Reviewed for THC ReviewsWilde Thing is a super-hot contemporary romance that definitely touches on the erotic with a little mystery on the side. The book, without a doubt, focuses in on the steamy love scenes with the mini-mystery and relationship development taking a back seat, but all things considered, it was still a pretty good read. With the heroine working undercover as a phone sex operator in an attempt to find her missing cousin, she and the hero (a private investigator) tend to go through a circular cycle of having phone sex and then living out those fantasies in person each night. In between, they manage a few getting-to-know-you moments during the day. Then it starts all over again, until they finally get the information they need to locate the errant cousin. The love scenes and the story in general were well-written, but I have to admit that I could have done with a little less sex and a little more character, relationship and plot development. Overall though, Wilde Thing was fairly enjoyable.Steve is an ex-cop who was sidelined by a bullet and decided to become a PI instead. He's a successful businessman with strong family connections. One failed marriage has left him none too interested in a serious relationship, but that all changes in a heartbeat when he gets to know Liz. He frequents Liz's cafe and has been admiring her from afar for over a month before she approaches him with her case. Out of the three Wilde brothers I met in the first story of the Wilde series, Steve had appealed to me the most. In the beginning of his own book, he initially seemed pretty arrogant, and I thought he might hit that borderline of being a little too alpha for me. However, he quickly proved otherwise. It was kind of fun to have Steve being the one to fall for Liz and then pursuing her, and I have to say he had a lot going for him. He was intuitive of her needs and feelings, charming, protective, a skilled lover, and best of all he respected her as his equal in every way while trying to help her understand that the things which happened in the past weren't her fault. I certainly can't deny that Steve was a pretty appealing hero.I liked Liz for her sense of responsibility, her loyalty to family, and her determination to pull herself up by her bootstraps when life handed her a raw deal. However, I totally agreed with Steve that she took all those things too far, allowing what other people thought to essentially run her life and keep her from accepting happiness when it was within her grasp. I couldn't help but be rather frustrated with her when she was about to let a great guy like Steve get away, just because of her over-inflated sense of responsibility. I also didn't think the author explained her relationship with her first husband sufficiently for me to really understand her cautiousness with Steve. Liz's first husband was essentially described as a deadbeat womanizing jerk who liked to run up huge bills he couldn't pay, leaving Liz in the lurch for his debts when he died in a car accident. Steve had a classic bad boy image, riding his Harley and living on the edge a bit. He also initially told Liz he wasn't looking for a complicated, long-term attachment, but otherwise, he never gave her any reason to think that he was at all like her ex. If anything, it was pretty obvious (at least to me anyway) that Steve was a very stable guy who exhibited the same deep sense of loyalty and responsibility that Liz had, and he also treated her unselfishly with kindness and respect. This being the case, I couldn't quite grasp why she kept thinking of him as a “bad boy,” and ultimately, her arguments on that count rang rather hollow.Other than the overabundance of sex that I mentioned earlier, there were two other things that kept this book from earning keeper status from me. The first is that the romance is one of those typical “insta-love” plots that seem so common in contemporaries these days. Although Steve and Liz had been admiring one another from afar for a month, they didn't really know each other until he took on her case. Of course, they fell into bed their first night on the job, and fell in love within a week, a scenario which I can never quite seem to find believable. In fact, there were a few other instances where the timing of various events seemed a little off. The second problematic thing for me was that once Steve and Liz gained entry to the Ultimate Fantasy sex party, and located the woman they'd been looking for, he went off alone with her to get information, leaving Liz by herself. I could see the trouble coming as a result of that folly from a mile away. It was quite simply a TSTL move on his part (he could have just as easily pretended he wanted a threesome, taken Liz with him and gotten the same result) and in my opinion, extremely out of character for this protective alpha. To me, this plot point seemed like a flimsy excuse to create a little trouble and lead into yet another steamy sex scene which to my way of thinking was unnecessary and didn't really add much to the overall story.Other than those two main issues, Wilde Thing was a generally fun and sexy read. Readers get another glimpse of Steve's brother Adrian who becomes the hero of the fourth Wilde story, The Wilde One (Bad Boys to Go anthology), as well as an introduction to Steve's partner, Cameron, and cousin, Mia, who become the hero and heroine of book #7, Too Wilde to Tame. There is also a passing mention of Mia's three brothers, Alex, Joel, and Scott, who become future Wilde heroes too, as well as a visit with Steve's brother, Eric and his lady love, Jill, from the first story of the series, Something Wilde (I Brake for Bad Boys anthology). For the most part, I've enjoyed Janelle Denison's writing style so far and look forward to continuing with the Wilde series soon.Note: This book contains some fairly erotic content including phone sex, “edible” sex, and light bondage. The hero and heroine also visit a sex party (as part of their investigation) where just about anything goes. While there, they become “accidental” voyeurs and engage in sex themselves in a semi-secluded public area. In my opinion, everything was tastefully written, but all this could definitely make some readers uncomfortable.
I really liked this book. I have recently discovered this author from the Brava Bad Boys book series. I enjoy her stories because so many of them are from the male characters' and this book follows in this same line. It was the male who helped the female back to her emotional wellbeing. This book is a play on the-all-a-bad-boy-needs-is-the-love-of-good-woman. In this book, its the good woman who needs the love of a bad boy.Our main characters are Liz Adams and Steve Wilde, older brother of Eric
What do You think about Wilde Thing (2003)?
Spoilers below*************First off, this is a fantasy. The action takes place over one week where on day one they agree to sex-only-for-the-duration-of-their-working-together to love and a proposal of marriage by the end of the week.Liz owns a Starbucks-like coffee house and Steve is a patron. They've noticed each other but each have had their reasons for not making a move. Liz finds herself in need of Steve's P.I. services to find her missing cousin. Liz takes a nighttime job as a phone sex operator where her cousin works to try to get information and Steve will become her favorite client in hopes they will be invited to attend parties the company throws for high-paying customers who want to meet their telephonic dream girls.In between they have smoking hot sex and it is fabulous :) The characters are likable and I just really enjoyed the story. Fairy tale ending and all, I liked it.
—Djg
Oh, my Steve, "he lifted his head from the latest best-seller he was reading, and from across the room their eyes met briefly and she caught a glimpse of the to-die-for grin." I like a man who reads in public or who just reads something other than magazines. I mean Oh, my word, "yeah, you do, before you end up sprawled on my desk with your skirt up around your waist and me between your thighs." Steve is territorial when it comes to his woman, "she's a client, and someone I'm seeing, so I'd advise you to keep your eyes, hands, and thoughts to yourself." He has a great way with words, "but just in case you have any doubts in that pretty head of yours, I'm here to eff you." Liz does have a jealousy streak in her and I liked it, "oh, really? So old-fashioned that you'd slip off with the redhead upstairs and leave your date behind."
—Heather andrews
Per essere un romanzo prettamente erotico, devo ammettere che la parte sentimentale è abbastanza presente e non campata in aria.Certo, è affrettato il loro primo approccio sessuale, in cui dal parlare del caso della cugina scomparsa, in un batter d'occhio passiamo a lei che gli salta addosso; altrettanto repentino è l'innamoramento di lui che, in tre giorni, da scapolo impenitente si trasforma in uomo pronto all'amore eterno.La storia è però ben scritta e sviluppata in maniera semplice, ma non b
—Manuela
