By: Duke Jenkins, President & Editor-in-Chief
Lyla Sage made her literary debut with Done and Dusted in 2023. Partially inspired by her own life living in the American mid-West, the novel is filled with heart, spice, and lusty descriptions for the ravenous romance reader. Sage introduces several elements that should make the novel an instant romance classic, but ultimately fails to deliver on many of them. Despite this, Done and Dusted is a satisfying read that gives a predictable romance a little more texture than some of its contemporaries.
Done and Dusted introduces barrel-racing princess Clementine “Emmy” Ryder, who returns home after a devastating injury that puts her horseback career on pause. Emmy arrives at Rebel Blue Ranch in Meadowlark, Wyoming and finds that not much has changed, except for her new crush on her brother’s best friend, Luke Brooks. Luke is a former playboy and high school screw-up that owns the local bar and is trying to work through his parental issues. While Luke nicely fills the expected “male love interest in a small-town romance” mold, Emmy is the more interesting of the pair. She’s recovering from an injury at her last race that has left her with worsened anxiety. Over the course of the novel, Emmy refers to her own adult ADHD diagnosis, attending therapy, and some of the things that “scratches her brain the wrong way.” While some of the writing around Emmy’s ADHD was a little clunky, the intentional inclusion from the author gave Emmy an interesting additional dimension that positively separates her from the “I’m not like other girls, I’m quirky” female romance protagonists.
The world around Rebel Blue Ranch is also populated with characters who are somewhat compelling, but a little flat. Emmy’s siblings, Wes and Gus, are caricature-y, with different personalities that are discussed, but hardly seen. Emmy’s dad, Amos, is a stock mentor figure who has maybe two inspirational speeches. He’s talked about frequently, and his actions live up to what we’ve been told, but he isn’t new; he doesn’t break or expand his mold in any way. Emmy’s best friend, Teddy, is the most developed side character of the novel, with frequent conversations with Emmy and a realistic understanding of our protagonist that feels real. Teddy and Emmy are well-written best friends, and I could read a whole separate book on their antics.
While the tension, lust, and romance between Emmy and Luke was well written, much of Emmy’s emotional journey to get back in the saddle—literally and figuratively—feels sacrificed to make time for a romance the audience knew would occur. The romance advances at a predictable pace that would have been made much more interesting if Emmy’s trauma had been present in the relationship, rather than just remaining a plot device. Her injury and subsequent anxiety around getting back to horse riding is the instigator of the story, and it felt like Emmy’s arc to overcome her traumatic experience was indelicately folded into her love story with Luke. Rather than sticking two storytelling landings, Sage awkwardly landed only one.
The largest oddity about the novel was its lack of a third act breakup. These breakups are paramount to the romance genre, as they throw conflict into the narrative that puts a relationship or character to the test. Sage did an excellent job laying the groundwork for several different conflicts that could separate Emmy and Luke. Despite the potential of these conflicts, the biggest surprise came when nothing happened. Even the dreaded reaction from Luke’s best friend and Emmy’s older brother, Gus, about their relationship lasted around 10 underwhelming pages. Seasoned romance readers will finish the book and likely flip back several pages to see if they missed some vital final conflict—I know I did.
Personally, the greatest disappointment was the lack of a small-town feel in the story. Emmy spends much of the novel isolated on Rebel Blue Ranch, with few non-essential characters introduced to give it a lived-in feel. Luke’s bar, the Devil’s Boot, and a coffee shop are really the only places visited, and side characters that could make the world feel a bit more fleshed out were virtually nonexistent. Again, Sage did a wonderful job of talking about the idea of being in this small western town, but failed to truly show it.
Despite these criticisms, the novel was still a blast. The sex scenes were electric and salacious, though possessed a vibe shift that made me think I was reading something on A03 (rather than a professionally published novel). Sage writes likeable characters in a fun way and provides vivid descriptions that leave readers with little questions about appearances. The novel needed about 50 more pages to give its various storylines more room to breathe, and Sage needed a bit more practice at internalizing the writing adage “show, don’t tell,” but the final product was not disappointing at all. I’m excited to pick up the next books in the series and devour them in 24 hours like I did this one, and I’ll be adding some Rebel Blue Ranch merch to my Christmas list this year.