ARC REVIEW: Wilde at Heart (Wilde Security #3) by Tonya Burrows

Title: Wilde at Heart
Series: Wilde Security #3
Author: Tonya Burrows
Publisher: Entangled Ignite
Published: September 7th 2015
Format: eARC | Pages: 260
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Source: Publisher
★★★ (3/5) Stars!

Tonya Burrows | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

A thrilling category romance from Entangled's Ignite imprint...

He has everything under control.Except her .

Reece Wilde put everything in his life on the back burner to protect his brothers and their struggling company, Wilde Security. With a major contract on the line, Reece can't afford any mistakes...like getting caught in a red-hot, X-rated moment with wild child Shelby Bremer, who's more trouble than he can handle. Now he's being blackmailed. 

Shelby's mile-long impulsive streak gets her in more trouble than she'd like to admit. Between her sister's wedding, her coffee shop set on fire, and getting down and dirty with the groom's brother, things are definitely coming off the rails. With both their careers and their safety on the line, Reece is determined to keep them both safe...even if it means a Vegas-style shotgun wedding. 

But gambling on a wild card-and a wild soul-is risky...and sometimes, it can get a guy killed.

I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!

Even after taking a couple days to soak it all in, I'm still feeling just as "meh" as I did when I finished. I mean, there was plenty of stuff about Wilde at Heart that I absolutely loved, but along with that, there were just as many things that I didn't care for. The first book in this series, Wilde Nights in Paradise, was a huge hit for me. I absolutely loved it and I fell in love with the Wilde brothers and their different personalities and the really fun vibe and family dynamic that they shared. I couldn't wait to get to know the other four brothers better. While this one was just okay, I feel like the first book was so much better.

Reece and the oldest Wilde brother Greer were the two brothers I was drawn to the most. So this was one of the books in the series that I was looking forward to the most. Both guys seemed like very responsible, workaholic and driven guys. I love characters like that. The ones that are wound up tight, don't allow themselves to let loose and be playful or have fun. Because you know the moment they do let that side of themselves out, even just a little bit, it's going to be so much fun. That's exactly how Reece was. I absolutely adored him and he surprised me so much in this series. Especially his little secret that had me completely lose my heart to him.

I loved Shelby to pieces. She is the exact opposite to Reece in every way possible. She's tattoos and colorful hair, she's bold and pretty wild, she was just a whole lot of fun. She's also made a whole lot of mistakes in her life and it always seems like she's letting those close to her down. My heart went out to her so many times. It was like a tornado of crap just followed her everywhere and wouldn't let up.

I think that's what made this so difficult to get through at times. A situation would go from bad to worse to holy crap when will this end and then still the stuff would just keep piling up on top of it all. There were times when I felt like it was all just too much. I like obstacles, I like angst and drama. But the things that went wrong weren't just a bunch of little things here and there. These were huge, intense and crazy things. I guess I just constantly felt defeated like there was no way things could get better...ever. Even the good moments between Reece and Shelby were tainted because of her own personal demons and secrets. So even when I'd feel moments where my heart wanted to soar for these two I'd think about how bad things where going to be when truths would come out and it would mar everything and leave a dark spot where the lightness had been.

This story was definitely not lacking in the suspense department. Don't get me wrong, I loved the storyline. Truly. It is a romantic suspense after all so that's not what I'm complaining about. I guess I wish there had been more straws of hope for me to grasp for.

I really, really did love Reece and Shelby together though. There was a sweetness to their relationship mixed in with all the intensity. They had a very strong connection and it was so much fun seeing the things they brought out in each other. Opposite as they were, they were each exactly what the other one needed in their lives.

Overall it was a fun read, but not everything I had hoped it would be. I'm just kind of right down the middle with this one. It definitely wasn't bad and I'm glad that I read it, but I wasn't in love with it either.

Thanks to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Entangled Brazen Mini ARC Reviews

Back in 2013 when I went on a NetGalley requesting binge I got approved for 3 different Entangled Brazen books. I was so excited because I'm a sucker for wanting all the Entangled books! But life happened and that's how I find myself here... reaching the end of 2014 and just now getting to these books. Better late than never. There was one I was finding it hard to expand more than a paragraph on so I figured I'd do my first set of mini reviews and include all 3. Without further ado..

These three books were received from NetGalley and Entangled Brazen in exchange for an honest review. This in no way swayed my review or my rating of the book.

Officer Off Limits | Line of Duty #3

by Tessa Bailey

Published: June 10th 2013

by Entangled Brazen

Adult, Contemporary, Romance

★★ (2/5) Stars

His need to possess her is non-negotiable. 

Story Brooks’ fiancé just called off their wedding two weeks before the happy day. As if that isn't bad enough, her semi-estranged father, an infamous NYPD hostage negotiator, has suffered a heart attack. Not wanting to examine her lack of emotion over the broken engagement, she hops on a plane to reconnect with her father before it’s too late.

Playboy hostage negotiator Daniel Chase has never, not once, been refused by a woman, so when a debate over hospital snack foods with a delectable kindergarten teacher ends in flat-out rejection, he makes it his mission to seduce her. His only obstacle? She’s the daughter of his mentor who implicitly forbade Daniel from pursuing her.

Despite her father’s warnings and Daniel’s troubled past, Daniel and Story can’t resist their intense attraction to one another. But when the reason for her fiancé’s abrupt wedding cancellation comes to light, can Story and Daniel's already forbidden relationship survive?

This one was a pretty big disappointment for me. It felt like the storyline fell flat and sex was the main focus. I'm a huge fan of the steamy scenes as long as there's a story of substance to go along. I just didn't get Story, I mean within hours of meeting Daniel she was humping his leg. Literally. And Daniel, sometimes a guy can be cocky and I'll find it adorable, humorous and attractive...on Daniel it's just annoying and over the top. How he gets any women is beyond me. If a guy ever talked to me the way he did to Story I'd most likely laugh in his face. Three lines he used the first time they had sex, within 48 hours of meeting each other but who's counting right? Anyway:

"Are you ready to scream, gorgeous?"
"Very good. Now you get more."
"Hold on to the headboard if you can't take it."

Word for creeptastic word. Needless to say this book and I just didn't get along. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I feel like I just didn't really like the characters with my first impressions of them and it got in the way of my enjoyment of this book. Things that normally wouldn't bother me just became irritating. The storyline was fine I just didn't like the people it was about.

Wilde Nights in Paradise (Wilde Security #1)

by Tonya Burrows

Published: June 10th 2013

by Entangled Brazen

Adult, Contemporary, Romance

★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

He’ll guard her body all night long.

Former Marine Jude Wilde’s motto has always been “burn bridges and never look back,” so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL. 

Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?

This book was intense in more ways than one. Not only was there this incredible chemistry between Libby and Jude but there were elements of danger and psychotic stalkers involved. Jude could be my bodyguard any day of the week. I really liked him, he was all kinds of confidence but with a brokenness underneath that I found irresistible in an "I want to fix him" kind of way. I'm such a girl... Libby was great too. A little too trusting and unconcerned for the gravity of her situation for my taste but she was spunky and I enjoyed her. This book was difficult to put down. Lots of humor and I even enjoyed watching Jude and Libby have verbal sparring matches and push each other's buttons. Those are always elements for fun foreplay. I'm also very intrigued by the other 4 Wilde brothers and will absolutely be getting their books in the future and keep going on with this series. I'm definitely hooked! Loved it! 

 

Playing the Part

by Robin Covington

Published: June 10th 2013

by Entangled Brazen

Adult, Contemporary, Romance

★★★✩ (3.5/5) Stars!

The harder they play...the harder they fall.

After publicly self-destructing over a heartbreak a year ago, bestselling romance writer Piper James is now making nice with her publisher by agreeing to teach Hollywood's favorite action star how to act like he's in love. Only playboy Mick Blackwell has no clue what love looks like. 

When a seductive heat ignites between Piper and Mick, she jumps at the chance for a bit of fun between the sheets, but with two stipulations: she's kept out of the public eye and things end when she returns to New York. Only Mick keeps changing the rules on her. Tempted by America's favorite bad boy, Piper is wondering how far she's willing to bend...

Playing the Part was actually really fun and very steamy. It was also the one of the three I was most nervous about. While I wasn't head over heals in love with it and found a couple things cringe worthy and cheesy I still really enjoyed it and whipped through it in no time. At times Mick came off as your stereotypical Hollywood bad boy but I still liked him. He had his sweet and thoughtful moments that overshadowed the whole "I'm Mick Blackwell I can get whatever I want" attitude. Piper I was on the fence about. She was very contradictory. For a woman with her history in the Hollywood spotlight, who didn't want to go down that path again, she certainly didn't use her brain very often when she was in public with him. I don't know, maybe that was the point? Mick was just supposed to be so irresistible that a woman would forget everything going on and go for it? It just got silly a few times for me. Overall though I actually enjoyed it and would definitely read more from Robin Covington in the future.