ARC Review: Born Wild

Born Wild (Black Knights Inc. #5)

by Julie Ann Walker

Blurb:

She's got three rules:

1. Trust no one… Eve Edens has been abandoned, used, or manipulated by almost everyone she's ever met. Born into ridiculous wealth, she's dealt with the petty jealousies and sordid little resentments for nearly thirty years. But after three botched attempts on her life, she can no longer ignore the truth. Someone wants her dead.

2. Avoid the bad boys at all costs… William "Wild Bill" Reichert, the wonderfully sexy boy who abandoned her years ago, is back in town. Only he's no boy. Now he's a covert operative - and he's all man. When Eve hires Bill to help her discover who is behind the attacks, Bill soon comes to suspect it's someone much closer to Eve than she dares to believe.

3. And never fall for the same ruse twice… The search for the killer takes Bill and Eve deep into the dark secrets and strange world of the rich and famous, and into the heart of red-hot passion re-ignited by the peril that threatens to consume them both. But does Eve dare risk her heart on Bill a second time?

Review:

Well that was a trip! Betrayals, uncovering decades old secrets, finding lost love and dodging killers all in a period of less than a week will leave you breathless as you journey with Wild Bill and Eve as they try to make sense of the new drama in their lives. I have loved this series since the very beginning and as more and more Knights fall under the spells of the ladies who enchant them, I find myself wishing I could take a trip to Chicago just to see if these guys might really be hiding out there somewhere. Ms. Walker writes her characters with such depth and her settings with such vivid imagery, that I find myself seeing every second of the story in my mind as it unfolds in perfect Technicolor radiance. If you haven’t found yourself riding on the back of a tricked out chopper, wrapped around a sexy biker/secret agent these novels will make you feel like you are right there experiencing it all for yourself. 

Born Wild begins with Even Edens finally accepting that her life is in serious danger, but since none of the cops she has reported her many “accidents” to have helped, she resorts to the only option left to her, though she despises her desperation.  She must seek help from her friends at Black Knights Inc. and hope that the one man she’s always loved and whose heart she broke over a decade ago will believe her and help her save her life. Though her fear is evident, Bill is reluctant to get involved because he knows he won’t be able to keep his distance while he helps her.  But as more and more dangers come to light, proving to everyone that Eve is indeed a target, Bill can’t bring himself to deny his feelings any longer.  When the danger leads them to uncover long held secrets to their own personal past, both Eve and Bill must decide if they can forgive and forget so they can build a new life together or if they have lost too much over the years to move past it and find their hearts.  I can honestly say for the first time in ages, I didn’t see the bad guy's true identify until almost the same time the characters figured it out, which is very rare for me.  The suspenseful aspect of the book was extremely well done and didn’t leave me disappointed in the least.

Wow, I can tell you for sure that the dynamics of this relationship have been driving me crazy for several books as I learned snippets here and there about their pasts. Bill certainly has his reasons for doubting in Eve and even hating her at times, but his feelings go so much deeper and they are complicated beyond belief. While I felt badly for Bill, I could see his inner heart and knew that in the end his forgiveness would change his entire outlook on life.  He is a strong alpha male, but his gooey heart was encased in ice after Eve left him the first time.  I knew that the passion that still burned between them would one day melt that ice into a pool of lust that would lead them down an interesting road to be sure. Though we saw glimpses of the shy and terrified girl that Eve was most of her life, thankfully we meet her at a time when she is ready to change her life and she accomplishes it in spades. When she’s kidnapped by pirates (yes real pirates) she uses that as an impetus to dig deep and bring her inner strength to light.  She decides to embrace that strong independence and finally coming to terms with her past will Billy is one of the things she has to face.  I loved how she continued to surprise Billy and the Knights with her skills, strength, and sometimes misguided courage.

The passion between Billy and Eve has been bottled up and pushed deep in their minds and hearts for over a decade. Every time they are forced together you can see the heat between them, mostly in the barbs fired by Bill as he tries to fight his desires and of course in the way that Eve can’t keep her eyes from connecting with him.  Faced with the threat to Eve’s life, Billy slowly begins to come to terms with their past and see that he can’t handle losing her again.  Eve, on the other hand knows that she has ruined any chance she had with Billy a decade ago, but she is determined that she will get her one night, the night that she denied them so long ago, and won’t let a little thing like impending death stop her pursuit of the one man she’s ever loved.  Their one night together is definitely worth every second of waiting and the heat they produce could light the world on fire.

By and large, Born Wild was one of the best romantic suspense novels I’ve read so far this year.  Well written, full of drama, action, laughs and love, you will enjoy every second of reading Wild Bill and Eve’s story of love, loss, and forgiveness.  The plot is rich and filled with twists, turns, overlaps, and discovery of betrayal and secrets that change lives and teach that trust is something that should never be taken for granted.  Bill and Eve are a perfect couple and experiencing the resurgence of their love and their rediscovery of one another was a heart-wrenching and heart-warming event by turns.   I am so glad that Eve and Bill finally found their way back into each other’s arms and earned their HEA.  Seeing all that Eve went through and knowing that she never gave up and never surrendered to hopelessness gives me a new outlook on relationships and hope for finding my own inner strength.  I cannot wait to find out more about the Knights and I suspect that Mac will soon have his turn in the hot seat.  Another great work of art Ms. Walker, thank you.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Rose Rating:  

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.