REVIEW: Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage

Wes Ryder finally has something he can call his own on his family’s Rebel Blue Ranch. The ranch-home-turned-guest-inn is set to be fixed up in partnership with California-raised interior designer Ada Hart. and the pressure is on for middle child Wes to prove himself to his family

Ada needs this job to go well. Divorced and without a degree, she’s sure that exceeding expectations for the Ryders will show everyone – and herself – that she is a master at her craft. But a chance encounter with her business partner Wes throws things off track before it even begins, and it’ll take tons of resolve from both of them to keep things professional.

Tropes: Reverse grumpy x sunshine, small town, opposites attract, forced proximity.

Read Swift and Saddled here:
Amazon ❀ B&N ❀ ThriftBooks ❀ Goodreads

I picked up Swift and Saddled immediately after finishing Done and Dusted, and it was exactly what I expected it to be! Lyla Sage definitely has a style when it comes to her writing and character arcs, and it shows. Just like the first book, this was a cute and lighthearted romance with a fun cast of characters.

Honestly, I would say that this installment in the Rebel Blue Ranch series did a better job at developing the MCs as individuals when compared to the first. Although Emmy and Luke have way more chemistry than Ada and Wes (in my opinion), I think Ada and Wes grew as people without having to completely depend on one another.

Whether that’s something that you enjoy or don’t enjoy in a romance is up to you, but personally I was really happy to see it. It was one of my biggest criticisms with Done and Dusted, but Sage seems to be getting better at it as she continues to write.

I do still have a few things to point out with this novel, though. (I know, I know, when do I not?) But first and foremost it has to be addressed: does it fit my three crucial criteria?

Do I Understand the Main Character(s)?

I would say so! Like previously stated, I feel like Ada and Wes were developed as individuals more effectively than the previous Rebel Blue Ranch couple. Therefore, their actions and how their minds worked made more sense to me not only when interacting with each other but also when interacting with others.

Specifically I loved the scene of Ada spending time with the other girls. It showed that she was able to create relationships and roots in Meadowlark aside from just Wes, and it totally connected back to her character. It was one of my favorite scenes in the novel.

The only thing (this isn’t a knock down, just something that made me chuckle a little) that I definitely didn’t understand was how Wes didn’t figure out that the woman he met at the bar was Ada. Like, isn’t your small town known for being extremely small and close knit? And the night before you’re expecting a new comer at the ranch, you see a new comer at the bar? If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck then its a: ______?

Anyways, I digress.

Is It Written Well?

Just like Done and Dusted, I’m satisfied for the most part. But this is when I touch on the biggest issue I had during my read: It. Was. Too. Short.

My main takeaway from the first book was that 321 pages was too brief – and that was with two main characters who already knew each other personally. Swift and Saddled was told in a measly 285 pages for a couple who don’t know each other beforehand!

The first few chapters alone could have really benefited from a few more pages, and the ending would have been much better with more build-up and exposition. I was so happy to see the characters evolve on their own, and then got disappointed when I realized they could’ve been given even more.

So, is it written well? Sure. It met my baseline expectations. Could it have been written better? I wanted it to be better. It should have been written better. It was so close I swear I could taste it.

Is It Special?

Similarly to what I said in my first review of this series, I really want to say yes, because I had a good time and I would definitely recommend this book to people. It lived up to most of my expectations and is on the higher end of the small town romances that I’ve read.

However, if I couldn’t give the title of “Special” to Done and Dusted, then I can’t do it for Swift and Saddled. It was still a good read! I can’t say this enough! It just wasn’t something that was outside of the box or an outlier amongst the genre, or its series.

I enjoyed myself while reading this and I have no doubt I’ll continue to enjoy myself for the rest of the series. Swift and Saddled was a nice, fun read, but unfortunately it wasn’t as good as the series’ predecessor.

Therefore, I can’t really give it a rating higher than Done and Dusted. I do think that the following books will score higher than this one for me, and I would still recommend it to friends – but I think that Swift and Saddled will end up as the weakest link of the Rebel Blue Ranch series.