4.5 stars.

As I have come to expect from Molly O'Keefe, Wild Child is a deliciously steamy romance that has plenty of substance. It is a light read in the sense that there is no angst but there is definitely a lot of depth to the characters and the plot.

At first glance reality star turned author Monica Appleby and small town mayor Jackson Davies share little in common. Monica's sordid past and wild teenage exploits have been vividly detailed in her auto-biography Wild Child while Jackson leads a pretty quiet and rumor free life raising his teenage sister, Gwen. Their two very different worlds collide when Monica returns to the small town of Bishop, AR to write a tell all novel about a tragic event from her childhood. Negative publicity is the last thing Jackson needs while Bishop is participating in a nationally televised competition for a relocating factory that will resuscitate the town's dying economy.

The similarities between Monica and Jackson are apparent at their first contentious meeting. Both are very different than their public personas and they are very good at hiding who they really are from other people. Neither of them had very little choice in the direction their lives took. Monica's mother dragged her into the limelight while the unexpected death of Jackson's parents left him in charge of his teenage sister.

Monica and Jackson quickly enter into a very hot and incendiary sexual relationship but their pasts soon derail their relationship. Jackson's relationship with Gwen is distant and things between them are becoming increasingly rocky. Monica has successfully avoided her mother Simone for several years, but Simone's unexpected arrival in Bishop lead to several unpleasant confrontations between the two.

Wild Child is a delightfully charming romance and while Jackson and Monica are flawed and imperfect, they are very appealing. Their problems are not glossed over, and the resolution of their issues is handled in a realistic manner. The secondary cast of characters adds another layer to this intricately plotted story and hopefully Molly O'Keefe has plans to bring us their stories in the future.

Another fabulous book by a very gifted author that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys contemporary romances. ( )

#50States50Romances #Arkansas ( )

Decent enough, but I think the author wanted to convey too many emotions and things got a little scrambled halfway through it. But I'll probably read the next installment. ( )

Very good book. Jackson is the mayor of a dying town. He has been trying to find a way to bring industry of some kind back to the town, and came across a contest where the winner would have a cookie factory located there. Ever since entering and finding out they made the semifinals, he has devoted everything he is to giving the town the best possible chance.

Monica lived in the town briefly as a child, leaving with her mother when she was six. Her father had been abusive to her mom and during one especially brutal night, her mom shot and killed her father. Now Monica is back in town, looking to interview people who were there that night and write a book about the event.

I liked both Jackson and Monica. They felt like real people with real problems. Each of them is dealing with a past that has had a huge effect on their present. Monica and her mother had been the stars of a reality show when called "Wild Child" when she was a teenager, and she lived up (or down) to the image. She eventually broke away from the show and her mother, wanting to escape what she'd become. Eventually she wrote a book about that time, making her more famous, but not happy. She has come back to Bishop to write her story about her mother, not because she wants to, but because she needs the money. She spent everything she had trying to help her best friend who was dying of cancer, and now has a lot of bills to pay. She's not going to let anything stop her, not even Jackson's disapproval.

Jackson is young to be the mayor of the town, but someone had to do it. His life hasn't been what he planned. When he had just started law school, his parents were killed in an accident, leaving him as guardian of his twelve year old sister. He left school and came home to raise her, but has always struggled to connect with her. Now she's about to graduate and head to college, which will free him. He just wants to get the town set on a better way of life and then he can leave without guilt. But he's afraid that Monica's arrival and reputation could threaten the image of the town that he has worked so hard to portray.

The first meeting between Jackson and Monica was both good and bad. There was an instant chemistry that flared up between them that was impossible to deny. The flirting they did was fun to see but it crashed and burned when he tried to get her to lay off her plans until after the contest. But however they try, they can't stay away from each other and the chemistry between them is incendiary. The relationship that grows between them is something of a love/hate one, as both are good at poking the sore spots in the other's life. Through it all they develop amazing insight into each other's lives and a deep desire to help.

Jackson sometimes comes off as a self-righteous prig, but underneath is a desire to fix whatever it is that is wrong. This is why he is so invested in winning the contest for the town. It also comes out during his first intimate encounter with Monica, and I loved his sensitivity and creativity in working through what happened. Jackson has closed himself off emotionally and this keeps him from letting anyone really get close to him, including Monica and even his sister. I ached to see his interactions with Gwen, because he couldn't seem to figure out what he needed to do even as he knew he was screwing up.

Monica is trying desperately to live down her reputation as she tries to build a normal life. I really enjoyed seeing her try to help out with the contest by doing a writing workshop at the summer art camp. Her interaction with the three teens were pretty blunt, but it seemed to really work. Things get more complicated when her estranged mother shows up in Bishop, wanting to mend fences. I hurt for Simone almost as much as I did for Monica.

There's a depth of emotion that comes out as Monica realizes that she has fallen in love with Jackson, but has no idea of how he feels. She's not confident that he returns her feelings, and as some things come out about the contest, she ends up feeling used and betrayed. A confrontation with Jackson has them exchanging harsh words with each other which leave both of them reeling.

There was also a secondary story with Gwen, the art school director, and encounter she had with a visitor to the town. She steps outside her comfort zone, but things don't go quite the way she envisions. Her actions are not usual for her and are brought on by her own insecurities. She soon realizes that she has made a mistake, but fixing it proves to be difficult. Strangely enough, it is her unexpected friendship with Monica that helps her do it.

Everything comes to a head the day of the finals for the contest. There was so much hope from everyone that they would win. I loved seeing Jackson's support of his town and the people in it, as everything around him goes crazy. In the end, help comes from an unexpected source and everyone is left slightly stunned. It also helps Jackson realize what is most important in his life. I loved the ending as he and Monica are finally able to overcome their pasts and look to a future together. ( )

I have to first apologize to the author and publisher of this book. I received a free copy for review, but then it fell through the cracks and I just recently ran across it again.

This was an enjoyable read, but it didn't have me excited to get back to the book. Though some of that can be attributed to the fact that I was reading it in the midst of Mardi Gras. I even read it while camped out in the cold before the parades started one day.

Anywho, the blurb and the cover had me thinking this was going to be a quick funny romcom... but that wasn't the case. This was the story of two somewhat damaged individuals finding each other, and love seems to solve all their problems. I did get emotionally invested in the characters - more so with Jackson than Monica. I even found myself tearing up at a couple points in the book.

Jackson is our hunky young mayor suffering from the loss of his parents and raising his younger sister. I don't normally go for the good guy types, but Jackson was broody and passionate enough to win me over. If I could've met a good guy like him, my parents would be estastic and my dating life would have had a lot less drama! But there's still hope, so I'll cross my fingers real hard.

Monica is a tortured heroine of the variety that acts out and rebels against her childhood with sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. Then she is embarrassed by her behavior and reputation that follows her as an adult. I didn't start connecting with Monica's character until the latter portion of the book when she is dealing with her feelings for Jackson and her mother. I guess I'm still a skeptic with regard to the whole "love will set you free" premise.

So overall it was a good read, just not very exciting. I'm not sure if it's because I have a galley copy, but there was not good delineation when the story was shifting focus. One minute you'd be reading about Jackson, then the next paragraph switches to Shelby. (It's told in 3rd person POV, by the way.) I think some separation between the paragraphs would've helped out with transitions in the story.

Sultry scale: 3 ( )