Review: 4 stars! Ridge, book 2 (3). Ridge Wild tries to redeem himself for sleeping w/ his brother’s fiancé setting life into a tailspin
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2014
"All or~ g~ as~ ms were good or~ g~ as~ ms, but the ones that walked the line between pain and pleasure were bliss.”Books in the Wild series should be read in order:Book 1: WildBook 2: RidgeBook 3: SladeWild (book 2) is Ridge Wild’s story.  Orphaned at a young age his life begun a downhill spiral with him ending up in the system.  His older brother, Lane (book 1) tried to help, but at some point he had to let go and they drifted apart. Years later, after much trauma and rehab, details revealed along with story, Ridge has started of a successful restaurant business.  Always a bit of a playboy he had replaced drugs with partying, exercise and excessive sex.Then a year prior he started a fling with his brother’s fiancé, Mia.  Except for Ridge it wasn’t a fling.  Mia was like a drug, the one girl who kept him on the clean and narrow and gave it meaning.  After Mia’s engagement is broken they continue their relationship, but Ridge is riddled with guilt.RIDGE WILD: ~28 years/restaurant owner, business man/$$$/dark hair/light blue eyes/orphan/tattoos.Seven words to describe Ridge Wild: Despondent, selfish, confused, conflicted, self-destructive, depressed and immature.“I was a f~ k~ ng a~ h~le of epic proportions.”The story opens up to Ridge and Mia having goodbye sex.  He has decided he needs to make amends and salvage his relationship with his brother, the only family he has left.  Mia leaves….MIA: ~25 years/dark brown hair/green eyes.“Mia welcomed the fight. She was fearless, and the only way I could think to escape her, was engaging the fear, walking the line and dancing with the devil.”Without Mia Ridge’s life quickly spins out of control; smoking drinking and in lieu of drug excessive exercising followed by mindless sex.  Tired of the one-night stands he sort of defaults into a semi-committed relationship with Amy.AMY: ~25 years/blond hair/brown eyes/petite“She was beautiful and soft and sweet and I wanted to corrupt her.”Amy is Mia’s opposite in many ways, look wise, personality and sexually.In his guilt and self-loathing Ridge falls even deeper into depravity with his drinking, smoking and treatment of Amy.  Most of the times he knows he is an a~ h~ le and makes no apologies, but even when he tries to do the right thing, things just goes wrong…Chances are you won’t like Ridge at this stage.  He is leading Amy on while pining for Mia and even cheating on her.  For most of story I couldn’t even focus on his redemption I was concerned his state of mind and self-destructive behavior.It’s clear that something has to give.  And that is where story takes a turn proving that life can turn out ok not because of what one endures, but in spite of it…  in spite of Ridge’s traumatic past, addictions, guilt, frustration, anger and despair…Ridge is a story about life, self-reflection, growth, forgiveness, redemption and second chances!Emotional journey!  Off-the-charts sex!  A hero who makes you feel!  A passionate love story!"Stop,” I growled and squeezed at the flesh of her hips. "I run this show. I give you what I want to give you; you don’t take.”***Ridge’s rating: 4 starsMia’s rating: 3.5 starsAmy’s rating: 3.5 starsSex scenes rating: 5 starsSex scenes frequency: 4.5 starsStoryline concept rating: 3.5 starsStorytelling skills rating: 5 starsStory ending rating: 4.5 starsBook editing rating (5 = no edits spotted): N/A************************************************Overall rating: 4 starsWould I recommend this story: Yes.Would I re-read this story: Maybe later.Would I read future books by this author: Yes.A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.