Flawless (Chestnut Springs, #1), by Elsie Silver

Flawless by Elsie Silver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I’m grateful to have read “Flawless” by Elsie Silver because now I know which kind of book does not really appeal to me: Rich daddy’s princess meets bull-riding cowboy in this steamy (borderline pornographic) rural romance and that’s pretty much it for the story.

It’s all just a bit too much over the top for: Summer is our princess, whose sister is called Winter. Summer is nice and warm and a people-pleaser whereas Winter is cold as ice. Not to mention Summer’s evil step-mother!

Lots of manly cowboys, sports legends, and ranchers are around, every man is tough, every woman is swooning. Summer desires to be – brace yourself! – “marked” by her cowboy Rhett…

Rhett in turn obligingly is of the possessive variety…

»She better be naked. Naked and ready.«

… and the resulting smut is, uh, verbose. (Even, though, that is, admittedly, the least of my complaints.)

The entire picture that Silver paints of people is approaching painful levels of machismo and it depicts a rather simplistic view of the world as a whole.

I do not expect much of a romance but I do expect more than just horny cowboys, willing women and a bit of drama.

Still: Three out of five stars because among all the eye-roll-inducing stuff lurk some ideas and observations that I can relate to…

»“When you have a kid, everyone warns you about the sleepless nights. The explosive diaper changes. How they grow so fast that you hemorrhage money on clothing them. What they don’t tell you is that you’ll never spend another day of your life without worrying about another person. You’ll never completely relax again because that person you created will always, always be on your mind. You’ll wonder where they are, what they’re doing, and if they’re okay.”«


Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam



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