This ended up being really cute! Opposites attract, city girl meets outdoorsy Pacific NW man's man.

I wasn't sure what to think initially based off the beginning scene because it was such an awkward situation. Then when our hero and heroine first meet it was also sort of a strange circumstance, IMO.

As the story unfolded, I really started to get Lucy and was able to get over some preconceived notions I had about her. Lucy is a marketing consultant and she's been hired by Gabe's mother to help save the family business by attracting new business...unbeknownst to Gabe. Gabe is pretty domineering, an outdoorsy alpha. I'm not always into alpha males but apparently all he needed to do was prove he could cook dinner and I'm like "sold!" LOL! The chemistry between the two MC's was definitely a strong suit of the story and the author capitalized on it well.

Gabe has a large family and we meet his siblings and get acquainted with the town, New Rush Creek, throughout, setting up this book to be the first book in a series about the Wilder family. The author does a really nice job creating interest towards the other characters. I would totally read more about this family and this community. I like the small town she's built. I enjoyed it overall, not too angsty, but has a strong community and family theme with likable side characters and just enough sexy times to keep things interesting!

The perfect read for this rainy spring. The story will captivate you from the start and will keep you going on until the end. Great written story with amazing characters that you want to see to succeed. Both Gabe and Lucy have their quirks and issues and is lovely to see how they overcome them. Lovely, enjoyable read and it is the first from the series I hope that the other will be as great as well.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

The first book in Serena Bell's new Wilder Adventures series is rife with romance tropes. Big city East Coast girl comes to a small town in the Pacific Northwest to work with a family with five brawny, gorgeous brothers (and one married sister) who run a failing outdoor adventure company. All five are single and will, one assumes, in five books, find true love. This book's hero was burned by a city girl in the past and will never love again. The marketing savvy heroine hates small towns and trusts no one due to a tragic past. Throw in a severe case of insta-lust, a meet cute involving ducklings, and way too many jokes about the heroine's inappropriate footwear--this is rural Oregon for heaven's sake!--and you have Make Me Wilder.

Now Dabney, you say, you say this like it's a bad thing!

OK, OK, it's not a bad thing. I enjoyed this book. Bell is a terrific witty writer and her characters, despite being tropey types, are interesting and have just enough quirks that they're kinda adorable. The sex is hot and the family dynamics--I especially like the Wilder women--are well-done and believable. And given that Jill Shalvis, Sarah Morgan, and Kristan Higgins have all moved to women's fiction, Bell is a good replacement for those looking for sexy, fun, contemporary romance.

Our high heeled wearing heroine, Lucy, is temporarily escaping Manhattan after a highly mortifying business meeting at which it became clear to all her colleagues that Lucy had inadvertently slept with her boss's fiance. Lucy hightails it to Rush Creek, Oregon where her mom is currently shacked up with a new love. Rush Creek has struggled economically and Barb Wilder, the widowed matriarch of the Wilder clan, has hired Lucy to convince the Wilder brothers that Wilder Adventurers needs a more female--think bridesmaids parties and connect with your kids outings--makeover.

This is not an easy task. The Wilder brothers are all, to a man, disdainful of selling out, compromising their old-school vision of outdoor experiences, and pretty sure Lucy, whom they all agree is smokin' hot, has nothing professional to offer them. No one feels this more strongly than Gabe, the oldest Wilder brother who is its de facto CEO.

Unfortunately for Gabe, since he first spotted Lucy--she was trying to save some stranded ducklings and he, deeply competent in all things in nature, steps in to help--their chemistry is off the charts. Within an hour of their first encounter, they've met in the lobby of Lucy's hotel and are about to head upstairs when Gabe figures out who Lucy is in town to work for. (His mother neglected to mention to her sons that she'd hired a marketing consultant.) Sex is--at least at first--off the table and Gabe and Lucy go from almost torrid trysters to ticked off co-workers.

Nothing that happens next will surprise anyone who's ever read a romance novel. Gabe freaks out everytime any of his brothers flirt with Lucy. Lucy needs a place to stay and ends up in the Wilder guesthouse. Gabe and Lucy--he has to come because he doesn't trust any of his bros to be alone with Lucy--go on a series of Wilder adventures, each led by a different brother, and Lucy has no idea how to do anything other than ogle Gabe's gorgeous bod as he makes fires, builds shelters, hikes up mountains, and casts his rod.

The reader knows Lucy will come to appreciate the joys found in small town connections, Gabe will see the wisdom in Lucy's work advice--she really is very good at her job--and the two will, in less than three weeks, realize that love is better than mistrustful solitude.

Again, that's fine. It's not startling, but who cares? I didn't. And I'm now invested in the other Wilders and plan to read their stories too. If you like light hearted contemporary romance, grab this book, a glass of your favorite bad for you beverage, and blow off your to do list. You'll be glad you did.

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Thank you NetGalley and Serene Bell for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Oh my gosh. I LOVED this book and if you’ve been here for a bit, you know I don’t say that often. I had a feeling I’d be a fan, but this is now in the top 5 romances I’ve read!
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A hunky, rough around the edges, mountain of an Oregon man, a classy, sassy and full of sunshine New Yorker, one company to save, one shower to share and more chemistry that can be controlled... This book was HOT. The build up to their relationship and the bedroom were both so perfectly written and I soon felt as desperate as Gabe and Lucy did for them to get together. They just worked soo well. With *most* romances the angst/drama level is just a tad too much for me. I’m a no drama llama, especially in a relationship, so I really appreciated the believable and balanced level of angst. Hallelujah, characters who actually act like the adults that they are! The respect and maturity played well with the witty banter and steamy scenes.
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I’m a major outdoors fan so as soon as i saw Serene Bell had a book involving camping I was sold... WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE CAMPING SCENE. Whooo. Let me tell you, this book will keep you blushing and flipping the pages frantically. Add in a fun set of side characters that leave the door open for more of the Wilder family. I can’t Wait to read Rachel and Brody’s story next.

I love a good opposites attract story, but the heroine was just a wee-bit too annoying for me to really love the book. This is a new author for me and while the story wasn't my jam, I will definitely give this author another try, because the writing was good, just the characters weren't my favorite.

I really enjoyed Make Me Wilder. It's a strong start to a new series by Serena Bell. The main characters, Gabe and Lucy have great chemistry. Of course, they both also have their own complicated baggage which makes it difficult for them to find an HEA. Of course, the best things are worth fighting for.

I also have to say that the side characters are easy to connect with and I see great potential for the subsequent stories within this series. I'm already very attached to the Wilder family and look forward to getting to know them even better.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review this book and the opinions contained within are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

After an embarrassing incident with her boss in New York Lucy Spiro heads to Oregon where she takes a contract to re-design Wilder Adventures, a family-run camping and outdoor adventure business, to appeal to a more feminine demographic. There, she meets Gabe Wilder, the oldest of the five Wilder siblings, and the man in charge, who has zero desire to rebrand or remarket his business. What ensues is an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, fish out of water romance, with humour and small town charm. Basically, it's a Hallmark movie just with the addition of lots of sex (so if you are into a more closed door romance....this one isn't for you!)

Things I liked about the book: The development of both of the main characters allowed you as a reader to understand both of them equally as individuals, while also rooting for them to be together in the end -- I usually find while reading romances with two POVs that there is an inbalance, but Serena Bell created a story where both worked. The chemistry between the two was palpable, and made for some good steamy scenes and romantic tension.

Things I didn't like: I am assuming that this book is the first in a series about the whole Wilder family, so my critique comes with an "I get why they did this" grain of salt... but....there are a lot of side characters, and I mean *a lot*. I find that when I am introduced to everyone at once, it's really hard for me to remember which sibling is which and what they are dealing with and why, and ultimately this takes me away from the main romantic plot. Again, I understand the need to kind of seed future stories into a frist book in a series, but I think they could have cut out a few of the sibling moments and some other side characters and it would have allowed the focus of the book to remain with Gabe and Lucy.

Overall, Make Me Wilder is a good light beach read for the summer and the start of what should be a fun series of books!

What a fun fun new series. I am already so invested in the Wilder family, it is hard to wait for the next book. The Wilders own an outdoor adventure experience company. There are 4 brothers, and one sister, along with their mother who run the place. Unbeknownst to the kids, mom has hired Lucy Spiro of NYC to help make the business more marketable and profitable. The small town has had a tourist makeover, and many more women are visiting the area, but the Wilders, especially Gabe, the oldest don’t want anything to do with being made over. Lucy arrives for 3 weeks to try to influence them that their way of marketing is no longer working and give them ideas how to become mor marketable. Gabe and Lucy have instant chemistry, but are on opposite sides of the marketing table. And then there is so much more! I enjoyed the storyline, the HEA and the secondary characters and truly can’t wait for more. A fun read.

This book was only ok, and the reason I say only is because Im pretty sure I've read the same story by 20 different authors. There was nothing stand out about it.

Serena Bell didn't re-invent the wheel. This is loosely an enemies to lovers trope after Gabe finds out the reason city-girl Lucy is in town: to help widen the reach of his family business to a larger demographic that Gabe wants no part of. Both Lucy and Gabe insist they aren't looking for commitment and Lucy's deadline of going back to New York provides the perfect, natural, end to this fling. Problem is, it's not just a fling to either of them but will either Lucy or Gabe swallow their pride and admit their feelings?

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There was a point in this book that I seriously considered not finishing it. I will admit, the book bounced back and I felt good about how the book finished but I'm left with the same qualms that I had part way through. What the book really lacked was the connection between characters. Not enough time was spent developing relationships in detail for me to feel that the characters could be real friends, lovers, brothers etc. My simplified perception of Lucy and Gave is: attractive strangers->enemies->FWB->in love all mostly out of the blue. The only part of the book that was written in any description were the sex scenes IMO.

I thought Make Me Wilder was a cute read. It kept me entertained and the characters were well written. This city girl takes her adventure to the country were she meets Gabe. While the weren't exactly enemies they weren't friends either but they certainly had chemistry. They soon got over their issues and made their relationship work

Make Me Wilder by Serena Bell is a great opposites-attract romance full of heart, angst and banter, the chapters are short (which is a plus for me) and we get both Lucy and Gabe’s POVs.

I loved getting to see how they open up to each other without them even wanting to and the growth each character has throughout the story.

This one was a lot steamier than I expected but no complaints here! Bell managed to have me reaching for the fan a few times there.

I finished this book wanting to visit Rush Creek and I can’t wait to read what’s next for the Wilder family and friends!!

**Thank you NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for an e-ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review!**

(This same review will be posted on my Instagram account — @bm.bookish.girl — on May 20th)

Thank you Serena Bell and Net Galley for this book. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for a truthful review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Serena Bell’s Make Me Wilder has everything I love in a RomCom NoveI. It’s cute and fun but also spicy! I love a adult romance that can balance laughing out loud and spice all in one. Along with the laugh and spice it also has a storyline that draws you in with its characters making you want to keep reading long into the night. This book was so hard to put down!

The story follows both Lucy and Gabe alternating points of view with each chapter which I love!!!

Gabe promised his father he would take care of the family adventure business and all his brothers—but the business is now in trouble and his mother has hired Lucy to find new ways to market the business to the spa and wedding destination tourists that are flooding Gabe’s hometown.

Lucy hates small towns and hates the woods & water even more. But she needs this job and can’t help but find herself drawn to Gabe and his whole Wilder family.


Quality of Writing 8/10

The quality of writing in this book was good. It did a good job at making you laugh at the right parts but also getting you to fall in love with the characters.

Pace 9/10

This book was paced very well. I loved the back and forth with the point of views this made the book pace well.

Plot Development 9/10

The plot development was also great. I didn’t find any plot holes or portions that felt out of character for any of the characters


Characters 9/10

The characters were also well done. I am happy to know there will be more books released on the other Wilder brothers because I felt some of their stories could have been deeper but I think the author was setting the base line for the next books.

Enjoyability 10/10

I really enjoyed reading this book. I couldn’t put it down and just wanted to keep reading.

Ease of Reading/ Reading Comprehension 10/10
I felt this book was easy to read and understand the story.

Ending 9/10
I felt the ending was a little overdone. I am not a huge fan of Romcom endings that end in marriage or babies. But again I think the author might be setting up for plot lines in the next book.

I would highly recommend this for your next read and it would make for a great beach or camping read.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a fun read. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I liked how the main characters were fleshed out, eveb though it took a bit to get to the real issues facing both of them. I liked that they were well suited and complementary for each other.

And this book was spicy. These two characters were so hot for each other from the moment they met that it permeated through the pages of the book. And despite that, there's a surprising sweetness to it that just melts your heart.

Additionally, I was intrigued enough in the side characters, which incidentally are the leads in the next book in this series that I want to read the book, which almost never happens. But I can't wait!

This was a cute, sexy romcom and I liked it a lot! I found the characters interesting and likable even the dialogue which can sometimes get a little odd in books. The storyline was entertaining and I enjoyed the book all the way through. I will look for more by this author!

Harlequin Junkie Top Pick!

Just take my money! This book was EVERYTHING and more! It has been a long, long time since I loved a book as much I did reading Make Me Wilder! I am such a sucker for the opposites attract trope and Lucy and Gabe just played into this role down to a tee, the posh city girl falling for the rough and tumble outdoorsman.

I absolutely loved Lucy and Gabe’s first meeting, talk about meet cute right there! Both these characters were amazing, I loved that we got to see both of them grow together, as much as they were opposites they had a lot in common, especially their fear of being hurt again. Lucy was amazing I loved her tenacity and that she pushed herself out of her comfort zone trying each of the brothers activities, even the ones that just did not pan out. As for our boy Gabe, who doesn’t love a protective guy that is working the whole wilderness vibe? I really liked getting to see him open himself up to Lucy and opening his heart to love again.

Secondary characters are always a huge part of a great story and the entire Wilder clan were knockouts! I loved that family was such a huge theme of this book and that each member played their own little part. Also who doesn’t love a cute small town and their togetherness? I really liked that Lucy and her mother both healed from their bad past regarding small town living, after all Rush Creek really is the cutest place.

Make Me Wilder has firmly placed itself in my top 5 best books of 2021! Thus super cute opposites attract romcom is an absolute MUST read! If you enjoyed Sarah Morgenthaler’s The Tourist Attraction you will absolutely eat up this perfect romance by Serena Bell! I’m already counting down the days till we get the next book in the Wilder Adventures series!

Make Me Wilder is a book about a city girl temporarily relocating to help a small town business stay out of trouble. It is very much like the Hallmark movie plots I love. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and how their pasts shaped them. Gabe and Lucy were destined to be together and I enjoyed the journey it took for them to get there. The author did a great job developing each member of the Wilder family (and Hanna). Based on all that I’d give the book 4.5. ⭐️ BUT.... the story focused way too much on their intimidate relationship. It was crude. It completely took the sweetness aspect out of it. I’m all for romance but this wasn’t it. So much of it was about that and I wasn’t a fan. I had to skip through pages and pages just to get back to the story. This could be a series of books I’d love but that kind of ruined it for me.

Thank you Author Collective 20 for the ARC.

Sexy, steamy and oh so wild- give me more of these Wilder boys! I devoured Lucy and Gabe's story and their foreplay was so fun to read. Books like this that mix  lust filled looks, adventure and even family time are exactly what I love to read. I can't wait to read more about the Wilder boys (and hopefully Hana!) finding love!
(On a side note- I LOVED the Tillamook dress in the trashion show!)

Oh I really enjoyed this book!

I loved Lucy and Gabe's relationship, even if I did think sometimes they were a bit too unrealistically honest about their feelings.

The whole way through the book you are rooting for them and it was just a really good easy to read, feel good book.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I loved the cool as a cucumber, NYC marketing person that Lucy portrayed. She fit her persona well. Enter a former one-night stand to an office department meeting, and said one-night stand is actually her bosses on and off boyfriend and Lucy experiences the second most embarrassing moment of her life.

Lucy flees to a small town in Oregon to transform a family wilderness adventure business. Her first encounter is with the head of the company and the male head of the family, but neither realizes this until right before they embark on a one-night stand.

Gabe Wilder helps Lucy saves ducklings in a storm drain and is instantly attracted to Lucy. Unbeknownst to him until they have drinks later is that she is the woman his mother hired to revamp their business.

There is a lot of chemistry, hot brothers, brooding males, and a few laugh out loud scenes. There’s drama, a near-death moment, and of course there are two stubborn lead characters too afraid to speak their feelings to each other.

But in the end, Lucy and Gabe find the path to their happy ending.