Wild Hearts (Lines in the Sand #2) by Lindsay Detwiler

Blurb:

Jodie Ellison loves wild parties, chaotic fun, and spontaneity in her hometown of Ocean City, Maryland.  With her writing career and waitressing job not quite paying the bills, Jodie desperately needs a new roommate and finds herself in a nightmarish situation when her roomie turns out to be a disastrous choice. The wild and unruly Levi Creed is a little bit revel and a whole lot of sexy.  When he moves in next door to Jodie, things get a bit tumultuous thanks to a squawking parrot and a dangerous fire pit.  It seems like Levi’s adorable Texan drawl and perfect body can’t possibly win over Jodie… or can they?  An undeniable chemistry simmers between the unlikely pair.  The beach babe and the sexy cowboy soon find themselves asking:  Can they tame their wild hearts and commit to the blossoming romance between them?

Review:

I previously reviewed Inked Hearts, the first book in Lindsay Detwiler’s Lines in the Sand series, and loved it.  It was sweet and funny, but my absolutely favorite part of it was the secondary characters.  And so, imagine my delight at being granted a book focusing on one of those secondary characters, Jodie Ellison.  Wild Hearts is one of those minimal-drama novels that seems more realistic than most.  It doesn’t take much effort to imagine the beautiful Ocean City, Maryland or the boardwalk or the really annoying parrot living next door.  If you’re looking for chaos, fights, and misunderstandings you’ll probably want to look elsewhere for a read, but if you just want some genuine romance that will make you laugh and aww the entire time then you’ve picked up the right book.

Cowboy novels aren’t usually my go-to reads, but I was willing to give Levi Creed a chance to win my heart. And he did. He captured my attention from the first time he opened his mouth and introduced us to all that southern charm.  I adored his light-hearted attitude towards Jodie’s furious confrontation, his penchant for using the word ‘reckon’, and the lovely descriptions of his ripped abs (please, keep those coming).  He was the perfect fit for the over-thinking, slightly chaotic, horror-writing Jodie.

In Inked Hearts I got to know Jodie as the wild roommate of the more subdued Avery who loved to hit up clubs and date all sorts of interesting men and I’ll admit that I was expecting her to be like that in Wild Hearts, but instead we got a new version of Jodie: a stressed woman with a semi-short fuse and a deadline on the horizon.  She’s a sarcastic spitfire with a hatred of birds (I can relate to that) and trying very, very hard to ignore her attraction for the hottie next door who never seems to wear a shirt.  Jodie and Levi balanced each other out wonderfully.

Wild Hearts was beautifully written.  I loved the individual growth of the characters, the sarcasm and wit, and the sexually charged kite-flying scene.  I would have loved to watch this book as a movie, especially the scene where two gay men pretend to be someone’s dad to break up a party… and the seashell collecting.  I can’t think of anything else I would want in a romance novel.  And if you hurry the first book in the series is currently free (as of 3/17/18).  Click here!