The Brave and the Fearless

Bravetown #2

by Dilan Dyer

An up-and-coming musician and a retired country music star find themselves entangled in a fake engagement that begins to feel all too real. . . until life comes crashing in—from the bestselling author of The Brave and the Reckless .

Small-town girl meets country music star. Let the show begin.

Making music was always meant to be Adriana Banks’s ticket out of her small town, Wild Fields. But almost two years ago, her music career went up in flames. With one hit album under her belt, a half-finished tour with country legend Brooks Monroe, and a chart-topping song about never going back to her hometown, she’s forced to return with her tail between her legs. Now she bartends in the saloon at the local theme park, Bravetown. Unfortunately, Wild Fields doesn’t forgive and forget easily, so Adriana sends a desperate email to Brooks, cashing in a favor for a one-night-only show.

Brooks put his music career on hold three years ago to raise Skye, the daughter he never knew about, after her mother’s death. Now, facing a custody battle with Skye’s maternal grandparents, he needs to prove he can provide a stable home. When Brooks sees how happy Skye is at Bravetown, he figures settling down as part-owner of a theme park will be enough to prove his stability. But when that doesn’t work, he asks Adriana for a favor of his to pose as his fiancée, putting on a show as the picture-perfect, small-town family.

The longer Brooks is in Wild Fields, the more it feels like home—and the longer he and Adriana keep up the act, the more real it feels. But with Brooks fighting for his family and Adriana longing to return to music, can they find a way to stay on the same track?

Genres: Westerns, Cowboy Romance

400 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 9, 2026

About the author

Dilan is the bestselling author of the Princess Crossover series. Constantly on the move, she has lived in countless cities across five countries and dreams of a camper van to take her life on the road. She just needs to find one big enough for her pets, her vintage tea cup collection and her staggering TBR.

Having outgrown her slut phase, Dilan now channels her thirst in spicy romance novels with swoon-worthy HEAs.

Reviews

[jenny reads a lot]

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Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[Aiysha]

So damn excited for this 😍 absolutely loved reckless 10/10 and can’t wait for the next story

[lucialeelibros · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for this and Ballantine!
It was a little denser than I expected, and although it was nice and had some beautiful scenes, I feel like I didn't really like the pace of how the book was directed. Maybe I feel like the conflicts weren't resolved in the right way, or I don't know if it's just the style of writing in the book that I didn't feel so comfortable with. However, despite the negative aspects, it was a cute love story

[Victoria Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy!

I love a small town romance and was so excited to read this book but it fell short. The chemistry felt forced and I didn’t feel like the character evolved. Overall this one was a miss for me.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a book! I’m so grateful to NetGalley and the publishing team for giving me an advanced copy of this book. I’ve always loved Dilan Dyer’s books and her representation of neurodivergence, particularly in adults. While reading this, I realized I could not recall a time I’ve seen an autistic adult male character. Genuinely loved the story and how she portrayed the various characters here. Their relationships and development was realistic and beautiful. My only caveat is I do think the impact could have been similar even with a smaller age gap. I love a good age gap romance, they’re some of my favorites, but I do think 17 years was a little too much and I would not be upset if the final version does shorten this. I do think it was handled well, it was just a little too much of a gap for me when the FMC is just so young and closer in age to the MMC’s daughter and he’s closer in age to her own mother. All in all, great book and great world building, I cannot wait for what’s next in store for this series and Dilan’s writing in general.

[Liz Sturg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an arc book from NetGalley. I enjoyed reading this book. I loved how the author talked about autism and touched on how people on the spectrum are viewed and not quite understood. I loved how the MMC was always trying to understand the FMC. I enjoyed how the MMC would ask when he didn't understand something the FMC would say or how she would react about something. I liked how he kept everything PG with her and not trying to rush and how he respected his daughter being in the other room and not wanting to have relations with the FMC. I loved how the FMC became a lioness towards the MMCs daughter, when they had an encounter with the paps she went mama bear and I loved it! I enjoyed how the FMCs mom loved the MMCs daughter and welcomed her into the family even though the FMC and MMC would pretending to be engaged. I really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to the next writing of this author.

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book so much, but this one was just… okay for me. I liked the fake engagement setup and the small town country music vibe and that part had a lot of potential. But honestly, I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Adriana and Brooks the way I hoped I would.

It felt like their romance was not the main focus and was overshadowed by their individual growth journeys. I appreciate that the book tackled some heavier themes like grief, custody battles, and career setbacks and I do think those were handled thoughtfully. But because so much focus was on personal struggles, I had a harder time connecting to them as a couple. I wanted more tension, more spark, more moments that made me believe in their love story.

It wasn’t bad by any means. It just felt like something was missing compared to the first book. You might still enjoy it but it just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dilan Dyer, and Dell for the eARC of this book.

[Lra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adriana no es precisamente la favorita de su pueblo y trabajar en un parque temático del viejo oeste solo lo hace más evidente. Su vida va en piloto automático hasta que, por pura desesperación, decide escribirle a Brooks Monroe, un músico famoso que juró no volver a los escenarios. Lo que sigue no es solo un concierto inesperado, sino un choque con recuerdos, decisiones mal tomadas y emociones que nunca se cerraron del todo. Mientras el pueblo se deja llevar por la música, Adriana y Brooks se enfrentan a lo que dejaron pendiente hace años y a la pregunta de si todavía es posible arreglar lo que se rompió.

No es una historia perfecta ni fácil, pero sí una de esas que hablan de volver, de intentar otra vez y de aprender a vivir con el pasado sin dejar que te hunda.








Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Chelsea Drumm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fake engagement love story with some really great representation. I enjoyed the love story between Adriana and Brooks, but loved reading about Skye. This book deals with hard topics that leaves the characters very emotionally vulnerable, and those topics were talked about in a way that really allowed the reader to understand the characters and what they're going through, to feel everything they're feeling. The characters' journeys felt like the main focus so much so that the romance kind of took a back seat, but this was still a fun one to read. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

[Maribel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as an arc from netgalley and i’m so glad I was able to read this. I loved this book! I think the author did a fantastic job with the characters and the representation with Brooks and Skye, and even Adriana with her boundaries. I wasn’t aware about the age gap from the summary but it was done where they fell for each other for their personalities and not because of the age. Thank you again for the opportunity to read this book and I look forward to more from Dilan Dyer.

[Katie Baxter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review from advanced copy via NetGalley

Overall, I thought the plot was really sweet and had a lot of potential. While I appreciated the representation and depth given to characters, at times it felt like that aspect overtook the storyline. I would’ve loved to see more focus on the relationship between the main characters and see that blossom.

[badger baddie]

DNF 12%

I loved the first Bravetown book last year, but this one has several things that aren't working for me. One thing I knew might be an issue - NOT into country music at all - but there were a few others that didn't click for me. Oh well.

[clicktojointhemafia]

black cat x golden retriever is my KRYPTONITE