Review: I loved the romance between Tucker and Gracie!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2014
THE STORY:In THE WILDE ONE, Tucker Wilde, a wounded war hero and one of the Wilde brothers, meets Gracie Parker, a pretty yet fragile girl, when she comes into his family's bar one night with her boyfriend Dex. Her fear triggers Tucker's protective instincts, and when he finds her beaten in the parking lot of Haymakers, he vows to protect her from Dex, no matter what. Neither of them expected to fall in love.I really liked THE WILDE ONE. Both Tucker and Gracie have things in their pasts that have left them broken. They focus on what they believe to be the negative things about themselves, and can't see the positives, but they see the positives in each other. I liked seeing how these two would work through the hard stuff and finally move forward. Gracie's abuse was kind of disturbing and one scene was particularly heartbreaking toward the end.I also liked seeing storylines that set up the next two books, Hunter and Jake's stories. Every little piece of information given about then in Wilde Riders and THE WILDE ONE adds to their stories, which we'll get to read when the books release.THE CAST:Tucker: The third Wilde brother. Wounded in an ambush in Iraq. His scars disgust him and he doesn't let anyone see them. Works at the family bar, Haymakers. Guitarist in the band he's in with his brothers, Wilde Riders. When he meets Gracie, every protective instinct is triggered when he can see signs of abuse and fear. Vows to protect her no matter what.Gracie: Basically sold to Dex to pay off her father's debts. She's been abused in many ways - physically, emotionally, mentally. She rarely eats because Dex doesn't like fat girls. She's in fear every moment of her life, until the day she entered Haymakers and met Tucker. He shows her kindness, compassion, love - all things she's never been shown. She has a scar on her cheek that she feels makes her ugly.THE VILLAIN:Dex is a sicko who has his hand in all sorts of illegal stuff. He took Gracie as payment for her father's debts. She was still in high school at the time, and he sexually assaulted her. He barely lets her eat, she has thin clothing, and he beats her whenever she does something that he doesn't like. Like talking or drinking water. Pretty much he finds any reason to hit her. And Tucker's interest in her really sets Dex off.THE ROMANCE:I loved the romance between Tucker and Gracie! These two are just so sweet together. It started out as Tucker wanting to protect her from Dex, but as they spend time together, get to know each other, share their scars, it turns into love. Like Tucker says the Wilde boys fall fast and they fall hard.I love that Tucker wants to give Gracie the life that she deserves. He helps her to get a job, a driver's permit, clothes, and eventually her GED and college. She never had any of these things, and I just loved how Tucker wanted to help her, and give her a better life. He shows her that she deserves all the things that he's giving her, including his love.Then there is Gracie seeing Tucker's scars from the ambush, and not seeing them as ugly. She accepts all of Tucker. I thought that this scenes was really beautiful, and it was from Tucker's point of view, so we get to see how much her acceptance really means to him.In my opinion, these two were meant for each other. Simple as that.