Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage

4/5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

Listen, was this the most perfectly written book? No. Was is often times repetitive and maybe a little corny? Yeah, definitely. Did I absoutely love it? Also yes, definitely.

I've really been feeling the cowboy, country vibes recently, but in a liberal way. I definitely am pretending that these are liberal cowboys and that they all would have voted correctly in the year 2024 in order to make myself feel better about falling in love with a cowboy. Amos letting Riley paint his nails meakes me feel like that's valid so we're rolling with it. Also, no conservative man is as in touch with his feelings as Luke is, so he's an ally. This turn of events for me is shocking because I really, really hate horse people and horses scare the hell out of me, but I loved it.

I think this book did a fantastic job representing mental health in a lot of ways. Emmy's anxiety and panic attacks were so accurate to my own personal experiences, and the way Luke handled her so gently when she was experiencing all of her emotions made me melt, because that's exactly what I want when I've gone through those episodes myself. The point that Emmy may not be ready, and that it's okay that she may need time to get there, but to keep showing up for her and not just telling her, is what I think everyone deserves. It's also a great story about perserverance and how to not let your mental blocks keep you from doing something you love, but to be kind to yourself on the road to doing so.

Luke's own battles with his image and how to balance who is used to be with who he is now was also relatable, and his struggles with his family made him so human. Everybody grows up, but it's hard to outrun your reputation and the idea of you that people have in their heads sometimes. He was so confident in who he had become that it was so easy to fall in love with him.

Oh my GOD, did Emmy running away from Denver hit home (literally...). Her name being Emmy and mine being Emily, both of us running away from experiences and memories we had in Denver... the parallels were hard to miss. Obviously for very different reasons, and she ran home while I ran away from home, but it was weirdly validating to read about someone escaping the place I feel strangely like I escaped from too. From the jump, I felt like Emmy was a kindred spirit.

Emmy and Teddy's relationship made me so emotional. It made me think of my very best friends in the entire world and how they have always been there for me. Even though we all live in different states and go long stretches without seeing each other, they're my people.

"Even though we spent the last four years after college in different cities, we'd talked almost every day, and Teddy had made the eight-hour drive to Denver at least four times a year. I was lucky to have a friend like her, the type of friend most people could only dream about."

"There was nothing like the feeling of familiarity that only being around people you love can provide, and I loved Teddy in spades."

Kelly, Kadi, Chloe, Amelia - just know I was thinking about you and crying about how much I love you when I read those.

I absolutely would be a regular at The Devil's Boot. Give me a dirty, crowded, sticky dive bar with a live band and a hot bartender and I am THERE. I would be on that dance floor with Teddy every damn weekend, flirting with whatever Ryder brother was there or even Kenny because he also seemed like a nice guy, aside from apparently abandoning Emmy at that dance but it's been years so we're giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Anyways, I think that Luke is maybe the dream man. Not only is he smoking hot, but he's kind and gentle and if a man like that ever called me sugar I would simply melt into a puddle on the floor, and I would be happy to go out that way. Even if he slept with his first kiss's mom (kinda hot). One of my love languages is acts of service, and Luke is the definition of that. He remembers so many little details about Emmy, like her coffee order and the things she doesn't like to eat, and how she always forgets to take her ADHD meds. So what does he do? Bring her the coffee she loves, a burrito without the bacon, keeps creamer in his house even though he doesn't use it, and keeps her medication at his house so that she doesn't forget to take it. That is a man.

I just feel like Emmy and Luke are such a great representation to what patient love should look like, and I really hope that love like that exists in the real world.

So yes, I will be reading the rest of this entire series because I cannot get enough of these cowboy vibes.

I will, however, not stand for Canadian tuxedo slander - watch it Lyla, you're on thin ice.