Title: Wild Child
Series: N/A
Author: Shelley Munro
Genre: Erotica, Romance
Blurb: Zoe Underwood is one sexy disruption.
From the moment her father married Matt’s mother, Zoe has tempted Matt Cantrell with her seductive curves and driven him crazy with her flirting and provocative manner. The thing is they have no future because Zoe is his stepsister. Determined to dodge trouble, Matt leaves Auckland to live and work in the Gold Coast of Australia. A sea between them should do the trick and let him move forward without the “Zoe” distraction in his life.
Matt Cantrell is one stubborn dude.
No one presses Zoe’s buttons like the tall, dark and gorgeous Matt. In fact, every other man pales in comparison. One last play. Zoe decides to invade Matt’s territory and make her move before some other clever woman snaps him up. She’ll bust through emotional walls and push boundaries. By the time she’s finished, Matt won’t know what hit him. Yes. Good or bad, she’ll stir things up and take a chance on love.
Thoughts: When Matt Cantrell comes home to find clothes strewn down the hallway leading to his bed, he thinks it’s his girlfriend who has come to make up with him after a fight. Little does he know that it’s his tempting step-sister who has ditched everything in an effort to come and win him for her own! Zoe has made a decision to come see Matt – minus their parents – hoping he will cave into their desire for each other if he doesn’t their parents to use as a buffer against her. She hopes that if he has to face her one-on-one, he won’t be able to resist their mutual desire. It doesn’t take Matt long to cave in to Zoe’s wiles, but neither figured on the girlfriend Miranda prowling around looking to re-claim her man!
The sparks were really flying between Zoe and Matt, and I really enjoyed their chemistry with one another. The story was well-written and you really felt a connection with the characters. Zoe was fun, flirty, and I really enjoyed how she pushed Matt’s buttons in her attempts to push him over the edge of that step-sister/step-brother line that he had drawn in the sand. Matt wasn’t really able to resist her very hard, which I guess explains why he felt the need to move so far away from the family! I was thrilled when he finally caved in! And they still had the family to deal with, as well as the supposed girlfriend to add the necessary conflict to the story.
As much as I enjoyed the story, there are a few drawbacks. Most obviously, of course, is the length. I felt the story would have been better served if it had been longer. It seemed almost like you were coming into the middle of the book – you were missing the build-up at the beginning. I would have enjoyed perhaps a prologue where you have them first coming together as a family and them recognizing their desire for each other and/or some beginning scenes where we see their frustration throughout the teenage years at not being able to act out on this “forbidden” desire. The end also seemed a little abrupt- I found myself looking to make sure it really was the end. There was nothing wrong with it, it just seemed like there should be more.
And while I felt the desire and attraction between the two characters, I didn’t really feel the love part of their connection. Upon saying that, I do feel like the love was there, but due to length we just really couldn’t quite grasp it completely. Although, I think being able to make that connection was important to the story because obviously they would not be willing to risk breaking up their entire family for just a one-night stand or a sexcapade. I think if it had been more drawn out I would have enjoyed it so much more! Instead it seemed more like a teaser promo.
Rate: C+
