Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Review: This was SO. DANG. FUN. I went into this one pretty much blind - I had seen some people talking about it on Bookstagram and I thought the covers were really fun, so I put a Libby hold on this one plus the sequel (Swift & Saddled). They both became available around the same time, so I figured "Why not, I can just abandon my TBR!" ... and I am SO glad I did because this was exactly what I needed to read. It had a perfect amount of spice (oof) plus really great characters and the absolute BEST setting - I felt like I was *on* the ranch pretty much the entire time I was reading.
I loved both of the main characters in Done & Dusted so much, and I can tell I am going to be ready for any and absolutely all books to come out of the Rebel Blue Ranch series. Highly recommend!
(Re-reading that review it feels like a lot of "I LOVED THIS BOOK" and not a lot of substance, but you get what you get, okay? Just read the book, I LOVED IT.)
Overall Rating: ★★★★★ / 4.63
Rating each element of the book out of 5★
Characters ★★★★
Atmosphere ★★★★
Writing ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Intrigue ★★★★
Logic ★★★★
Enjoyment ★★★★★
Pacing ★★★★
Dialogue ★★★★
★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Alcohol
some side notes that are sprinkled with spoilers (you’ve been warned):
- i didn’t think the way Emmy & Luke were together in bed made sense - the spitting in the mouth and choking gave me a bit of whiplash when compared to the rest of the story which is pretty mild.
- if a man ever punched another man out of the blue like that in my presence or on my behalf? goodbye. you’re a psychopath, i have no desire to continue things with you.
- i wished more was fleshed out in the family dynamics with Luke. throwing in the thing with his mom felt like it didn’t really go anywhere? but i also appreciated that the conflicts in this book were not centered around a 3rd act breakup! so big props to Sage for that.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Toxic relationship, Death of parent
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
fun love story, fun spice, fun character development- but I need more conflict lol
spice 🌶 - a 4 🌶 spicy (romance.io scale)
length - just right
reading speed - read in 4 days
did it make me cry? - a lil
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Everything was solved so easily which has me wondering: why was this made complicated from the start? Like Emmy's struggle? Solved with the magical power of love, while it could have actually helped deepen the whole discussion around ADHD. Luke's obvious mommy issues? Solved by the power of being with your best friend's sister (which let me tell you was written in the most disgusting and despicable way possible, to the point of being straight up fetishizing).
All in all, I can feel the allure of this book but I doubt it's for me. Maybe it's the fact that I am not just into books that are just fluff, because I need the SADNNESS AND GOSSIP, UGH. It has been proved that cowboy romance is just not for me
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment