Book Review-Wilde for You by Jennifer Ryan

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s page-turning Dark Horse Dive Bar series continues with this story of love lost…and found…as a widow seeking to heal her heart crosses paths with a rancher/bartender who offers her a taste of adventure.  Welcome to the Dark Horse Dive Bar, where the Wildes throw one hell of a party and love could be a barstool away! Landscape artist, Layla Brock, knows what it feels like to love someone so completely you’d do anything for them—even take their secrets to the grave. Widowed after her husband’s betrayals and tragic death, Layla is searching for a new scene to paint, a new life to live. And Wyoming feels like the perfect place to get lost and find herself again. Jax Wilde runs the family ranch, but has a few side wrangling his sisters, covering shifts at the Dark Horse Dive Bar, and renting out cabins to tourists looking for the ranch experience. His busy schedule, plus a bad breakup, equals no personal life. And then she showed up. And the woman he thought he had nothing in common with turned out to be his perfect match. Layla knows what it feels like to lose everything. Jax is a man who wants it all—a wife, children, a life filled with happy memories. It’s a beautiful picture of a life Layla thought she’d had but turned out to be a lie. This could be her second chance… Until her secrets begin to unravel and a new threat is revealed. There’s one difference this she has Jax Wilde on her side…

My Review

First Impressions

Wilde for You is the second book in the ‘Dive Horse Dive Bar’ and this book features the sibling “Jax Wilde”. After falling so hard for the first book, I was super excited for this one and couldn’t wait for it to be closer to the publishing date to read it, I just was itching to jump right into it and I have to tell you this author crafted a masterpiece! I loved every single moment of. There is something that is so much deeper to this series and I am all on board for seeing this author write some of her best stuff and having been reading her for hers, her writing has been slowly building into what we see her. The romantic suspense elements were a little bit lower than I normally have seen from her, but I was totally fine with that because the romantic elements themselves were *chef’s kiss* perfection and I honestly want to read it again it was so wonderful and captured my heart so quickly. This is a couple that quickly get on board with each other and don’t fight what they feel. Such a refreshing ideal in a romance, a couple not fighting each other or what they feel, but going all into a relationship.

Summary

Wilde for You is a setup of a story where our heroine, Layla Brock, who is a widow and a world talent of a artist. She is recovering from realizing her husband was not the man she thought he was and trying to move on to a new place. She comes to Wyoming for a fresh start and to find a new way to paint and bring a fresher perspective to her life. She then meets the Wilde family and is instantly drawn to Jax who builds her a beautiful studio and they quickly have a connection neither of them can deny. They both know that this is going fast, but that is worth fighting for. Layla is at first afraid to trust herself with Jax, as she got hurt trusting the wrong man. But Jax has a wild honesty that she is drawn to and only wants more of to be in his presence. And the way that he inspires her art emboldens her spirit in a way that she has never experienced. Jax and Layla will have to fight for their relationship in ways that they didn’t see but can they both jump into the cold water and take that leap of faith of trust in the quick love building between them….

What I Loved

There was so much to adore about this story. Lets talk first about our characters. So first off, we have Layla who is strong and a fighter. There is at first much mystery about her late husband so that really pulls you into that intrigue of wondering who was this man that burned her so badly. I really enjoyed Layla so much. She was a fighter. She fought for the relationship and for herself and what she deserved. She didn’t back down from what mattered to her and what believed in. She has such courage, and when you realize what she has been dealt, you even admire her more for taking a chance on Jax and going after that dream and having faith in a man after being betrayed in the way that she was. Then we have Jax Wilde, who is solid and true and good to the heart. He is a hardworking man, devoted to his family and building their family ranch into what it should be. He is dedicated to protecting those who need it and when he falls for Layla….he FIGHTS hard for her and their relationship. Seeing a man so devoted and dedicated to fighting for her. And when she fights for him but also SEES who he is—-its epic and beautiful in his reaction. The romance was beautiful in every single moment they were together. There were such moments within the story that will instantly capture you attention and have you as the reader living within that moment. There is also the manner in which these two take that leap of faith for each other. That deep devotion such delivers so much dimension to the story. Its a true masterpiece of heart and living your dreams and making the most of the cards that life deals you and leaping at all the good that comes your way. This story will forever hold my heart and soul in so many ways. Jax and Layla had such a beautiful story.

So next I want to talk about the triggering content within the story. I was nervous about this because the author does place a trigger warning page for both miscarriage and abortion and honestly I was scared of what this author would do because y’all know I can’t stand abortion in romance since I have yet to see an author really handle it well. I can tell you Jennifer Ryan handles these elements so brilliantly. You can tell that she was very careful with this and that wherever you side on the abortion matter, you will be okay with how this is handled, it’s done very well. I really appreciated the delicacy. More authors could learn from her example because its a very divisive topic in our society today and loved that Jennifer Ryan understood that and portrayed it so well within this story.

What I Struggled With

Nothing….wish it lasted longer haha I just didn’t want this story to end.

Overall View

Wilde For You is a poignant romance that will uplift your heart and dig deep onto the soul. Its a story of self growth, learning to fight for your happiness and embracing love when it comes your way. An artistry gem of a romance that strikes deep!

Title: Wilde For You

Author: Jennifer Ryan

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Format: eARC

Source: Avon Books

Length: 384 Pages

Book Links

Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Trigger Warning

Abortion and Miscarriage–Mild Mentions

Series Order

Wilde Love-Pub 2023 #1 in the Series

Wilde for You-Pub 2024 #2 in the Series

About The Author

Jennifer Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Hunted and McBrides Series, writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances.

Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home, and how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.

Please visit her website at www.jennifer-ryan.com for information about upcoming releases.