Overall Grade: B
Tropes/Characteristics: novella; standalone in an interconnected series; opposites attract; close proximity; second chance romance
Dylan Allen does what she does best in her newest Rivers Wilde story, The Wild Card: create emotional, erotic, entertaining romance. Her voice is decidedly spicy, and her characters bear all in this story of second chances. She draws Cassie and Leo together in the most creative of ways: jewelry theft (although that isn’t the situation at all), and as Allen does so well, she crafts an emotional journey between soulmates. Do they have different backgrounds? Yes, but it’s the individual struggles of her characters that unite them. Allen draws you into her story as they work through those struggles and find happiness and completion in each other. Dylan Allen has a special way of building empathy between her characters, their story, and her readers. My only criticism of hers is a need for polish to the story and consistency within a particular character’s development.
However, Dylan Allen’s Rivers Wilde series is one of my favorites, and The Wild Card is another wonderful story to add to the mix. It returns us to a beloved place, and it allows us to fall back in love with this extraordinary fictional community, adding more interesting characters to the mix.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 