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haletostilinski1 's review for:

Wilde Love by Lucy Lennox
4.0

4.5 stars!

While reading the previous 5 books in this series, did you ever wonder about Doc and Granpa's love story? I sure did. I knew Doc had been married sometime before he and Grandpa got together and married, so that's how they got 4 kids and that they were biologically Doc's, but just as much Grandpa's. I vaguely remember talk of them being in the military, but not much.

And that was about all I knew of these two and their love story. And I never thought we'd get more, because this series is present day and Doc and Grandpa are old and the patriarchs of the Wilde clan and we're focused on the grandkids, right?

Well, turns out Lennox was completely willing to take a detour to give us their love story, and for the most part, it did not disappoint.

William "Liam" Wilde is a 22 year old when he voluntarily goes to Vietnam in 1968 as a medic. While there, he meets 32 year old Weston "Major" Marion and for Weston, it was love at first sight, basically. But for Liam, he was supposedly straight and married to Betsy and they had three children at home.

It was so weird to read Doc as "straight" and not head over heels in love with Weston because that's all we've seen in the previous five books, you know? These two being in love as ever 40 some odd years into their relationship.

But Doc does love Betsy, his wife before Weston, even though she first got pregnant at the end of high school or right out of high school and they had to have a shotgun wedding.

I gotta say I was not expecting to like or love Betsy, or feel that she was such a big part of Doc (and even Weston's) life. But Lennox usually makes the women in her MC's life, if they are there, wonderful and likable and amazing, and Betsy was no different. She was just a lovable person, and after Vietnam when Weston eventually makes it to Hobie and their farm and takes over as a ranch hand - or whatever - and is staying at the Wilde farm, she is so nice and sweet to him, he can't hate her. In fact, he comes to love her too and she becomes his best friend.

I dunno how hard and complicated that had to be for Weston. He was in love with her husband, but he loved her like a best friend, a sister. So he longed for Doc, but also never did anything because, well, not only is he a good man - and also knew Doc loved Betsy - and wouldn't do that in the first place, but his love and respect for her was just too big on top of that.

Like yeah, I think it would have been easier for me and Weston if she hadn't been likable, or if Doc hadn't loved her. But she wasn't just made into a bitch or a boring character for the sake of Doc and Weston's love and romance, she was a well rounded, good human being and I loved that, ultimately.

But also, ultimately, we know she dies, and really Doc and Weston are just....meant to be. That doesn't mean Weston wouldn't have lived out the rest of his days on the sidelines, comforting himself with meaningless sex as he was doing, to let Betsy and Doc be happy, because it was quite clear he would have. But Betsy does die, and almost a year later Doc's eyes are opened to his feelings for Weston and they soon start their relationship.

I think Doc was in love with him the whole time, to be perfectly honest. But also he thought he was straight and in love with Betsy (and I think he did love her, but I dunno if it was an in love kind of love, you know? Doc loved and respected her and adored her, but I never got a passion or fire from him for her.) so he never looked deeper than a few surface thoughts that he could explain away.

Nothing against Betsy, but I feel like if it had been modern day, she and Doc would have broken up and she would have become their best friend. I just felt like she was both their best friend more than anything.

The Vietnam days were interesting to read, the beginning of their love story and them falling in love, and then all those years afterward with Weston getting his 20 years and then moving to Hobie and being there for them for years.

It takes Doc literally seeing Wes with another guy in a, uh...compromising position, for him to open his eyes. But Doc was so jealous of the possibility of Weston with others, even when Betsy was alive and I was just like "uh huh..." because it was obvious. Doc was only fooling himself, and I wonder if even Betsy saw Doc's love for Weston. She knew of Weston's love for Doc, so....

Anywho, after they first get together, it gets them to come out fairly quickly and then once they deal with this, this basically just skips ahead in time to present day when Doc and Grandpa are getting their vows renewed that was talked about in the last book in this series.

I was a tad disappointed that it skipped ahead so quickly after they solidified their relationship and everything, and also once all the Marian's and Wilde's got together it was a little crazy and the epilogue was a little disappointing to me. This was about Doc and Grandpa, and the epilogue was mostly just the Marian-Wilde clan being goofy and also it was like a who's who of these clans and it was a lot to keep straight and I just thought it was kinda unnecessary? I don't need a long scene of them all being silly and at times, annoying. I just wanted an epilogue of just Liam Wilde and Weston Marian being in love and living their happily ever after, even 45 years later, so I ultimately rounded down for that and the quick skipping over time once they got together and were out.

But overall I really enjoyed this and seeing Doc and Grandpa fall in love was amazing and I loved every second of it. Their love is so deep and special, I just loved reading about them together and facing the world head on, together.

Can't wait for King's story next. He's been an enigma throughout this series - and mostly absent - so I'm interested to get his story and what he's been up to all these years.

Thumbs up for me, highly recommend this if you've been loving this series and wanting to read Doc and Grandpa's love story once and for all.