Book Review: “Done and Dusted” By Lyla Sage

Lyla Sage is a local Slat Lake City Author and I was lucky enough to go to her book release party for her third book “Lost and Lassoed” at the beginning of November. Because I had tickets to this event I knew I had to read her first book, even luckier, my book club picked this book for our November book club pick and honestly we all had an amazing time reading it!

Join my Book Club Bai’s Reading Corner! We read one book a month and have chapter discussions Via Fable, Weekly Reading sprints and a Live Discussion on Instagram! You can join the Instagram Here or our Fable Book Club Here. Hope to see you!

“Wes?” I called. “Yeah?” “You didn’t ask me why I came home.” “I don’t care why you’re here, only that you are.”

Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

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“Sugar, you deserve to go out on your own terms. Just because you got dusted doesn’t mean you’re done.”

Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

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Synopsis

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?

“Sometimes, it was just easier for me to live under the piles rather than face what might be in them. It wasn’t logical, but my brain didn’t really work normally.”

Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

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Rating

“I couldn’t believe the universe was so big, and I got placed on this random floating rock at the same time as Clementine Ryder.”

Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

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Review

I want to remind everyone that I rate books on the vibe I feel after I have finished them. So me giving this book a five star rating in no way means this was a perfect book, it was just a perfect book for me at the time of reading it.

This book was a really fast paced read for me, in fact I read it in only a few sittings my first time around while the audio I finished in a few hours. What made this book such a quick read was the character dynamics. I really loved each character and how they connected to each other. You didn’t need their full background to understand the relationships between any of the characters in the book.

The friendship Emmy and Teddy had was seamless and so well done! She knew Emmy inside out and could anticipate Emmy’s needs before she could even voice them. When Emmy needed her the most she was right by her side no questions asked. I firmly believe that we all could use a friend like Teddy.

The Sibling Relationships between Emmy, Wes and Gus just made sense, she’s their baby sister so of course they are fiercely over protective of her. Their family is all just so close that no one batted an eye when she came home and just helped her get settled in. Sure, Gus may have had a few questions but what Older brother wouldn’t?

The spice in this book was top tier for me. It may have not been the spiciest book I have ever read but it sure made me feel some sort of way! I could feel their chemistry straight out of the gate but throw in some spice and their relationship was on fire!

I love Luke Brooks with all my heart. He has made it to my top five Book Boyfriends which is a true accomplishment with the amount of romance I have been reading lately. Luke never doubted Emmy and helped her find trust in herself again. He wasn’t nearly as over protective as her brothers but damn that bar scene… A little protectiveness never hurt no one!

I had two issues with this book and lets not really call them issues.

Small Spoilers Ahead

1. I would have liked more background info into Emmy from before she came back to Meadowlark. We know she had a riding accident which shook her confidence with her career. We also know that her Ex was a bit of a walking read flag, I mean who orders their girlfriend a steak knowing she doesn’t eat red meat and just tells her to try it… no! But I would have liked to know more about her ex and ultimately what made her break up with him via post it. It may have not been too important to the plot but I kept waiting for more trauma to come out about this I guess.

2. This is a cowboy romance and I felt like by the time we got to the end of the book she was back to racing like a pro but we hardly got any horse riding.. We had way more riding of another sort which I loved don’t get me wrong… But I would have liked to see more of her progression towards being able to get past her mental block and beat her own record. I know these books don’t have to be realistic but it just didn’t feel too believable to me.

Ok, the last thing I want to Highlight is the ADHD rep! Finding out Lyla Sage has ADHD made so much sense because she nailed what it felt like to be ADHD with sensory issues. I am not sure i have read another book with ADHD representation before this and if I have I clearly didn’t relate to it nearly as much as I did with this book. I am so grateful to see this done so well in a book I love so dearly. So, Thank you, Lyla Sage for putting Emmy out into the world.

“I know being diagnosed with ADHD looks different for all of us, but if you’ve ever had a hard time explaining why you leave literally everything until the last minute, why you feel out of control, why your tongue feels like it doesn’t belong in in your mouth when the music is too loud, or any of the countless other things we feel that are apart of ADHD, you might see yourself in Done and Dusted.”

Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

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QOTD: Lyla said at her release party for Lost and Lassoed that their was originally 5 books planned for this series, we are only getting four. Who do you think the 5th book was going to be about?

My Thoughts: I feel like it was going to be Amos Ryder, Emmy’s Dad. I get not writing this book as I feel like Amos is so in love with his wife even though she passed so long ago, that all he needs is his kids and the ranch.