Wild Thing by Liberty Laine
Contemporary Romance
Novella (80 pages)
September 7, 2017
Self-Published

Reviewed by Helyce

Favorite quote: [..] I want him. I want him more than all the chocolate cake in the world, and I freaking love chocolate cake.

Tillie and Nathan have known each other since they were kids. People say Tillie came from the wrong side of the tracks, but in truth she was just a kid who had a less than perfect home life and was doing the best she could. Nathan was from the right side of the tracks, but he didn’t care. He pretty much loved Tillie from the moment he saw her. He saw all the good in her, how she took care of all the shit life was dishing out, so that her twin sister Millie wasn’t touched by it. But when the kids would tease or bully Tillie, Nathan was there to soften the blow and stick up for her. So Tillie had always been a little in love with Nathan…but he wasn’t for a girl like her.

Now in their 20’s, Nathan is a cop in their hometown and Tillie is just trying to stay above water. Her mom hasn’t changed at all and has some major gambling debts and owes money to the notorious Asphalt Demons motorcycle club in the next town over. Tillie is determined to handle this on her own, keeping her sister completely out of it; but Tillie makes matters worse by attempting to raise money by passing bad checks. It’s a small town, and it’s easy for Nathan to figure out what’s going on. He’s done with waiting on Tillie to figure things out.

Nathan has known since that first dance in high school that Tillie was meant to be his. He’s waited long enough, and since she doesn’t seem to be able to get herself together, he plans to do it for her.

Things move super quick in this story. I wouldn’t use the term insta-love; these two have loved each other since they were kids and were kept apart by circumstances. Nathan swoops in and appears to fix all Tillie’s problems. He takes care of her bad-check debt and calls in some favors with a judge he knows for a quickie wedding. Tillie is blown over, especially when she realizes that Nathan has a surprise for her that was very unexpected.

Joining the cast are Tillie’s sister Millie and her best friend Hannah. They make a half-assed plan to approach the Asphalt Demons and to try to explain that they have nothing to do with their mother’s debt. This scene is packed with witty banter and humor and we get a good picture of Hannah’s personality. This was one of my favorite parts of the story and I certainly hope that the author has plans to write Hannah’s story!

This was an entertaining read for being a short 80 pages. It had a lot of humor and the characters were very colorful. I’m not sure if it was the author’s intent, but I loved the subtle message of “don’t judge a book by its cover” in how Nathan looked past what everyone said about Tillie and saw so much more than a girl who was always in trouble. She made some bad choices, but most of those poor decisions were to protect her twin sister.

Easily read in one sitting, this is a story with a message behind all the crazy shenanigans that these girls get into. Millie’s story, Jailhouse Rock, is already out and I look forward to reading it.

Grade: B

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