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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
I am completely obsessed with this book. Wilder is the benchmark for book boyfriends! I went into this story not knowing that this was book 2 in the series. This story had me captivated from the first chapter.
The characters in this story are top notch. Their development and growth throughout the story are beautiful. Wilder is the ultimate book boyfriend. He is so swoony. He naturally comes of very nurturing, patient, and protective. He listens, communicates, and apologizes when appropriate. I love how accurately Cass is written, as a ginger I give my stamp of approval. She is fiery, advocates for what she wants and needs, and loves fiercely. The side characters offer a beautiful sense of found family, and really just enhance the story.
The pacing of this book is so well done it never drags on, and you will quickly lose track of time, I read this book in less than a day and accidentally stayed up all night reading it. The depth of the plot is so well written. There are twists and turns you can't predict, tension that you can feel, and all the heart warming and spiciness you need!
Thank you so much to Staci Hart and Good Girls PR for the privilege of reading and reviewing this story! Release Date 4/25/25.
The characters in this story are top notch. Their development and growth throughout the story are beautiful. Wilder is the ultimate book boyfriend. He is so swoony. He naturally comes of very nurturing, patient, and protective. He listens, communicates, and apologizes when appropriate. I love how accurately Cass is written, as a ginger I give my stamp of approval. She is fiery, advocates for what she wants and needs, and loves fiercely. The side characters offer a beautiful sense of found family, and really just enhance the story.
The pacing of this book is so well done it never drags on, and you will quickly lose track of time, I read this book in less than a day and accidentally stayed up all night reading it. The depth of the plot is so well written. There are twists and turns you can't predict, tension that you can feel, and all the heart warming and spiciness you need!
Thank you so much to Staci Hart and Good Girls PR for the privilege of reading and reviewing this story! Release Date 4/25/25.
this book gave me bipanic, who was hotter Cassidy or Wilder? why choose??
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A little more serious subject matter than "Wild Card" but it was still so fun to get back together with all the gang from Roseville!
(But not my fave Staci Hart story...)
Overall: 3.5 ⭐
Plot: 5📌
Spice: 3 🫦
Laughter: 3😆
BLUF: I LOVE Staci Hart, I am FERAL for Jessa & Remy in Wild Card (Book 1 in the series), but this wasn’t my favorite.
I ADORED Wilder and Cricket, getting to see Jessa & Remy again (both are one of my top Book BFFs & BFs respectively), and some of the antics with the rest of the Ramblers crew. I actually wouldn’t mind even a little more from all of the whole gang in future books! Cuz let’s be honest, in small towns, EVERYBODY is up in your business!
Wilder, our former pro-baseball playing, current Firefighter and rec-team baller extraordinaire is just absolutely perfection – a perfect human being? Nope and far from it! But he apologies. Eats his humble pie. Finds a fix himself. *Chef’s kiss MMC right there! 😚👌
Cassie? Shee is obviously still struggling to figure herself out after the [*ending events of Wild Card!] and whoo! Girl is CLEARLY re-learning so much about healthy relationships, adulting, and more. Her immaturity was a bit of a turn off for me - I’m not sure if this was intended to be a symptom leftover from those events but I wasn’t thoroughly convinced she'd matured by the story’s end..
Thankfully, these two figure out their path forward to happiness, not without quite a few hiccups, but that’s what makes this a more emotional, more nuanced story!
Thank you to Staci Hart & Good Girls PR for the opportunity to read and review this book! All opinions are my own.
*You do not necessarily NEED to read Wild Card before Hot Shot, but for better context, I highly suggest you do!
Oooo! And a bonus epilogue hints at book 3! And it sounds like we readers might be treated to the next MMC custom-building everyone's DREAM library for his FMC!
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book has a great premise, and I was hooked in the beginning; however, too much was happening, which took away from the main points of the story.
To first look at the good parts, it was so clear how much Wilder loved Cass. From the initial marriage all through their love story, he was down bad for her! While Cass may have been a bit slower in reaching this conclusion (I mean ... she was lied to for ten years, which was understandable), she was still clearly in love with Wilder the whole time. Cricket was a well-written character (often, children are written as more simply while ignoring the complexities of their lives).
Despite this, these positives get lost in the story, which seemed confused.For instance, the whole added aspects of Trent and the murder took away from other factors of the book. The story would have been easier to follow (and I would have been more invested) if it had just focused on the relationship, getting custody of Cricket, and the drama involved with the bullying. In sum, the book tried to include too many storylines and would have been strengthened if it had chosen two or three to focus on instead.
Linked to the convoluted storylines, the book was too long (approximately 450 pages). This made it feel like it was dragging on, eventually leading me to lose interest (which caused me to begin skim-reading some repetitive paragraphs).
Overall, it is a good book with a lot of promise, but it would have been strengthened if it had been edited down and more focused.
Tropes:
- Second chance romance
- High school sweethearts
- Firefighter and teacher
- Unknown marriage
- Surprise child
- No third-act breakup
- 4 spice
Thank you very much to Staci Hart and Good Girls PR for this eARC!
Please note that all opinions are my own.
To first look at the good parts, it was so clear how much Wilder loved Cass. From the initial marriage all through their love story, he was down bad for her! While Cass may have been a bit slower in reaching this conclusion (I mean ... she was lied to for ten years, which was understandable), she was still clearly in love with Wilder the whole time. Cricket was a well-written character (often, children are written as more simply while ignoring the complexities of their lives).
Despite this, these positives get lost in the story, which seemed confused.
Linked to the convoluted storylines, the book was too long (approximately 450 pages). This made it feel like it was dragging on, eventually leading me to lose interest (which caused me to begin skim-reading some repetitive paragraphs).
Overall, it is a good book with a lot of promise, but it would have been strengthened if it had been edited down and more focused.
Tropes:
- Second chance romance
- High school sweethearts
- Firefighter and teacher
- Unknown marriage
- Surprise child
- No third-act breakup
- 4 spice
Thank you very much to Staci Hart and Good Girls PR for this eARC!
Please note that all opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Cass and Wilder were once young, wild, and in love. One night in Vegas turned into a secret marriage neither of them expected to last. Ten years later, she's back in town to marry someone else... only to find out she's still married to her first love.
Hot Shot is a perfect blend of small-town charm, fake marriage chaos, slow burn tension, and second-chance romance. The chemistry between Cass and Wilder is electric, the banter is sharp, and the emotional depth caught me off guard in the best way.
Hot Shot is a perfect blend of small-town charm, fake marriage chaos, slow burn tension, and second-chance romance. The chemistry between Cass and Wilder is electric, the banter is sharp, and the emotional depth caught me off guard in the best way.
If you love forced proximity, single dad energy, and a love story that feels earned, this one's for you.
4.5⭐️
4.5⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Staci Hart AND Good Girls PR for the e-ARC!
Staci Hart is back again with another banger!! This one has a teacher and a firefighter!! An amazing dynamic! And mind you she has a realistic depiction of a first-year teacher. The romance is beautiful and made me happy. In addition to the romance part, Staci Hart had a mystery element of figuring out if the fire was arson or an accident. We also have our main couple learn how to be parents. I definitely recommend this book and all of Staci Hart’s books.
I am VERY excited for the next book in this series because she’s a librarian and he’s going to build her a custom library.
Quotes I Adored:
- “Well, that's what compatibility is, really. It's not the good stuff that makes you fit together. It's that you think all the annoying sh*t is cute.”
- “Mostly people told me I was bossy, so I should teach.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wilder and Cass were high school sweethearts with a future that would set them thousands of miles apart indefinitely. Their last day together was a whirlwind of Las Vegas adventure with their friends, and the knowledge that from here forward they'd no longer be together. With a crazy idea and half a mind to see it through, they decide for a single night of wedding bliss, and a divorce in the morning. Only Wilder has other ideas when he's handed the papers he's meant to mail in.
*****
This one was genuinely not what I was expecting. I love to go in blind aside from general tropes so when we see Wilder confess to them still being married a decade later after briefly crossing paths again, I was mildly surprised that it came to a head that early. Then we get the huge surprise of Cricket and I was hooked! Seeing Cass step up to help Wilder, despite her rage was so interesting. As the book progressed I love that we got to see the comparison and similarities between Cass's last relationship and her current, and how one had her losing herself, yet this one had her finding it - even while the overlap was stark.
I could see how their decade apart and how differently Wilder and Cass approached it despite Wilder being aware they were still married could put some people off of the novel, but for all intents and purposes they were broken up, despite a piece of paper saying otherwise. I genuinely enjoyed both of them dancing around each other, as the chemistry from Cass finally admitting to herself how she felt was fantastic. All in all this one was a solid read. As it was on the longer side for a romance novel, it was great to have some side drama and twists that kept me engaged.
*****
Thank you to Good Girls PR for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*****
This one was genuinely not what I was expecting. I love to go in blind aside from general tropes so when we see Wilder confess to them still being married a decade later after briefly crossing paths again, I was mildly surprised that it came to a head that early. Then we get the huge surprise of Cricket and I was hooked! Seeing Cass step up to help Wilder, despite her rage was so interesting. As the book progressed I love that we got to see the comparison and similarities between Cass's last relationship and her current, and how one had her losing herself, yet this one had her finding it - even while the overlap was stark.
I could see how their decade apart and how differently Wilder and Cass approached it despite Wilder being aware they were still married could put some people off of the novel, but for all intents and purposes they were broken up, despite a piece of paper saying otherwise. I genuinely enjoyed both of them dancing around each other, as the chemistry from Cass finally admitting to herself how she felt was fantastic. All in all this one was a solid read. As it was on the longer side for a romance novel, it was great to have some side drama and twists that kept me engaged.
*****
Thank you to Good Girls PR for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.