Shiloh Walker

3.5 stars

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

Alison lost her mother at a young age and with a gruff, show no emotions cop father, she grew even more introverted. When her father dies suddenly, even her brother has a hard time reaching her. When Alison experiences a life or death situation it wakes her up and Alison decides that she wants to truly live. Experiencing a hot moment with her show more brother's bestfriend, someone she has loved from afar, it pushes her to shake free of her cocoon. Alex for his part has always had feelings for Alison but buried the more amorous ones as he didn't feel right lusting after his friend's little sister. When Alison comes back from Ireland no longer the mousy wallflower, he really pays attention. Their path to happiness is going to be rough but fortunately, rough and hot is how they both like it.

"It's weird, the way a woman can go her whole life without ever really seeing herself"

Rewritten and revised from Her Wildest Dreams, this story is a hot erotic take on the little sister/brother's bestfriend trope. I'm a fan of Ms. Walker's writing, both how she writes sex scenes, which there are plenty of and how she can infuse deep emotional tenets, which there are some, in this story. I felt Alison's desperation to change and be freed from her self-imposed shackles and desire to be shackled in a completely different way by Alex. Alison's metamorphosis from shy, quiet, virgin to strong, determined, sex hoyden was somewhat rushed (consequence of a shorter story) but I still ultimately, believed in it. I liked Alex's inner battle in the beginning with trying to fight his desire for Alison but there were times where he felt a bit immature in regards to his thoughts and actions. I wanted more straightforward decisive dominance from our Dom. Together, they are smoking hot, well, in the bedroom. I'm not sure if they have a lot of deep meaningful platonic interactions or if I simply don't remember them because their sex scenes melted my mind. You're not going to want to read this in public, or maybe you will want to, you kinky beasts!

With a title like "Wicked Wild Fantasies" I'm pretty sure everyone knows what they're going to get out of this and the story definitely delivers on that front but there were some story threads thrown in that felt awkward and out of place. Alison's trip to Ireland after Alex and her sleep together for the first time, she meets a guy there and while we’re only briefly told by Alison remembering, she apparently has 10 days of wonderful sex with him. It works later to show how she is now comfortable with her kinky side and showcase Alex's jealous side but still felt very unneeded. This is second in a series, so maybe the story thread of Alex searching for the man who killed her father played a role in the first book but here it felt jammed in and out of place. I'm guessing it's added for "substance" but it ended up feeling very awkward, adding more speaking scenes between Alison and Alex and showing Alex's dynamic with Mike the brother could have accomplished the same thing.

All in all, if you come for the sex scenes, you're going to stay for the sex scenes and not leave disappointed; just be aware Alison and Alex like their props, whether it be Alex's handcuffs or Alison's dildos, and Alison admits to a rape fantasy that Alex does not shy away from but I would say it's fairly mild-ish. Ms. Walker writes fantastic down and dirty sex scenes and manages to hit you with raw emotional lines and moments, if looking for a quick stimulating read Wicked Wild Fantasies would be a great purchase. show less

If you are looking for a book with an HEA, choose a book other than Pieces of Me.
Shadow Harper is an artist who lives alone on the beach in South Carolina. Her past includes a former husband who not only beat and raped her, but kept her locked up in a basement alone for months. She escaped when a tornado destroyed the house where she was being held, and she spent the last 3 years trying to put her life back together. When she accidentally leaves one of her sketchbooks on the beach, it is show more picked up by the man who had become the subject of many of her drawings, Dillian Jenkins. As she and Jenks get closer, her ex-husband comes back into her life, trying to steal the small happiness that Shadow has found.
Although well written, Pieces of Me is a brutal story, built to engage the emotions and sympathies of the reader. The message in the story is disheartening as well as depressing - certainly not the average romance novel in many ways. It is gritty, realistic, and unexpected - a well-written story that isn't for everyone. show less

This is a Kit Colbana we haven't seen before. It's a Kit who has been through hell, who was tortured for so long that by the time she was rescued she no longer wanted to live. She's been working for a friend and hiding from every part of her life, including her boyfriend. Gradually, we see Kit decide to return to life. As part of that she designs a tattoo for herself and over the course of getting it done purges so many emotions. Even then, she still isn't quite ready for everything. She show more takes a small job to help out a friend and a vulnerable teenaged girl and that leads her straight back to her boyfriend--in his role as pack leader--and straight back to life.

I liked this book a lot. A lot. I was so drawn in by Kit that at times I had trouble putting this book down. I like this Kit. I might even like her more than the person she was in the first books of this series. And I really want to see what happens next.

(Provided by publisher) show less

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





For almost 20yrs Gideon has been holding on to his love for Moira but when the last year only brings more heartache, he decides that it is finally time to leave the town of McKay's Treasure.
Moira has played the martyr and punished herself by refusing to accept Gideon's love but when it looks like he might finally be done, it snaps something inside her.
The show more misfortune that has been hitting the McKays lately only seems to be increasing, in frequency and violence. Someone wants to punish the McKays and Gideon won't and can't leave until he knows Moira and her siblings are safe. Not only is Moira's life in danger but her heart is too and she needs to show Gideon that she's done punishing them both.

The Right Kind of Trouble is book three in the McKays series and you'll definitely want to have read the first two before starting this one. Each book in the series focuses on a McKay sibling and their love interest, #1 Headed for Trouble - Neve Mckay and Ian; #2 The Trouble With Temptation - Brannon McKay and Hannah; and this one staring the oldest McKay Moira and her childhood sweetheart Gideon but they all also contain a murder mystery thread; the whole series is more of a family saga. Secondary characters get povs and all the books work together to give a great encompassing view and story of the town and its people. After glimpsing Moira and Gideon in book one, I was dying for their story.

After reading books one and two, I thought I would be ready for all the angst and after waiting for the cord to snap between these two, it finally did. The author gives us a heart wrenching beginning in chapter one and the emotion doesn't let up from there. The word soulmates is often bandied about in terms of hearts and puppies, but Walker gives it to us in all its soul crushing glory; soulmates where life, pain, love, and human frailty get the best of it. There are minimal flashbacks to Moira and Gideon as teenagers falling in love. We're made to understand it through all the emotions that surge between the two; which the author writes wonderfully. Moira's wall against Gideon toes and slips over a few times the line of angst for angst sake but it makes for amazing tension. I felt Gideon's frustration with his inability to just leave and his, from every pore of his body, love for Moira. I felt Moira's outer iciness shielding her inner deep longing for Gideon. I felt their tension, desire, and pain; I just felt and was absorbed into it all.

Walker's writing always feels so real to me and I think it's because she doesn't hide or shy away from the messiness of life. Moira was married for a time, Gideon tries to date someone else, but they're still emotionally tied to one another. I know I said this about this series before but it really does read as a tv series, with all the threads and characters tying in and out in regards to the main couples and murder mystery. I don't want to spill any spoilers but the mystery suspense plot was well done in its breadth and depth over three books. It was a little elaborated with situations and people being placed a little too perfectly and a little overdone with the reasoning behind it all but it was also engaging. Out of all three books, I also thought this one had the best suspense; I was on the edge of my seat. The author gives you enough clues that it's possible to have a good guess to who the villain is by book two and I had guessed correctly. Knowing who the villain was though, only enhanced the suspense for me as I was nervously excited to see if they would get caught and when the characters would finally figure it out.

An executive or producer needs to get a hold of this series and turn it into a tv miniseries, stat. Taken all together, this trilogy was amazing for its emotion and tension. I wanted to yell out loud at the characters to not ignore or put off hints that could have helped them and happy sigh when the couples finally got together. Moira will anger you every time she pushes Gideon away, even when you know she's dying inside for him and Gideon will have your heart that breaks for him lusting (the guy waited 18yrs for her!). Walker is one of the best at writing angst and dark emotion, Moira and Gideon's love story was beautifully emotionally gory.

She held out her hand. For the longest time, he didn't move. Then he did---toward her. show less