the boy with the lanky limbs, the caramel hair, and the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen is mine.Forever.’They were perfect! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jasper and Sloane’s book. Everything about them—from the years of yearning and unrequited love to the struggle and obstacles they faced to finally being able to love one another out in the open for everyone to see, without the fear and manipulations of others—was so lovely to see. They both developed immensely in this book, their story is one of finding who they are when so many things are pulling them apart.Sloane grew to become her own person and Jasper was able to come out of the dark into the light—essentially for her—because Sloane had always been the light to his dark.

Small town friends to lovers novel.I want to start by saying, the first half of this book was amazing. I absolutely loved the unrequited-from-both-sides secret love between Jasper and Sloane. It was set up beautifully. I was really really routing for them. Their chemistry was sizzling…. Then it all took a bit of a strange BDSM turn 🙈It just seemed irrelevant to the story. I don’t mind reading a bit of BDSM, but for these two it just seemed off. I felt like it didn’t flow with the story but more like it was thrown in for the shock of it. Having her crawling around on the floor was… what? 😅He loves and adores and worships this woman. The first time he beds her it’s like this? No build up? No introduction? Just… get on the floor and crawl around… ick.I started page skipping at that point. It spoiled the book for me but I trudged through to the end.I’ll give it three stars based solely on the fact that i loved the first half, couldn’t put it down.

This is a childhood friends to lovers with a bit of an age gap. Sloan has been in love with Jasper for the majority of her life and Jasper finally decides to act on his feelings when Sloan is to marry out of convenience. I always enjoys a good impromptu road trip which leads to close proximity but I have to say the story felt a bit drawn out at some points. Regardless I still really enjoyed Sloan and Jasper's story and Harvey had some great dialogue.

Great book and series. Highly recommend.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Jasper as he was so quiet and reserved in the first two books but I enjoyed getting to know him. I love the banter and the whole Eaton family and most of all I love that love conquers all ♥️

If I thought the last 2 books of the chestnut springs series were perfect, this book is the epitome of perfection. Jasper, my sweet soul, who I did NOT expect to be as dominant as he was!!! It’s always the quiet ones 👀 I loved jasper and Sloan’s story so much, the angst literally had my heart beating so fast wondering when the tension was finally going to break! Every spicy scene blew my head off, I actually think this may be my favourite contemporary romance ever. I could feel the love literally seeping off the pages of this book, Elsie has a wonderful way of writing heart wrenching romance I makes me want to read everything she’s ever written!!!I cannot wait for winters story, our icy girl warmed up a little this book and I can’t wait to see more!!This book will 100% be a re read in the future