After the adventures of Leo and Ella in Wild Heart, I was pleasantly surprised when this fast paced, Indiana Jones-esque story took me on a journey through India and at times I swore I was in the bug infested jungles with Colin and Bea. Lori Brighton does romance like no other. I love the paranormal aspects to the Wild Series which is historical as well.I have to wonder if there will be more books in this series after the short story, Wild Passion, if not I will have to resort to begging and pleading. *Note: Read and reviewed for The Season for Romance. Bea had spent far too much of her life secluded in a castle in Scotland with her cantankerous, old grandmother. She craved some sort of adventure that would take her far away from this place. Her cousin Leo and his new wife offered to take her with them to India. This would be the perfect opportunity to spread her wings. They would be staying with Ella’s cousin who is an American, but how bad could he really be?Colin knew to expect his cousin, her husband and her husband’s cousin for a “visit” but he wasn’t expecting them to arrive early. He stumbles, deep into his cups, into his room late one evening to discover that a naked woman has made herself at home in his room. Colin, meet Bea!Leo and Ella didn’t go to India just to visit Colin. They went to help in the search for some very important, mythical statues that would provide the answers they seek. The adventure begins immediately when Colin’s home is invaded by mysterious men who want him dead. They are forced to flee through the dangerous streets of India. The hunt for the statues is now more important than ever. Colin, like his cousin, has an ability that although very useful is often exploited by those around him. Bea is the prim, proper, innocent English woman who doesn’t believe in magic and is unprepared for such a grand adventure. That soon changes when they are separated from their cousins and their lives are in peril. Despite the animosity between them, Colin and Bea had to learn to trust each other. That trust is what eventually lead to an intense love affair. This being my first book in this series, it took me some time to figure out that there are supernatural elements to Colin and Bea’s story, like there were in Leo and Ella’s. I enjoyed getting to know Colin and Bea’s characters. I especially admired Bea’s growth over the course of the story. She was introduced as the nearly perfect English miss, but by the end of the story she was quite the adventurer gallivanting across India and fighting evil villains. Colin was a bag of mixed emotions. He was rude and short-tempered, but was actually very kind-hearted and somewhat insecure. He was frustrating because he was so closed-off and resisted his growing feelings for Bea. Luckily, he more than made up for his evident disinterest with a sweet and surprising ending.My favorite element about this story was not just the budding romance, but the adventures and situations that Colin and Bea would find themselves in. From being chased down back alleys to hiding in an ancient sarcophagus or being saved from plummeting to their death over a cliff, there was no shortage of suspense and action. Lori Brighton’s Wild Desire is an 18th century, supernatural and romantic version of Indiana Jones and it was all the more fun for it. I really enjoyed it and look forward to backtracking and reading Leo and Ella’s story too.
What do You think about Wild Desire (2011)?
Raiders of the Lost Ark meets the DaVinci Code! Great action, mystery, suspense and romance!
—LACE
Holes in the plot. Erratic dialog. Contradictory actions. The idea had merit, though.
—shoegal
