Wilder At Last: A Steamy Small Town Romantic Comedy

I have to say this book has the best declaration ever! It's so totally perfect for Easton and Hanna. And last but not least: I absolutely love the rocks! Everything about the rocks. If that doesn't give you warm, fuzzy feelings, nothing will.

Fantastic romance! Easton "Panty Melter" Wilder is the youngest of six, and is still struggling to find his purpose in life. Wanting to step out of his family-assigned role, he approaches the new celebrity wilderness chef, Bear Warden, to be considered for a job. Also wanting to work with Bear, but for decidedly other reasons, is Hanna Hott, Easton's childhood friend, co-worker, and constant nemesis. These two bicker like Statler and Waldorf, but they agree to work together with Bear because neither one wants to miss the opportunity to get what they want. But when Hanna asks Easton to help her brush up on her dating skills in preparation for her Bear Hunt, suddenly their chemistry is undeniable and it becomes apparent that all their previous combativeness was merely a form of foreplay. Let the games begin! I really can't overstate how exquisite their wordplay was! It was brilliantly creative, fit every situation, and was such a foundation to their friendship that it was missed when they needed to become more serious as their relationship progressed. Once they were able to return to needling each other incessantly, we knew they were over the last hurdle and had found their way back to their easy-going, comfortable emotional intimacy. There's truly never a dull moment with these two. I really identified with Hanna, who was never able to feel like she belonged, not with her five older brothers, not with the superficial girls her age, and certainly not with the team of mountain men known as the Wilder Brothers, even though working with them is and will always be her dream job. This aspect added so much depth to the story, as Hanna's journey of self-confidence was expanded to include her relationships with the other Wilder women, Easton's sister and sisters-in-law. I also really enjoyed watching Easton find a career path he could be passionate about, and how he opened up to his brothers, one on one, when he needed their support and advice. Both Easton and Hanna are the youngest of their siblings and the author perfectly captured all the nuanced insecurities that come with being the baby in the family. I loved their HEA, and rejoiced with Hanna as she became accepted as a Wilder at last. I also loved the way the author set up the family history for the next series focusing on Hanna's brothers, which I'm calling in my head, "Last Will and Manipulation." One of my favorite tropes. Can't wait to see where that leads! If you're reading this review then you're already considering this book, so I don't have to tell you that you need to click to buy it now. Read this one, then binge read the whole five-book set again. That's what I'm going to do. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Easton and Hanna’s story in Wilder at Last by Serena Bell, book five in her Wilder Adventures series, is a wonderful, heartwarming romance about finding yourself, complicated family relationships, hard lessons about life and connecting with each other. Easton Wilder and Hanna Hott both work at Wilder, Easton’s family business, for years, and they’ve known each other since they were kids, but they’ve never really been the best of friends. They are more frenemies; friendly but still enemies. They