Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

by Lyla Sage: What a treat to return to Rebel Blue Ranch in Meadowlark! In the follow-up to Done and Dusted, middle child Wes takes over the reins from his sister Emmy as the central character, and if the covers alone don’t make you want to read this series, this close-knit family of Ryder siblings should!

Wes has felt unsure of his role in the family, knowing that his oldest brother will one day take over the ranch, but he dreams of converting the old “big house” on the property to a place where guests can come and get the ranch experience. Now that construction renovations are about to begin, he has hired Ada Hart, a renovations expert from California, to spend the next few months doing the work. Ada arrives from California with a beat-up car, an empty bank account, a lot of self-doubt from her divorce, and a lot of loneliness. With all that swirling in her head, Ada does something very out of character: she makes out with a stranger at a bar the night before she starts her new job…only to discover the next day that he is her new boss…Wes Ryder. She immediately draws a professional line in the sand. She’s not making out with her boss (again). But Wes isn’t what she expected. He is kind, considerate, and trusting of her vision. This pushes Ada closer and closer to the line she has drawn because Wes is a gentleman and won’t cross it.

I enjoy this series and how Sage writes the insecurities of her characters. Ada grappling with how she was treated by her ex and Wes searching for his place were touching parts of the story. Additionally, Wes’s openness about positively managing his depression is something that I think needs more representation in books. All of the characters from the first book are back in this forced proximity, workplace, cowboy romance that left me already looking forward to the next one.