Review: Wild Ride by Julie Ann Walker (Black Knights Inc. #9)
Note: This ARC was provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
He wanted to punish her. He wanted to hurt her the way she had hurt him. He wanted to...love her.
And that's when it hit him. He already did love her.
Too bad all she wants from me is a quick, dirty fuck.
It's been about a year and a half since the last installment in the Black Knights Inc. series, but the wait is FINALLY over! Fans and readers get Ethan Sykes's story, and if the name doesn't ring familiar, he's none other than Ozzie, the guy with the easy smile and teasing nature, the one the rest of the BKI family would never hesitate to hang around with. But after what happened in Malaysia--please refer to the events in book eight, Too Hard to Handle--Ozzie can't help but worry and wonder about what his role on the team is supposed to be. After all, his leg has healed and it's as good as it's going to be--meaning it'll never be the way it was before. So what does that mean for assignments that'll require him to chase after someone? The one distraction to his questionable position on BKI is an intrepid reporter who makes him want to share his deepest secrets--secrets that could cost BKI way too much.
Samantha Tate wants answers to help her firm up the story she's writing for the Chicago Tribune, but when her source ends up dead, she refers to the information he gave her and that makes her look at one person as her suspect--the Black Knights Inc.'s Ozzie Sykes. He's never steered her wrong before, but could it be that the Ozzie she considers a friend has actually been nothing more than a conniving and deceitful criminal. Her instincts, however, are whispering that she can trust Ozzie--and she can trust those feelings she's beginning to have for him. But with someone clearly after her and Ozzie the one constantly riding in to rescue her, how are they supposed to deal with the attraction that they both thought was one-sided. When push comes to shove, will Ozzie ever be able to tell her the truth about who he is without compromising the family he has with BKI or will Samantha walk away?
All that delicious sexual tension and heart-thumping action that's become synonymous with all things Black Knights Inc. are very much present in this ninth and latest installment. Ozzie's been around from the beginning and I'm glad that he finally gets his chance to get a happy ending all his own, especially after everything that happened in the previous book. He's like a walking contradiction--all rough and tumble but with a very sensitive heart and a truly geeky spirit. He feels like he's at a crossroads and my heart squeezed in empathy for him, and this is why I both adored and was frustrated by Samantha. On one hand, she made him smile with a sincerity that was missing as of late, almost as if she brightened up his life. On the other hand, her own insecurities and miscommunication--and a bad tendency of assuming the worst--made him feel like crap, like he wasn't be enough for someone like her.
The bad guys are front and center all along, so it's not as if you're going to be spending all your time trying to figure out who they are, which is something I can appreciate in a series like this. Rather than having a list of suspects, you find yourself waiting anxiously to see what move they'll pull next, especially since they're thwarted time and again. You know what they say about the desperate, and the bad guys here? They were desperate enough to do some very nasty things. But even with most of the guys from BKI on assignment, this story proved that BKI isn't just about the guys who go undercover. It's also about the women who band together for their men--and that isn't exclusive to the ones they're married to. The bickering between Christian Watson and Emily Scott was also quite entertaining and I look forward to their story! Overall, Wild Ride is a five-plus-starred read and one of my favorites. ♥
Samantha Tate wants answers to help her firm up the story she's writing for the Chicago Tribune, but when her source ends up dead, she refers to the information he gave her and that makes her look at one person as her suspect--the Black Knights Inc.'s Ozzie Sykes. He's never steered her wrong before, but could it be that the Ozzie she considers a friend has actually been nothing more than a conniving and deceitful criminal. Her instincts, however, are whispering that she can trust Ozzie--and she can trust those feelings she's beginning to have for him. But with someone clearly after her and Ozzie the one constantly riding in to rescue her, how are they supposed to deal with the attraction that they both thought was one-sided. When push comes to shove, will Ozzie ever be able to tell her the truth about who he is without compromising the family he has with BKI or will Samantha walk away?
All that delicious sexual tension and heart-thumping action that's become synonymous with all things Black Knights Inc. are very much present in this ninth and latest installment. Ozzie's been around from the beginning and I'm glad that he finally gets his chance to get a happy ending all his own, especially after everything that happened in the previous book. He's like a walking contradiction--all rough and tumble but with a very sensitive heart and a truly geeky spirit. He feels like he's at a crossroads and my heart squeezed in empathy for him, and this is why I both adored and was frustrated by Samantha. On one hand, she made him smile with a sincerity that was missing as of late, almost as if she brightened up his life. On the other hand, her own insecurities and miscommunication--and a bad tendency of assuming the worst--made him feel like crap, like he wasn't be enough for someone like her.
The bad guys are front and center all along, so it's not as if you're going to be spending all your time trying to figure out who they are, which is something I can appreciate in a series like this. Rather than having a list of suspects, you find yourself waiting anxiously to see what move they'll pull next, especially since they're thwarted time and again. You know what they say about the desperate, and the bad guys here? They were desperate enough to do some very nasty things. But even with most of the guys from BKI on assignment, this story proved that BKI isn't just about the guys who go undercover. It's also about the women who band together for their men--and that isn't exclusive to the ones they're married to. The bickering between Christian Watson and Emily Scott was also quite entertaining and I look forward to their story! Overall, Wild Ride is a five-plus-starred read and one of my favorites. ♥
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Read my reviews for the Black Knights Inc. series:
Hell on Wheels (book one) - 4.5 stars - My Review
In Rides Trouble (book two) - 4.5 stars - My Review
Rev It Up (book three) - four stars - My Review
Thrill Ride (book four) - five stars - My Review
Born Wild (book five) - five stars - My Review
Hell for Leather (book six) - 4.5 stars - My Review
Full Throttle (book seven) - four stars - My Review
Too Hard to Handle (book eight) - five-plus stars - My Review
Wild Ride (book nine) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)
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Release Date: 04 April 2017
Date Read: 28 March 2017
Learn more about Julie Ann Walker.
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