4 stars-- Wrecked by J.B. Salsbury

Oh. My. Word. So about 2 pages into Wrecked I was like oh hell. This one is going to make me sob. And...it did. But it also made me laugh so hard it hurt. Swoon a little. And fall completely for Sawyer and Aden. And, okay, maybe Salsbury, too. Wrecked was one heck of a yummy read.

The Gist: Sawyer's on a mission. She's gone to pack up a cottage for someone and has been ordered to let loose a little and take some risks. Something that is not in her wheelhouse. The hunky troubled former soldier who manages the place? Yeah...he lickably tempting even though everything about him screams danger.

These two were very interesting. Life has taken them on different paths but they've both found themselves lonely, isolated and uncertain when it comes to their attraction to each other. 

• Sawyer's got some quirks. Her go to mode is 'predictable and safe'. Plan everything, organize compulsively, avoid nature and risk. She's got a good heart, is braver than she knows and I loved seeing her come alive a bit.

• And Aden. He's a strong man tormented by his past in the military. Plagued with PTSD and guilt he's closed himself away from everyone. He's growly and grumbles yet cares for his elderly neighbor, indulges demanding sea lions and is a protector. 

They had fantastic chemistry, steamed up the sheets, made me smile and laugh as they pulled each other out of their comfort zones.

They mess things up, they get things right, they change each other and give each other a safe place to escape the boxes they've put themselves into. There are hilarious moments and others that left me sobbing as they deal with loss, grief, guilt, and PTSD.

Overall, Salsbury impressed me. Emotional, empowering and completely engaging. Wrecked was a fantastic read that kept me up into the wee hours of the night because I *needed* to see these two figure things out and find their forever together.

*ex-marine. That was my only issue. They aren't aquatic life. Always capitalize that sucker. Also, ex implies dishonorable discharge.

✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤

And now a quote. It's a long one but I couldn't help it! It is such a funny scene. I was laughing so hard I cried. 

The heroine is all about safety and doesn't do nature/risk/adventure. But the former special ops hero has talked her into going snorkeling. So they're out there and she's all omg this is really amazing! And then...

I’m happily kicking along when I feel him stop swimming beside me. I search beneath him, expecting to see him point at the reason he’s stopped, a fish or maybe a sea turtle.

He doesn’t. Tension fills the space between us and I’m about to pull my head out of the water and ask what’s going on when he shoves his finger down to point to a dark spot directly below us. I drop my head and—holy fuck!

Leaving all my pride and strength behind, I scream.

Loud and blaringly clear, I holler through my snorkel until I’m coughing and forced to spit it out.

“Shark!”I spot the kayak in the distance and swim. No snorkel and my mask fogging up with the fear emanating from my body. I rip it off. No clue if Aden’s behind me, I kick and throw my arms forward, Michael Phelpsing myself through the water.

I hear Aden call my name, but I’m helpless against the terror that drives me to safety. He could be getting ripped apart by the apex predator, and I’ll have to explain to his family that I wasn’t brave enough to save him, but oh well.

Racing against death, I throw myself at the yellow banana, hurling one leg over and a piercing pain rips across my inner thigh.

I scream again. I’d been bit and was going to die on this stupid fucking kayak. Scrambling into the vessel I’m breathing hard. My heart hammers behind my ribs. I’m gonna pass out. I grab my thigh. Look down at my legs.

No blood.

But I thought…?

Then I hear his laughter.

He’s laughing at me!

“You’d pass the SERE course in a heartbeat with that evasion and escape.”

He’s still laughing.

I’m still trying to breathe. “I…almost died.”God, my heart feels like it will pound out of my chest.

He hoists himself into the kayak with ease, and I cry out when the thing rocks a little because suddenly the faded old plastic feels like a steel plate standing between me and certain death. “It was only a leopard shark.”

“Keyword being shark.”

“It was two feet long, Cece. Hardly a threat.”

“Shark. Teeth.”Still trying to breathe. “Threat.”

“Right.”There’s humor in his voice. “You should’ve seen how threatening he was when you took off for the kayak like a drowning elephant. Scared the shit out of the poor fish.”

“I did?”

“You think you were more scared of him than he was of you? You screamed like a demon straight out of hell and thrashed all the way to the boat.”He’s really laughing now. “I think you cleared out the entire ocean floor.”

“For your information…”I’m still catching my breath. “I hurt my thigh.”His big warm hands cup my thigh, fingers tempting me between my legs while his thumbs rub circles on the sore muscle. “You may’ve strained it throwing this leg into the kayak.”

It’s a little sensitive, but not too bad, and the way his eyes dance up and down my bare leg is enough to make me forget.

“Ever think of giving up your day job to become a trick rider in the rodeo?”

Laughter bubbles up in my chest. It sounds a little maniacal in my own ears, but I think relief at surviving a near-death experience will do that to a person.

“You good now?”

“Yeah.”

When you can’t trust yourself, how can you ask anyone else to?

It’s been months since Aden Colt left the Army, and still the memories haunt him. When he moved into a boat off the California coast, he thought he’d found the perfect place to escape life.

Then Sawyer shows up, and turns his simple life upside down.

Beautiful and sophisticated, she seems out of place in this laidback beach town. Something is pushing her to experience everything she can—including Aden. But as much as he wants her, starting a relationship with Sawyer puts them both at risk.

For Aden, the past doesn’t stay there; it shows up unexpectedly, uncontrollably, and doesn’t care whose life it wrecks.

Amazon | Goodreads | Salsbury on HCBS

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