The Wild Ones by M. Leighton



Title: The Wild Ones
Author: M. Leighton
Series: The Wild Ones
Publisher: Berkley; Reprint edition (March 5, 2013)
Length: 332 pages
Format: ebook (Kindle)



Description from Amazon:

Passion as hot as midnight in the South and love as wild as the horses they tame.

The darling daughter of a champion Thoroughbred breeder, Camille “Cami” Hines has a pedigree that rivals some of her father’s best horses. Other than feeling a little suffocated at times, Cami thought she was happy with her boyfriend, her life and her future—until she met Patrick Henley.

“Trick” blurs the lines between what Cami wants and what is expected of her—and he just happens to be so sexy she can’t keep her hands off him. While they both know that Trick would lose his much needed job on the ranch if anyone finds out, they can’t resist the lure of their scorchingly hot encounters.

But when Trick stumbles upon a note from his father, it triggers a series of revelations that could ruin what he and Cami have worked so hard to overcome. It turns out there’s more to Trick’s presence at the ranch than either of them knew, and secrets with the power to tear them apart…


My Thoughts:

The Wild Ones is a classic story of rich “princess” falls in love with the stable hand, sneaking around and drama ensue, and then a bombshell from the past comes to tear them apart. There are dozens of romance novels out there that follow this exact plot. That said, this story stood out for me. The characters are ones you become invested in. With the characters of The Wild Ones something bad happens and you want to tell them it will be ok, you want to tell them to quit being stubborn, and most of all you want them to be happy in the end. Cami hasn’t always been a rich daddy’s girl. She remembers what it was like to be normal and doesn’t have the rich snob syndrome that her father and mother seem to have. Cami is just a good person in general. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but she can’t help her instant attraction to Trick. (This was one book where the instant attraction is actually believable) Trick is cocky, extremely attractive, dedicated to his family, loves horses, and is a good friend. What more could you ask for in a guy? Having to hide their relationship is no picnic, but they are somehow managing it. However, when past secrets are revealed they may never look at each other in the same way again.

 I loved every single interaction between Cami & Trick.  You can feel the attraction and the sexual tension between them. Let me just say… it’s hot! They are perfect for each other. They have the classic case of opposites attract: rich girl-poor boy, impulsive-thoughtful, and screw social convention-image conscious. Add into that the fact they are both unbelievably attractive, young, intelligent, stubborn, and caring…you have a match made in Heaven. One of the things that makes them so great is that M. Leighton has written not only their characters, but that of the supporting characters in a way that readers can truly feel their emotions whether it be lust, heartache, shame, or hatred. Speaking of the supporting characters...they  were every bit as amazing as Cami and Trick were. These two, although only supporting characters, developed their own personalities and I loved seeing their interactions almost as much as I loved Trick and Cami’s.  You have to love friends who know when to play and when to push you out of your comfort zone for your own good. It addition to amazing characters The Wild Ones moved at a great pace. Just briefly touching on the big “bombshell” of the story…I kind of saw it coming. However, it may be because of all of the little hints that M. Leighton dropped. She could be just that good!  Often with romance books they tend to drag and get bogged down in the tiny details or take the opposite approach and rush past the parts of everyday life that lets readers really get to know and enjoy the connection between the characters. The Wild Ones moved at the perfect pace not dragging out, but still allowing for the small details to really show how substance formed behind this insta-lust attraction. As a reader you have to appreciate that. Recently there has been a wave of New Adult/Romance books released. Some are good, some are bad, and a few are absolutely amazing. The Wild Ones by M. Leighton falls into the AMAZING category! I hope this review can get across just how much I loved this book! This is one I own on Kindle, but will definitely be buying in paperback so I can share it with all my romance loving family and friends. I give this book a 5 STAR rating!