Fever Dream by Elsie Silver — A Bull Rider, a Reality Dating Show and the One Woman He Can't Have

Emmett Bush is a professional bull rider with a playboy reputation and a family problem. His family's ranch is struggling, and the fastest way to raise the money to save it is to sign up for Romance Ranch, a reality dating show built on staged drama. Julia Silva works behind the scenes as the show's location consultant. She has no interest in its fake romances, and she is the younger sister of Theo, one of Emmett's biggest rivals on the rodeo circuit. Working closely together while the cameras roll, Emmett and Julia try to keep things professional. The producers, hungry for ratings, have other ideas, and the attraction between them is the one storyline nobody scripted. Fever Dream was published on 19 May 2026 by Atria in the US and Piatkus in the UK. It is the first book in Elsie Silver's new Emerald Lake series, set in the same world as her popular Chestnut Springs and Rose Hill books. It can be read on its own, although readers of Silver's earlier books will recognise a few faces. Behind the scenes of a dating show The reality TV setting is a lot of fun, with all its manipulation and over-the-top drama, but it never overshadows the love story. The book is told in alternating first-person chapters from Emmett and Julia, so you see both sides of the attraction as it builds through stolen moments. Leslie Murphy at She Reads Romance Books gave it 4.5 stars and described Emmett as a hero who is "a goner almost from the beginning", praising the forbidden chemistry, the supporting cast and Emmett's grandparents in particular. Tropes to look forward to Fever Dream is packed with reader favourites: forced proximity, a cowboy hero, a forbidden romance with a rival's sister, enemies to lovers and a hero who falls first. The banter has real rhythm, and Julia has her own career goals and her own story to work through. The romance includes open-door sex scenes once the tension has built. What to be ready for Content warning: early in the book, a character is drugged without her knowledge or consent, and this happens on the page. The author's note flags it in advance. Reviewers said it is handled with care, but some readers may find it distressing. There is less actual bull riding than you might expect. Some reviewers felt that a few plot turns on the show rely on convenient timing, that the third-act conflict is easy to see coming, and that Emmett's siblings are underdeveloped. Who will enjoy it If you love cowboy romances, reality TV settings or Silver's Chestnut Springs series, this is a must-read. It also suits anyone who likes a swoony hero, a lot of banter and a romance with plenty of heat. Our verdict Fever Dream is a fun, flirty and steamy start to a new series, with a hero who falls hard and a heroine who refuses to compromise who she is. It follows familiar romance beats, but it does so with warmth and humour, and it sets up the Emerald Lake world nicely for the books still to come.