Review: Born Wild by Julie Ann Walker (Black Knights Inc. #5)


Born Wild is the fifth book in the Black Knights Inc. series by bestselling author Julie Ann Walker and finally turns the spotlight on what's been brewing between William "Wild Bill" Reichert, Black Knights Inc.'s resident explosives specialist, and Evelyn "Eve" Edens, heiress and doctorate student since they crossed paths in the second book, In Rides Trouble. The last time Bill and Eve last saw one another was eleven years ago, making promises to be faithful to one another while he went off to continue his Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. But after Eve decides to give in to the pressure from her father and agrees to go on a date with someone deemed "perfect" for her, their relationship ends. Bill's never gotten over what Eve did but with her life now in danger, he needs to set his animosity aside to help.

He was twenty-one and she was only eighteen, but Bill Reichert and Eve Edens were each other's first love. Unfortunately, like a lot of stories about first loves, theirs ended after an unforgettable summer together. They meet again when Bill is part of a BKI team that rescues his younger sister Becky and Eve, who just happens to be Becky's best friend. He may be a former Navy SEAL and a covert operative but he knows he's still the same guy from the wrong side of the tracks and someone Eve's father will never consider good enough for his daughter. But Eve isn't the same innocent, naive daddy's little girl who never rocked the boat that he knew more than a decade ago. She's finally growing into her own and finding the confidence to make her own choices and to stick by them, regardless of what her domineering father may think or say.

In the year since Bill and Eve had their reunion at sea, he's never failed to make it obvious to her and everyone else around them that he'd rather be somewhere else than in close proximity to her. Of course, he doesn't like any other guys getting too chummy with Eve, so it's obvious that he's got a heck of a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to their short-lived relationship. Eve still has lingering feelings of guilt about the whole affair and her role in the demise that neither of them wanted. There's a twist with regards to what happened all those years ago and I couldn't help but feel for these two and all those years wasted. But then, things happen for a reason and there would have been no guarantees that they would still be together had things not ended twelve years ago. Fate, even with the machinations of others, is a fickle foe.

Naturally, this wouldn't be a Black Knights Inc. novel if it didn't have all that mystery and suspense that makes each book a page-turner. This is similar with the its predecessor, Thrill Ride, in that the villain isn't made known until close to the end of the story. The first three books made it clear from somewhere in the beginning who the bad guys were, so not knowing certainly heightened the whole mystery suspense feel. I know I said that Thrill Ride was my favorite book in the series but Born Wild is right up there with it and the fact that these two favorites were back-to-back reads (as in no breaks, bathroom or otherwise) made me giddy with satisfaction. This was a second chance romance that was wrapped in suspense, steam, and sweetness that left me with a grin on my face and wanting even more from BKI. Born Wild gets five stars. ♥

Date Read: 29 August 2015

Learn more about Julie Ann Walker here.

Purchase Born Wild on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.

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