Misadventures of a City Girl

August 14, 2017
Wild and Bliss concoct a steamy contemporary worthy of their surnames. In a series of graphic sexual encounters loosely held together by a contrived plot, recent divorcée Madison Atwood tries to escape her troubles, only to find that they travel, too. The mountains of northern California beckon, but within minutes of checking in at an ostensibly peaceful mountain resort, she flees the constraints of its organized leisure by hiking solo into the woods. A spring-fed pool proves irresistible and Madison strips, plunging naked into the refreshing water. When she succumbs to the urge to pleasure herself atop a poolside rock, it’s under the watchful eye of Navy SEAL turned lustful mountain man Luke Dawson. It takes only minutes for this accidental encounter to erupt into an unconstrained sexual escapade. The couple’s fate is sealed by a chance snowstorm that traps them inside Luke’s cabin for days. This fun, undemanding novel is on the raw side of erotic romance, unencumbered by careful characterization or plot intricacies.

Starred review from May 15, 2017

After a crushing divorce, Madison Atwood hopes for some healing at the cushy mountain resort Avalon Springs. She's surprisingly exposed to Luke Dawson, a former Navy SEAL, who craves nothing but open air and cabin solitude. A self-proclaimed recluse, he balks at urbanite Madison's brashness and temper. Yet the gravitational pull between the two is unstoppable, and what begins as an unfettered quickie turns into an extended stay when a storm hits the mountains. They realize this unlikely partnership could be their happy ever after and struggle to "meet in the middle" between her city style and his rugged wilderness. Wild (Over the Edge) and Bliss (Worship Me) craft a scorching hot read that weaves raunchy sensual escapades with the emotionally resonant tropes of healing after heartbreak and how to compromise when opposites attract. VERDICT Playful writing, abundant sex, and a touch of melodrama mark the beginning of this promising new series.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Wild (Misadventures of a Good Wife, 2017, etc.) and Bliss (Dirty Secret, 2017, etc.) deliver an erotic romance novel featuring a stubborn city dweller and an ex-military hunk--both broken by life but ready for sexual redemption. Humiliated by her husband's adultery and their subsequent divorce, Los Angeles makeup artist Madison Atwood retreats to a Northern California spa. There, she runs into handsome mountain man Luke Dawson, a former Navy SEAL who was traumatized by his violent but lifesaving work, after he accidentally spies her masturbating while skinny-dipping. He gruffly leads Madison, whom he sees as being "all passion and no goddamn sense," back down the mountain. Madison later chances upon him pleasing himself in his rustic cabin, and their sexual affair begins. As they progress through increasingly intense positions and techniques, their emotional connection also builds. Much is at stake, however: Madison's life is back in LA, and Luke's is here, in the remote wilderness. An unexpected visit from Madison's ex threatens to derail the love affair, but the authors make sure that the couple's time apart is mercifully brief. Soon, the sex scenes continue ("The strokes are punishing, deep and fast"), as Madison and Luke try to decide how to make their connection work. The authors offer nearly nonstop erotic scenes in this romance, which will keep readers turning the pages. But both Madison's and Luke's first-person perspectives offer a nice balance of the visceral and the intellectual, especially Luke's: "I don't recognize myself or my irrational physical responses." Indeed, he's effectively revealed as a sensitive man with advanced carnal knowledge; when he says, "Tonight, I'm going to take you in ways I haven't yet," saucy Madison melts into his commanding arms. A high-heat romance between a pert LA woman and rough mountain man. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.