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Wilder Adventures #1

Make Me Wilder

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This tent is too small for the both of us. And I like it that way.

Gabe
I was minding my business. Literally. I promised my dad I’d take care of the Wilder family adventure business in our little Oregon town of Rush Creek, which also means looking out for my mom, my sister, and my rowdy co-workers, AKA my brothers.

Now the business is in trouble. Overnight, Rush Creek has become a spa-and-wedding destination, and the new tourists aren’t interested in getting dirty—or at least not in the woods.

Then Lucy comes to town, all blond hair and silky blouses and spike heels. It’s her job to give Wilder Adventures a makeover. Camping to glamping, rafting to paddle board yoga, fishing trips to girls’ night sunset cruises. If she gets her way, Wilder Adventures will become Wilder Romantic Adventures.

Lucy hates small towns, getting messy, and anything involving the woods or the water—which pretty much makes her Not My Type.

That doesn’t explain why when I see her, I can’t look away. Why when I touch her, I can’t stop. And why, even though I know no one can talk a city girl into small town life, I’m still trying.

She’s driving me wild. All I can do is make her wilder.

282 pages, ebook

First published May 20, 2021

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About the author

Serena Bell

48 books646 followers
Newest Release!
description

USA Today bestselling author Serena Bell writes contemporary romance with heat, heart, and humor. A former journalist, Serena has always believed that everyone has an amazing story to tell if you listen carefully, and you can often find her scribbling in her tiny garret office, mainlining chocolate and bringing to life the tales in her head.

Serena’s books have earned many honors, including an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, Apple Books Best Book of the Month, and Amazon Best Book of the Year for Romance.

When not writing, Serena loves to spend time with her college-sweetheart husband and two hilarious kiddos—all of whom are incredibly tolerant not just of Serena’s imaginary friends but also of how often she changes her hobbies and how passionately she embraces the new ones. These days, it’s stand-up paddle boarding, board-gaming, meditation, and long walks with good friends.

Sign up for new release updates here! http://www.serenabell.com/newsletter

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5 stars
815 (31%)
4 stars
1,077 (41%)
3 stars
555 (21%)
2 stars
106 (4%)
1 star
26 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
16 reviews4 followers
March 19, 2024
Serena Bell has made a big splash in the world of romance with her novel Make me Wilder. Lucy is big city career woman not comfortable with getting to know her coworkers outside of the office. It’s never been her style and so far it’s worked out just fine. Her hesitancy in engaging with her colleagues leads her to mistakingly hook up with her boss’ on again off again boyfriend because how could she know who he was? This leads to an uncomfortable quick exit from the office and the need to take her business skills on the road. Enter Wilder Adventures a family run business in an economic dry spell in need of a special woman’s marketing genius. Lucy makes a deal with Mrs. Wilder not knowing her tall, ruggedly handsome and exceptionally stubborn eldest son is actually the front man and would take issue with a stranger trying to change the way the business is run. This hilarious and romantically heartfelt book is just what you need to make you feel reengaged with the genre. The characters are quick witted, exceptionally kind and super engaging with backstories that make their connections that much more satisfying to read. This was a wonderful read and little did I know there’s four more books! My leaning TBR pile is going to have to wait a while longer.
Profile Image for Jen.
146 reviews54 followers
December 1, 2023
Real quick: there's several reasons why I've cut way back on reading romance by white authors. One of them is the need to fall back on damaging eurocentric beauty ideals such as heroines having super fair skin and big blue eyes as symbols of their ultra femininity and beauty and innocence. Please understand: it's not a mere description of looks (which is common in romance), it's the SIGNALING of WHAT THEY MEAN. I double dog dare these authors to write a white man with translucent skin, or is that not "manly" enough?

Another thing: this book had some of the most archaic cliched ideas of what constitutes a city/small town person...like, the outfits that Lucy is out here wearing to go camping etc because she's from NEW YORK had me rolling my eyes nonstop.

I keep coming back to Serena cuz I think she does a great job of writing intensity and passion and sexy times. But ugh. This book irritated me.

P.S. Shannon's delusional comment reminded me of this incredible article by Tressie McMillan Cottom (And the response to it! White blonde women really don't like it when we talk openly about what it actually *means* to be a blonde white woman): https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/op...
Profile Image for Aoife - Bookish_Babbling.
356 reviews372 followers
August 23, 2022
I’m creating a new shelf for this - Hallmark Horny’ness.

Take a Hallmark movie set up but make the MCs super horny et voila, we have this book with a fish out of water big city h crossing paths with a small town grumpy’ish H and their working together to boost the family business.
Add in an awks af opening scene, a rainy meet cute to save some ducklings and off you go to meet the fam in what’s set up to be a steamy series featuring 5 sexy bros...as an aside howcome the sis is already married off?! She totes deserves her own book!

Not my fav romcom type read as it tends to stay pretty surface level, altho I will say this one brings the 🌶️ 🔥 & ticked the box for a quick + easy read that I needed during a busy week – lowkey wish I could unread some of that tent scene…it might just be my tastes but sometimes we don’t need to spell certain things out 🤷‍♀️

I may or may not already have book2 borrowed from my library, will see how this week goes whether I *need* to pick it up. Brody is the tattoo’d “bad boy” bro and enough breadcrumbs have been sprinkled in this intro book to make me just the right amount of curious to potentially pick it up altho I can already guess what kind of parties Rachel's mom is hosting 🤭
Profile Image for Melany.
702 reviews103 followers
February 2, 2023
This was a cute adventure. I loved Gabe in so many aspects. The main characters were great, however, some bits were quite slow. I did overall enjoy this one. So many fun laughs and aww moments.
Profile Image for Rozberry🍓.
292 reviews132 followers
July 1, 2022
Wilder Adventures series
>>Make Me Wilder - 4-4.25 stars
Walk On The Wilder Side - tbr
Wilder With Me - tbr
A Little Wilder - tbr/July 2022
Wilder At Last - tbr/June 2023(I really hope this gets bumped up like 6 months, cause even though I intend to space the next 3 out a bit, I know I’ll be ready & waiting for Easton’s book well before next June 🤦🏻‍♀️ lol)


Most original? Eh, probably not. Nonetheless, that’s not always a bad thing (at least in this case). SB still does well putting her own spin on things (& nice pacing the writing, not rushing through too fast) & MMW is a satisfying, fun & steamy kick-off to the Wilder Adventures family series with a good dose of feels in the mix.

If you pick this up, don’t miss out on the downloadable bonus scene after the epilogue. Gabe’s such a sweet wiseass. Sounds like an oxymoron, but no less true 🥰.
Profile Image for Trisha (semi-hiatus).
243 reviews134 followers
July 15, 2021
Blog Review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2...

I received a free e-ARC form Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Edit 15/07/21: I can't believe I forgot to add a conclusionary paragraph for this, and then spent the better part of half an hour searching for proof this was some glitch, but apparently I just forgot. So it's been added now.

This is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

I really enjoyed it!

Let me start out by saying that the line which sold me this book, the first line of the synopsis:
This tent is too small for the both of us. And I like it that way.
was nowhere in this book. I checked. they were never even in a tent, though they were in a shelter made form sticks, but this line was not there and that was so disappointing.

But, moving on, I actually ended up enjoying this!

The sex and the inclination for this and literally thinking about sex for a lot of time in this book did put me off a bit (which is where some of the 0.5 stars I cut off went), but the emotions? God the emotions were amazing.

Heartbreaking angst and then ending with tooth rotting fluff; Serena Bell knows how to write a good romance. I just couldn't stop reading this once I started, finishing it in one day! It was so addicting, the way I like my romances written.

It was so good, in fact, that even though these two fell in love in under three weeks, it felt authentic and not insta-love. Which if you know me even a little, is one of my pet peeves. I could believe these two actually knew and loved each other.

And the final cherry on the top was their willingness to let each other go in order for the other to live their life as they wanted (for some reason I'm tearing up as I write this); that is one of my absolute favourite tropes when it comes to a romance: the fact that you love the other person so much, that you're willing to let them go in order to not pull them back. It really dials up the angst and makes for an even better ending when executed properly, which Serena Bell did!

That love declaration at the end really brought tears to my eyes, and while I didn't expect that surprise, and I also really wanted him to beg, like Amanda did (I really want to read Amanda's love story, because I think there's potential for a second chance romance there), but in the end it was just so sweet I let it go.

I also really loved the Wilder gang, and I'm pretty excited to read their stories as well. There was an excerpt for the next one, which is about Brody and Rachel from this book, who were behaving very puzzlingly, but seem to have an interesting explanation for all of it.

I also really enjoyed seeing the way Lucy worked on the marketing; I never really considered how important it is that brands advertise themselves to women for better sales, but I guess a lot of stuff makes more sense now. I also really enjoyed her way of working on details, the author did a really good job exploring her job.

On the whole, an amazing romance with the perfect angst to fluff ratio. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romances with forced proximity, great angst, would not mind slightly sex heavy books (thankfully here lust did not try to pass off as love), and just a very enjoyable romance that ticked nearly all of my boxes.
Profile Image for Jessica.
253 reviews41 followers
February 24, 2024
3.5 stars!

I'm on my small town, mountain man romance kick at the moment and this fit the bill nicely.
It was fluffy, quick, cheesy and kind of Hallmark-y (in all the best ways of course). It was also really easy to follow and keep up with, meaning you can read it almost mindlessly which is exactly what you need sometimes honestly. It wasn't revolutionary or ground-breaking, but it was a solidly good time and you get pretty much everything you think you're going to get from it.
Profile Image for Tilly.
1,440 reviews213 followers
May 23, 2021
4.5 stars
Smut level: 3/5

After reading the first two books in the Tierney Bay series by Serena Bell, I knew I just had to read "Make Me Wilder" and it definitely did not disappoint!
The story is about Lucy and Gabe. Lucy is a marketing specialist from New York and Gabe is an wilderness expert who lives in a small town. They could not be more different and I love that about them. Lucy is intelligent and confident but also closed off and insecure. She has so much to give and I loved seeing her let loose through the book. Gabe is a self titled "fixer" who has looked after his 6 other siblings since the age of 15 when his father passed. I love Gabe, he is so serious but also incredibly loyal and loving. I love how Lucy and Gabe help each other change for the better.
The romance is really great and the chemistry between the two characters is hot right from the first meet. The smut is decent although I could have done with just a little more. I actually wish there had been more Lucy and Gabe sceness where they are getting to know each other as I really enjoyed those.
The side characters are brilliant with Gabe's family being the majority. They are all very different personalities and back stories so I cannot wait for the rest of the series! I love romance series that are based on a big family.
The storyline is simple but really well done with some fantastic humour. The writing is great and I couldn't put the book down!

I highly recommend this book to all romance lovers, it is such a great start to the series and I cannot wait for the next book!

Please note that I was gifted this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Rachel | What’s Rachel Reading.
141 reviews33 followers
May 5, 2021
Make Me Wilder is a great light, summer read with the perfect amount of steam and wit.

This contemporary romance is a complete opposites attract. Lucy is a ‘city girl’ hired to help the Wilder business. Gabe is the opposite, naturally, as the Wilder’s own an outdoor adventure business. As the two get to know each other better, walls begin to break and feelings start.

I really enjoyed the character development from both of the main characters. Lucy is cast as a city girl that won’t be able to handle the wilderness. Lucy surprises Gabe when she shows her resilience and takes her adventure in stride and with wit. Gabe is closed off to the idea of any type of romance to a city girl but soon learns that she is much more than that and he may have misjudged.

Make Me Wilder is a quick read and has wonderful pacing. The story has the perfect amount of tension and wit that kept me from putting it down. It is a dual perspective which I enjoy. It is also the first in the Wilder Adventures and I can only hope that we get to see more of the Wilder family brothers. I would recommend this to any contemporary romance reader.
Publication Date: May 20, 2021

Thanks to Author Collective 20 and Netgalley for providing the arc for me to give an honest review.
Profile Image for Bronwyn.
1,219 reviews24 followers
May 9, 2023
I’m throwing in the towel at 55% because I just can’t anymore with this book. There haven’t even been any sex scenes yet and I’m feeling queasy at just the thoughts these MCs are having. I’m actually quite amazed at the high ratings of this book. This is supposed to be a romcom and I didn’t laugh once. That disappointed me because I really like small town romcoms. There is no witty banter or anything to give me even a little chuckle.

These characters were so two dimensional. Lucy was a prissy, suck up NYC girl with a stick up her ass about small towns. She accidentally slept with her boss’s boyfriend and they decide she needs a 3 week vacation so they can both get over the situation. Lucy wants to quit, but her boss knows Lucy works really hard for the company. The thing is, for being such a city girl, she’s really quite an introvert. She doesn’t go to any office parties or functions, and she hasn’t made any friends among her coworkers. Had she done that, she would have known who her boss’s boyfriend was. 🙄

So Lucy sets off for a 3 week getaway to visit her mother in Oregon. Her mother recommends Lucy to one of her friends so Lucy can help with the marketing of this woman’s family business. It’s called Wilder Adventures. But the night before the meeting, she runs into this hot guy in town (Gabe) who helps her rescue some ducklings 🐥 from a storm drain. They meet for drinks once the ducklings are saved as a precursor to a hook up, but while talking they realize that Lucy is there to help Gabe’s family business. So they both decide the hook up is a bad idea.

The set up to the story seemed fine. But the execution was dismal. I was so bored and I hated Lucy. I really wish that authors would research the area they’re writing about. Either that or just make up all the town’s names. I had to roll my eyes about what this author was trying to sell. Lucy was staying in a small town in western Oregon. Yay! I live in western Oregon! The hotel Lucy was staying at only had her booked for 3 nights instead of 3 weeks and was all booked for a spring festival, so they couldn’t accommodate her for the time after the 3 nights. Lucy checked all the hotels in the area and “hotels as far as Bend were full.” Really? Bend is in central Oregon. From what I could deduce from things in the book, Bend is about 4 hours away from where this fictional little town is located. (See highlights/notes for quotes from the book.)

The stuff that was supposed to be sexy made me uncomfortable. I made highlights if anyone is interested because I don’t feel like cutting and pasting all that into my review. Part of me is glad that I’m giving up because I’m frightened of what a full on sex scene would be like with this author. 🤢🤮

I was looking forward to settling into a new series/author and this book completely turned me off. I’m thankful this was free when I got it. This author is going on my “authors to avoid” list.
Profile Image for Simply Love Book Reviews.
7,046 reviews842 followers
August 12, 2021
Make Me Wilder is the first book of the Wilder Adventures by Serena Bell. The author does a good job introducing the main characters, secondary characters and telling their story along with their background that could be used for others in the series.

Gabe is running the family business however it isn’t as successful as it used to be. Times are changing in the area and he needs a little help to freshen up the business. Lucy is the city girl that is ready to take on this country adventure. She bright, cheerful and willing to take on this surly country guy.

While these two weren’t exactly enemies they weren’t friends either. They did have a underlying chemistry that kept this adventure moving forward.

They soon get over their issues and focus on making his family business a success while making their relationship work.

There was minimal drama throughout the book. The storyline kept me entertained and the characters were well written.

Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
Profile Image for Maggie Pittman.
52 reviews1 follower
May 14, 2023
Sometimes you just need an easy, mindless romance read. This is the first in a series and I will probably read the next one. Also, I won this book in a giveaway and it’s *~signed by the author~* with my name and everything so you know, that’s always cool and elevates the reading experience.
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,088 reviews290 followers
August 6, 2022
This was book 1 in the "Wilder Adventures" series. This was a pretty good first book in a new series to me this was also my first time reading this author. Lucy Spiro is hired by Gabe Wilder's mother to help the business that she owns to transition to keep up with the times and the town. Gabe is hot sexy and grumpy. These two are like totally opposites and they had some hot chemistry going on. These two meet when Gabe help Lucy save some ducks. I really liked the secondary characters in this book as well Gabe has some hot brothers that I can't wait to read about. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Michele.
1,450 reviews
May 23, 2021
I really enjoyed Make Me Wilder. It's a strong start to a new series by Serena Bell. The main characters, Gabe and Lucy have great chemistry. Of course, they both also have their own complicated baggage which makes it difficult for them to find an HEA. Of course, the best things are worth fighting for.

I also have to say that the side characters are easy to connect with and I see great potential for the subsequent stories within this series. I'm already very attached to the Wilder family and look forward to getting to know them even better.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review this book and the opinions contained within are my own.
Profile Image for Love-Leigh Book Reviews.
263 reviews4 followers
May 17, 2021
•Amazing Chemistry!•

I LOVED this book!!! This is my first book by Serena Bell and she had me from the baby ducks.

Really enjoying watching the progression between Gabe and Lucy, especially the way they saw what others didn’t without having to say much.

The brothers were such a fantastic aspect as well as the interactions between them and Gabe, as they all are quite different from each other. I really look forward to seeing the interactions from different perspectives in each book.

I am VERY excited for Brody’s book. There is some great setup for his story in this book that has left an air of mystery surrounding him that I am dying to find out more about.
Profile Image for oitb.
688 reviews16 followers
March 22, 2023
This was slightly better than I was anticipating, but there was a lot of gendered language that I felt didn't age well (lots of emphasis on the heroine being womanly, the hero being gruff and manly, etc). Serena Bell writes sexual tension and sex very well, and her stories always zip along at a great pace, but there's not a ton of depth, which I feel could really bump these books up to be even better contemporaries.
Profile Image for julie.
55 reviews13 followers
May 11, 2022
“i love you, i love you, i love you”
Profile Image for Em.
681 reviews4 followers
September 12, 2021
I feel like Ms. Bell's novels always leave me wanting more sexy-times, and I approached this one with a bit of trepidation because the last two novels I've read (not Bell books) needed more - LOTS MORE - steam, and a better romantic pairing. So imagine my surprise when the steam level hits a boil almost from the get-go AND the romantic leads have chemistry for days from the moment they meet. HAPPY DANCE.

Couple of take-aways: I'm clearly not remembering my Bell books correctly, or she has seriously upped her naughtiness game (me LIKEY LONG TIME), and chemistry can cover a lot of flaws in a not-so-groundbreaking story.

Anyway, Lucy is a marketing badass living the big life in NYC. Terrific at her job, flawless in her appearance and social media personae, but a hot mess when it comes to relationships/her personal life. Her dad was a total douche who screwed her and her mother over BIG TIME when she was a young girl, and the small town they lived in failed to support them when they needed it most. Lucy learned not to rely or trust on others - except her amazing mom, and has been keeping people (read: possible friends and boyfriends) at a distance ever since. She also dislikes small towns.

After the super awkward discovery that she slept with her boss's boyfriend (THEY WERE ON A BREAK) - [cue author admiration pause: this scenario is painful and plausible and cringe-inducing and brilliantly awful, but also absolutely perfectly rendered in this story] - she decides to flee her coworkers and career and start her own business instead. As one does.

Lucy winds up in rural, small town (omigod) Oregon after she's hired by the matriarch of the Wilder family to help turn their failing adventure business around. Also, conveniently, Lucy's mom lives in town with her new boyfriend. (she gave Lucy the hook-up with the Wilder's!) Only Lucy doesn't know that widowed Mama Wilder failed to mention her turn-around plan to the other business owners (her children!), and most significantly, to Gabe, the oldest son and the guy who keeps the lights on at Wilder Adventures. Oops?

Gabe discovers Lucy’s identity shortly after a meet cute over baby ducks. He spotted the beautiful stranger mid-failed-ducky-rescue, and started lusting after her based on her looks. Again, as one does. After convincing her to meet for a drink later that night, he starts putting his signature hot and handsome and capable and good smelling moves on her. She’s smart and fun and sexy and he’s feeling her. IN A BIG WAY. Lucy, his stranger lady, is into him, too. Obv. And since Gabe doesn’t do relationships (OF COURSE NOT!) and hot lady visitors are totally his jam, this night is going right in all the sexy-times ways. Until he asks her why she’s in town. Oh snap. She’s there to turn his business around. Surprise?!

Awkward.

Gabe’s pissed, his mom is stubborn, the other super hot Wilder brothers are not amused but are only bit players in this story (so they don’t do much), Amanda - the lone sister - is super friendly and helpful and open-minded, and Lucy is determined and not about to fail at the job that will allow her to start her own business. So Gabe and Lucy become frenemies/co-workers who not so secretly think lustful thoughts about each other non-stop. Full stop.

Look, here's my takeaway (and Lucy's too BTW): the Wilder’s are pathetically clinging to the “deserving” dudes that patronized their business (which includes rafting, hunting, survival skills living, skiing, AND MORE!) in the past, and aren’t so crazy about the new influx of visitors/tourists in Rush Creek that arrived after the discovery of a local hot spring. Lots of ladies, and apparently, dudes who don’t want to hire the Wilder’s and/or aren’t the kinds of dudes the Gabe targets as clients. Yep, I think we’re supposed to ignore Gabe’s casual misogyny because HE HAS A BADASS WOMAN WORKING FOR HIM, too, and he does love women. But I couldn’t. So, there’s that.

Unfortunately for Gabe, his deserving dudes/hardcore ladies aren't paying all the bills these days. The business might go under IF they can't pivot and engage all these new Rush Creek visitors. Bright and beautiful Lucy to the rescue. Because she's as smart and clever as she is lovely and fashionable, she recognizes that she has to learn the business to help save the business, and she takes the slow and steady approach. She agrees to sample all the adventures Wilder Adventures has to offer, and then make suggestions to help them grow their client base. Gabe is impressed. A woman with good looks and a big brain? A woman with a talent for helping failing businesses LIKE HIS succeed? A shark/sexpot who is TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS without a man second-guessing, mansplaining her job to her? WTF. Who is this unicorn? J/k. But for real. There are lots of us Gabe.

Anywho, moving on, small but pivotal plot detail: at the meeting, its REVEALED that Lucy is on the verge of homelessness - long story, you’ll have to read it to understand it - and she conveniently ends up neighbors/shower roomies with Gabe. OMIGOD #2. Fortunately, the lust is out of control. Also, Gabe’s possessiveness. Also, the chemistry between formerly unlucky in love Gabe and Lucy. Also, their pleasure in each other’s company.

Also, my genuine enjoyment of this story.

Look, Make Me Wilder has problems. Gabe’s misogyny is a big one. I'm also not into fantasy village/small towns where everyone knows everyone's business and loves it. But this is an easy, breezy contemporary romance that is entertaining, fun and filled with steamy loved up feelings, and this EXHAUSTED WITH MEH BOOKS AND SLIGHTLY BITTER AND RECOVERING FROM BRONCHITIS reader was here for it. All of it.

Hijinks and hang-ups from childhood and former failed relationships almost sabotage this love story, but they don’t. SPOILER ALERT.

It’s fiction. It’s romantic. It’s fun. It baits the hook for future stories. And I binged it hard.

Recommended.
Profile Image for Katie.
643 reviews9 followers
July 15, 2021
3.5 Stars!

This was cute, and if you’re looking for a very light easy romance series to get into, this one might be for you!

Most romance books I read get around a 3.5- 4 star rating, and this one is right there with all the other ones I enjoyed. For romance books to get a 5-star rating from me, I have to be incredibly attached to the characters as a couple, and it has to have a pretty emotional or deeper plot that pulls at my heart. I enjoyed a lot of this book, but I didn't love it, and it won’t be one of my favorites of the year. It was right there in the middle of "good" for me.

Make me Wilder follows alternating points of view between Lucy and Gabe. Lucy is a city girl from New York City that has been hired by Wilder Adventures to help market their outdoor adventures to couples and women. Wilder Adventures is a family-owned business with a mom and her four sons, and while mom has hired Lucy to help the business expand and grown, the brothers are dragging their feet when it comes to making the necessary changes. The oldest brother, Gabe starts to fall for Lucy, but she is only in the area for three weeks, and he’s already had his heart broken before. Plus, Lucy isn’t looking for anything serious now either, but that doesn’t stop them from getting to know each other in and out of the office for the time she is in Rush Creek.

The characters in this book were pretty well done, and I appreciate the opposites attract trope quite a bit. For me personally, I felt like I didn’t really know the characters too well and I didn’t quite believe the romance by the end of the book. Sometimes when I’m really loving a book, I feel like it could be completely real, and the characters are alive and could be my friends. With this book, I liked the characters, and I was rooting for them to be together, but I felt like I was just reading about them on the page. I never got attached enough for them to feel real. They were both a little “vanilla” for me.

That could be because parts of the book felt a little choppy. There were moments that I was grooving along and loved the scenes where we were getting to see the characters getting to know each other, but then my head was whipped around with a weird comment, dialog, or sex scene. It also could be because it felt like the author was introducing so many of the siblings because those will be the future books in the series, but we would jump from one brother scene to the next, and they never felt connected. It was nice to read about the brothers and how different they each were, but I wanted more quiet moments between Lucy and Gabe because I didn’t believe they could fall in love in three weeks with the scenes and dialoged I read from in this book. The last 25% of the book really did pick up the pace for me, and I liked how this wrapped up!

Overall, this was cute, and I really did enjoy Lucy and Gabe. I would be interested in checking out the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Ellen.
169 reviews2 followers
December 29, 2022
So I thought it would take me longer to read this, but I was really enjoying it and hardly stopped once I started! lol

Gabe and Lucy meet when Lucy comes into town and finds herself trying to save some ducklings that have fallen into a drain. Gabe comes to the rescue and there was sparks on both ends right from the start. Come to find out Lucy is in town to help out Gabe's business, which he is NOT happy about. But he gives her a chance and woah did his business and life change forever.

This book was a quick read, but I didn't feel like it was missing anything. It was smooth ride from beginning to end. I like how I got to see Lucy experience the outdoors to get a feel of the Wilde's business. She showed how serious she takes her marketing. I love how Gabe didn't completely bash her ideas once he saw how amazing she was doing on their adventures.

And then when it came to them as a potential couple, I liked how they went off their initial feelings of one another right off the bat. Even when Gabe found out who she was, he still couldn't stray his feelings towards her. I also really liked how Lucy was shy at times with Gabe and then this sensual women with him.

I loved the plot concept, I thought it was a good way to marry all the characters together. Since this one is the first of the Wilde Adventures series. It gave me a glimpse of each brother and made me excited to see what happens!

I really didn't see any cons except, to some, it probably is an insta-love trope. But that trope doesn't bother me.

There are some spicy scenes, but I feel like it wasn't too spicy! I'd say 2.5-3/5 spice! I feel like the chemistry between the two made it more spicy lol

And I feel like there were a ton of pros for me, so I won't go into many of them. I liked how Lucy found some girls to confide in while she was in town and she was able to build a good friendship with them. And, most importantly to me, they got to see how amazing she was as a person!

Gabriel Wilder, you are so, so screwed.

Her hair is a total disaster, a messy bun gone completely to seed. Wet, muddy. I tug the elastic out and her hair spills down her shoulder. "You're so beautiful."
Profile Image for M. Carolina.
173 reviews9 followers
June 5, 2021
I'm awed. After reading this book I'm gonna try to get my hands on every story by Serena Bell that appeals to me - and if I'm being honest even those that don't.

This romance story was amazing. Everything about Lucy and Gabe are feels and vibes. Just gah!

I can't even how they were so damn cute and the chemistry? Yes, sir, please more of that.

And how this set up is amazing and original and sweet? I dig small town romances - even if I'm a city girl myself - but it's fair to say that I never pay that much attention to the scenery.

But here I was captivated and actually liked the place.

Now I want to unravel every and each one of the Wilder's brothers love story.

Two things that I'd like to see: maybe Clark and Lucy's friends, Annie. She's just mentioned but yeah know, curvy redhead is my type and so is silent, strong and brooding like Clark.

Let's not even talk how I want a Heath and Amanda love story or how they're gonna fix what's going down in their marriage.

And I really would like if Hannah's story was apart from Kane's one. I'm not into friends to lover even less when one or both of them are pinning for each other. Can we just have friends of opposite sex that aren't madly in love? It's just me.

But really if the quality of this book right here happens in any of the other stories I'd eat it up.

Anyway, I'm with my fingers crossed that this book gets more ratings and reviews cause this right here is a romance book done right!
Profile Image for Jonna.
85 reviews
October 4, 2023
I read a review here that said that this was Hallmark Horniness and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Now, I generally think that Hallmark movies are pretty darn bad, but I still enjoy watching them because you know what you get when you start watching. I do think that this was a fairly bad book, mostly because of the cheesiness of it all, but with that said I still - sort of - enjoyed it. It’s not like it’s something I want to reread, but it was an okay way to make my time pass.
Profile Image for Just Love books.
626 reviews16 followers
May 20, 2021
"Gah, look at him. Gabe is as competent at survival as he is at everything else he does. I stop behind a tree and watch, hoping I don’t get caught shamelessly engaging in outdoor adventure porn."

Lucy needs change, after having a major mix up with her bosses boyfriend and a dressing down by said boss Lucy is determined to do things differently. This is exactly how she finds herself in Rush Creek, thanks to her mum Lucy has a job lined up to help an adventure company break into the female audience. However Lucy did not expect her new client to be the hot lumberjack looking guy that helped her save a bunch of ducklings, or for him to be so anti-change.

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“How can it be that the future of my outdoor adventuring business is in the hands of a woman who doesn’t know how to go outside?"

Gabe will do just about anything to help keep his family business alive and thriving, everything except turn their Wilder Adventures into glamping and spa days, but with the major influx or weddings and girls weekends to Rush Creek Gabe has no choice but give Lucy a hearing. He just never expected to fall so hopelessly in love with the city loving, high heel wearing city girl.

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With each adventure Lucy finds herself falling more and more in love with Rush Creek, the Wilder siblings and especially life with Gabe. But with her time in the cute small town fast coming to an end will Lucy and Gabe be able to figure things out?

"He was feeling it, too. He might have been pretending to be all business, but he was torn. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. I shouldn’t be so glad, but my drunken tingly bits are ready to celebrate with confetti."

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Perfection! This book was EVERYTHING and more I would hope for in a sweet small town romance. I absolutely fell in love with both Rush Creek, Lucy, Gabe and the rest of the Wilder family. I loved that family played such a big role throughout the novel. It was really cute getting to see the Wilder clan welcome Lucy into their little group even though she was so different to them.

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"Gabe without a shirt on is… Pretty sure I counted at least an eight pack before I realized that I was edging over into gaping , and raised my gaze back to eye level. But it took me a minute to get there because between the eight pack and his oh-so-serious, intense face were these gorgeous, golden just-right pecs, with a perfect smattering of hair. I wanted to look back down, to check out the matching trail to paradise, but I got stuck again on his dark gaze, which was… Hungry."

Lucy was amazing, I loved her never give up attitude and that she tried each of the activities offered even when they didn't go to plan. I really liked Gabe and that he slowly opened up to Lucy and opened up his heart to love again. He really was the perfect protective hero with a soft heart.

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This has to be one of my new all time favorite romcom reads to date. I would highly recommend reading this small town, opposites attract romcom. I can not wait for the next book in this series!
Profile Image for Maria.
857 reviews10 followers
May 12, 2021
This is a fun, straightforward romance novel about a family who run a wilderness adventure company in Oregon and the consultant the matriarch brings in to rebrand their company for a female market. It never strays anywhere unexpected (which isn’t a bad thing), and is very steamy.
Pros:
The family! I am a total sucker for a book that clearly sets up a series exploring a HEA for all the sibilings in a series (a la Bergman brothers and Winston brothers). This first book didn’t have the heart or depth of those series, but I have hope for more.
Our MCs have incredible sexual tension and chemistry, from their meet cute saving ducklings in a rain storm, all the way through the end.
Gabe, our hero, resents his attraction to Lucy as soon as he realizes she was brought in by his mother to change the family business behind his back, which of course happens after they almost hookup. Constantly fighting attraction is close enough to enemies to lovers to scratch that itch in my brain.

Cons:
A very feminine heroine and very masculine hero, never really challenging stereotypes that make stories like this kind of basic. It’s a bit lazy, and I would have loved a more realistic look at the complexity that people have.
City girl in the wilderness/small town isn’t my favorite, though at least this city girl is never shown as weak or morally bankrupt as I have seen in other romances (mostly movies).
The small town the book is set in is gentrifying, though that is never called out specifically, and is becoming a tourist town that caters to weddings, bachelorette parties, etc. The brothers don’t want to change the way they do things, but it felt like a missed opportunity to talk about how money and shifting markets pushes communities, displaces businesses and residents, and generally takes agency away from people. Instead the story just focuses on how the business doesn’t want to change because they don’t like girly things.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and it made me miss traveling. It was relatively simple, both in terms of plot and character, but sometimes that’s what you want. It was so steamy, and it was nice to see Gabe and Lucy grow closer despite themselves, and then give in to their attraction knowing that they have a time limit. Just don’t expect anything groundbreaking.
634 reviews22 followers
May 7, 2021
Gabe and his brothers run an outdoor adventure company in Rush Creek, a small Oregon town where quickly changing tourist demographics (from hardcore outdoor adventurers to "soft" spa trips, weekend getaways, etc.) have caught all of the local businesses by surprise. Wilder Adventurers, and all of the Wilder brothers, have so far resisted changing their business and it is suffering as a result. Unbeknownst to Gabe, his mother, who owns the controlling interest in the company, hires Lucy, an NYC marketing whiz who specializes in helping businesses appeal to a female audience, to help Wilder Adventures broaden its appeal. Lucy has some personal reasons to take a break from her job, and her mom has recently moved to Rush Creek, so this seems like a good opportunity for her to get out of town for a few weeks, and earn a bit of money while she does so.

On her first night in Rush Creek, she runs into Gabe in an adorable meet-cute. Sparks fly, but unfortunately, he realizes that Lucy has been hired by his mom behind his back and she realizes he adamantly opposes his mom's plans. Needless to say, that kills the heat. From then on, it's one adventure and squabble after another as Lucy, a city girl through and through, gamely goes on various sample trips to acquaint herself with the business, while Gabe continues to oppose her plans, but secretly admires her competence and wit. Slowly, the walls between them start to crumble, but Gabe has to get over his conviction that Lucy can't possibly fit into his life, while Lucy has to figure out whether she can be happy away from the city and living an outdoors lifestyle.

Gabe and Lucy were both likable characters with solid motivations for acting the way they did. Although they started out as antagonists, they both came to admire and respect each other and sincerely want the best for each other. As someone who loves the outdoors, I really enjoyed the setting and the premise of this story, as well as the relationships between Gabe and his siblings, and Lucy's growing friendship with Gabe's sister and with Wilder's lone female adventure guide. My thanks to the author for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm looking forward to continuing this series with Gabe's siblings.
Profile Image for Tiffany Welch.
106 reviews8 followers
May 30, 2021
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Holy hotness Batman!! I freaking loved everything about this book! Insert fancy New York girl into the Greta outdoors and you know it’s going to be amazing! Lucy works at a successful marketing firm in New York and following a one nightstand, she find out she unknowingly slept with her bosses on and off again boyfriend. To reset, she goes to visit her mom in small town USA and meets a tough and rugged hottie who she later finds out is, of course, her newest client.

Gabe runs an outdoorsy adventure business with his 4 hottie brothers after his dad died and they are struggling to keep up with the new up and coming atmosphere. So Lucy is hired to turn it all around, but the boys are hard headed and stubborn. Lucy agrees to accompany each brother on a trip that features their specialty, fishing, hunting, survival training, and white water rafting.

Over the course of her time with the family, her relationship with the family grows, everyone loves Lucy, even if they think her ideas are crap. And OF COURSE, she and gave fall for each other but refuse to do anything about it because they have both been hurt.

I LOVE mutual pining in romances and this one was done perfectly. It was refreshing to see that although Lucy and Gabe refused to ask each other to stay, they both acknowledged the fact that it was silly. It was just done so well.

And those smutty scenes...🌶🌶 ugh the chemistry between Lucy and Gabe is strong from the moment they meet and it shows. I loved watching their list turn to more, and watching Lucy break through that tough exterior Gabe has as the man of his family. It was truly beautiful watching them learn to trust each other enough to break down those walls.

There was just absolutely nothing I didn’t like about this book, it was amazing!!
Profile Image for Sophie.
143 reviews42 followers
August 9, 2021
I NEED THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY!

Make Me Wilder is everything I love in a romcom.

Grump small town man who's a sercet teddybear? - check.
Polished New Yorker kickarse female lead? - check.
Nature, small town vibes that you next full in love with? - check.
Dual POV from the main characters - check.

This book reminder me of a perfect Hallmark film, but better and with a lot more spice... yes we got some serious spice! This is the first book in what I assume will be a good 5-6 book series centring around all the Wilder silbings, from second chance romances, friends to lovers etc which I am BEYOND excited to read.

This novel centres around Lucy and Gabe. Lucy is a killer marketing pro from New York who has some *serious* trust issues, after a very unforunet incident at work, Lucy heads Rush Creek to visit her mom and work on a marketing project with Wilder Adventures that could mean enough money to open her own marketing firm!

Gabe promised his dad he would take care not just of their family business, Wilder Adventures, but also to look after his mom, sister, and all his brothers (and also co-workers!!!). Gabe has the weight of his family on his shoulders, and isn't keen on the idea of change, espcially if it means cratering to the new tourists that are flocking into the tour for the hot springs, spa days and weddings.

Lucy and Gabe have INSTANT insane chemisty, but when Gabe finds out who Lucy is and that she is there to help his family business, he is less then impressed.

This book is a must for any romance fan.
Profile Image for pageswithpayten.
585 reviews60 followers
May 25, 2021
Thank you NetGalley and Serene Bell for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Oh my gosh. I LOVED this book and if you’ve been here for a bit, you know I don’t say that often. I had a feeling I’d be a fan, but this is now in the top 5 romances I’ve read!
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A hunky, rough around the edges, mountain of an Oregon man, a classy, sassy and full of sunshine New Yorker, one company to save, one shower to share and more chemistry that can be controlled... This book was HOT. The build up to their relationship and the bedroom were both so perfectly written and I soon felt as desperate as Gabe and Lucy did for them to get together. They just worked soo well. With *most* romances the angst/drama level is just a tad too much for me. I’m a no drama llama, especially in a relationship, so I really appreciated the believable and balanced level of angst. Hallelujah, characters who actually act like the adults that they are! The respect and maturity played well with the witty banter and steamy scenes.
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I’m a major outdoors fan so as soon as i saw Serene Bell had a book involving camping I was sold... WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE CAMPING SCENE. Whooo. Let me tell you, this book will keep you blushing and flipping the pages frantically. Add in a fun set of side characters that leave the door open for more of the Wilder family. I can’t Wait to read Rachel and Brody’s story next.
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