To Be Published March 4, 2014
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Format: e-book, provided by the publisher
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4.5 STARS
(From Goodreads) How far will a good girl go for the bad boy she loves?
Laney Holt is a preacher’s daughter. A good girl. Her only goal was to get married, have babies, and live happily ever after, just like her parents. Only that didn’t happen. The two people closest to her betrayed her, and Laney’s dreams came crashing down. Now she’s left with an empty space she doesn’t know how to fill. Until she meets Jake Theopolis, a daredevil with a death wish who has heartbreaker written all over him.
Jake has no interest in thinking beyond the here and now. All he wants out of life is the next rush, the next “feel-good” thing to keep his mind off the pain of his past. His latest rush? Showing Laney there’s more to life than being a good girl—and that going bad can be so much fun. Her only concern now is how she can ever hope to satisfy the wild side of a boy like Jake. She’s looking forward to trying. And so is Jake.
After finishing Some Like It Wild, I really wanted a bottle of peach wine. And a Jake Theopolis to go with it.
Jake has come home from his adrenaline seeking wandering to take care of his family's peach farm in the wake of his father's untimely death. When the insurance adjuster arrives to start cataloging the property, Jake recognizes her as a girl from his past that he had a brief encounter with. Turns out, she is Laney Holt, the local preacher's daughter. She's just out of a serious relationship that ended badly and really wanting to break out of the mold her parents put her in. And Jake may just be the person to help her do that.
This is your typical wild-boy-tames-timid-girl story, written with the atypical M. Leighton flair. I love how she can do that - take what should be the same old, same old plot and write it so that it seems like I'm reading it for the first time.
Jake is absolutely delicious. He's a bad boy who is a fireman and runs a peach farm on the side. How delightful is that? He loves thrills and living life on the edge. He especially loves a challenge. These transient, no-attachments guys are one of my favorites, because when "that girl" comes along - the one that makes him start to see life in a new way - the change in him is remarkable and so very fulfilling. Some Like It Wild was a great example of this.
Characters like Laney - sheltered, conservative, inexperienced - walk a very fine line. If they are too pious, they can come across as overly judgmental and bitchy. If they give up their conservative ways too easily, the story isn't believable. Thank goodness, M. Leighton managed that line like a pro. Laney was presented as a character who allows her parents to run her life, yet she's never really wanted it that way. When she catches her BFF in bed with her boyfriend, it gives her the perfect excuse to start breaking the mold.
There was just the right amount of drama and angst without it being too over-the-top. Laney has the appropriate amount of confrontations with her horrible parents, the fulfilling showdown with her jerkface ex, and the obligatory breakdown of communication with Jake. The building up of their relationship was so fun to read as Jake tries to teach Laney to let go and live life to its fullest. I was completely sucked in all the way until the explosive ending.
Some Like It Wild is told from both Laney's and Jake's POV, which of course, I love. It was wonderfully steamy (this IS M. Leighton, after all) and completely romantic. I can't wait to see what comes next in this awesome series.
About the Author
For more about M. Leighton, visit her website
at www.MLeightonBooks.
Giveaway
For one U.S. resident, I am offering a print copy of Some Like It Wild (The Wild Ones #2), by M. Leighton.
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