Chicago Rebels hockey player Dex O’Malley has been a naughty boy … again.
Only his latest stunt isn’t quite like when he was caught with his pants down at a nightclub or was cited for drag-racing on Lake Shore Drive or even that time he said a few critical things about his teammates on a hockey podcast. Oops. This time, Dex is in real trouble, the kind that could get him kicked off the team and out of the league. And that cannot happen. Hockey is the only thing he’s ever been good at. The only thing he cares about. He’ll do whatever it takes to rehab his rep, even if it means cleaning up dog poop and suffering the steely-eyed disapproval of his new no-nonsense “boss” at the animal shelter, Ashley Adams.
Ashley has enough on her plate between her low-paying job, her high-maintenance family, and a love life she’s trying to resurrect after her divorce. She’s already mom to an amazing nine-year-old; the last thing she needs is mothering a celebrity volunteer with more money than sense. But the troublemaking f-boy needs Ashley to sign off on his good deeds so he can get back to what he does best: lighting up lamps both on and off the ice. And while a guy like that could never interest her mind, it seems her body is not on the same page. Sure, Dex O’Malley is too young, too hot, too flighty for Ashley to take seriously, but maybe a brief ride on the wild side might fit the bill …
Only that’s not enough for Dex. What happens when this notorious player decides the older, single mom is the hottest woman he’s ever met and that he wants to light her lamp … forever?
Review:
Absolutely loved!
I’ve been dying for Dex to have a story since Tara and Fitz’s book, and I am happy to report, he did not disappoint!
Dex and Ashley’s story was a freaking delight from start to finish–the troublemaking hockey bad boy who falls for the single mom? Yes, please! Shelter pets with actual personalities (and not just because of the labels sprinkled throughout the book, like
Blu
Domestic short-haired cat
Likes: Playing with the toilet roll
Dislikes: The Patriarchy
though they certainly didn’t hurt!) and a kid who feels like an actual little person, not a plot moppet? Tell me more!
Add in the fact that Dex is (of course!) far more complex than the tabloids and hockey talking heads will have you think, and Ashley and Willa might just be the start to the family that he never thought he deserved, and I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.
And oh, yes–there’s also a healthy dose of steam in there to keep things interesting for everyone.
Wild Ride, like the rest of the Rookie Rebels books, can absolutely be read as a standalone. But in order to really appreciate how much Dex needs this HEA–not to mention seeing how all of his teammates who are living their own HEAs (the ones Dex is secretly getting kind of jealous of, even though it takes him a while to figure it out) got to theirs, do yourself a favor and read them all!
Earlyish on I was fairly certain that Banks’ story was going to be next, and I was ready for it. Then a certain scene occurred, and now I AM READY FOR IT.
Is it September yet??? 😉
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.