The Wildest Ride

by Marcella Bell

• ISBN10: 1335773223
• ISBN13: 9781335773227
• Publish Date: 10 August 2021
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Hqn
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell is the first book in the Closed Circuit series. The world of rodeo fascinated me, so picking up this book was a no-brainer. Although not a fan of reality television series, the premise intrigued me and I slipped into the world and soon found myself on a wild ride.

This installment introduces Lillian Sorrow Island aka Lil Sorrow, and A J Garza. Lil manages the family ranch. A job she takes seriously to the point of having no social life. So learning her grandfather had taken out a reverse mortgage before he died, placing the ranch in jeopardy devastated her. To save the ranch, she enters the new PBRA Close Circuit reality television rodeo. She is determined to win the $1million dollar cash prize and prove that women have can be professional bull riders. However, there is a tiny issue: she will compete with the PBRA’s most decorated rodeo star, A J Garza.

A J retired from the rodeo scene and is looking for his next project. However, when he learns that the program that saved him as a teenager and fueled his passion for rodeo has lost its sponsor, the $1million dollar cash prize proved an attractive incentive to come out of retirement. Besides, with him being the best, this was a sure win, but he never counted on Lil Sorrow.

This was an entertaining read. The thing I enjoyed most about the story was the diversity of the characters. It was fun getting to know them. I also Like how the author highlighted the prejudices women faced on the circuit. Everyone automatically assumed Lil was a young man until the moment she got dolled up. Then out came the sexual innuendoes and many prejudices women faced being in a man’s world. However, Lil didn’t allow these incidences to distract her from her goal.

The interactions between AJ and Lil were entertaining. I enjoyed seeing their romance develop, sweet with a hint of passion. She may be his biggest competition, but he could not resist her magnetic pull. While reading, I wondered how it would all play out. Who would take home the prize and what impact this would have on their relationship?

With the story set in the world of rodeo, the reader got an intriguing view into the workings of the circuit and the potential danger contestants faced. The twist near the end took everyone by surprise, the reader included.

Conclusion/Recommendation

To conclude, The Wildest Ride was a delightful mix of diverse characters and the workings of the rodeo. For fans of cowboy romance, The Wildest Ride would make a great addition to summer reading list.This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[Jeff Sexton]

Romance With An Atypical Twang. Let's face it. When you think of rodeo, you don't exactly think of non-white dudes competing. Much less a non-white chick. Nor do you really think of "reality competition show", despite that particular type of show being *so* overdone these days. And yet, in this particular romance, we get all of the above. We get the obligatory overt Garth reference or two, a more subtle Merle reference or two, and two non-white rodeo champions putting it all on the line in a rodeo-based reality competition show in order to save the things they love. And since this is a romance tale, yeah, that builds along the way too. For the clean/ sweet crowd... y'all aint gonna like this one. It only has two outright sex scenes, but one of them is about as far from blink-and-you'll-miss-it as you can get without dragging the story or veering into erotica. Overall a well-done tale that sets up what looks to be a medium-coupled series - not so loose that the characters never appear in each other's books, but also not so tightly coupled that future readers would be completely lost if coming into the series in later books. It will be interesting to see where Ms. Bell goes from here and exactly how she executes stylistically on joining the series together. Very much recommended.