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A review by lezreadalot
Wild by Meghan O'Brien
4.0
“Well, I am a scientist.” Pushing aside any lingering doubt, Eve closed the distance between them, pausing when her lips were mere inches from Selene’s. “Testing theories is sort of my thing.”
3.5 stars. Though this had a healthy number of my nit-picks and narrative dislikes, I really liked this paranormal romance! It's my first full length book from O'Brien, and definitely my favourite so far. Selene is a shapeshifter who knows very little about her nature/the paranormal world, and Eve is a forensic pathologist who's got a serial killer on stalking her. They meet after a traumatic event, and immediately click. The term "fated mates" isn't used, but that's clearly what they are; they have an empathic bond that goes beyond description. Their first meeting and the events that follow are so good; I actually felt the spark of attraction between them, and it so so swoony from the very beginning. Not all books do that convincingly enough, and it laid such a good, stable foundation that I didn't mind that the relationship moved faster than my slow-burn-loving heart usually prefers.
As mentioned, there's a bunch of things that'll just never work for me. We get periodic snippets from the villain's POV, which will just never appeal to me, especially if the book is going to retain any kind of suspense. Some sources of conflict included lack of communication and ex-girlfriend drama, both of which I hate. Though I'll admit, the ex-gf stuff wasn't as annoying as it could have been, since Jac is a stable presence in Eve's life, and has a reason to be around. She doesn't just show up. But her attitude and the jealousy plot with her and just the way she was written got almost caricaturish, and just not enjoyable. And while I understood Selene's reasons for keeping secrets, this one was just kept too long, and I wish a way had been found to bring her into the know sooner.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Alexandria Wilde, who was as impressive, immersive, and enjoyable as always. O'Brien's books are always really hot, and this was no exception. Even though the paranormal world wasn't really developed well, I still liked what we got. And even though I had my nitpicks with the romance, they were just so great together. Really glad I picked this up!
Content warnings: