The Wild One is my first foray into Danelle Harmon's books and I am so pleasantly surprised that I have added this talented writer's books to my TBR list.
The second son of the De Montforte legacy, Charles, heads to the colonies to fight for the British crown. There he meets the love of his life, and before he has a chance to marry her, he becomes a casualty of war, leaving Juliet Paige an unwed mother as well as an out of place loyalist.
With her infant daughter Charlotte and a reserve of iron, Juliet crosses the ocean to seek help from Charles' family for Charlotte. Upon her arrival in England, the coach she is traveling in is attacked by highwayman with no morals. Just as Juliet is about to be hurt, a lone rider appears to take on the group of criminals, saving the civilians, but becoming injured in the process. Juliet's survival instincts thrust her into action and she saves the handsome rider from imminent death.
Discovering that the hero is one of her beloved Charles' younger brother, Lord Gareth De Montforte shocks her system and has Juliet determined to do what she can for him. At Charles' bidding, Juliet seeks a meeting with Lucien, the Duke of Blackheath and eldest of the De Montforte family. She hopes for Lucien to become Charlotte's guardian. Her stressful meeting with the foreboding duke leaves so many questions unanswered for Juliet as Lucien does not decide right away if he will take on care of his niece. Lucien is grateful that Juliet helped save Gareth's life, but he is once again angered by the way Gareth has been wasting his life away acting the consummate rogue and wastrel.
Julian bids Juliet and Charlotte remain in residence at his family estate and while Gareth recovers, Juliet and he begin a kinship that confuses both of them. The duke has forbidden his wastrel brother from forming an attachment to Juliet, but emotions have a way of seeping in and causing all sorts of mischief. After Gareth plays the rogue once more and defaces a public statue with the cronies, he awakens from his drunken stupor finding Juliet and Charlotte have left and are on their way back to a ship to return them to Boston. Blaming his brother, the duke for this, Gareth chases off after Juliet hoping to convince her that marriage to him would be the only resolution.
The wedding is where all the fun begins with misinterpretations of feelings and deeds. This unlikely pair struggle to find ways to make their lives work and have meaning. They struggle with emotions that they keep bottled up inside, ones that need to come to light in order for understanding and healing to begin.
The Wild One is a wonderfully written tale. Ms. Harmon draws the reader in and never lets go. I adore how she brings the colonial woman and the English lord together and tugs at the heartstrings of this reader. Gareth's growth from rogue to husband and father is a fabulous tale and Juliet's maturity at a young age from all that has happened is a must read story. I highly recommend The Wild One and I personally can't wait for the next installment, especially after the shocking ending... FYI, I had a niggling feeling about the ending and I was right! So go grab yourself a copy of the Wild One by Danelle Harmon and see for yourself!
~KIMBERLY~
Love this series....time for me to reread it.
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