Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before the release date. If you go into this expecting a cowboy romance you will be disappointed. This was more small town than cowboy. If you liked The Fine Print by Lauren Asher, you might love it though. It’s set at a Wild West themed amusement park. The FMC was really annoying but you later find out the reason. It does have a lot of spice. And the idea was great, I just didn’t enjoy the main characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️:

This book surprised me. I had a hard time getting into it, relating to the FMC was difficult. The way she acted was too cringy and immature for me to bond with and get into, until more information came to light on why she was the way she was. Learning about her disability and how she was raised put her into perspective. Honestly I am still not the FMCs biggest fan but I did began to enjoy the book more. The ending was good for me, loved the epilogue and the last few chapters the most. I’m unsure if I’ll continue the series but I at least began to have a good time with this story, it just took a bit of perseverance to get there!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. It was a different take on a cowboy romance in my opinion and it hit in every aspect. We have reluctant friends to lovers. I would say it’s not true enemies to lovers, but they did have a lot of tension in the beginning, and I liked that it built up a lot of the romance. I also really enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t like an Insta love and it took time for the main characters to get together and trust each other. Overall, I would recommend this book. I really really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Dell and penguin random house for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!!

Book Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The Brave and the Reckless by Dilan Dyer

This book was a whirlwind 😅 I had read the synopsis and I love a city girl small town cowboy story so I was SO excited! Not that I was disappointed, but there was something that just didn’t hit quite where I wanted. I enjoyed the chemistry between Esra and Noah! I loved their whole hate to love story and the kitchen pranks made me laugh!

BUT, there was something with Esra that just frustrated me a bit, and her choice in fashion made me cringe 🙃 I know it’s such a silly thing, but I don’t love it IRL either.

Overall, it was a good read and I did enjoy many parts, but it just didn’t hit as much as I would have loved!

I definitely think a lot of you will fall in love with this book and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!

Happy reading!

This was a fun read! It was kind of harder to connect with the characters, but overall it was a fun story. The side characters were awesome and there were plenty of shenanigans throughout.

If you like small town romance with a city girl fmc and small town mmc then you should give this a read. The fmc goes to this small town to figure out life and ehat she wants to do next. She gets a job working in a show which means she has to spend town in the mmc who is the grumpy cowboy. There was alot of tension between the main characters and it was not a slow burn but also not instant love. The romance was dislike to love and the banter and smut was hot in this one. The fmc was a but annoying but she did get better as the book went on. I liked the chronic illness rep and overall it was an okay romance. Thanks to Dell for this arc for an honest review.

This story turned out to be so much deeper and emotional than I was expecting, and I'm not mad about it! The story touches on insecurities, grief, lack of courage, and more, so expect to go through a whole range of emotions.
The setting is in a Wild West amusement park, and I thought that was so fun, because I went to one a few times as a kid, and that helped me feel more like I could truly picture everything that was happening.
One of my favorite things about this story was the diversity and representation included, which I felt was really well done. Both Noah and Esra had some solid character growth throughout (thank goodness because I was not a fan of Esra at first), and by the end, I found myself invested in their HEA. The spice was well done, but I definitely questioned the lack of practicality in doing it in some dirty ass mud lol, but I digress.
This was an overall fun and bingeable read for any cowboy romance lover, and I will definitely be recommending it on my bookstagram around release day!

I am so in my cowboy era and this book just absolutely melted me!! If you’re looking for a sweet, and sexy story, this is it! Absolutely fantastic.

⚡🔥 Book Review: The Brave and the Reckless by Dilan Dyer 🔥⚡

A fierce, emotional rollercoaster of a romance that’s as raw and powerful as it is unforgettable. The Brave and the Reckless dives deep into love, loss, and the courage it takes to risk everything for a second chance.

What it’s about:
After a devastating betrayal, Calla and Riley are forced back into each other’s worlds. But with secrets, danger, and their own reckless hearts on the line, can they overcome the past and fight for a future together?

Tropes You’ll Love:
🔥 Second chance romance
💔 Emotional angst
⚡ Fierce chemistry & slow burn
🌪️ Dark pasts & redemption
💥 Strong, complex characters

If you’re drawn to passionate, gritty romances with heart and heat, Dilan Dyer’s novel will captivate you from start to finish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheBraveAndTheReckless #DilanDyer #SecondChanceRomance #DarkRomance #SlowBurn #Bookstagram #EmotionalReads #BookReview

I loved this! It was so cute and heartfelt! I like the main plot and both of the characters' evolution of within and together.

it’s an enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend romance, pardner 🤠

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’m going to be honest: The Brave & the Reckless is one of those books that I would ordinarily have some sizable quibbles with, & yet, somehow I really enjoyed this book. Problems & all.

The leads feel somewhat immature, there’s some 🔥 that had me raising my eyebrows, etc. but Dilan Dyer’s book also has a sense of vim & physicality that’s hard to ignore.

This workplace romance set in a Wild West amusement park has an enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend arc that doesn’t dilly dally. Esra & Noah are fun to watch, even if (partially because?) their actions are unpredictable & dramatic, too.

4 ⭐️, out 07/29.

📖 what’s your favorite food or drink at an amusement park? I’m all about the ice cream.

[ID: Jess holds the book in front of pink & white flowers.]

This book is a fun, romantic romp through an Old West theme park, with lots of humor and spice interspersed throughout. I appreciated the diversity and representation found in this novel. Our FMC, Esra, is of Turkish descent and is a chronic illness rep while her brother is deaf. When Esra finds herself needing a job at the start of summer, and a place to land, her brother suggests that she joins him in Tennessee at Bravetown - a wild west theme park. Such is the setting for our novel, and it made it fun and unique for a romance novel. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy Esra as our female lead at first (her behavior and reasoning was a bit off-putting to me), she evolves as the novel progresses and becomes much more likeable. The story is told through dual POV of Esra and our MMC Noah, and it makes the setting and their interactions so much richer through the added details. The banter in the novel is quick witted, and Noah's dirty talk is 10/10 - perfect score.

Slight Spoilers ahead!!!!

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.While it was one of the hottest sex scenes I think I may have ever read - the scene where Esra and Noah have sex, for the first time ever, in the middle of a mud puddle in the rain was possibly one of the least realistic sex scenes I've ever read (and I once read a book where the male love interest was a dragon that had two penises). This girl was a virgin until just a few months ago, and that's the only excuse I can give for her being down with this, she just didn't know better. If sex on sand is supposed to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences on the planet, then bestie, I don't know how they're doing it in literal standing mud. A Noah is written as extremely 'gifted' if you get my drift, so I don't see how they're coordinating all the logistics without at some point touching their genitals with those muddy hands. And since it takes some enthusiasm on his part to fit such a large member into his paramour, I don't see how mud wasn't splashing up into their business and causing dirt to rub like sandpaper. Also, there is no way in hades I would kiss the face of someone that I had rubbed barnyard dirt into the beard of. The germsssss. Like I said, despite these things it was a really well written and hot scene, but it made me cringe when I thought about how this would go down outside of a romance novel.

This book was a fun summer read, and I look forward to seeing where Dilan Dyer takes us in Bravetown next. There are characters with future book potential just radiating from them. I can't wait to see who we learn more about next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine (Dell) and Dilan Dyer for an eARC of this novel to review.

This one giving Elsie silver and all the small town romance all into one. I felt it also was a slow burn ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 upto the spicy chapters. It gave all cowboy 🤠 vibes. He called her "princess". That was cutest nickname. They was also same place/workplace romance that brew up. It also gave grumpy/sunshine vibes. I eat this one book up.i loved it.💗

Cute, enjoyable, spicy. Loved the unique setting (Western theme park & our MCs play theme park characters!). Took me a bit to get into, and for me, the second half is where I really got into this story. Overall, it's a fun cowboy romance with a unique twist & sets up hopefully a series where we get to see some of the supporting characters again (I want an Adriana book!)

💖 Enemies to Lovers
🛏️ Roommates
🤠 Western Theme Park Setting
🏡 Small Town Country Boy x City Girl
❤️‍🩹 Chronic Illness Rep
✌🏻 Dual POV

This was fun & spicy! Binged it. This book was such a fun concept. A theme park similar to Disney but Western? How fun is that?!

I really enjoyed the setting of the book. I thought it was unique and refreshing. Plus it provided a lot of scenarios for our characters to be in (while in character themselves). The side characters were a hoot.

If you are a fan of the hate to love trope, Esra and Noah are your couple. The chemistry between them was hot and ready to boil over. The spicy scenes certainly reflected that! This was hot & steamy! So many great spice scenes. While spicy, this also had a great romance between Esra and Noah too. I liked all the little moments between them and watching them get past their first impressions of each other. I would also say this is a bit of opposites attract (city girl x small town boy).

I thought the author did a good job with representing chronic illness too.

A very fun, spicy and bingeable book! I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars

Thank you to Ballantine & Dell, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was so unique and I think did an amazing job resenting chronic illness and doing it well. I love the theme parking setting it was so unique as a setting.

Noah and Esra were a true hate to love and brother's best friend (two of my favorites). They were both so rawr and realistic as characteristics. I loved watching their relationship transform on the page. Their spice was amazing and so well done, the mask and prop gun play, was hooooooootttttttt!! My only real struggle was the miscommunication in the end but amazing over all.

Thanks to NetGally, Ballantine and the author for this ARC.

This was a mixed bag for me.

I loved the premise. While some of the details felt meh ... I loved this cute idea of a theme park crew living mostly onsite.

I did enjoy Ezra as the lead. I see how her sheltered life caused her to feel overly protected but something was missing. She did seem sheltered but really she was very immature. I believe a little more depth to her character might have cleared that aspect up.

Noah was fantastic. I loved his character and can appreciated how hard he is working to set his life up.

There was some disconnect between he and Ezra for me. While there was an attraction, they felt more like a fling to me instead of a HEA. That depth that was missing for Ezra applies here too.

I did like this story and look forward to any possible sequels.

Thank you to Ballantine & Dell, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

“She was everywhere. In my veins. In my lungs. Behind closed lids.“

This book was so much fun, and had such a unique storyline that I really enjoyed.

Noah and Esra felt so real and raw, that they were so refreshing to read about. They were a true hate to love trope, and it hit so deliciously perfect. I loved watching them go from fighting, to tolerating each other, to sneaking kisses in the break room during their performances. Their spice was offffff the charts, the mask and prop gun play, will literally live rent free in my head for the rest of time.

I didn’t love the miscommunication trope at the end, but I also understood how it kind of needed to happen for Esra and Noah to have some difficult conversations. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and think all of my Cowboy Romance girlies will love it too!

Tropes:
💜Brothers best friend
💜Theme park setting
💜Spicy
💜Chronic Illness Rep
💜Forced Proximity

Enemies to lovers. Chefs freaking kiss. This book was so much fun to read! It was also my first read on my kindle!! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope and man did she do good. The tension from Noah and Esra is so “juicy” GET IT! There chemistry was so goood I was giggling on my couch. Not only is Noah young a cowboy at heart but he’s also a villain at best! I had so much respect for esra for going against everything she was made to believe what was right for her growing up. What I loved the most about this book was how they both gave the other a sense of freedom. Esra made Noah have fun, which he told himself he wasn’t able to do. And Noah gave Esra that sense of finding herself with no pressure that everybody has put on her her whole life. I loved it!

A bit slow to start, but turned out to be a great read! In the end, I loved this book and would love to see it turn into a series.