Book Review: Wild Reckless by Ginger Scott

Book Title: Wild Reckless

Author: Ginger Scott
Series: Standalone
Release Date: March 17th, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Angst

Kensington Worth had a vision for her senior year. It involved her best friends, her posh private school in downtown Chicago and time alone with her piano until her audition was perfected, a guaranteed ticket into the best music programs in the world.

Instead, a nightmare took over.

It didn’t happen all at once, but her life unraveled quickly—a tiny thread that evil somehow kept pulling until everything precious was taken from her. She was suddenly living miles away from her old life, trapped in an existence she didn’t choose—one determined to destroy her from the inside, leaving only hate and anger behind. It didn’t help that her neighbor, the one whose eyes held danger, was enjoying every second of her fall.

Owen Harper was trouble, his heart wild and his past the kind that’s spoken about in whispers. And somehow, his path was always intertwined with Kensington’s, every interaction crushing her, ruining her hope for any future better than her now. Sometimes, though, what everyone warns is trouble, is exactly what the heart needs. Owen Harper was consumed with darkness, and it held onto his soul for years. When Kensington looked at him, she saw a boy who’d gotten good at taking others down when they threatened his carefully balanced life. But the more she looked, the more she saw other things too—good things…things to admire.

Things…to love. Things that made her want to be reckless.

And those things…they were the scariest of all.

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{READ MORE FOR JASMINE'S REVIEW!}

"And as much as I should be careful, I kind of want to be reckless."

So when I was told Ginger Scott is writing a dark and angsty book, I ran off to Amazon to make sure I had this one-clicked as the inner dark angst whore in me demands this to be read. And boy am I surprised because this author totally went out from her usual sugary sweet element and hit me in the head with this emotionally charged read.

Wild Reckless centers around Kensington “Kensi” Worth who just shifted from a big city into a rural suburban and resultantly, spending her senior year in a new school to her dismay. When she bumps into a new neighbour, Owen Harper who was anything but friendly towards her, little did she know that she was staying next door to the infamous Harper boys that have only been known to stir trouble. 

What's interesting about this read is that the relationship between both MCs started off on the wrong foot and you won't find yourself swooning over Owen for the first portion of the book. He was that bad boy at school with the dark brooding intensity and giving out dangerous vibes to everyone. He was wild, reckless and enjoys the thrill by constantly living on the edge. I admired Kensi that she wasn't afraid to put up with Owen's taunts and at one point, even went on to challenge him.

But when a truth surfaces in Kensi's life that threatens to tear her family apart, she seeks solace in the most unlikely person and slowly realizes that there's more to Owen than meets the eye. Beneath that badboy facade lies a broken soul with a devastating past and as Kensi continues to breach the walls he'd put up, my heart began to ache for every moment I learnt more about Owen and what he's been going through. You can't help but fall in love with this boy as you watch him shoulder the responsibility for his family at such a young age. It gutted me to see how people judged him badly due to his family name but they never got to see the real Owen whose sense of maturity is far beyond his age. 

This book really did a number on me as I found myself hit with a multitude of emotions ranging from soaring with joy to frustration to heartbreaking as I read on. Owen & Kensi's relationship was toxic in a way but you can't help but continue to root for them. If you're looking for the push/pull dynamic between the characters that would send your heart into a workout, trust me this one will do the trick. I found myself in tears at one point because I just desperately want things to get better between them. There were scenes that were gut-wrenching as the author tackles some sensitive subjects that made this read a gritty and emotional one. 

Overall, Wild Reckless had a good combination of angst, emotionally-fueled scenes and well-developed characters that would make this an unforgettable read. It definitely dabbles on the darker end of the NA genre but I was really happy that Ginger Scott pulled it off. I did however struggled a little during the first portion of the read, unsure of the direction that the book was heading but as things slowly started coming to light, I was all in and my heart was plunged into an emotional turmoil. 

Now my only request is that a sequel is written on Andrew because I found him to be such an endearing character and he deserves his own book! ♥ 

  Wild Reckless is a standalone NA contemporary romance that gravitates towards the dark and angsty side of the NA genre.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of seven young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After and Wild Reckless.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website athttp://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).