Fever Dream by Elsie Silver (Emerald Lake, 1 of 2)

Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck. With his family’s farm on the edge of bankruptcy, signing on as the lead on a reality dating show called Romance Ranch feels like the least humiliating option available. He’s already decided it’s all performance — until Elsie Silver’s most dangerous narrative device walks onto his property in the form of Julia Silva.

Julia is smart, snarky, and off-limits in every conceivable way. She’s the location consultant on set, she’s sworn off relationships, and she’s the little sister of Emmett’s most bitter professional rival. She knows exactly what kind of man he is. She’s been warned. None of that makes the pull between them any easier to ignore when they’re forced to spend long days — and longer nights — working in close quarters on a production that keeps throwing them together.

Fever Dream is the addictive launch of Elsie Silver’s Emerald Lake series, carrying the same small-town romance DNA as Chestnut Springs with a sharper edge and a premise that’s impossible to put down. Silver plays the reality TV backdrop as both comedy and cover for two people absolutely failing to keep their distance.

Tropes: Rivals to Lovers · Forbidden Love · Slow Burn · Small Town Romance · Cowboy Romance · Found Family · Reality TV · Forced Proximity