Heartless

Elsie Silver is a Canadian author who specializes in “small-town romance” novels that feature “dirty-talking alpha heroes and strong heroines who clap back” (“About Elsie Silver.” Elsie Silver). While each of her novels features a distinct romantic relationship, Silver claims on her website that “at their core,” her publications are “all books that [she] [her]self would enjoy reading” (“About”). Her titles include the five Chestnut Springs novels (Flawless, Heartless, Powerless, Reckless, and Hopeless), as well as the four Gold Rush Ranch novels (Off to the Races, A Photo Finish, The Front Runner, and A False Start).

The family dynamics and conflicts portrayed in Heartless are inspired by Silver’s personal life. In the acknowledgments section of the novel, she explains that “writing a book about a little boy the same age as [her] own [son] will always hold a special place in [her] heart” (421). She goes on to say that the “countless notes in [her] phone about hilarious things [her son has] said over the past several months” helped to inspire the finer nuances of Luke Eaton’s character and his relationship with