Am I a Romance Girlie Now?

 

TITLE: Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1)

AUTHOR: Lyla Sage

PUBLISHER: Dial Press

PUBLISHING DATE: October 24, 2023

PAGES: 346   

SOURCE: Own 

FROM GOODREADS: She’s off-limits, but he’s never been good at following the rules. 

For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy” Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape. 

Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her. 

Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?

MY THOUGHTS: If you've followed me for a while, you know I am an eclectic reader.  If a book looks good and interests me, I will consider picking it up.  I just don't review a lot of romance here on the blog unless there is a cute dog.  However, something was going on in August in my personal life where I needed something much lighter than my normal go-to horror.  So, I started the Rebel Blue Ranch series and needless to say, eight days later I had read all four books in the series.  Guess they were just what I needed right?

Emmy is a champion barrel racer who after a traumatic fall, can't get back on a horse.  She returns back home to Rebel Blue Ranch to refocus and figure out her next steps.  Luke is he confident bad-boy best friend of her brother.  He has the reputation of being a player and he and Emmy are like oil and water.  However, once Emmy returns, Luke ends up in her orbit much more than she likes, and even more, she finds that he isn't quite as annoying as she has always thought. Can Luke help her find her way back to her true love of horses?  And better yet, can he keep from falling in bed with his best friend's little sister?

This book was a lot of fun.  Little secret, I LOVE the show Yellowstone.  And once it wrapped up, there was a void in my life.  This cowboy romance series filled that void - at least for a little while.  I love enemy-to-lover tropes which helped kick this first book in the series off strong. Emmy is a head-strong character and Luke is your typical love-to-hate bad boy.  What really sold me on this book and continuing on though is that I love the whole cast of characters.  Each one has their own issues going on but one thing they all share is the love of Rebel Blue Ranch.  Sage also does a wonderful job of writing flawed characters which added a lot of depth to a somewhat simple romantic plot.

Needless to say, these books hit me at the right time.  Look for more reviews on the other three books coming up soon and I hope some of you enjoy a slight change of pace.  But don't worry - horror will be back tomorrow!

MY RATING: 4 PAWS