Wild Love by Lauren Accardo | Book Review

I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A down-on-her-luck city girl searches for new purpose among the shelves of a failing bookstore in the quaint town of Pine Ridge, New York--until a forbidden love tempts her to go off-book.
When life sets fire to your happily ever after, you ditch your cheating boyfriend, trade in the city life for the off-the-grid seclusion of your mother's bookstore in the mountains...and try to resist your attraction to the brooding town mechanic you accidentally got into a fender bender with outside the local bar. Sydney Walsh might be falling head over heels for the romance novels she's stocking up to rebuild The Loving Page, but she has no delusions about actually starring in one. That chapter has closed.
Beneath Sam Kirkland's gruff mountain-man exterior lies a gentle heart and a burning desire for the woman he knows he can't have. He's made promises that anchor him to the past, making romance off-limits. And he accepted that--until Sydney came crashing into his life.
Sam can't do a relationship right now. Sydney doesn't have the wherewithal to believe in one. But when you meet the right person, the wrong circumstances don't matter. Even when the world seems to be doing its best to keep them apart, their real, one-of-a-kind love is worth fighting for.

Finally! Finally! A contemporary romance that partially takes place during autumn. Wild Love by Lauren Accardo caught my eye based on the cover and the foliage gracing the background. Friends I was so excited to pick this book up and read the heck out of it. Another vastly appealing part of it was that it’s set in the Adirondacks which is about an hour from where I live. Books with settings that are practically my backyard always appeal to me.

Wild Love is about Sydney Walsh and Sam Kirkland. Sydney was living in New York City until she walks in on her boyfriend Connor cheating on her with some blonde. So, she escapes to stay with her mother in Pine Ridge, a small town in the Adirondacks. Sydney happens to run into Sam’s car with her car and it turns out there are sparks there. However, Sam cannot act on those sparks as he feels he owes another woman. Meanwhile, Sydney learns that her mother is on the brink of bankruptcy with the bookstore she owns, The Loving Page. So, Sydney pours her energy into trying to bring The Loving Page out of the red. She’s also adjusting to life in Pine Ridge versus the City.

There is a lot to like about Wild Love. The setting and description of the setting is perfect. I loved the residents of Pine Ridge and the group of friends that Sydney happens to find – particularly Jorie who is awesome. The spice level — the adult scenes — are really well written. This is kind of a good start if you are looking to read spicy books but don’t want to fully commit. I really loved the chemistry between Sydney and Sam. However, I felt like the parts about Sam’s commitment to the other woman, Liv was just illogical. Like he feels like he owes her because she was a hospice nurse who helped his mother before she passed. That’s called doing her job and I just don’t get it.

Then we learn that Liv is an alcoholic and pretending to be partnered with Sam to get her son back, but there’s no feelings between them but then there somewhat is on Liv’s side? That part was all a mess and I hated how judgmental the book was toward Liv and her addiction issues. I think even though this is romance, we can have nuance. It exists in plenty of romance novels. And well, to me, that part was just so shallow. So, I had to knock off a star, but otherwise, this was a decent book and I am sure I’ll be back for the second Forever Adirondacks book from Lauren Accardo.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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