Loss of love is the most terrifying feeling in the world. It’s the feeling of your heart emptying, slowly being drained. Because that’s the thing about love. It’s free to give. It’s never free to receive.
“The fault of man is that we never live long enough to be the person we want to be.”
I haven’t read Karina Hale before, but I’m a total sucker for second-chance love stories. When I read the sample chapters, and was moved by some very profound writing right off the bat, I decided to give Wild Card a chance. And that chance was not a disappointment at all. Until there was about a third of the book left. Then things sorta fell apart for me…
Rachel Waters and Shane Nelson grew up together. They met at nine, fell in love at 12, became lovers at 16. When they were 20, Shane broke things off, shattering Rachel (and himself) in the process. Now it’s 6 years later and Rachel is back in town. She’s tried her best to move on, but being back in North Ridge is hard. There are too many memories, and a lot of them are really, really, bad.
When Shane learns Rachel is back in town, he knows he’s never stopped loving her and wants to get her back. He spends the first two-thirds of the book being contrite and careful with Rachel – AS HE SHOULD! He’s kind, he’s sweet, he doesn’t push. But then once he thinks he may have a chance with her, he undergoes a complete personality change. Which is when things start to go sideways for me.
Now, I know Shane is described as being “alpha” in the synopsis. But for 60 percent of the book, he’s remorseful and respects how Rachel is feeling. He’s apprehensive about dredging up the past. He frequently walks away from opportunities to hash things out. This is NOT how an alpha behaves. So when he suddenly starts acting that way, it’s like he’s undergone a personality transplant overnight.
And while I’m at it…can I also complain about the whole “push away the woman I’m madly in love with for her own good” plot device? Maybe it’s just me, but it never seems to make any sense. Other than the fact that the hero is young, and young men are prone to not thinking things through. I get that part. It’s the “six years I’ve know it was wrong, I’ve regretted it ever since, but I still didn’t do anything about it” that makes me loco. The only redeeming thing is that Shane did give a fairly heartfelt apology. It fell a little short of what I would have liked to see – I want major groveling! But at least he did give one.
For the most part, the writing was very good in this book. The pacing was good and kept my interest. Good dialogue is important to me, but again, the first two-thirds of the book things were really good, but during the last third a lot of the dialogue seemed stilted and unnatural (I kept thinking, “no one is going to talk like that!”). I will definitely give Karina Hale another try – I’m interested in reading the stories of Shane’s two brothers. There were times Wild Card was moving and heartfelt, and I even teared up several times. But for the most part, this book didn’t really wow me on the whole.
E-Reader Addict 