Book Binge

Accountant Katie Kramer is a quintessential good girl - working hard, recycling diligently, all the while trying to ignore the feeling that she doesn't fit in anywhere. That's all she wants. Well, that - and amazing sex, and the kind of daredevil escapade she can look back on when she's crunching numbers in a dusty cubicle. Which explains why she just took a job in Wishful, California, working for Wilder Adventures and Expeditions. Waking up to find a magnificently built stranger towering over her bed - that part defies explanation...

After wandering the planet for months following a life-changing accident, Cameron Wilder has come back to the only home he knows. Under other circumstances, he might be thrilled to find a gorgeous woman sleeping in his cabin, but now, while he'll risk his body taking clients on adrenaline-drenched excursions, his heart is off limits. Still, Katie's killer smile triggers something deep in his gut...among other places. Showing her how exhilarating it can be to stop balancing her life as if it was a check book is the biggest rush he's ever felt - and an adventure Katie's wishing would never end...

Instant Attraction is book 1 in Jill Shalvis' new Wilders Adventures trilogy. You can also see Rowena's and Kris' reviews here and here. Since they've already done reviews I'm just going to go straight into my likes and dislikes.

I really liked Katie. Even though she'd suffered a great tradgedy she still did her best to find the good things in life. Her determination to live balls out and not let her accident keep her from living was admirable. Her sense of humor was wonderful and it was refreshing to see her laugh at herself. I loved her honesty, too. She really just put it all out there, take it or leave it. It was great. I also liked that Katie didn't just automatically heal from her trauma. She was still trying to deal with it every day. I think that was totally believable.

The sexual chemistry between her and Cam was sizzling. I loved that they deny being attracted to each other, and they were both honest up front about what they wanted and why it wouldn't be a good idea for them to get involved.

The secondary characters were all wonderfully drawn. I adored all the Wilders, Cam, his two brothers Stone and T.J. and their Aunt Annie. Annie's romance was also well done and believable, without detracting from the main protagonists. Her main squeeze Nick was adorable in his clueless-ness and I was really rooting for them.

So, that brings us to Cam. Cam was definitely sexy. I absolutely adored how he helped Katie whenever she was suffering a flashback or reliving her nightmare. He really was just what she needed to battle her demons. What I didn't adore was his attitude about his life. He was king of the world until a snowboarding accident blew his knee and his career to hell. So what does he do? He mopes. And whines. And hides. And mopes. And whines. And hides. Instead of picking himself up and dusting himself off, he pushed everyone away and ran.

Katie was the one that made all the first moves and all the compromises while Cam did nothing but push her away. When he let his guard down he was wonderful, but I thought his poor baby routine got real old, real quick. In the grand scheme of thing Katie had it far worse than he did, and yet it was him that kept withdrawing. Part of me understands why he was the way he was, but his crybaby attitude lasted far too long into the book. Just when I thought he'd grown up some, he retreated.

Conversely I didn't dislike him as a whole. I was frustrated with his behavior and wanted to see him grow up some, but I didn't dislike him. I firmly believe he and Katie were meant to be together, I just wanted it to happen sooner than it did.

Overall I really loved the story, though I did find flaws with it. It's definitely a good start to a new trilogy.

4 out of 5

This book is available from Brava. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Share this post!