Review: Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

Riding Wild by Jaci Burton
published by Berkley Heat in February 2008 (tradesize paperback)

He's a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She's a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen...

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact--and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild...

Genre: Erotica romance
Series: Wild Riders, book #1

Nath: Hmmmm, I discovered Jaci Burton through her previous book, Wild, Wicked & Wanton, which had a lot of success in blogland... mainly because it was HOT... Like sizzling hot LOL :) I enjoyed WW&W which is why I got Riding Wild... which I'm sure is the same reason as Ames, right?

ames: Right. :P

Nath: What did you think Ames? Me, I neither liked or disliked Riding Wild. I never got into the story. I read and finished it, but I never felt a thing for Lily or Mac. I felt like the characters weren't developed enough. They were uni-dimensional. Lily came across as a spoiled, rich girl whose life ambition was to annoy her father. I mean, great for Lily that she became a strong woman instead of letting her father bulldozed her life, but seriously... She was too gleeful about making her father mad... I even wonder if her father has been a suspected, would she have sold him out without hesitation?

ames: I know what you mean. When inner thoughts were shown, they were very shallow and stuck to the surface. We didn't really get in-depth. I feel the same way about the book as you did --neither liked or disliked. I was disappointed though. The beginning seemed so uneven and it was written very simplistically. The style seemed a little bit off from her other books. It did pick up for me towards the end, with Mac and Lily met up with the rest of the Wild Riders.

Nath: And the Wild Riders? Although the idea behind the organization was a good one - having thieves stealing back what has been stolen from the government, I came to realize that I'm tired of the ultra-secret government organization storyline. You know, the government organization that nobody knows about, even the other organizations, and that even the president would deny the existence? We've seen it in the Crazy series by Tara Jensen, the BAD series by Sherrilyn Kenyon and many more. It's just getting old. And must all the "men" in it be gorgeous? Didn't you think they were a bit juvenile? That part didn't make me want to rush out and buy the next book. I know, I've complained numerous times in the past about series baiting... but seriously, the Wild Riders came off as high school boys.

ames: LOL!! I never got into the BAD series with Kenyon, so I'm not over the secret government agency like you. I don't know, I was kind of interested. But in no rush either.

Nath: There was a lot of sex in this book, much more than what I'm used to. I guess it's because it's an erotica romance, LOL :) I'm not complaining about it because it was hot and it was probably the best part of the book :)

ames: Heh heh I agree that this was the best part of the book. And the fact that these 2 knew each other 10 years ago is a good backstory, and it gives them a good reason to get down and dirty right away. BUT!! It's always mentioned how Mac was the best Lily ever had...but they only did it once and Mac even admits that he didn't really know what he was doing...so yeah, kind of contradictory.

Nath: Now that you mention it, it's true. The first time Mac actually goes all the way, you see Lily panic a little and Mac reassuring her that it won't hurt. So how can it be the best? I guess it's more the person with whom she did it that was unforgettable.

All in all, I think this was a valliant effort by the author, but it fell short. The characters weren't developed enough, neither was the plot... and that's a shame because the idea wasn't bad. All in all, I would say the book just wasn't balance enough between the sex and the rest of the book. I think that maybe it stems from the fact that Ms Burton is used to writing shorter works, where she doesn't have time to develop plotlines and characters. I mean, look at Wild, Wicked & Wanton. That book contained 3 short stories where the focus was sex; however, I may be wrong because she does have the Demon Hunter series...

ames: I agree. This book just seemed uneven at best. But I'll still keep reading Jaci's work-I enjoy her ebooks and her short stories are good. :P This is a C+ for me.

Nath: It's getting a C from me... and I'll probably give her another chance.