Fever Dream by Elsie Silver
A bull-rider and his rival’s little sister…and a dating show.
The Basics:
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ★★★
Release date: May 19, 2026
Fever Dream dropped this past week and I had everything planned so that I could listen immediately. We had met the leading characters in previous stories and I was excited to see their love story unfold. Emmett Bush is a renowned bull-rider, broody, and not at all excited to be on the dating show he’s now starring in. But his family needs the income for their farm and he wants to be able to provide it for them. Enter Julia Silva, his biggest rival’s little sister, who is now also the location manager for the show.
Emmett absolutely does not want to be on this show and that is clear from the first second. He instead draws toward Julia, who is doing her best to make the show something impressive to prove her worth. They know they can’t be together, while he falls in love on TV, but that doesn’t stop much. The heat radiating off of even a glance across the room is too much. All of a sudden they find themselves stealing kisses, brushing fingers and taking any stolen moment they can find. But they’re not as sneaky as they think they are – there are eyes and cameras everywhere.
I am typically a huge fan of Elsie’s books, and the Rose Hill series that Fever Dream follows was some of my favorites from her. But for me, this book really fell flat and I found myself wanting more from the characters and the plot as a whole. While I enjoyed the premise of the storyline, I felt disconnected from so much of the development. Their attraction is beautiful, and the tension builds well, but when stressors grow, it falls apart for me. The best way I can describe how I felt finishing this book is one-dimensional. I love these books and will absolutely read what comes next, but unfortunately this was not the best book for me. Read this book just to see how hilarious Emmett’s Oma and Opa are; they make the book so fun every time they’re involved.
If you’re curious about Emmett & Julia, you can order it here from Forced Proximity bookshop or wherever books are sold!
