Western theme park where the characters play the same role over and over… this sounds a lot like West world minus the robots. I loved how the world building really pulled you in. I could imagine the park and the roles the main characters played. I like seeing behind the scenes of the park and linking the people with the characters they were cast as.

Esra’s life was on track to please her parents and earn her some big money, but when she drops out of medical school she’s cut off from her funds. Her brother gets her a job at Bravetown, a wild western themed theme park. Now she has to learn how to take care of herself while navigating her new surroundings.

Esra is given the role of playing the damsel in distress who’s kidnapped by the lawless cowboy. It’s far from the Ice cream vendor she was hoping to play. She has to work hard to fit the role and learn some life skills along the way.

In reality Esra is stumbling to shake the irritation of her brother’s best friend. Every time Noah’s around she’s making simple life mistakes.

Can Esra get her act together while staying true to herself?

This book was really fun. I liked the dynamics between Esra and Noah. They had great banter, hot chemistry and a connection that faded everyone else into the background. The western theme park was a great setting and I loved falling for the small town cowboy.

✅ Grumpy/ Sunshine
✅ Enemies to lovers, it started with a sandwich
✅ Small town
✅Cowboy
✅ Wild Western
✅ Theme Park
✅ Modern day western romance

Thank you Dilan, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC edition of this book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars rounded up to 5!!

This is by far my favourite book Dyer has written so far, perfect for the Elsie Silver / Lyla Sage small town romance lovers ♥️ The chemistry between the FMC & MMC is undeniable, the enemies to lovers arc worked well and was very entertaining. The setting of a Wild West themed amusement park was so fun too!

Esra is such a lovable, warm character and I liked how her chronic condition wasn’t the entirety of her personality but it still played a big part of the storyline. She’s funny, intelligent and sassy. Noah is the grumpy to her sunshine, very broody and protective once they realise their tension is lust not hatred!

Overall, very heartwarming, spicy and a lot of fun to read!!

I live for cowboy romances! This was so good, it was really funny too. I’ll be honest the storyline threw me at first with it being set in a country and western themed theme park but by the end that really added to the found family vibe. I adored all the characters and there is plenty of set up for this to become a series (which I hope it is!) The only negative thing I can say was that it far too spicy for my tastes however I found that skipping through the spicy scenes still left me with plenty of storyline and plot so it wasn’t a problem. Our FMC and MMC are at it at every chance they get 🤦🏼‍♀️
I’m far too boring for this amount of spice 🤣
🌟🌟🌟🌟 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Release date - 24th July 2025

The brave and the reckless ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you so much for the ARC @authordilandyer and @netgalley - where do I sign up to go and work at Bravetown?

You all know I love a cowboy romance and this story is one but it’s really original. Set in an old west theme park where the FMC and MMC are lead characters in the story the book, so you have old western cowboys, oh and the MMC owns a ranch? Does that make it a double cowboy romance?

The characters in the story are brilliant. Side characters are funny, likeable and all have a role in the plot while the leads are 👌.

Esra as the FMC is funny, interesting and totally relatable. She is trying to work life out and is messy, chaotic and uncontrollable as she is does it. Her health challenges are really well written too and it’s good to see it represented well.

Noah as the MMC is grumpy, annoyed and irritated but again you totally get why - ever wanted to be at the next stage in your plans but had to wait? That’s Noah.

If you want a summer read with cowboys that’s different and will make you smile you totally need to pick this one up.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review

I want to start by saying that i enjoyed the premise of this book and found it very unique in the small town romance setting and of course loved the wild west theme park setting and found that really fun and different.

For me i personally couldn't give it more than 3 stars. The spice was good and great but i just found the chemistry between the character just missed the mark and i can't put my finger on why.
I found the FMC quite frustrating and juvenile but i get that was done so she could have more character development.

This wouldn't put me off reading more of the authors book however
Thank you to netgalley publishers and author

Thank you for this arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

When I heard that the FMC was Turkish, I had to request this book. As a Turkish girl myself, I can tell you there isn’t much representation of us in western media, and if there is, it’s usually in the form of the stereotypical "middle eastern", which we aren’t. That said, I was very excited about Esra‘s character😌
Speaking of representation, Esra also had EDS and I loved how the author portrayed her as a strong woman who takes control of her own life.
I absolutely adored the setting!! I’ve never read anything set in a theme park before and the side characters made me feel like I was actually part of Bravetown😍
The tension between Esra and Noah was insane and I was NOT prepared for that spice🥵🥵
The only reason I’m not rating this 5⭐️ is that I would’ve liked the author to mention more aspects of Turkish culture like food, language, etc.

🤠The Brave and The Reckless 🤠
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

This is an arc review and this book releases July 24th.

This is a cowboy, contemporary romance set in the Wild West theme park of Bravetown. The story follows Esra, a former medical student who takes a detour from her life plan to join her brother for a summer job as the park’s damsel in distress, Esra finds herself being repeatedly “abducted” by the outlaw cowboy played by brooding Noah. Sparks may fly in their staged performances but behind the scenes tension simmers between Esra and Noah.

This dual POV cowboy romance had enemies to lovers, only one horse, slow burn, grumpy x sunshine and forced proximity and was such a delight to read. I already loved Dilan’s writing style and the way she blends romance with deeper more meaningful topics and it was so fun to see her branch into a new style of romance and keep that magic and this was a beyond fresh, fun take on the genre. Esra is absolutely my favourite kind of leading lady; sassy, funny, quick and fabulous plus a chronic illness rep and the tension, spice and snarky back and forth between her and Noah was 10/10.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a hit for me.

It had potential with the tropes it promised and I appreciate trying to do something different with the cowboy/Wild West genre. But, simply I put, I was bored. I just never felt that connection or spark with the story or any of the characters. I found some of the dialogue and behaviours quite cringe and juvenile. Overall, this story, unfortunately, fell flat for me.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super fun and fresh take on the cowboy romance. This took place on a Wild West theme park where the MCs were acting in the theme park. The romance built up nice and slowly in the beginning and there was amazing world building for a romance.

I did like the MMC but the FMC annoyed me a bit at times especially in the third act conflict. But overall I did really enjoy this silly fun spicy romance with a unique setting.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

This was such a unique take on a cowboy romance! Set in a Wild West theme park, The Brave and the Reckless follows Ezra as she drops out of med school and moves to Bravetown after her brother gets her a job there. The setting was fun and different and it gave the story a vibe that really worked!

I genuinely enjoyed the plot and really liked the characters. Ezra and Noah were obviously my favourites, but I also appreciated the side characters. They didn’t just feel like background filler, Bravetown actually felt like its own little community!

As someone who also has hEDS, I really appreciated the chronic illness rep in this book. It was refreshing to see a main character dealing with similar challenges to my own. That said, my one small critique is that the actual name of the condition Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome isn’t actually mentioned until the 99% mark in the epilogue, and even then it’s written as “Hypermobile EDS.” Throughout the book it’s mostly referred to vaguely as “weak tissues” or “issues with tissues.” etc. I personally would have liked to see the condition named and acknowledged earlier on especially for visibility and awareness.

Overall, this was a heartfelt, original romance with great characters and a charming setting. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever Dilan Dyer writes next, I have a feeling book 2 is going to be Adriana’s story and I’m here for it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Esra meets Noah when she takes a job at a wild west theme park. It was a great setting and a fun read, looking forward to the next books in this series

I seem to be drawn to these small town romance reads lately! This one was a fun, easy and spicy read! Absolutely loved where it was set!

I actually found this a really refreshing read! It’s not a stereotypical cowboy romance as it’s set in a classic Wild West town that puts on shows within a cowboy themed park but it gave all the right vibes! Esra and Noah had tonnes of tension, personality and slow burn enemies to lovers moment. It all felt really natural and not rushed. The way Ezra’s illness was portrayed was also very natural and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!

The premise of this book was solid and it was overall a good book, however, I found it hard to connect with the story as I kept losing interest due to the pacing. It felt like some moments were there just to be there, they didn’t add anything to the story. However, I loved the romance and the development between the FMC and MMC. I will definitely be giving this author another shot.

Thank you NetGalley for this free arc exchange for an honest review of this book from a cowgirl through and through

This book was super unique and had the perfect twist on the traditional cowboys. I’ve never picked up or read a book that was based in an amusement park so this was fun and new to me.

I did find our female a bit annoying in the first portion of this but later on I grew to enjoy her quirk . I like the tension and spice in this was well written. I also Love the inclusion of disability’s

I loved the setting of this book, the old Wild West themed park was such a fun place, and there were some hilarious parts to this too.

But to be perfectly candid, this is a very basic romance. There was not enough tension or chemistry for my liking, and the banter crossed the line into immature a few too many times. I think the author relied on humour too much, and this meant that an emotional connection was not developed enough.

The spice was very good, with some hot scenes and plenty of dirty talk, I loved how you could feel the trust between Noah and Esra during the intimate moments. But banter and sex are not enough for me to believe that a couple are genuinely good together, when there is no further substance to their relationship.

I don't even know what to say about the third act conflict tbh. I am tired of women in romance books wanting people around them to read their minds, and acting like spoilt little girls.

I did like that it was dual POV though, to get insight into both Esra and Noah's thoughts. I also thought that Esra's chronic illness was portrayed respectfully, and I loved the ending.

This was so fun and different to other books I’ve read before. I absolutely LOVED the theme park aspect. I loved the shows they put on and I loved how much Esra and Noah hated eachother because we all know how that goes 🤭

I loved how Esra and Noah made each other better within themselves. Esra helped Noah to have more fun and Noah helped Esra to calm down. They are the perfect recipe for a couple.

I’d love more into the world of Bravetown, Adriana was such an interesting character and I’d love more of her.

Thank you NetGalley for this free arc exchange for an honest review!!

This book was super unique and had the perfect twist on the traditional cowboys. I’ve never read a book that was based in an amusement park.

I did find our fmc a bit unlikeable in the first portion of this but later on I lovvvveeeddd. I like the tension and spice in this. Loved the disability rep aswell!

The Brave and the Reckless such a unique take on a cowboy romance!
I really loved the theme park setting and the small town, found family vibes that came along with it!
The chemistry and tension between Esra and Noah was steamy and I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop throughout the book.
I found the story really easy to binge and the characters were well developed. I thought the chronic illness representation was really well done too.
I also really like the little passages at the start of every chapter giving us a deeper look into Bravetown’s history.
I’m hoping that there will be further books set in Bravetown in the future!

3.75 ⭐️

🩷Small town with and old west theme park
🩷Hate to love
🩷Brothers best friend
🩷Chronic illness rep
🩷City girl & country boy

I thought this was a really fun take on a small town romance as this small town had an old west theme park and the main characters work there as the villain and damsel.

I really thought Ezra's character development was really good, she started out being not that likeable but as you got to know her I really liked her. I also loved seeing the chronic illness representation that she had. I thought that Ezra and Theo had such great banter and made me feel like there was so much tension between them.

Noah was just such a grump and I loved that. I really liked how he looked after Ezra even when she did not want his help, he was just such a big softie for her. He had me giggling and kicking my feet a few times especially when he made sure he was the one walking next to the road and not Ezra.

I really want to see more books from this world as there is a character that I loved and really want their story.