Wilde Riders (Old Town Country Romance)

WESTERN:  Cooper Wilde, the second oldest of the Wilde brothers, left his hometown to make his fortune on Wall Street with the intent to never return . When the family bar named Haymakers is in financial trouble, however, Cooper returns home to help out.  

Riley Smith is sent to New Jersey by her employer to investigate the possibility of fraud on a loan made to the Wilde family.  She is determined to conclude her business and return to the city. Her purpose is sidetracked when the chemistry between Riley and Cooper ignites. A relationship with a small town guy is the second to last thing she wants, a fling with a Wall Street ‘wannabe’ topping the list.  

This typical contemporary romance of instant attraction that leads to a fling, love, and then happily ever after is the first book in the Old Town Country Romance series.  It works just as well alone, for although it lays the groundwork for the characters in the rest of the series, this is strictly Cooper's story. The major problems here are the tedious repetition of Riley's distaste for Wall Street “wannabes”, which stilts the continuity of the story, and once the romance between the protagonists begin, the fraud investigation sub-plot is completely dropped and never resolved. 

Written in the first person with alternating viewpoints, the inner thoughts of the protagonists sometimes interrupt the cohesion of the scene and the flow of the story. However, this fast-paced love story has plenty of family drama, tightly drawn tension, sizzling heat, and smoldering romance to hold the reader's attention. 

Janna Shay