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Author: Simone Elkeles
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | TBD
After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.
Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?
“Every worthwhile girl drives a man nuts.”
To be honest, there’s nothing extraordinary about Wild Cards except that it was so easy to read. If I wasn’t busy while I was reading this, I swear I could have read this in one sitting. This book had the classic Elkeles that I came to love since Perfect Chemistry.
As always, Elkeles gives us a bad boy you can’t help but love. While I usually dislike male characters who are portrayed as tough and bad but is actually kind and sweet, Derek didn’t made that combination off. It’s usually because the opposite traits tend to create a conflict to the character that makes me feel like reading two different characters instead of one. In Wild Cards, Derek embraced his bad boy attitude without any pretentions. Everything felt natural and true. He actually believes and lives by what he’s acting…until Ashtyn came along.
Ashtyn was a tough chick and I liked that. Although she had some moments when she acted sort of needy in her internal thoughts, her actions still coincided with her character’s back story. She might have a lot of differences with Derek but I liked how they valued family so much.
There’s nothing better that could build a massive sexual tension than bickering. I enjoyed every moment in this book but I loved their fights the most. I loved the witty comebacks and humor. I am also glad that the author decided to drag it out instead of making both jump into each other. Although Ashtyn admitted having a crush (or more than that) a bit early than my liking, at least she kept it to herself and didn’t go running towards the guy.
Although not a sport in my country, I came to love football from the books and movies I’ve read and seen, and I was glad it was incorporated in the story. I love Ashtyn’s teammates and everything that was related to the sport reminded me of Catching Jordan. The protective teammates and a passionate female footballer was a hit. Unfortunately, I wish there was more. I actually expected an actual game and I was a bit disappointed when it ended without one. Even Ashtyn’s football camp training felt short.
Simone Elkeles never fails to give a swoon-worthy story that could weakened the knees and pull some heartstrings. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series and hopefully, it’s about one of Ashtyn’s teammates.
This copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
