DNF for now, might pick it up at a later date. I don't know if it's the writing or just my mood, but I wasn't feeling it. Will rate a 3-star for now, didn't pull me in, but there was nothing distinctly wrong with it.

Lula Sage has done it again! This was the perfect follow up to Done and Dusted. I loved the chemistry between Wes and Ada. The way Sage weaves mental health awareness in this book so seamlessly was perfect. I am ready for book 3!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade for providing a DRC of this title for review.

In Swift and Saddled, sparks fly between handsome ranch owner Wes and recently-divorced interior designer Ada as they team up to transform the old Rebel Blue Ranch lodge into a B&B.

Maybe a me/timing thing, but this one didn’t suck me in as much as Done and Dusted. I never feel like really connected with Ada or Wes or got a full picture of them as a couple, but I’d still recommend this one for readers in their cowboy romance era or those looking to continue the series. 3.4 stars/5.

I didn't think it was possible but I think I might love this even more than Done and Dusted. Ada and Wes have my heart and I loved every minute of their love story. From the very start I was rooting for them and hoping that Ada would get over her not wanting to get involved with someone she was working with. The characters also had such deep and fleshed out personalities and both experienced true growth throughout the novel. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House books for an ARC of Swift and Saddled.

I was a huge fan of the first book in this series, so I started this book with high hopes, and it definitely did not disappoint.

Lyla Sage’s strong suit is writing characters with so much heart and chemistry that they just come right to life. And her ability to write about real life issues without making the book feel heavy is just genius!

I would have preferred a bit more spice, and more of an explanation of Ada’s relationship with her ex-husband, but overall just a fantastic follow up to the first book in the series.

Already looking forward to book three!

Lyla has done it again!!! Hooks you from page one and keeps you so invested in the character. I loved Wes and Ada so much and their personal struggles they overcame in the book. I am all about how engaged I stay in a book…Swift and Saddled kept me wanting to devour the whole book after the first chapter. I will be devastated when this series is over, oh also Cam and Dusty????? Are you kidding???

ARC REVIEW- Swift & Saddled by @authorlylasage ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars
omg yall. I need to start by thanking Lyla and @netgalley for this arc. I absolutely FREAKED out when I saw I was approved. having read (and loved) Done & Dusted when it debuted this past summer, I just knew I had to at least apply for the arc!!

now let’s talk about the important things, Wes and Ada. let me tell you, I just loved them. Forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, cowboy romance, what more could you ask for??? I just adore Wes. I love his openness and the dialogue surrounding his mental health. I also loved the respect for boundaries and his patience with Ada. and that mirror scene-🤭 and miss girl, Ada, she literally has me wanting to remodel a house and make some wildflower curtains! I absolutely need you all to read this!!

I also need to mention the fact that I CANT WAIT FOR GUS AND TEDDY’S BOOK!! just getting that little sneak preview has me BEGGINGGGGG for more, Lyla!!

***Swift and Saddled releases on March 5th!!!***

love love love! If you are looking to get into cowboy romaces and need some a good laugh and some good spice!, these are the books for you! Lyla is becoming a fav author of mine and auto buy author! I cant wait to see more from her!

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press for this ARC!

I absolutely adored Done and Dusted so I was very excited for this book. And I liked it! I liked it quite a lot. Did I love it as much as Done and Dusted? No, unfortunately not. But that is a hard level to reach, so that is not necessarily a bad thing for this book.

This book is still filled with the beautiful lines and metaphors that made me fall in love with Lyla Sage’s writing. There’s a particular analogy regarding the moon that I can’t quote here but I am sure I’ll be thinking about that one for a long time. It has the loveable but flawed characters I’d come to expect. Even if I did not like it as much, it is a wonderful follow up to Done and Dusted.

Wes Ryder is just….so good. He’s so good y’all. I love this man. I think perhaps part of why I didn’t love this book as much as I hoped was that I wanted more of Wes. Ada is a wonderful character and I loved her, but I do really wish we could’ve seen more of Wes without being centered around Ada.

I would’ve just loved a little bit more time with these characters. A bit more understanding of them, especially Wes, would’ve been wonderful. But I did still truly love this book and will absolutely be recommending it to anyone who loved the first book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I am so grateful!

I devoured Done and Dusted, and was so eager to read this one. It definitely did not disappoint! There is something about the way Lyla Sage writes the setting and these characters that make it so easy to imagine and love. I truly am invested in these stories and the ones to come in this series.

Wes Ryder is a sweet, easygoing, people pleasing cowboy. He is restoring the family’s old Big House to turn into a bed and breakfast, and brings in a designer to help bring it to life. Ada Hart comes into town, and turns Wes’s life upside down. She left home to run away from her past, and Wes is intrigued to get to know her and get past her tough, guarded exterior.

There is one thing I dislike in stories, when a character can’t see their worth and self sabotage. Luckily it was written well and didn’t completely lead the plot, and cause lots of miscommunication, otherwise I’d have lowered my rating. Sage did a great job of allowing it to be part of Ada’s character development without shoving it in your face.

I loved this book, and I loved Wes and Ada, as well as the whole crew of characters. It is bingable and addicting, and was such a fun read!

I am back and forth between 3.5-4 stars, and will round up to a 4 star rating.

Lyla Sage can do no wrong and neither can a single character she creates. This book is pure cowboy magic and I could not have loved being a part of this story anymore. From the first page I was so excited to be back at the Rebel Blue Ranch universe and all the shenanigans that it includes. This book is swoony, steamy, and absolute perfection. I want to start over and read it again.

"You say you're not nice, or warm, or bright, or any of these other stupid f*cking words that people use to describe the sun, but I never asked you to be the sun."

What you'll get:
Cowboys and farmers
Found family
Renovations
Depression

Setting: Wyoming

Done and Dusted was such a sleeper five star for me that I dove on this the minute it was available.

Ada rolls up to The Rebel Blue Ranch to lead a team of folks involved with renovating the old, abandoned ranch house into a guest ranch for tourists to stay at in. She's horrified to learn her main contact is the man she anonymously macked on the night before in town. The walls/doors of the bar at the Devil's Boot will get you every time if you're a hot, single in Meadowlark.

This book felt like Beth and Rip vibes from Yellowstone if the aggression was turned down to 2 and the tension up to 11. Wes was an angel and I won't hear a single word against him. He wants to work hard and make his project a success to have something of his own on the ranch. He's generally content when his depression is in balance but Ada comes and knocks him on his face. It's glorious.

I never thought I would get emotional about someone teaching how to drive stick shift but here we are.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This book was sort of a let down after Done & Dusted. I was so excited but it just didn't hit the way the first one did.

It just took me forever to get throughhhhhh and was just such insta love there was nothing left to root for. The FMC also just kept repeating herself over and over again and it got extremely old extremely fast.

This just felt like it fell curse to second book syndrome where they pushed out a sequel to follow the hype without maybe taking it back to the drawing board a few times.
Overall, it is a cute book but it does have its issues

Lyla Sage, thank you for giving me the softest cowboy who blushes but also having him wear chaps, and giving him a dirty mouth. Wes Ryder is a top tier book boyfriend.

I loved the relationship between Wes and Ada, how they communicated and allowed themselves to be vulnerable. I loved the delicious tension between them, and the spice was spicing!

I felt like the author spoke on both the subjects of depression and abusive relationships in a way that was subtle but meaningful.

I enjoyed Done and Dusted, but Swift and Saddled is perfect. I loved every second and I can't wait for my preorder to arrive in March!

4.5 ⭐️

The way I YELLED when I got access to this ARC omg!!!!

- cowboy romance
- city girl/cowboy
- black cat & golden retriever
- forced proximity
- dual pov
- found family
- small town
- no third act break up
- 🌶🌶.5

tw/cw: (previous) divorce, depression

So good, as always. We love a sweet and caring cowboy!! I read majority of this book with the silliest smile on my face!!! Oh how I love this book series, these characters, this town, the ranch & the Ryders 🥹

Ada and Wes were the sweetest, while also dealing with their own challenges and communicating their struggles to each other. I will always be a sucker for a sweet & caring mmc. The pacing was a perfect mix of their developing relationship, while still giving me breadcrumbs of small moments to hold on to. Of course, we have the whole fam also making an appearance, and we get to see even more of Emmy and Luke!!! Ada's feelings and struggles with friendships was something I was not expecting to connect so much to while reading, but made me feel so understood.

I smiled, laughed, teared up, giggled & everything while reading this book!! THE MOON REFERENCES!!!! iykyk, so personal to me. I love this series so much and I hope anyone who checks it out also falls in love. With each book, my love just seems to grow and I CANNOT WAIT for the next one. I have been waiting for the characters in the third book since the first one AHH 🥹🤭


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC 💓

I loved this book so much.. The Ryder family are a family anyone would love to be a part of. Wes Ryder is absolute perfection. I rarely give out 5 stars but this book, along with the first in the series both received 5 stars from me.

Swift and Saddled is yet another cowboy romance that will whisk you away to a different world (at least for those of us not blessed to live under that big blue sky in Wyoming) and show you a romance between two unlikely but perfectly unique people! Sweet, steamy, and HEA guaranteed out on the Rebel Blue Ranch! ❤️🤠

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️

We all met the cowboy dreamer in Done and Dusted - the caretaker, the sensitive and calm presence of the Ryder clan - so it should come as no surprise that when we get to see Wes’s story he is just as sweet and perfect as one would imagine! A golden retriever man who knows there is something different and perfect about Ada Hart and is ready to work to earn her trust and love, after she’s learned from life that trust and love can lead to losing yourself and your heart.

This second love story in the Rebel Blue Ranch series lived up to the expectation set by Brooks & Emmy, the spice was a little tamer so slightly different vibe but if you dig a black cat and golden retriever romance that touches on some mental health and trauma recovery - this book is for you!

Thank you to the author, Quercus Books and Netgally for providing this ARC for me to enjoy and share!! ❤️

I think Lyla Sage has successfully convinced me that the only man for me is a cowboy. After reading this book I started looking up cowboy boots and horse-riding lessons near me. Ada is just me but hot. Can't wait for the next book and can't wait to get more of Gus and Teddy.

4.5⭐️

- black cat x golden retriever vibes
- city girl x cowboy
- found family
- small town goodness

This was delightful! I loved Wes and Ada, and the Luke and Emmy crumbs were everything! So happy to see those two.

Wes and Ada were such a sweet and soft couple with low angst. I loved Ada’s growth and how supportive Wes was. It was amazing being back in Rebel Blue and I can’t wait to see what else Lyla has in store for us with future books.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the author for an advanced copy! Still shocked that I got a chance to read this early, and I am so grateful for that!

“I think I might have been homesick for Rebel Blue before I knew it existed.”

Ada Hart doesn’t need a man. She just needs a chance to start again. Turns out that Rebel Blue is the perfect place to do that.
Coming to Meadowlark to do a huge interior design renovation, Ada has no idea that the handsome cowboy she hits it off with on her first night in town will turn out to be her boss.
Weston Ryder is immediately drawn to the mysterious stranger in his town and thrilled when that mysterious stranger turns out to be his new interior designer. Except that she wants nothing to do with him except for work.
Will Wes be able to rope Ada into giving him a chance or will they finish the project and head their separate ways?

I loved Done and Dusted so it should come at no surprise that I’m absolutely in love with Swift and Saddled.
I must say, Lyla Sage is something special. She has a way of creating absolutely heartfelt stories that are still fun and exciting and spicy.
Wes has my whole whole heart and I just felt so connected to Ada. I loved that the characters had real depth and backgrounds and issues. I love that they tried to work through some of those things together as it relayed to their relationship but also that somethings just exist regardless of their relationship, that felt so real to me.
Wes had some of the most unreal lines but I have to admit, the line that got me the most was “you are earnest and talent, tenacious and funny. I would never insult you by calling you something as generic as nice.” I may very well have cried at that and a few other of Wes’s lines.

It’s early yet but this far, this is my best book of the year.

Get in line and get this book because it will be worth every penny!!

Swift and Saddled is out March 5 2024.

Thank you to Lyla Sage, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.