He’ll guard her body all night long.It's one thing to create an enjoyable story. Lots of authors manage that, right? It's an altogether different thing to make your readers LOVE your characters. To make them want to climb in the book and pound on people when they're giving the hero or heroine a hard time. To set off that protective don't you mess with my baby hand on the hip pissed off mama bear reaction in someone. And that's where Tonya Burrows gets me. She makes me freaking love her characters.
Former Force Recon marine Jude Wilde’s motto has always been “burn bridges and never look back,” so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL.
Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?
Type: Contemporary Romance, Light Suspense
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 5 out of 5
I had a great time with Wilde Nights in Paradise and so much fun getting to know Jude and Libby. Their romance combined two of my favorite themes...reunions/second chances and fake mates... these two had a doozy of a break up years earlier and now they're having to pretend to be an item once again to keep her safe from an escalating stalker. Drama, suspense and steam abound! And it was a delightful ride.
"Want to tell me what that was about?"Libby was a great heroine. She's strong, smart, maybe a little too stubborn and naive sometimes and is dealing with a lot of hurt from their past relationship. While I didn't love all of her reactions I totally got why she was how she was. And I really enjoyed her...especially when she let her defenses down.
He took great care in pouring his own glass, but still wouldn't meet her gaze.
"Well?" she prompted.
"I feel ridiculous."
"You should." And she probably shouldn't take so much delight in the fact that his ears had turned bright red, but.. honestly, it was adorable. She would have dialed down her teasing if he wasn't laughing at himself right along with her. "You screamed like a little girl."
"Bullshit." He finally looked up with an expression of mock horror. "It was a manly scream."
"Very manly," she said and patted his hand.
But Jude is the one that won the show for me. Won the show. This is a hero that... made me laugh, made me frustrated, heated me up and got me teary eyed. He's an incredible man that has a lot more to him than the people around him give him credit for. Maybe he's earned his reputation and their less than stellar opinions about him but it still ticked me right the heck off on his behalf. Really. I had to put the Nook down and step away for a couple minutes because ohmygod this cat herder was reading to bring down some pain on a couple people. lol Because he is an amazing guy and if they'd just look a little deeper they'd see it, ya know? *whew* okay. Really. I'm good now. lol
Even though parts were very emotional (they totally had me in friggin tears!) there was a hell of a lot of humor mixed in too which really makes for a fun read. I loved watching these two hash out their past and their undeniable attraction to each other and discover some surprises along the way.The steamy scenes were oh.my.god hot. Like make you pant, rattle the headboard hot. Some interesting locations too. And damn I loved it. There were some very tender sweet moments as well which really rounded things out nicely.
I really loved Wilde Nights in Paradise. Everything about it. Even the parts that made me want to scream I loved because it just showed how much Burrows had me invested in these two. From tears to joyous laughs and surprised moments this was a winner for me and easily gets a Pick of the Litter rating. If you love a hot romance, second chances and a touch of suspense to top it all off this is one you need to get.
Have you read Burrows? What did you think?
What's your favorite romance theme for the couple?
When I'm not writing, I spend my time reading, painting (badly), exploring new places, and enjoying time with my family. Give me a good horror movie over a chick flick any day. (And, let's be honest, I'll take a bad horror movie too!) I'm a geek at heart and pledge my avid TV fandom to Supernatural and Doctor Who. I'm also a big fan of The Voice. What can I say? Guilty pleasure.
I share my life with two dogs and a ginormous cat. We live in a small town in PA, but I suffer from a bad case of wanderlust and usually end up moving someplace new every few years. Luckily, my animals are all excellent travel buddies.
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~Anna