WILDE SIDE - Jannine Gallant

#2 in the Born to be Wilde romance series

ACTION-PACKED! - 4.5 stars

Plot - 4.5 stars - When Devin joins her boss, presidential candidate Walton, on a rafting trip, she gets more than she bargained for. First, she develops a hot sexual relationship with Sawyer, the guide. Plus, accidents start to happen that point towards someone trying to get rid of her boss.

Writing - 4 stars - I was caught up in the story right from the first page. First, the very personable characters grabbed me, then the mystery took hold and kept my interest throughout. Gallant was able to build a tight romantic suspense that seemed obvious but still kept the reveal a bit of a mystery until the end. Plus the wilderness setting was interesting and a little different from the typical romance.

Characters - 5 stars - This is where the story shone for me. Sawyer is a great hero--strong and comfortable in the woods, casual, yet talented artistically. He happens to be brother of Griff (hero of the first book in this series) and is a genuinely nice guy. He has strong feelings and isn't afraid to show his vulnerability about caring for Devin. She, for her part, is devoted to her job/career and takes pride in being very good at it. She's organized and driven, but she's also kind. I loved them together, but their personal conflicts made sense since they have such differing lifestyles. I would definitely love to hang out with them.

Title - 3.5 stars - The title follows the style set up with the first book in the series--a play of words on the hero's last name.

Cover - 3 stars - The cover models don't look at all like I've pictured them in my head, although they're fine. Just doesn't appeal to me.

Overall - 4.5 stars - I'd rate this 4.5 stars, if I could, because it was full of action, romance, and great characters. We meet Devin as she travels with her boss, a presidential candidate, on a wilderness rafting trip. She's tough, strong, and extremely organized, which is why she's an excellent assistant. She's immediately attracted to Sawyer Wilde, leader of the expedition. He's a great hero--handsome, knowledgeable, yet with an artistic side. It took a while, but soon I started to realize that the accidents happening to Walton were showing a pattern of violence and adding up to more than just random problems. Not to mention, there was a pretty obvious villain and an obvious underlying reason, although it seemed a little too obvious, so I had my suspicions about it. On a personal side, Sawyer and Devin, who live totally opposite lives and want conflicting goals, are having problems deciding if/how they are able to mesh their lives. This situation made sense and was a definite issue between them. The mystery kept my interest, the romance was hot but frustrating, and the characters were definitely people I'd like to hang around with. A winner for me.

I really enjoyed this book, a great follow up to the first one.

I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense of this novel. The tension builds right from the beginning with a great cast of characters.
The didn't enjoy the romance of the novel quite as much. I felt that it was very quick, almost instantaneous and it didn't develop further in any interesting way. I was glad things worked out for the pair but I didn't really feel very invested in them as a couple.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, "Wilde One", so I happily requested this one. I didn't like it quite as much. Parts were infuriating, parts were predictable, and parts were pleasant.

Only a little bit of the story actually occurs on or near the rapids, which was disappointing. From the blurb I expected more of the story to occur there. Also disappointing was the fact that I figured one of the big secrets early in the story, around 15% in my Kindle eGalley. Gallant did everything but announce with a flashing neon sign. The guilty party was also not hard to figure out though I was only partially right concerning motivation.

The set-up was contrived but mostly enjoyable. There was definite heat between Sawyer and Devin, lots of steam and passion. Devin, however, was on the rebound and fell quickly for Sawyer. Things happened quickly between them, unbelievably fast in fact. I couldn't help but think she should have given herself a little more time to recover from the relationship she just ended but then at first she was treating her relationship with Sawyer as a fling. She wanted to enjoy him and get him out of her system. Yeah, does that ever actually work? I was also less than impressed with the whole sexual safety matter. She's on the pill, which is fine for preventing pregnancy but does nothing for preventing STDs. Nor did they discuss STDs; it was just, "I'm on the pill so we're home free!"

Going back to how fast things moved between. At only 24% in, he's already wondering about their future and how he'll fit in. At 27% he's pressuring her to commit to their future:

"We've only known each five days." Her voice cracked a little. "AM I supposed to agree to a huge, life-altering change based on a relationship that hasn't even lasted a week? I don't notice you offering to uproot and move."

"No, but you mean a lot more to me than the vacation romances we talked about. I'm willing to fly to Washing to see you. I want a chance to see you. I want a chance to spend more time together to find out if a few sacrifices would be worth making."

Sadly, his claim of being willing to make sacrifices was just BS for most of the story. He keeps demanding that she make all of the sacrifices, ignores her feelings, and then he issues an ultimatum. Devin does the smart thing and dumps his ass. After a serious lack of groveling on his part, they get back together and actually manage a compromise. But not before Sawyer behaves like a total dickhead.

A meh mystery and a teeth-grinding romance, "Wilde Side" was wildly disappointing.