TEST
If ever there were a man ho who could steal your heart, it’s Brody Wilder.
Brody is the second of five absurdly sexy brothers who live in the small town Rush Creek, Oregon where they run, with their sister’s help, Wilder Adventures, an outdoor adventure outfit trying to stay in the black. Unlike his uber responsible older brother Gabe–his story is told in book one, Make Me Wilder–Brody known as the family f*ckup. After the Wilders’ dad died when Brody was 15, he began acting out, ultimately dropping out of high school, and repeatedly letting his family down. Now, however, at 29, Brody is over being the town’s bad boy, he’s sick of being “the resident bad boy,” sick of being a guy that all women want from is “to lick my tattoos and ride on my bike and get fucked against a brick wall.”
Brody’s best friend Connor has been there for him through all of Brody’s mistakes and Brody would never do anything to betray him. However, when Rachel Perez, Connor’s little sister comes to Rush Creek to stay for a few weeks while their mom recovers from a broken foot, Brody, despite being told by Connor to leave her alone, finds he just can’t.
Rachel has spent her life trying to be perfect. For years, she assiduously followed her life plan.
- 4.0 in high school
- College
- Grad school
- Great apartment
- The library job of my dreams
- Awesome boyfriend
- Meet the parents
- Get engaged
- Get married
- Have two point five kids (I can’t decide between two and three)
- Live happily ever after
Until recently, everything was going swimmingly. However, in one day, she lost her job, discovered her boyfriend cheating on her, and found herself homeless after she moved out on the lying jerk. Spending a few weeks at home will give her the time she needs to get back on track. Plus, she can also help her mom with her mom’s new online self-indulgence and self-care business.
Brody, whose contribution to Wilder Adventures mostly involves taking tourists for rides on his boat, has been trying to offer more female friendly options. His first effort, a Boat Book Club, did not go well–too little wine and dysfunctional plumbing–and Brody is feeling desperate. So when Rachel suggest he let her host a special girls’ night out on his boat featuring her mom’s products, Brody agrees.
The night–hilariously written by Bell–turns out to be a shocking success and Brody and Rachel begin working together to reboot Brody’s business. The two have always been–unbeknownst to one another–wildly attracted to each other and as they spend time together, well, I’m betting you know what happens.
Here’s the thing: You do know what happens. You know Brody and Rachel will steam up the sheets, Brody’s truck, Brody’s boat, and the great outdoors. You know Brody will turn his life around with Rachel’s support, and that Rachel will find that her master plan will play out differently than she’d thought. You know Connor will be upset that Brody is banging his sister and that the two men will figure out a way to move past that. Nothing in the plot of this love story will surprise you. And that’s just fine.
Bell is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers in no small part because she can take tried and true tropes and make them feel fresh, funny, and real. Brody and Rachel–and the way they are together–feel genuine as do the family tensions and affections in both the Wilder and the Perez clans. The two become the people they long to be not through the magic of hot sex or another’s adoration but through work, honest and often difficult conversations, and a great deal of effort. I so enjoyed watching them blossom.
Walk on the Wilder Side is a steamy, sweet love story with depth. The sex scenes are plentiful and smokin’ hot AND deepen the connection between the leads. The Wilder family is a joy to read about and I am down to experience all their love stories the next of which, Wilder with You, comes out in April of 2022. I recommend this one highly!
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 27/09/21
Publication Date: 09/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Impenitent social media enthusiast. Relational trend spotter. Enjoys both carpe diem and the fish of the day.
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Make Me Wilder is on my TBR pile and I’m going to add this one too. I am not a fan of the cartoon covers on the two books but based on your reviews, I am sure I will like the insides!
I liked them both–this one is the better of the two however.
Bell always = high quality!
I am so with you on this one—I liked everything about it! Even though “best friend’s younger sister is off-limits” is one of my least favorite tropes, I knew I could rely on Bell to put her own spin on it—and she did. I liked the fact that Rachel’s brother (Brody’s best friend) wasn’t against the two getting together because of some patriarchal/sexist nonsense about “protecting” his younger sister, but because he thought that neither Rachel nor Brody was in a good place emotionally to pursue a new relationship. Of course, that doesn’t stop them—and the brother comes to see that the relationship is actually good for both Rachel & Brody. I was bummed when it appeared that Bell had put her Tierney Bay series on the back-burner in order to write the Wilder Adventures, but I must admit I’m loving the series and can’t wait for WILDER WITH YOU in 2022.
Everyone in this book behaves like a grownup which was delightful. I’m so curious about Amanda’s marriage!
And why Kane is so sad (depressed?) all the time. Bell is really good at planting clues for subsequent books. One of the reasons I’m looking forward to the Tierney Bay books (when Bell finally returns to them) is that in the earlier books she’s been setting up an epic antagonists-to-lovers relationship between a hotel owner and a wedding planner. I think that’s the book that’s scheduled for 2023.
My favorite of her’s is Sleepover which is currently unavailable. I asked her about it and she said it should be back next year. :(
Sleepover was my first Serena Bell book and I agree it’s a great one!
I really want it to come back!