Book 2 in the Rose Hill Series | Reviewed by CJ | Rating: 5/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | 📖📱🎧
⚠️ This is a full spoiler review. If you haven’t read Wild Eyes yet — go read it first. We’ll be here when you’re done.
Opening Hook
A runaway country music star, a curious mama bear with cubs, and a single dad losing his mind on the side of the road. That’s how we meet Skylar and West, and I was in love by page five. Three reads in, I still don’t see myself stopping.
The Full Story — Spoilers Included
West Belmont is driving when he spots a woman pulled over, trying to film a mama bear and her two cubs for social media. He’s freaking out, so he stops and tries to quietly talk her over to him without setting off the bear. Skylar is pissed, because he’s interrupting her video until the bear wanders over to check out the commotion and she realizes how much trouble they’re in. There’s a spark between them from the very first minute, and that’s probably got a little something to do with the fact that West thinks she’s gorgeous, and (we find out pretty quickly) that he’s a not-so-closet Skylar Stone superfan, along with his kids.
Skylar is in town looking for Ford’s new recording studio. Rosie is West’s sister and Ford is his best friend, so he knows exactly where to take her. He drops her off, goes back to training horses and doesn’t think much more about it.
Skylar came to Rose Hill early because she needed to escape. She’s been dealing with bad press, and she’s starting to figure out that her manager (dad) and her agent may not have her best interests at heart. Ford tells her the construction isn’t finished and they can’t record yet, but that she can stay in the bunkhouse on West’s property while she waits, the same one Rosie stayed in with her pet mouse. Skylar keeps hearing it’s “her brother’s property” but has no idea it’s West until she’s taken up to the main house and meets him again, this time with little people in tow.
She settles in, splitting her time between the bunkhouse, West, the kids and the little town while she waits on the studio. She builds her own rapport with Emmy and Oliver, and she and West keep getting pulled toward each other.
Early on, West notices she’s skittish. Emmy breaks a glass and Skylar looks braced for someone to scream at them. That alarms him, because it’s not what you normally see. He’s gentle and patient with her. West is genuinely a good person, and he can tell there’s a lot she hasn’t said about her life.
Eventually it comes out just how badly her dad and her manager have been using and abusing her. Her last boyfriend slipped up and mentioned they couldn’t keep seeing each other because he hadn’t received another payment, and that’s how she learned he wasn’t really her boyfriend at all; the relationship was fake. Her dad and her agent hired him. She’s been crushed from all sides, and she’s kind of in fuck-it mode now. She’s here to record music that means something to her with Ford and Cora. To say what she wants to say and do something for herself, not an agent or a label. She is done being a puppet for those men.
This is a silly comparison, but West has spent his life working with skittish horses, and it gives him a bit of insight on when to push, when to back off and how to coax her into living for herself instead of existing as a prop. Obviously they fall in love before the doubts show up. West has a small town, a ranch, a horse training business and two little kids who are suddenly being hounded by the media, and Skylar is terrified of bringing paparazzi and chaos down on their little life. She’s worried it can’t work, but West knows that they want each other and this family more than they fear the outside world, so he makes the grand gesture we were hoping he would.
Skylar leaves for an award show; having never written her own songs before, this award means more than any other she’s won in the past. West isn’t sure she’ll be coming back, so Ford tells him to go get her, and they make this beautiful little life work.
Best Part of This Book
The connection between Skylar and West. They want the best for each other and they bring out the best in each other. The adoration and attraction is the stuff relationship dreams are made of. You can feel it and I loved every second.
I also love how important the kids are to both of them. There’s no jealousy or hesitation with Skylar wanting what’s best for Emmy and Oliver. She never wonders why she isn’t picked first or why West is so focused on his kids. She just wants to be part of it.
And then there’s Cherry, Skylar’s bird. She picked up Skylar calling West “Coach Thick Thighs,” because he coaches Emmy’s soccer team, the Sparkly Unicorns and is always chirping at them. I have a thing for funny birds in books, it turns out. There are about five that I adore, so apparently that’s the way to my reader heart – throw in a funny bird and I’m a fan.
Worst Part of This Book
How easy it is to hide things. We never see behind the curtain when it comes to celebrities. A chipper, happy, perfectly styled country star can look flawless from the outside while it’s dark and horrible and falling apart inside. And no matter what she does or where she goes, everything gets stuffed, glossed and plastered with a smile. Watching that from the inside is heartbreaking. Getting a little insight into what that would be like was the worst part for me.
The Steam Rating Breakdown
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Spicy.
- Sex scenes? Yes.
- Fade to black or explicit? Open door, with dirty talk.
- How central is the romance? It’s the heart of the book. The connection between Skylar and West is what you remember.
The Ending Explained — Satisfied or Disappointed?
Satisfied, 100%. West gets to the award show and takes Ford’s place to escort Skylar in. She’s so happy and relieved to see him, and that’s the start of their happily ever after. Despite everything they’re worried about, they both picked each other and the family over their fear of the outside world, and I loved that.
The Character We Loved to Hate
Skylar’s dad and manager. He’s the easy one to hate, and I don’t understand how you could steal from and manipulate your own child like that. Asshole.
Would I Reread It?
Absolutely. I’ve read it three times now. The first time was paperback and ebook, and this time I listened to the audiobook in one day at 1.5 speed.
Narration is by Teddy Hamilton and Savannah Peachwood. I’ll be honest about this one: I struggle a bit with Teddy Hamilton in some books. His lines come with a weird sneer-like inflection that pulls me out of the story at times. I know he does it less in some books than others, but I can hear it there in this one and it takes away from the experience a bit. He’s super talented, and I know I’m in the minority, but I thought it deserved a mention.
Who Is This For?
Anyone who loves a good small-town romance. You’ll also see a little of Ford, Rosie and Cora from book one.
Where to Get This Book
📖 Physical Book
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Bookshop.org
🎧 Audiobook
Audible US | Audible CA | Libro.fm
🎁 New to Audible? Get 3 months free (US)
🎁 New to Libro.fm? Get 2 free audiobooks
📚 More from the Rose Hill Series
- Book 1 — Wild Love | Reviewed by CJ | ⭐ 3.75/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 — Read the Review
- Book 2 — Wild Eyes | Reviewed by CJ | ⭐ 5/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥— You’re here now!
- Book 3 — Wild Side | Coming Soon
- Book 4 — Wild Card | Coming Soon
More Like This
- Flawless by Elsie Silver
- Famous in a Small Town by Kylie Scott
- Bonfire and Bliss by Brittanée Nicole
Ready for more reviews from CJ? Find More Here
Plot Twisted. 🔥
📖📱🎧 | Series: Rose Hill Book 2 | Genre: Small Town Romance | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
TAGS: Wild Eyes, Elsie Silver, Rose Hill Series, Small Town Romance, Single Dad Romance, Country Music Romance, Celebrity Romance, Ranch Romance, Spicy Romance, 5 Star Read, Audiobook Review, Spoiler Review, Book Review, Plot Twisted, Do Skylar and West End Up Together, Ending Explained, Synopsis, Summary