This book was so cute! I love small-town romances, and I definitely missed Rebel Blue Ranch.

I seriously love this family so much. Special attention and spotlight going to Amos, because he's so nice and kind and incredible. I love the relationship and the vibe in the family and everyone is truly so wonderful.

Wes deserves all the love. I have no words for him, really. The way he's just so understanding and supportive and kind! He's always there for the people he cares about, and his ability to read people and truly understand them even if he just met them like 2 mins ago is wow. He is amazing and truly deserves everything.

Ada is an interior designer who hasn't had the best couple of years after her divorce. She's new in town, and she's trying her best to focus on her dream and her career. She definitely doesn't expect to meet a handsome cowboy on her first night in the small town.

The connection between Wes and Ada is instant. They meet at a bar, they share an incredibly steamy kiss, and they go their separate ways. And then their paths cross again, which makes sense considering Ada was hired by Wes himself to help with the renovations of the old house at the Ranch. Their vibe and dynamics change from this moment, mainly because there's absolutely no way Ada would get involved with her boss. Just imagine!

I actually enjoyed seeing them work through their relationship and the challenges, and finding ways to overcome it and focus on themselves. Wes is the perfect gentleman at all times, and every time he would show up he would absolutely steal the show.
Ada - sadly I couldn't connect with her that much. However there were a few moments when she was sharing her thoughts to which I could relate.

I wish some aspects had been developed a bit more: I wanted to learn more of Ada and her past, her divorce, Wes' depression. I feel like specially the last one didn't get the attention it deserved, and it all left me craving more.

Overall I really enjoyed this one, it's nicely written and the pace is great - this is definitely a "read in one sitting" kind of book with beautiful small-town and found family vibes.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Lyla Sage and Quercus Books for the ARC of this book!

It is truly the best feeling when I love a sequel just as much as the first book. The characters were so much fun and different in the best ways from Emmy and Brooks, while also still bringing the same home-y feeling of the first book. I finish these books already missing Rebel Blue Ranch and I’m so excited for the next one.

I really related to Wes with his struggles with depression while outwardly being the golden retriever kind of person that everyone expects from you. It can be hard to be on all the time just to keep up with everyone’s expectations.
Wes and Ada together were the perfect blend of grumpy and sunshine, he fall first, and forced proximity tropes. This book had so many great tropes while still feeling genuine and heartfelt.

Thank you NetGalley, Quercus Books, and Lyla Sage for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Quercus Books and Lyla Sage for this EARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I loved being back at Rebel Blue Ranch!
This time we have Ada and Wes, in this sweet forced proximity romance.

Such a heart-warming story - Ada is on a journey of self discovery and Wes has his own demons to face.

When Ada is welcomed to the family at Rebel Ranch, she thrives in the small town, finding what she really wants! Wes has always wanted to prove himself on the Ranch and now its all finally coming together.
Wes is such a loveable guy and Ada is so relatable - together they are cute, funny and wholesome.

I loved that we get more of the family in this book, and give more substance to some of the characters mentioned in Done and Dusted.
Here we have a great combination of small town family with steamy romance - just what I needed!

After loving Done and Dusted, I was SO excited to return to Rebel Blue Ranch and I was not disappointed!

Wes was an absolute dreamboat of a cowboy and I loved how his approach to show Ada that he cared was to show up and be there. He was patient, loving and kind, and was the perfect gentleman and gave her time to trust him. Ada was a great female lead who had been shown before that she wasn’t worthy of love, but I loved her and so do the whole gang at the ranch!

I loved the cameos of my fave characters (shoutout to Teddy, Amos and Luke) and the hints at what is to come in the next book! Overall, definitely recommend this if you love a cowboy, small town romance with some spice.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars for me

I really enjoyed it however I did enjoy done and dusted more and felt that I connected with the main character in that book more.
I still really enjoyed the dynamics of it. Especially that they were both so open with each other, that was very refreshing to see. It’s a cute small town cowboy romance I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

To say I loved this book is an understatement. There was not a single moment in the book where I wasn't enjoying myself and as someone who always has something to complain about, that says a lot.

Ada and Wes are just the absolute sweetest and their attraction to each other was so well written and so believable. I adored how Wes constantly wanted to be around her but didn't want to cross her boundaries. He's literally the dream man, so respectful, so nurturing and his dirty talk? Lord, help me

Ada's past felt like it actually added to the plot of the book instead of just being there, and I really appreciate that. I love it when a character's past experiences don't just fade away as time goes on, but are something they have to deal with every day. Because that's how it works in real life.

Adding to that, I also really appreciate how this book handled some darker subjects like depression and anxiety. It's so nice to see a book where depression is just part of someone's life. It's not the main plot, it's not their entire personality, it's just there.

I feel like the spice is just improving with each book, so I'm definitely not complaining. I can't wait for book 3 to come out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

After reading Done & Dusted I knew I wanted to read the second book, too!
This comes together nicely and focuses on Ada and Wes. I love how we get the spice but also the journey of healing. The spice was quite timid and I would’ve loved a bit more but with a focus on mental health and a new life this was in a good balance. The romance IS SLOW. But with their instant connection it makes you YEARN. I loved this!

Swift and Saddled (Rebel Blue Ranch 2): Lyla Sage

🌟 4/5

Genre: new adult romance

POV: dual

Tropes: small town romance, cowboy, black cat x golden retriever, boss x employee

TWs: depression, divorce

On the night before her new interior design project, Ada arrives in Wyoming in search of dinner but ends up in a dive bar making out with a hot cowboy.

Fast forward 12 hours and she arrives at Rebel Blue Ranch to be greeted by her new boss, Wes — the guy from the bar. Eek!!

Rebel Blue Ranch, Meadowlark, Wyoming and the Ryder family felt like home. With lots of involvement from Done and Dusted characters, Emmy and Luke, and Teddy and Gus (Lost and Lassoed - pub date later this year).

Ada is a self deprecating fmc, who had been through a tricky marriage and divorce 2 years ago. She has built herself up over the past few years after she lost her identity and independence in marriage. She likes herself now but can’t believe that anyone else would like her? Until Wes.

Wes is patient. Kind. “The nice guy” with the biggest heart. Described as the sun by Ada (perfect!!). And he describes her as the moon, where he’s the tides she keeps drawing in. 😭 if you love a soft, caring mmc, Wes is for you!

Lyla Sage handled the discussions of depression throughout extremely well. Highlighting the importance of medication, therapy and routine for people with depression. Explaining the concept of feeling good now, but always anticipating that there may be a time you might not feel so good and fall into the dark pit again. Shining a light on depression is always needed.

I loved the depth to the characters and the communication!! Especially from Wes, encouraging her and being patient while she freaks out about her feelings. It’s so refreshing to read a healthy relationship with conflict resolution.

Special mention to meddling Amos Ryder, he knows all 🤭

So excited for Lost and Lassoed 🤠🩵

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ada Hart is a strong independent woman who doesn’t need a man. Refusing to be a woman who relies on anyone else she chases her dreams leaving her disastrous marriage behind her. Her next project takes her to one of the largest ranches in Wyoming for the biggest job of her career.

She arrives in town and heads for the first dive bar she sees where she casts her eyes on a handsome cowboy. Their spark draws them out of spotlight ending in a frenzied kiss. Fireworks went off and Ada bailed leaving her bag in the bar.

She’d regret the kiss if it wasn’t one she couldn’t stop thinking about. Until the moment she realises the handsome cowboy is her new boss.

Weston Ryder is a quiet happy man with a heart of gold and a desire to restore the family ranch. His mood shifts dramatically when a certain interior designer is around. Agreeing to keep things strictly professional is harder than they both thought. While the walls are literally coming down, Ada’s walls are firmly in place. Dreams and love has them pulling into directions they are not sure about. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for true happiness.

Swoooonnnn … Weston Ryder welcome to the book boyfriend club. I adored every complicated, real and raw page in this book. Both Ada and Weston battle their own inner demons to find their slice of happily ever after. This series needs to be made into a series or movie asap! Sorry @authorlylasage I need more already.

If you’ve not picked this series up yet gallop don’t trot!

Wes and Ada supremacy 🙌🏽 another amazing book from Lyla, I enjoyed being back in the Rebel Blue Universe.

Both characters were so likeable we get to learn more about Wes and meet a new character from outside the small town. Seeing Ada progress in this town following her divorce was so bittersweet as she kind of starts over. I’m not the biggest fan of instalove/lust but the chemistry between her and Wes was undeniable. There is a lot of tension and sweet moments as well which leads to them fighting their feelings for one another.

Overall I’d say this was a great book about self discovery and love after loss with the perfect balance of forced proximity and found family vibes 🥰

Reading this book, makes you feel warm and comfy. Small town ranch with amazing characters and family.

Ada&Wes. Their chemistry was so good from the beginning. They were reverse grumpy x sunshine. And it was so well done.
Ada's journey was impressive. How she wanted a fresh start. And Wes supported her. It was heartwarming. He was so kind and sweet.
And of course, he has a dirty mouth in bed

And I want to read the next book also. Teddy and Gus. That book will be angsty and full of banter.


Thank you Netgalley and Quercusbooks for the ARC!!

(Thank you NetGalley, Publisher, and Lyla for this ARC in exchange for an honest review)

Release date: March, 5th

This book belongs to the ongoing Rebel Blue Ranch Serie:
1. Done and Dusted
2. Swift and Saddled
3. Lost and Lassoed (November, 5th)

Tropes:
😡Reverse grumpy x sunshine
🐴Cowboy x city girl
🔥Steamy first meeting
💙He falls first
👨🏻Boss x employee

📖 City girl Ada Hart is determined not to rely on a man after her failed marriage and career setback. But when she lands a major project on a Wyoming ranch, she can't ignore the handsome cowboy who catches her eye at a local bar—only to discover he's her new boss, Weston Ryder. Despite Ada's reluctance, Weston is smitten and sees this project as a chance to win her over. As they work together, Ada's walls start to crumble, but will they risk it all for love?

✨ I know everyone loves the grumpy guys, but the sunshine ones? They're for me. Wes is adorable and one of the loves of my life. He has an illness I wanted to see more on paper to be just perfect and get to know more about how he would feel. My Ada has her bag too, and as individual characters, they're so good but together? They're perfect. You know I'm well known for not liking the 3rd Acts, and I honestly tolerate this one thanks to how Wes acted. He deserves 5 stars, I'm sorry if I'm not objective. I just can't. I hope you give this book a chance because I honestly enjoy it, love it, and read it so so fast! I couldn't put it down for a second.

🌸 Curious for more details? Hang tight till the release date! Join me on Instagram (@lovelace.books) to spill all the tea after it hits the shelves! ☕📖

My first Lyla Sage book. It’s a cute, small-town romance with all the right vibes, but it felt somewhat superficial to me. However, it’s an easy and quick read, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I’m going to start with Wes because I loved him. It’s hard not to. He’s an absolute sweetheart dealing with some issues and who doesn’t usually go for women easily—except for Ada. And while it’s very insta-lovey for him, I can’t fault him. That’s how much I loved him.

Ada is new in town, and she has quite a few issues to handle herself. I wanted to love her, especially bearing in mind her past relationship, but I only liked her. Some of her reactions and attitudes didn’t work for me, and she could do with more character development.

They meet at a bar. Just two strangers at the same place at the same time. Something clicks between them, and they can’t control it. So much so, they’re all over each other until reality comes crawling in and Ada runs. But it’s all fine. Until she gets to the house she’s renovating the following day and realizes the sexy cowboy who lit her up the previous night is her boss.

They obviously have to work closely together and you can see the lust and the want. Except you also see Wes pining for her—I don’t think he even realizes he’s doing it. But she’s not giving him an inch. This is a job, she needs to keep things professional, and, most of all, she doesn’t need more hurt in her life. She’s had enough of that.

Wes does his best, though. He’s there. He listens. He doesn’t go away when she seems to want him to. I don’t think he can. She’s fighting it too… and while I sort of got it at first (like I said, my own past issues make her relatable), then I didn’t.

I understand self-confidence issues more than the average person. I understand thinking people don’t like you, or feeling unworthy. However, we’re never shown how this came to be. We hear about the ex (way too much, if you ask me—there’s even a phone call that doesn’t need to be there at all), her lack of friends, and her estranged family, but we don’t really know what happened. Without more character development, it’s like she’s denying all of it… just because.

At the same time, you have Wes, always there, waiting. And damn it, my heart broke for him. However, while I loved him to bits, his mental health issues seem to be forgotten somewhere mid-book, and while I’m a fan of the representation, I’m not a fan of treating mental illness as an accessory or something in a scene or two to then swipe it under the rug.

When they finally come together, it’s good. I love how they open up to each other (even though it seems to be more on his side). I loved the sort of weird innocence between them when it finally happened and as they explored each other, but I didn’t necessarily love it in subsequent scenes. Requesting permission to touch her as if they’re strangers didn’t sit well with me—call it what you will.

Wes single-handedly stops an attempt at a third-act breakup, only for it to happen again at 90% of the book. And it’s… strange. Again, maybe because we don’t really know her and all her reasons seem shallow. Maybe because he didn’t deserve it. And maybe because it’s a very teenager-y sort of added drama, IMO.

It does have an HEA, and I loved it. I also loved her found family at the ranch. And I know these two are really a forever thing. As a character-driven reader, it just felt like a missed opportunity at a book that could have been great but ended up being OK.

4.5 stars

I really loved this one.

Wes is just beautiful and has a heart of gold. I loved him so much. Ada was the grump to his sunshine and was so relatable for me. I loved how they meet and then figure out who the other is. They had great physical tension and their personalities meshed so well together. I loved how open and honest they were about things too. It was just so lovely to read.

The way the storyline developed was so good. I liked that it spanned over a period of time and because it fit them better. Of course seeing all the characters you met in the previous book was wonderful! And it definitely has you peaked for the next couple of books! I’m so excited for them!!!

Also I loved that it addressed depression as well as other things. It was done really well I thought.

Swift and Saddled was my first @authorlylasage book and it did not disappoint. Wes and Ada's story is an absolute delight that wraps itself around you like a warm hug.

I love how authentic this story was and how both main characters behaved like adults and worked through their issues. I especially love how gentle Wes was with Ada and would not take the third act break up of just about every romcom ever written.

Wes and ada had so much chemistry and the tension between them was 🥵. Everything about their story made me feel warm and gooey and I suspect this will become a comfort read.

I can't wait to read the next story in the rebel blue series. Cowboy romance era here I come.

Thank you to @quercusbooks and @netgalley for the e-arc 🥰

I read this book in one sitting, it's a cute and comfortable book and to me this is already a good thing, but what I really liked is the fact that the love story between the two main characters is really different than the previous book of this series.
I felt more connected with them and I enjoyed reading how they slowly fell in love.
I also liked most of the other characters, they're really funny and I liked reading how they interact with each other.

I think that Swift and Saddled it's not a perfect book, but it's sooo much better than Done and Dusted that I can't wait to read the next book of this series!

This was a nice book, but it wasn’t really for me. I read the previous book in this series last year and really enjoyed it, so this was a bit of a shame. Nothing was really bad about it, I want to stress – the writing is very good, the pacing was fine, and it was entertaining.

But the dynamic between Wes and Ada wasn’t my favourite and as a whole I found the book a little bland. The conflict there was felt a bit repetitive and I never felt very invested in their relationship. I liked Wes’ character – he was a sweetie, and I liked how he handled Ada. But I found her character hard to like and I didn’t really warm to her at any point during the book. I felt like we were being ‘told’ that she was grumpy and standoffish more than we were actually shown it, and sometimes this characterisation wasn’t consistent.

That said, whilst the dynamic between them wasn’t really my thing I did think their relationship developed nicely over the course of the book. The love scenes were steamy and well-written, and I thought their chemistry together was good.

It just wasn’t the book for me, I’m afraid, but I do think that it would do well with other readers, especially if you’re looking for a small town romance with a grumpy FMC and a Golden Retriever cowboy MMC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Controlling and coercive behaviour (in past), death of a parent (in past), depression, on-page sex, unprotected sex, oral sex.

Okay Wesssss!! For sure my current Ryder favourite after reading this book. He is beyond sweet, caring and the fact he has a slight spicy side. I was there for it.

Even though this was about building a new area within the ranch, we saw Ada make a very very big impact on the Ryders. She’s recently divorced so will she open her heart to new starts?

Rebel Blue definitely has drawn someone else in and I love the way Wes and Ada’s relationship was a shock yet also a little slow burn! I can safely say I think Wes is my favourite Ryder right now.

There was just something about this book that just had me hooked.. a Five star read for me and the book that has me in my Cowboy Romance Era.

Also the hint of the possible third book I’m so here for it 😍

"We were a forever sort of thing."

- Small town
- Cowboy romance
- Workplace: interior designer x client
- Black cat x golden retriever
- Divorced FMC
- Found family
- Forced proximity (she lives in the same house)
- He falls first
- Mental health rep
- Dual POV

Wes and Ada share a kiss at Brooks’s bar before she runs out… and learns the next day that he’s her new client. She tries to keep things professional between them, but when Wes sees her and understands her like no one else, she struggles to keep the walls around her heart erected.

Something I admire about Lyla’s writing is the character depth – mam dives deep, and I love her for it! With Ada, you have a woman who comes off as cold but is really just shy and lonely, trying to find herself again after being trapped in a loveless marriage. She found both herself and a family at Rebel Blue Ranch, with Wes, the girls, and the Ryders inviting her into the fold.

"I think I might have been homesick for Rebel Blue before I knew it existed" = perfect found family vibes.

Then you have sweet, gentle, sunshine Wes, who’s looking to prove himself with the new guest ranch and step out from his siblings’s shadows. I loved the way he tenderly cared for Ada and understood she didn't want to feel trapped again.

"When I saw him, I felt... calm, like I'd just found shelter from a storm." 🥹 This perfectly describes their relationship and is just one of the many beautiful quotes I highlighted.

While I liked the mental health rep, I would've loved a little more depth. Wes's depression was mentioned briefly and then kind of forgotten about? This is really my only critique, though. Otherwise, it's another winner from Lyla, and I am DYING for Gus and Teddy.

Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the early copy!

One of my favourite books i’ve read so far in 2024, this is book 2 in the Rebel Blue Ranch series and can be read as a standalone,

this was so well written. i loved the first book and loved the second instalment even more so!

the romance was so wholesome and sweet. the characters well written!

thank you netgalley for the ARC opportunity for Swift and Saddled and thank you Lyle Safe for such a wonderful story, I can’t wait to read more!