3.39k reviews for:

Pucking Wild

Emily Rath

4.07 AVERAGE

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

2.5 stars, maybe.
Honestly, I thought the book did a decent job providing insight into the angst of entering a new relationship after leaving a bad one up until the few chapters I would have left a better rating and review. Then it happened. Rath hinted at issues with Ryan and reading, but not until the last bit of the book did she include a dyslexia diagnosis. While I understand that it didn't have much to do with the story, it was his story, and how it was treated made me angry. My kiddo is dyslexic and struggles daily; there are many who grew up being embarrassed and ashamed of this particular learning disorder. However, this is not the world we live in currently. Rath did not describe those who suffer from dyslexia in a positive light. In Pucking Around, she highlighted polyamory and educated readers on it. I wish that had been done with dyslexia (as it is actually a neurological disorder). There was an opportunity to educate people while providing the story as she did in Pucking Around, but that opportunity wasn't seized.
medium-paced

He can’t fucking read why would you propose to him with a banner in the sky
emotional lighthearted 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: Complicated
emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced

After reading the trigger warnings for this one, I knew I was in for a painful time, but this book is truly heartwrenching at times. 

Tess and Ryan met in Pucking Around when Ryan accidentally hit Tess in the head with a soccer ball, and the tension between them was palpable from the start. So when Tess is driven away from Cincinnati by her terrible, abusive estranged husband and ends up accidentally sharing the same house with an injured Ryan, things heat up rather quickly. 

But what I loved about this one was that there was never spice for the sake of spice. Every spicy moment in this book was the result of or resulted in the development of their relationship. While Tess was firmly in denial for a lot of the book, hoping to spare Ryan from the drama of her life, Ryan is all in from the start. He never doubts that Tess is the one for him, even going so far as to stand up to the Prices when they try to intimidate him. From page one, Ryan knows that Tess is his endgame, and he never wavers even when shit gets hard in the end.

And speaking of the end. Troy is the worst antagonist I've read in a romance in a long while. To go so far as to forge a restraining order to keep Tess and Ryan apart. That was a new low. And to pray on Ryan's insecurities regarding his dyslexia in serving him with a document with font so small that even Tess couldn't read it...Troy is the worst of the worst. I'm so happy Tess never has to see him again.

But speaking of people, we DO get to see again. I'm ready for Poppy's book. It's gonna be so messy, I can already tell, and I'm one hundred percent here for it.
challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes