Book Review: “Wild and Wrangled” By Lyla Sage

This book is the conclusion to the Rebel Blue Ranch Series and I am so sad about that! We supposedly will be getting 2-3 novellas sometime in the future which is cool but that doesn’t change how sad I am that the main books are coming to a close. This series has really meant a lot to me and will be books that I re-read for years to come. Thank you Lyla for creating such relatable characters.

“I’ll love you until we’re dust, Camille Ashwood.”

Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

About The Book

Author: Lyla Sage

Publisher: The Dial Press

Published Date: April 15th, 2025

Page Count: 368 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.03

Format: Physical Book

“The bravest thing you can do when you love someone is work hard to keep them—to hold on to them with everything you’ve got—and even when you loosen your grip, you don’t let go.”

Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Synopsis

Camille Ashwood had always loved a plan. Her latest was her best yet. She was going to get married so she could secure her daughter’s future, get her overbearing parents off her back, and finally start building her own life in small town Meadowlark, Wyoming. Easy, right?

But when her groom doesn’t show up to the wedding, Cam’s life is turned upside down—she doesn’t even have a place to live. That is, until she finds out the house she’s loved since high school is available to rent. There’s only one problem: the neighbor.

Dusty Tucker has spent nearly all of his adult life running. Running from what, though? More like who: Cam Ashwood. But ever since he returned home last year, the girl who was his first, well, everything has become a woman seemingly determined to keep him at arm’s length. And he was okay with that—at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. She was getting married, after all. But now she’s single and living next door. Dusty wants to show her that they can be friends, and that he can stay put.

Despite her best attempts to stay far away from Dusty Tucker, Cam realizes that being close to him is like slipping on her favorite jeans. Easy. Comfortable. That is until past wounds start to open and feelings—both old and new—wreak havoc. Nearly ten years after they first met, Dusty and Cam begin to wonder if their first love can also be their last. And this time, will it be forever?

Synopsis From Goodreads

“You know,” I said, “there are very few things that a mid-range chain restaurant can’t fix—especially one with chips and salsa and a sizzling fajita situation.”

Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Rating

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

“Dusty was my first everything, but not in just a first love way. He was my first real friend. He was the first person who cared enough to get to know me, who peeled back the layers I had drawn around myself and liked what they saw. He made me want to like myself, too.”

Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Review

This series has been one of my all time favorites that I have read in the last year. With that being said I was so upset that I just didn’t vibe with this book.

The more I read of second chance romance, especially ones that started in high school, I am just finding that this trope is not for me.

I personally found the romance lacking. I wanted to cheer them on but ultimately I found Cam kinda annoying which was strange to me because I really liked her in the few appearances we got of her in previous books.

Dusty was the star of the show in my eyes and did not deserve any of this. I loved his slutty crop top and just adore a man who is comfortable in his own skin. The care he also showed to Riley was precious!

By the time the ending of the book came around I was honestly shocked that there wasn’t more to the story. We got to see flashbacks of them growing up but didn’t really see or feel the romantic chemistry as much as I would have liked as they were adults. I think this is probably a very unpopular opinion but oh well.

“A mark on your heart and soul that refuses to fade, no matter how much time passes or how much you think you’ve changed.”

Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

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

About The Book

Author: Lyla Sage

Publisher: Dial Press

Published Date: June 6th, 2023

Page Count: 346 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 3.87

Format: Physical and Audio

“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

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

Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“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

Review

I read Done and Dusted twice over the span of a month. The first time was via physical book where I marked all my favorite quotes directly and then the second time was via Audio book where I followed along in the physical copy and took notes to prepare for my Live discussion for my Book Club.

I loved the book just as much the second time around and I am so glad I gave the audio a listen because the narrators were so good!

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

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.