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A review by justmevictoria
Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage
4.5
Finding heart and home in the place you least expect…
The night before her biggest design gig yet that will finally get her out of California, Ada Hart finds herself at Meadowlarks’ dive bar - the Devil's Boot - and making out with the gorgeous cowboy who just walked through the door. But before their heated moment gets too physical, they’re interrupted and reality kicks in, leading to Ada leaving behind her bag and leaving her unprepared for her first meeting at Rebel Blue Ranch. Weston Ryder hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the mysterious woman from the bar, and is very surprised to find out that she is the woman he’s been conversing with for months about his renovation project, and she will be living on Rebel Blue Ranch for a few months to oversee the project. Despite their chemistry and mutual attraction, Ada has drawn a line in the sand - nothing can happen between them. Coming off the back of a short-lived marriage and not wanting to rely on a man, Ada puts up walls and locks her feelings for Wes away. But as Wes chips away at those walls, and she begins to feel at home at Rebel Blue and in Meadowlark, it becomes harder and harder for her to deny her attraction and fight her urge to run.
Book one? Fabulous! Book two? Fabulous! Again, the hype around this series is very real, and Lyla has once again delivered on all fronts when it comes to the setting, the characters, the chemistry, and the spice! The Ryder family are quickly becoming my favourite romance novel families, and I LOVED getting to dive back into the lives of the Rebel Blue family!
The INSTANT chemistry between Wes and Ada was exactly what I was looking for, and I was immediately hooked on their story from the get-go. I really enjoyed following their relationship develop, from both agreeing to keep things professional, to Wes slowly helping Ada open up to him and showing her how serious he was about forever. Both had been denied loving relationships in the past, and together they had everything they wanted and so much more. For Ada in particular, Rebel Blue meant not only finding love but also finding friends and family that she had been without for so long.
Once again, Lyla had some fantastic mental health rep when it came to Wes and his depression. It was amazing to see her give Wes a very open discussion on his mental health and his journey with managing his depression, which is something you don’t always see from male characters. As someone who’s grown up and lives in a small farming town where men, particularly farmers, genuinely struggle to open up about their mental health struggles, Lyla’s positive portrayal was really refreshing to see explored. On top of that, Ada had her own issues to deal with and overcome in terms of having been in a manipulative marriage that forced her to set boundaries and ideals when it came to any form of relationship, whether romantic or platonic.
PSA: Amos Ryder is a freaking LEGEND! This man is all-knowing about the lives of his children, despite their best efforts at keeping secrets, and he isn’t afraid to play matchmaker - give this man his own book so he can have a second chance of love! Also, I’d just love to get inside his head and see first-hand his thoughts on all his children and the relationships they’ve gotten themselves into.
Once again, I ended up listening to a majority of this as an audiobook (yay for a 4-hour round roadtrip!) Teddy Hamilton and Vanessa Edwin were fabulous as Weston and Ada, and I am VERY excited to keep listening to this series if the first two sets of narrators are anything to go by! I definitely recommend checking the audiobooks out if you’re looking to listen on-the-go!
Now that Lyla has officially confirmed that Cam is getting her own book, I’m really excited to see more of her in the next two books. She seems like such a fun character and a great part of the Rebel Blue family, and I’m excited to see where Lyla takes her story - the little teaser of her connection with Dusty alone has me hooked! Not only that, but I am VERY keen for the enemies-to-lovers that is Gus and Teddy in the next book! Is it November yet?
Absolutely ADORE this series so far, so make sure you dive into some swoony small-town cowboy romance before book three drops later this year! There’s a reason you’ve seen these books all over your feed, so believe the hype and jump on board the Rebel Blue Ranch bandwagon!
The night before her biggest design gig yet that will finally get her out of California, Ada Hart finds herself at Meadowlarks’ dive bar - the Devil's Boot - and making out with the gorgeous cowboy who just walked through the door. But before their heated moment gets too physical, they’re interrupted and reality kicks in, leading to Ada leaving behind her bag and leaving her unprepared for her first meeting at Rebel Blue Ranch. Weston Ryder hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the mysterious woman from the bar, and is very surprised to find out that she is the woman he’s been conversing with for months about his renovation project, and she will be living on Rebel Blue Ranch for a few months to oversee the project. Despite their chemistry and mutual attraction, Ada has drawn a line in the sand - nothing can happen between them. Coming off the back of a short-lived marriage and not wanting to rely on a man, Ada puts up walls and locks her feelings for Wes away. But as Wes chips away at those walls, and she begins to feel at home at Rebel Blue and in Meadowlark, it becomes harder and harder for her to deny her attraction and fight her urge to run.
Book one? Fabulous! Book two? Fabulous! Again, the hype around this series is very real, and Lyla has once again delivered on all fronts when it comes to the setting, the characters, the chemistry, and the spice! The Ryder family are quickly becoming my favourite romance novel families, and I LOVED getting to dive back into the lives of the Rebel Blue family!
The INSTANT chemistry between Wes and Ada was exactly what I was looking for, and I was immediately hooked on their story from the get-go. I really enjoyed following their relationship develop, from both agreeing to keep things professional, to Wes slowly helping Ada open up to him and showing her how serious he was about forever. Both had been denied loving relationships in the past, and together they had everything they wanted and so much more. For Ada in particular, Rebel Blue meant not only finding love but also finding friends and family that she had been without for so long.
Once again, Lyla had some fantastic mental health rep when it came to Wes and his depression. It was amazing to see her give Wes a very open discussion on his mental health and his journey with managing his depression, which is something you don’t always see from male characters. As someone who’s grown up and lives in a small farming town where men, particularly farmers, genuinely struggle to open up about their mental health struggles, Lyla’s positive portrayal was really refreshing to see explored. On top of that, Ada had her own issues to deal with and overcome in terms of having been in a manipulative marriage that forced her to set boundaries and ideals when it came to any form of relationship, whether romantic or platonic.
PSA: Amos Ryder is a freaking LEGEND! This man is all-knowing about the lives of his children, despite their best efforts at keeping secrets, and he isn’t afraid to play matchmaker - give this man his own book so he can have a second chance of love! Also, I’d just love to get inside his head and see first-hand his thoughts on all his children and the relationships they’ve gotten themselves into.
Once again, I ended up listening to a majority of this as an audiobook (yay for a 4-hour round roadtrip!) Teddy Hamilton and Vanessa Edwin were fabulous as Weston and Ada, and I am VERY excited to keep listening to this series if the first two sets of narrators are anything to go by! I definitely recommend checking the audiobooks out if you’re looking to listen on-the-go!
Now that Lyla has officially confirmed that Cam is getting her own book, I’m really excited to see more of her in the next two books. She seems like such a fun character and a great part of the Rebel Blue family, and I’m excited to see where Lyla takes her story - the little teaser of her connection with Dusty alone has me hooked! Not only that, but I am VERY keen for the enemies-to-lovers that is Gus and Teddy in the next book! Is it November yet?
Absolutely ADORE this series so far, so make sure you dive into some swoony small-town cowboy romance before book three drops later this year! There’s a reason you’ve seen these books all over your feed, so believe the hype and jump on board the Rebel Blue Ranch bandwagon!