I recently finished "The Brave and The Reckless" by Dilan Dyer, and I have to say, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The premise is intriguing—Esra Taner, a medical school drop-out, moves to a Wild West theme park called Bravetown, which feels like a fun and adventurous backdrop for a summer romance.

Esra's character is relatable; she’s trying to figure out her path while caught up in this quirky world. The dynamic between her and Noah Young, the man behind the cowboy mask, is where I think the story shines most. The tension created by the contrast between Ace Ryder, the charming cowboy persona, and Noah, who lacks that same spark, adds an interesting layer to the plot.

However, I found the pacing a bit uneven, especially as the story built up to the climax. Some parts felt rushed, and I wished for more depth in the development of Esra and Noah’s relationship outside of their roles. While there are definitely entertaining moments, especially with the charming antics and misadventures of the park, not everything hit the mark for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the concept and the characters could be endearing, but there were missed opportunities for greater emotional connection. "The Brave and The Reckless" is an enjoyable read, but just a touch more depth would have taken it to the next level. I'd give it 3 stars—there's potential here, but it could use a bit more polishing

Esra is at a crossroads in her life after dropping out of medical school, uncertain of her path forward. She decides to join her brother, Sinan, at Bravetown, expecting to scoop ice cream at a local parlour. Instead, she unexpectedly finds herself cast as Pretty Annie Lou in a Western-themed show. Opposite her is Noah, who plays the brooding villain, Ace Ryder. Noah has his own goals—just two more years until he can fund a therapy ranch—but from the moment he and Esra meet, it’s clear: their dynamic crackles with tension, chemistry, and sharp banter.

What truly stood out to me was the strong character relationships throughout the book—not just between Esra and Noah, but among the wider cast. Their interactions felt genuine and layered, adding warmth and charm to the narrative.

However, a few elements held the story back from being a standout read. Esra and Sinan come from a Turkish-American background, but this cultural identity is barely acknowledged. Given today’s social climate in the U.S., this felt like a missed opportunity to deepen the characters and ground them more authentically in their world.

Additionally, Esra’s mysterious medical condition is a recurring thread throughout the book, yet it remains frustratingly vague. There are strong hints pointing to hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), but the condition is only explicitly named in the epilogue—without much prior context or exploration. This choice undercuts what could have been a meaningful and informative subplot. Similarly, both Esra and Noah clearly carry emotional baggage from childhood trauma, but these aspects are only briefly touched upon rather than fully developed.

Despite these shortcomings, I genuinely enjoyed this book. The chemistry between Esra and Noah kept me turning the pages, and the character-driven storytelling was compelling. With a bit more depth—especially in terms of representation and backstory—it could have been something truly special.

A 4.75 rounded up to a 5 cos why am I being stingy?

This is my third Dilan Dyer book and the second I saw it was available as an ARC I knew I had to get my hands on it.

Dilan Dyer is fantastic at messy, realistic main characters. She’s been great at having her characters personalities shine through, whilst making their struggles known and explaining them clearly to the reader without coming across like an infomercial/textbook.

Now, let’s not forget the romance plot - the romance was sweet. The other stuff? Hot, hot, hot - I’ll say this, there’s no rote scenes from Dilan Dyer. Everything is very clearly distinct from the last time.

I feel like you can tell when an author loves the story they’ve written and this was definitely an example of this for me - I could feel the love for Esra and Noah and their personalities in each chapter and it helped me love them and their story too

When they said for fans of Lyla Sage they definitely weren't kidding! It's such an easy and fun read. It's one for the booktok/instagram girlies this one I think and I loved it.

This was my first book by Dilan Dyer and I really enjoyed it, looking forward to seeing more from them in the future. Also, the cover artwork is absolutely beautiful! Loved it!

This is the first book I have read of Dilan's and I will definitely be reading more. The Brave and The Reckless is an easy and fun read. The disability representation is amazing and well thought out, and you fall in love with Esra's quirkiness very quickly. The sex scenes are hot and humorous, and the tension between Esra and Noah throughout is just delicious. The setting of the theme park is also unique for a cowboy romance, which I loved.

I would have liked to have seen Esra's relationship with some of the side characters a bit more. For example, I would have loved to have seen more of Vivi. The smut scene with the mask and the gun made me a little uncomfortable but that's more because it isn't my kind of thing.

This book will make the BookTok girlies feral. Excited to see their reaction! And I can't wait to read more Dilan Dyer books.

this book was SO FUN! the setting was so perfect & unique! it truly felt like i was transported there!

tbatr follows esra who drops out of med school & gets a job in bravetown, the western theme park where her brother works. she’s cast to play the role of pretty annie lou who’s character gets kidnapped by the infamous bandit, ace ryder. but beneath the mask we have noah young, the grumpy cowboy who couldn’t be more opposite to esra.

the start of their relationship is a little rocky, from peanut butter wars & saddle struggles, the tension between them & their dislike for the other is heavyy. but the loathing banter is so fun, until finally the tension between them snaps. & BOY DOES IT SNAP. this man was starving for her, the spice in this book had me melting, their chemistry was crazy! their secret relationship & sneaking around unable to resist eachother had me OB sessed!

esra was so real. a chaotic, yet fiercely independent woman trying to live life by her own rules & not letting her choices be dictated by her family. AS SHE SHOULD. she was so misunderstood at the beginning, like my girl is so smart, who cares if she can’t work a washing machine & her rooms a little messy? i love reading about real people & esra was that to a t. the confidence she oozed & her mindset screamed self love, she was so refreshing to read as a character & as a woman. she didn’t have everything figured out but she knew who she was & i loved that!

and sweet, sexy noah mf young. i am in love with this man okay? im calling dibs before this book is even out bc yes, he’s a grump but he had the sweetest most gentle soul🫂he was so caring and so obsessed with esra i loved it. he had his own struggles which he decided to make something beautiful out of and worked so hard to achieve it. he was so dedicated to his work and went above & beyond to help esra learn the ropes

tbatr is so so good & the romance is so lovely, the connection between them was so tangible its like they were desperately drawn to one another! i couldn’t get enough of them & the whole of bravetown! thank you to penguin & netgalley for the arc!

I absolutely LOVED this book, the concept of it been a cowboy book but instead of been set on a ranch it’s set in an old western theme park.


Okay, Noah had a ranch but he was fixing it up while working as the ‘villain Ace Ryder’

Esra seems like a wild child when you first meet her, dropping out of university and moving to Bravetown where her brother Sinan works and lives. Expecting to work selling ice creams she is thrust into the cast member job of Annie Lou.
She takes the role in her stride, well apart from hating having to work along side Noah young. They bicker, they argue, they wind each other up until one day they snap.

And boy do they Snap. 😍

They begin sneaking around, she helps fixing up his ranch, and they slowly but surely fall in love.

Of course, it’s not easy riding for them but I loved these two together from their first meeting, instead of been controlled by her family, Ezra is able to grow into her own around Noah and he in turn is able to start relaxing and having fun.

Gah. I want to go to bravetown. I’m hoping there will be more from this series, so that we get Lucas ‘Lucky’s’ story and adrianas story!

Just all the stories!

Welcome to bravetown! 🤠

This was my first book my this author & it did not disappoint! If you love enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine & let’s not for get cowboys👀 you’ll enjoy this book.

I rated it a 3.5 it was an easy read, a slow burn romance with a lot of character development & mix of humour too. I love seeing a disability representation in this book, it showed how strong someone can be with facing having a hidden disability!

Esra is iconic & so strong, I love her immediately & Noah, well mr grumpy you loved too & he got so much better as the book went on.

I would love to see some of the side characters get their own book because omg, I could imagine the banter right now!!

Thank you to penguin via netgallery for this earc

This was my first Dilan dyer book & it will probably be my last!! ( maybe) 3.5⭐️ - this is definitely a book that was written for TikTok & that’s not a bad thing.

This is a non spoiler ofc but its definitely something I’ve never read before - it’s a cowboy romance but it’s also got this whole Disney land aspect to it ( CALLED BRAVE TOWN) or what I like to call it - cowboy land .

It was a fun read and I honestly think the tiktok girlies will eat this book up + it’s got amazing chronic illness rep ( THE FMC HAs H EDS)

This is a cowboy romance where there 2 have to essentially act as CHARACTERS IN THE THEMEPARK - pretty Annie lay - Esra & Ace Ryder -Noah!!

Honestly I enjoyed this book - the chemistry was strong & the spice was kinda hot & it was fun seeing the horses in this book !!! It was an enjoyable book overall but the 3rd act breakup didn’t do it justice

4.5⭐️
#netgalley #PenguinBooks #TheBraveandTheReckless

Oh how I adored this book!
I’d read a review before I started reading about how it was the cowboy story they were expecting … and I have to agree but in the best possible way!

The theme park back drop mixed with abit of the cowboy atmosphere we have all come to love with a really great change of pace! There was some lovely character and world building, as our FMC got to know the town she was now living in, it all felt very natural and like you were experiencing it along with her.

The FMC I simply adored, was she funny, sarcastic and relatable, telling the story of a girl who has just had her world turn upside down and how she is trying to come to turns with that. And our MMC, the good guy and villain (the beauty of playing a theme park character) all wrapped up in one … means we got the best of both worlds! The relationship develop and spice was spot onnn, with the sexual tension peaking before the relationship truly started to start moving from enemies to lovers … but it was happened perfectly.

There some great representation throughout and all I could think at the end, is if all the booktok favourites from over the last few years had a baby … this would be the book they would produce!

Loved it! Totally recommend … I’d definitely buy an annual pass to bravetown!

🤠⭐️🐴

I'm in two minds with rating this. On the one hand, I loved the cheesiness of the small-town romance, the Western setting, the rivalry tension between Esra and Noah. I also loved the representation for health conditions and chronic illnesses and how seamlessly they were woven into the novel as this is something that is unfortunately quite rare in romance novels.

On the other hand, some of the sex scenes left me feeling uncomfortable. I loved the playfulness between Esra and Noah during sex scenes and when generally intimate, but there were moments where Esra was described as being momentarily in pain at the beginning of sex and this took me out of the excitement of the spice. I also felt uncomfortable that contraception was not discussed before they had unprotected sex (but again this may be a personal boundary when reading sex scenes). This may not be off-putting to others and the rest of the intimacy scenes felt well-written and spicy.

Overall, this was cheesy (in all the good ways) and sweet, and also bonus points for such a gorgeous cover!

3.75 stars ೃ⁀➷ Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up and get ready to enter Bravetown...


Tropes:
🐎 Grumpy X Sunshine
🤠Chronic illness rep
🐎 Turkish FMC
🤠A secret relationship
🐎 Oh no! There’s only one horse!
🤠Dual POV
🐎Spicyyy


TBATR follows Ezra Tanner and Noah Young. After dropping out of med school, Esra’s brother helps her by getting her a job at the infamous Bravetown amusement park where she's to play the fictional character of Annie Lou, who in the story tale, gets whisked away on a horse by bandit Ace Ryder. Enter Noah Young, who plays Ace Ryder. The moment they meet they are polar opposites: her constant need to have fun doesn't make sense to him, his constant grumpy mood doesn't make sense to her- they're a match made in hell... until the sparks start flying and before they know it, they are barrelling into this passionate fiery relationship neither knows the depth of...

My Thoughts~

At a first glance, I won’t lie, I found this book hard to get into. I think my main issue with the book was firstly the overall amusement park idea- the surface of it felt too cringe/cheesy, with this whole concept of it being an amusement park with a country cowboy theme. The cowboys having thirst trap social medias really solidified the cringe. However, I can’t deny that the park sounds super fun and made a PERFECT cute setting for this cute small-town romance.

After I got over that it was smooth sailing. The writing was what everyone loves for their romance books- nice and flowy to read with that burst of personality. Both, Esra and Noah had a gorgeous amount of chemistry (I feel like they kissed slightly a bit early, but that might just be me) but when they began their relationship, I was obsessed with them. I think I’ve actually found a book where I love it more after the characters got together (instead of the build-up). Their chemistry was off the charts, and they had so much personality.

One thing this author can guarantee you is fabulous, memorable characters!!! (If you haven’t checked out her other books, please do)

The conflict we were presented with was a complicated one- not in a drama-messy way, but it was something that could have been easily misinterpreted as Esra just being childish because that’s what I at first thought (the person who hurt her truly had no ill intentions). I feel like this side of her emotions and feelings weren’t explored very well until the end which made understanding her reaction a bit difficult at first for me- what would have been better was the gradual exposure of this side of her insecurities (and not just her talking about her parents). Thankfully though it was resolved nicely and was blown out of proportion- I actually quite admired how it was handled and I think it really showed how much they love each other.

Characters~

Esra Taner// AKA Annie Lou
Absolutely hilarious. She's so well-crafted and easily likeable yet also easily dislikeable, making her scarily realistic. At first, I don’t think I liked her- she was silly and childish in a way that I found to be annoying, but I feel like I grew to like her the more I read. Plus, her T-Shirts are fucking iconic. I loved how Esra got under Noah’s skin, albeit childish at times but effectively hilarious, nonetheless. (The long, 3 phrase nickname she gave him is truly the GOAT). One thing that I feel like I need to mention- her and her brother's relationship with her parents. Or the whole family dynamic TBH. I feel like I'm missing something- there needs to be more there than what we've been given.

Noah Young// AKA Ace Ryder
Honestly? An absolute dick head for a decent part of the book. I think I started to like him when he and Esra got into a relationship because we saw him just turn into a puddle of mush for her. And BTW it wasn’t some cliché puddle of mush or simp behaviour- it was ACTUAL cute yet natural stuff that really fit with his character. I would have loved to see a bit more about his career choice with the horses but IDM that we didn’t see that. And lastly… the thirst-trapping, nooooo !!

Overall… I enjoyed it in the end. They were a couple I enjoyed reading about and could honestly continue reading about them and I’m so glad we have a sensible older brother in this book (I’m looking at you, Carter Beckett (Consider me by Becka Mack)). The side characters were also loveable and I’m totally excited at what’s in store for this series!

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book :)

: ̗̀➛ 3.75

I feel seen by this book.

Esra is stubborn & independent to a fault. After being bubble wrapped by her family for most of her life, she's had enough.
Having her dream job 'stolen' from her by her "silly little body" (felt that), she needs a new plan.
Enter Bravetown.
It was meant to be an escape from reality and it ended up being exactly what she needed.

Reading this book has shown me how much representation matters.
I've spent a long time being gaslit/ questioned about my health. To see an FMC display the same condition and dealing with the things you deal with daily is mind blowing
This book is something else and I'll be thinking about for a long time.
Can't wait to recommend it to all my Spoonie friends.

Hoping we get an Adrianna x Brooks book next.

5*
My favourite book of the year

I never realized how much I wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes at an amusement park until this book! Noah and Esra's story is a banter-y workplace romance that dives into the weight of expectations and finding your own path in life. Bravetown is a fun backdrop to thier walls coming down and their true natures coming forward. Sweet and certainly spicy, this book was a fun ride that is second only to the Haunted Mines of Bravetown.

Wow! This was my favourite Dilan Dyer book yet! The characters are brilliant, so much personality and it’s such a fun spin on a small town, cowboy romance! Highly recommend. I love this book!

Loved this story so much I have added the paperback to my wishlist!
The characters had depth and were both likeable. The setting of the theme park really made the book seem fresh and new. The spicy scenes were needed and added to the story!
I would recommend this book!

Unfortunately, The Brave and The Reckless was not quite the cowboy romance I was hoping for.

I was really intrigued when I first came across "The Brave and The Reckless" - a spicy romance set in a cowboy-themed amusement park? That's definitely not your typical Western romance setup! But hey, I was definitely there for it. Our FMC is hired to play the town’s damsel in distress who just happens to get kidnapped by the resident town villain every day.

However, the female lead is someone who constantly runs from help. She's got this stubborn streak that borders on self-sabotage because of her medical disability. She pushes everyone away even when they have good intentions, and honestly, it made her hard to root for at times. Here she is in Bravetown with people who could be her family, but she's too busy throwing up walls to let anyone in. I don’t know, it just didn’t mesh very well with me.

The guy, though? His character actually worked for me. He's just trying to clean up the mess his parents left behind and figure his life out. I enjoyed watching him learn to loosen up a bit through his relationship with Esra. That aspect was definitely a plus for me.

The writing, however, just didn't click for me. Something that really bugged me was how all the attractive characters were described like they'd stepped off Mount Olympus, while everyone else was written as basically forgettable background props. It felt lazy and just plain wrong in my opinion.

And that epilogue? Talk about leaving things hanging! Characters who had decent storylines throughout the book were just left without proper resolution. Like, where did they go? What happened to them?

Overall, it wasn't terrible - I finished it, after all. But would I tell my friends to pick it up? Probably not. If you're looking for a solid cowboy romance, there are better options out there than this amusement park version.

If there’s one thing I love about Dilan’s writing, it’s how unique each and every one of her stories is. In a world where so many romance books can start to feel almost formulaic, hers have always stood out to me and The Brave and The Reckless is no different! Her imagination knows no bounds and it’s a privilege to read her books.

I loved every. single. thing. about this book, from the incredible tension between Esra and Noah, the Wild West theme park setting, the disability representation, the references to pop culture and quirky bits, the character development, the spice, it was all so so well done.

I was HOOKED from page 1 and the entire book was so well paced that I didn’t even realise how fast I was reading it!!

This book was absolutely phenomenal and it brought me out of the biggest reading slump!! Do yourself a favour and pick this book up when it comes out!!

Cowboy and a wild West theme park setting. This was super fun and as always with Dilan some great chronic illness rep.