Wild Eyes

Written by Elsie Silver, Wild Eyes (2024) is a contemporary romance novel that serves as the second installment in the Rose Hill Series. It is preceded by Wild Love. Best classified as a small-town romance, Wild Eyes follows 26-year-old country music star Skylar Stone. When she discovers that she doesn’t own the majority of the music she has made, she flees her life in Los Angeles and heads to Rose Hill, a small town in the Canadian Rockies. On the way to Wild Rose Records to record her own album, she runs into a bear on the roadside. A handsome horse trainer, Weston (West) Belmont, comes to her rescue, and the two become neighbors when Skylar moves into West’s bunkhouse while working with Wild Rose. Written from Skylar’s and West’s alternating first-person points of view, the novel explores the Transformative Power of Love and Community, the Journey Toward Self-Acceptance, and the Pursuit of Happiness. 

This guide refers to the 2024 Bloom Books paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: Both the source material and this guide contain depictions of emotional abuse, sexual harassment, and sexually explicit content, as well as references to addiction.

Plot Summary

The novel opens on a country road in Rose Hill. Skylar Stone has just arrived in town from Los Angeles and pulls over to video a bear in the woods. Local rancher Weston (West) Belmont happens to be driving by and pulls over to warn Skylar about the bear. Shocked to discover that the beautiful urbanite is his favorite country music star, he rescues her just as the bear and her cubs are about to attack. Afterward, Skylar reveals that she is in town to see Ford Grant at Wild Rose Records. West offers to lead her there.

At Wild Rose, Ford Grant and his business manager, Rosalie Belmont, agree to work with Skylar despite her unexpected arrival. She has recently learned that her dad—who’s also her manager—owns most of her music, and she is eager to work on a project of her own. Ford and Rosalie help her to settle into Rose Hill, suggesting that she stay at West’s bunkhouse next door.

Skylar isn’t used to the quiet, rural atmosphere at West’s ranch. However, she tells herself to adjust to the setting as she doesn’t want to return to her hectic life in LA. Besides, she is curious about West, whose rugged good looks and soft-hearted nature contrast with the other men she has dated in the city.

One day, Skylar takes a walk out to the lake and meets West’s eight-year-old son, Oliver Belmont. His sister, Emmy Belmont, joins them, too, and the kids invite Skylar to dinner. She accepts after learning that West is divorced and that the children’s mother, Mia, has remarried. At the house, Skylar is immediately taken by how good West is with his children. He is different from her father and doesn’t even get upset when Emmy smashes a glass. That evening, Skylar returns to the bunkhouse and reflects on the Belmont family.

On Saturday, Emmy invites Skylar to her soccer game. Skylar is favorably impressed by West’s coaching ability and his kindness to Emmy’s six-year-old teammates. After the game, West passes the kids to Mia and takes Skylar out for drinks. When her phone lights up, she gets tense. Noting how upset she is over the Google alerts and bad press, West throws the phone into the water and suggests that she spend one week without using a phone so that she can focus on the present instead.

Over the following days, Skylar adjusts to life without her phone. Meanwhile, she starts working with Ford and his daughter, Cora, on her new album. They encourage her to write her own songs, and Skylar begins composing lyrics for the first time in her musical career.

Skylar and West grow closer while Emmy and Oliver are with Mia, too. They begin doing evening chores for West’s horses together and they also take evening canoe rides. On one such adventure, they share an intense kiss. Afterward, they agree to limit their relationship to friendship so that Skylar can focus on her album and West can focus on his children.

Not long afterward, however, West and Skylar decide that they want to be together after all. They attend a town fair together, during which West participates in a bachelor auction. Skylar wins, bidding $10,000 for West. Suddenly mortified, she flees the fair and returns home. West finds her on the swing outside the house, reassures her, and kisses her. Then they have sex for the first time. They continue their physical intimacy over the following weeks.

After Skylar and Ford release her single, “Photosynthesis,” Skylar is nominated for a Billboard Music Award. She flies back to LA to talk to her agent, promising West that she will return soon. When she finally comes back to Rose Hill, she feels like she is returning home. She and West embrace, profess their love, and have sex.

Shortly thereafter, Skylar discovers that someone leaked naked photos of her to the media. (She sent West the photos when she was away and can’t figure out who would have sabotaged her.) Ford promises to get to the bottom of the matter, and West assures her that everything will be fine. However, Skylar decides to return to LA after Oliver gets into a fight at school for things people are saying about Skylar. She is terrified of ruining the Belmonts’ perfect life and shares a tearful goodbye with West.

Back in LA, Skylar sits for a television interview. When the interviewer demands an explanation for the photo scandal, Skylar stands up for herself. She then fires her manager and agent and calls Ford for legal help. On the phone, Ford informs her that her dad leaked the photos.

Back in Rose Hill, Ford confronts West about his relationship with Skylar, updating him on Skylar’s recent interview and encouraging West to go see her in LA. West flies into the city for Skylar’s award ceremony.

Skylar wins the award for the best song of the year and gives an acceptance speech at the ceremony. She opens up about the abuse she has suffered and explains everything she has learned about herself since leaving LA and working with Ford. She then publicly professes her love for West and announces her plans to return to Rose Hill.

Skylar and West return to Rose Hill and build a life together with Emmy and Oliver. A year later, West takes Skylar to the road where they first met and proposes. She throws herself into his arms and accepts.