Title: Wanderlust
Series: No
Author: Skye Warren
Published: April 2013, Smashwords
Format: Ebook provided for review
Can love come from pain?
Evie always dreamed of seeing the world, but her first night at a motel turns into a nightmare. Hunter is a rugged trucker willing to do anything to keep her—including kidnapping. As they cross the country in his rig, Evie plots her escape, but she may find what she's been looking for right beside her.
Wanderlust is a dark erotic novel which explores dubious consent, captivity, and power play. Not intended for those uncomfortable with the subject matter or under eighteen.
I was going to review this book next week, but I couldn’t wait anymore. I have to share it, and my thoughts about it, with you! Wanderlust is the third book I’ve reviewed by Skye Warren, and it deals with captivity. Hear Me and Trust In Me both dealt with captivity also, but all three books deal with it in wildly different ways. Before I even began this book I was excited. I know that Skye is a fantastic writer, and the concept of this book really sounded like an enthralling storyline. When I read a book from Skye, I feel like she is able to totally immerse me in the story. I lose track of time. I am Mia from Trust In Me, I am the slave from Hear Me, and now? I am Evie.
And its Evie who begins this book, and she is twenty years old. She lives at home with her mother who is basically a shut in. But not only is her mother a shut in, she is verbally and emotionally abusive to Evie at times. Her fear of being alone makes her act horribly to Evie, to keep her near, I suspect. But Evie wants more than living in that house can offer her, and so one day she decides, “This is IT.” And then she leaves. She has a destination, and somewhat of a plan.
I like Evie. She is naïve and brave and hungry to see what life is going to throw at her. She doesn’t let her mother’s fears control her, not any more. She doesn’t let horrible events from her past control her, not any more. So on her first night out, she gets a hotel room, crosses over the lot and goes to the diner. And it’s not long before she meets Hunter, Hunter Bryant. As the waitress says, nobody says no to Hunter Bryant.
How do I explain Hunter? Trucker, thirty years old, rugged and sexy cowboy. Damaged, and not exactly making the best decisions at this point. He's got a colorful history that comes out throughout the book, and it totally endears him to me. He takes Evie, and then they are off in his truck.
Their time together turns into a road trip, and they grow and learn more about each other. They end up acting more like a couple rather than a kidnapper and his captive, save for the sex. They are having sex regularly, but it’s not the tender touch of a couple falling in love. It’s rough and hard and screams of anger, and it’s wildly exciting. I couldn’t believe how hot it was at times. This book can definitely speak to that secret side of your darkest desires. Wanderlust isn’t for the everyday romance reader. But if you like things a little dark, and a little …well, wrong, then you will love this book! But don't be mistaken, this also isn't all hearts and roses. Evie is still dealing with her internal struggle about actually being kidnapped, its not something she has just swept under the rug, as it were. Escaping is still a goal, even if she does her best to enjoy her time while she's there.
“I had traded one prison for another, this one mobile but absolute. Inescapable even as it sliced through the countryside. Neither my mother’s home nor this eighteen-wheeler were gilded, but I preferred the view in this cage.”
This story gave time to the characters to grow. Hunter is a criminal, yes. But there is a vulnerability to him. I don’t know if I should be excited, but I was. I wanted them to fall in love, I wanted them to be together. I fell for both of these characters. I fell in love with the damn truck! Every experience they had together, whether positive or negative kept me glued to my Kindle like it was my lifetime. I started this book in the evening, and a couple chapters in I decided I wasn’t going to bed until I finished it, and that’s exactly what happened. I have a feeling that if you like Skye Warren, this book will be at the top of your favorites. It’s definitely a five star read for me, and hey, now I get to use my new graphic for the first time!
So have you read Wanderlust? What did you think? Or is it on your TBR? Tell me what you thought of other books by Skye!
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