Clayton & Dallas (Books 1 & 2, The Wildflower Series) by Rachelle Mills
Genre: Paranormal Romance | Published: 2019
I’ve mentioned many times on this blog that Wattpad was a defining moment in my reading life and is very much the reason I read the way I do today. So many of the books I devoured on Wattpad have since been adapted into films and television series, taking the streaming world by storm, driven almost entirely by the nostalgia of twenty-something women who can hardly believe the stories once written by sixteen-year-olds online are now major motion pictures.
In that same vein, whenever I see books I first discovered on Wattpad being published, it truly warms my heart. It feels surreal, going from begging for new chapters to seeing authors make careers from these stories. I feel incredibly proud, as though I know these authors personally.
On my Get to Know Me, I mentioned that if my memory were ever wiped, I would love to experience Clayton and Dallas for the first time again. While now published as two books, they originally began as one full-length novel on Wattpad. To this day, in my young adult life, it is the only book I have reread multiple times. I adore this story. It has had the same impact on me as an adult as it did when I was a teenager.
This is my favourite Wattpad book because I fell in love with it immediately, and when I discovered it had been published, I was ecstatic.
For some context, when I first stumbled upon this universe, fantasy, particularly paranormal tales of werewolves and vampires, was everywhere on Wattpad. Some were brilliant, others atrocious, but most tended to follow the same clichés: Alphas and their mates, someone always being rejected, and a redemption arc to tie things up. Clayton and Dallas technically fit into this mould, yet they explore these themes through a very different lens. At the time I read it, I was moving away from the clichés and searching for stories with more depth and substance, and I landed in exactly the right place.
This review may be slightly biased, given how much I adore these books, but I’ll do my best to be objective.
And with that said, Rachelle Mills, if you ever read this, I love you and the world you created.
Synopsis
Clayton (Book 1)
Clayton and Rya were fated mates, chosen by the Moon herself, but Clayton rejected the bond, choosing a future that did not include her.
Accepting his decision cost Rya everything: her family, her friends, and even her home. Now she must return to the place where she was made an outcast, forced to watch the man who was meant to be hers live a life without her.
Dallas (Book 2)
Resisting a bond destined by fate is no easy task, but Rya chooses to carve her own path with Dallas. For the first time, she is determined to put herself first, to make her own choices, and to embrace her strength, even when no one else does.
Rya’s Story
I think what I loved most about this book was the way it centred on Rya’s development. At its heart, The Wildflower Series is a romance, but the real core of the story is Rya herself—her pain, her resilience, and the strength she slowly builds. Experiencing her heartbreak in the early chapters and seeing the weight of everything she endured felt far more powerful than the typical ‘mate rejection’ storyline so common in Wattpad’s werewolf universe.
In truth, Rya deserved better from almost everyone in her life, including her parents. She was a victim of circumstance, forced to bear the consequences of choices that weren’t her own. While I was glad to see her find happiness in the end, she always deserved more. She deserved to be someone’s first choice.
One of the lines that stayed with me most comes from the first book:
“I just want to be a thought in someone’s head. A first thought, when you wake up in the morning. The last thought when you go to bed at night. I guess I just want to be something other than what I am. [An afterthought.]”
Rachelle mills, clayton
It’s a heartbreaking moment when the reality of Rya’s loneliness and her sacrifices truly sinks in. As a teenager reading it for the first time, my poor heart couldn’t take it; it’s just so sad, man!
Another moment that struck me is this:
I’m not sure what’s worse in his mind: my arm bone sticking out of my flesh or the lasting kiss the whip’s mark left on my pristine flesh. ‘What happened?’ … ‘It was from the effort I put into my fight for what I thought was mine.’”
Rachelle mills, Dallas
Lines like these highlight not only Rya’s suffering but also her fierce determination to fight for herself, even when the world seemed intent on breaking her.
Why They’re My Favourite
The emotional impact of this series has stayed with me, and I don’t think it will ever leave. The themes are powerful: love, resilience, and identity. At its heart, it’s a story about taking control of your life even when the odds are against you. It’s about healing, growth, and strength, elements we didn’t often see in Wattpad’s more cliché-driven stories.
Of course, I know there are criticisms of the books; I’ve seen the discussions on Goodreads, and I hear where they are coming from, especially around Rya settling for being second best at the end. I simply disagree. And that, I think, is part of what makes books so fascinating: the way a single story can be read through different lenses, with readers taking away entirely different messages. For me, Clayton and Dallas will always be about empowerment, survival, and the courage to choose yourself.
The Wattpad Reading Experience
The Wattpad experience was unlike anything else. For me, it was the earliest form of a book club, even though it existed entirely online. The anticipation of each chapter dropping, the wait for updates, and the lively comment sections where readers dissected every twist made the experience exhilarating. As Rya went through her struggles, we lived through them with her in real time.
This probably doesn’t sound special now in the age of social media and consistently sharing opinions, but in the early 2010s, social media had just started, and we didn’t have the large communities like we have now, especially not for books. Unless you deliberately sought out niche communities, it was rare to have that kind of collective, immediate engagement with a story. Wattpad created that space.
Final Thoughts
I will forever love these books. While my tastes have shifted over the years, the nostalgia never will. And just to be clear—if you decide to read them, please keep your thoughts to yourself unless you adore them too. This is one of those stories where I’m perfectly happy living in my little bubble of delusion.
Overall, I’m so glad I dedicated this month to favourites and bookish memories. It has been such a wonderful trip down memory lane, reflecting on the stories that shaped me as a teenager and the ones that have left the biggest mark. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a bit more insight into me—not just as a reader, but as a person.
Signed,
