Powerless

What's inside (7 sections)

1. I came back for the funny friend
2. A runaway in a wedding dress
3. Eighteen years of best friends
4. Heat, fights, and the things they never said
5. What drags and who should try it
6. Key takeaways
7. FAQ

I did not mean to start another Chestnut Springs book so soon. I finished Heartless late, told myself I would take a break from the Eatons, and then kept thinking about Jasper. He hovered at the edges of the first two books, charming, funny, gone a lot for hockey, the one who smoothed rooms after Rhett blew them up or Cade shut them down. Elsie Silver published this Powerless in 2023 herself, and the edition readers pass around runs 397 pages. It is book three in the Chestnut Springs series, after Flawless and Heartless, and it follows Jasper Gervais and Sloane Davidson. It is a different work from the Lauren Roberts Powerless with the same title, which lives in another genre with other rules. This one stays on the ranch and on the road, with two best friends trying not to ruin eighteen years of easy talk.

If you want the setup fast: Sloane runs from her wedding in her dress. Jasper, her best friend since childhood, drives the getaway. They hide out, they drive, they land in Chestnut Springs, and friendship turns physical while old hurts surface.

I came back for the funny friend

Jasper Gervais is the kind of side character who steals scenes without trying. In Flawless he teased Rhett back into line. In Heartless he showed up with food, jokes, and timing that cut tension. He plays pro hockey, travels for months, earns good money, and treats Chestnut Springs as home base even when his schedule keeps him away. People like him on sight. He remembers names, tips well, dances at weddings he barely knows. Under that ease he carries a long ache. He has loved Sloane since they were kids, and he has watched her plan a life that had no room for him.

Sloane Davidson grew up beside him. Same town summers, same lake swims, same late talks on porches. She works with image and events, plans details for other people, and keeps her own doubts tidy. Her family expects polish. Her fiance expects a smooth wedding. Sloane expects herself to feel grateful. On the morning she should walk down the aisle, she looks at the dress, the flowers, the seating chart, and feels sick rather than happy. She calls the one person who never makes her perform.

That call opens the book with real force. No long prologue, no committee meeting. A bride in a bathroom, makeup half done, phone shaking. Jasper answers from his truck. He hears her breathing and asks where to park so no one sees. He does not lecture. He does not ask for reasons she cannot give yet. He drives to the service door, keeps the engine on, and holds a jacket over the window while she climbs in. The dress fills the cab. Tulle snags on the gear shift. She laughs once, sharp and scared, then cries without sound. Jasper hands her water and pulls away before guests notice.

I liked that Silver starts with action and lets reasons arrive later. We learn about the fiance in pieces. He is controlled, image focused, kind in public and cold about her work. He wants a wife who hosts well. Jasper never says leave him. He only asks if she is safe and if she ate.

Jasper is older by a clear gap, settled in his career while Sloane still fights to be taken seriously. The gap shows in who pays for gas and who apologizes for needing help. Silver does not hide it, and the book works better because she lets it sit in scenes.

A runaway in a wedding dress

The middle of the escape is a road trip, and it is my favorite stretch. Jasper ditches the main roads, buys Sloane a shirt and sweats at a gas station, and points the truck toward Chestnut Springs. She keeps the veil because throwing it out feels too final. They stop for fries, for gas, for a bathroom with a flickering light where Sloane stares at herself without makeup and breathes.

Talk comes in bursts. Sloane apologizes for ruining his week. They fall into old rhythms. Nicknames, bad singing, counting red barns. For a few hours the wedding feels far away. Then her phone lights up. Thirty missed calls turn the cab cold. Sloane powers the phone down and watches fields pass. Jasper lets quiet do the work.

They cannot outrun money. The fiance hired help to find her. Her family threatens cards, jobs, rent. Jasper offers his place without making it a deal. Stay until you know. Sloane agrees because there is nowhere else that feels safe. She spent months planning centerpieces. Now she cannot plan Tuesday. Sloane folds laundry that is not hers, washes mugs, walks the drive to get mail just to move.

Chestnut Springs receives her the way small towns do. Harvey Eaton nods and asks if she eats eggs. Louise feeds her pie and watches. Rhett teases Jasper about moon eyes. Cade says little, which in his language means welcome. Willa and Summer take Sloane for coffee and do not pry. The town does not fix Sloane. It gives her chores, food, and room to breathe.

One early ranch scene stayed with me. Sloane helps Louise snap beans on the porch while Jasper fixes a fence with Cade. Sloane admits she liked planning other people weddings more than her own. Louise nods, snaps another bean, and says trouble starts when love of the party and love of the person split. Beans snap. A dog sleeps. Small moments like that carry more weight than big fights later.

Eighteen years of best friends

The history here is specific, and that helps the romance feel earned. Jasper and Sloane met as kids when families summered near the same lake. He taught her to dive. She taught him to write thank you notes that sounded real. He left for juniors and then pro hockey. She stayed for college and event work. When his season ended early with injury one year, she flew out with soup and stayed a week on his couch.

That long ease creates the central knot. Jasper loves her and has stayed quiet to keep her. Sloane leans on him and has missed the shape of his care because it never asked for pay. He knows how she takes coffee. She knows his pregame song. Friends assume they dated long ago and laugh when told no.

Hockey shapes Jasper more than money does. He is a team guy, used to rooms where roles are clear. That sense helps with Sloane. He does not push her to call family before she is ready. He does push her to eat, sleep, walk. Restraint costs him. You can see it in how he grips the wheel.

Sloane has her own skills. She can run a room, calm a florist, seat a feud without insult. On the ranch she puts that to use without being asked. She helps Summer with a small event list. She helps Willa with Luke bedtime songs. Competence returns her spine. She came in as a runaway. She steadies by being useful.

The unrequited part aches because Jasper hid it well for years. He dated others, kept it light, never used Sloane as cover. Only in his own head, late at night in guest rooms and hotels, did he admit the truth. Loving your best friend can feel like holding your breath.

Forced proximity does the rest. Jasper gives Sloane his spare room, then his couch when she hates the spare mattress, then half his closet because her gas station sweats wear thin. They share a bathroom, a truck, a kitchen. She learns he sings off key while making eggs. He learns she talks in her sleep when stressed. Forced proximity sounds like a trope label, but here it plays as logistics. One house, one washer, two people who already know each other too well. Desire grows in chores, not in grand gestures.

Heat, fights, and the things they never said

When they cross the line, it feels both sudden and late. A storm knocks power. Sloane shivers. Jasper holds her to warm her, then tries to pull back. She keeps his hand. After, they lie tangled and quiet, afraid to name what changed.

The love scenes that follow are explicit and frequent. Closed door readers should skip this series entry. Jasper is attentive, verbal, focused on Sloane comfort. Morning brings jokes about sore legs and burnt toast. What kept these scenes alive for me was the talk inside them. Old jokes surfacing mid kiss. Bodies remember eighteen years even when minds panic.

Trouble arrives from three sides. Family pressure builds. Sloane mother leaves voicemails that swing between tears and threats. The ex fiance shows up once with flowers and a calm voice that chills. He offers to forgive her. Jasper stands on the porch during that visit, hands in pockets, saying nothing until asked.

Team pressure builds too. Jasper coaches call about camp shape. His shoulder aches. A reporter spots him with a runaway bride and hints at a story. Sloane sees the toll and wonders if she is another weight.

The oldest pressure is inside them. Jasper fears he traded friendship for a trial run that will end when Sloane feels strong enough to leave. Sloane fears she swapped one man who defined her for a kinder man who still defines her. One bad night Jasper says she only wants him because he is safe. Sloane says he only wants her because she never chose him back. Both lines sting because each holds a grain of truth.

The breakup stretch sags a little. They separate for work and pride. Jasper heads to camp early. Sloane takes a job in town to prove she can stand alone. Harvey tells Jasper to stop skating angry before he gets hurt. Summer tells Sloane to stop saying sorry for taking space. Daily ranch work, practices, and missed calls repeat. I skimmed some of these chapters because the rhythm stalls after the road trip high.

Reunion comes through honesty rather than rescue. Sloane finishes a small event on her own, pays back part of what she owes, and tells her family she will not marry to save deposits. They meet at the lake where they learned to dive. He says he loves her and will keep loving her even if she needs more time. She says she chooses him because life with him feels true. Choice, not debt.

The close is warm. Sloane moves into her own rental first, a key point. She signs a lease, buys a cheap couch, hangs her own art. Jasper helps carry boxes and then leaves her to sleep alone the first night. They date properly. The Eaton table gains another chair. Two old friends on a porch, coffee cooling, hands linked without thought.

What drags and who should try it

Fair criticism first, since this entry splits fans.

Pacing dips in the middle third. The runaway opening moves fast, the ranch arrival charms, then daily life repeats. Readers who loved the tight arcs of Flawless and Heartless may feel this one loiter. The road trip promised motion, and the ranch chapters replace motion with waiting.

Heat outweighs plot in spots. The love scenes are well written and kind, but there are many, and a few arrive right when a hard talk should happen. Fans of high heat will not mind. Readers here mainly for plot may wish for fewer bedroom scenes.

Some will call this the weakest of the three so far. I see why, even though I still enjoyed it. Rhett and Summer had sharp work stakes. Cade and Willa had Luke and a clear summer clock. Jasper and Sloane have history, which is rich but soft. If you need external stakes to stay hooked, this may feel light.

What saves it is voice and care. Jasper cooks, listens, apologizes without groveling. Sloane grows from runaway to renter to partner, and each step shows in work done. Harvey gives blunt wisdom. Louise feeds. Summer and Willa give Sloane friends who ask about joy, not plans alone.

Who should try it. Readers who love friends to lovers with long history, steady hockey heroes, forced proximity in one house, open door heat with clear consent talk, and Chestnut Springs in order.

Who should pass. Readers who need fast plot, want closed doors, dislike ex fiance drama, or are new to the series. Start with Flawless, then Heartless, then this, so family ties land.

A last practical note. Check the author name on the cover. Elsie Silver wrote this Chestnut Springs romance in 2023. Lauren Roberts wrote a different book also called Powerless, which is fantasy with trials and powers. Stores shelve them apart, but search results mix them. If you want Sloane and Jasper, look for Chestnut Springs book three and the Elsie Silver name. If you want trials and princes, you want the other one. I read this one for the ranch, the road trip, and the sight of a funny friend finally telling the truth, and on those terms it delivers.

FAQ

Is Powerless part of a series?

Yes, it is book 3 in the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver, after Flawless and Heartless. It centers Sloane Davidson and Jasper Gervais on the Eaton ranch.

Is this the same book as Powerless by Lauren Roberts?

No, this is a small town romance in Chestnut Springs, not the fantasy by Lauren Roberts with the same title. Check for Elsie Silver and Chestnut Springs book 3 to get Sloane and Jasper.

When was Powerless published?

It was published in 2023 by Elsie Silver. The edition cited runs 397 pages and its ISBN is 9781738844708.