Falling In Fall: The Opposite of Wild Review + Giveaway

Unleash the wild woman…?

Ex-cop Ryan O'Hare takes one look at buttoned-up control freak Liz Garner and just itches to loosen the woman up. Not that he’s into her. Because a woman like that comes with way too many expectations. Not to mention, she practically works for him, and he didn’t hire Liz to watch after his beloved Harley-stealing Gran so he could turn Liz loose in his bed. Still, there’s something about her, a hidden wild side, that makes him wonder what it would take.

Liz must be crazy to work for the insensitive, arrogant, horribly…hot man she's avoided for years. Unfortunately, she needs the money and Ryan's grandmother needs a keeper. (Midnight tango lessons and ziplines with Gran, anyone?) Ryan's rare smile and swaggering confidence have Liz torn between throwing her favorite pinot grigio at his head or throwing herself at him. Can this control freak find a way to let loose with the tough, no-strings guy who once broke her heart?

Ryan just stood there, his sharp eyes studying her. "You're a puzzle, Liz."

"I am?"

He reached out and smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear, and her heart caught in her throat at the gentle gesture. "You seem so…uptight," he said. She stiffened and took a step back. "But I know you were checking me out when I was mowing."

She flushed, but rallied quickly. "I was only bringing you water." She crossed her arms and said primly, "You surprised me when you dumped the water on your head. I was merely looking to see if you were going to do any other…surprising things."

His lips twitched. "You're like a librarian just waiting to let loose."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she bristled, hands on her hips.

"There it is." He smiled and stepped close, crowding her space. She drew in a quick breath, but held her ground. "The puzzle—fire and ice."

She put both hands on his solid chest and pushed him out the door. "Next time, mail the check." She shut the door in his face, turned and leaned against it. "Urgh!"

"That's what I'm talking about," he said through the door.

She ripped open the door. "Go away."

His head cocked to the side while he bit back a smile. "Is that any way to talk to your employer?"

"Gah!" She slammed the door and locked it. She heard his low laugh as he walked away.

Let’s start off this review by saying I really enjoyed reading this book; it was a nice change from my normal Alpha male book reading. The main character was a prim, plan everything, no risk taking, type of woman named Liz. Right in the first chapter we meet Liz’s older sister Daisy who comes to Liz seeking help. Liz, always having taken care of Daisy, knows that on her teaching salary that she cannot afford to help her sister. So Liz looks up an ad as a care taker and makes a phone call that results in her having to confront a man from her past that she had a humiliating experience with; cue in ex-cop Ryan, the star in “The Humiliation”. Ryan needs a caretaker for his feisty, take life by the horns kind of grandma because leaving her alone just results in random acts of crazy, her most recent act: taking his Harley for a joy ride. After all these years Ryan gets the surprise of his life when his eyes meet the beautiful Liz. She is nothing like the chubby, thirteen year old girl in the orange swimsuit he used to talk with in his life guard days. Liz’s attraction and crush on Ryan never went away and just being near him makes her breath start to shake and her heart start to flutter. The attraction isn’t anything either Ryan or Liz wants to look into, but the more they try to deny it, the hotter it gets. A month worth of nightly visits followed with no breakfast mornings and thank you notes, Ryan starts to feel a little used by Liz and wants to form some kind of commitments with her but just not a full on relationship. Many problems start to arise and the sort-of relationship between the two starts to fall apart before it even has a chance to fully form. You’ll have to read the book to find out the rest but I do recommend it. I only gave four leaves because I felt that the relationship could have been built up more between the two characters. I also thought that maybe there was a little too much of outside issues going on that made the story a tad bit longer and problematic than it should have been. I like the ending however because it felt more like something someone would do in real life. Like I said, I do recommend this read and can’t wait to read the next one.

~REVIEW BY VANESSA~

Kylie Gilmore was lucky enough to discover romance novels at a young age as they were strewn all over the house (thanks, Mom!). She writes quirky, tender romance with a solid dose of humor. Her first book in the Clover Park series, The Opposite of Wild, will launch in January 2014 featuring the oldest of three brothers and his lady love. The next two books in the series give each brother his dream girl (eventually).

Kylie lives in New York with her family, two cats, and a nutso dog. When she's not writing, wrangling kids, or dutifully taking notes at writing conferences, you can find her flexing her muscles all the way to the high cabinet for her secret chocolate stash.