Lauren Blakely's Once Upon a Wild Fling ARC Review

I want to thank Lauren Blakely and InkSlingerPR for the advance e-copy of Once Upon a Wild Fling.

Once Upon a Wild Fling is out today!!

From Goodreads: “My brother’s best friend has a proposition for me. Have I mentioned he’s a sexy single dad? Tell me more…
There are a million reasons why Miles Hart isn’t the man I should date but allow me to enumerate the top three. He’s friends with my brother, he’s a single dad, and he’s a sexy, in-demand rock star. He might as well wear an off-limits, totally unavailable, and don’t-even-attempt-to-ride-this-ride sign.
Then he asks me to be his plus-one when his band plays at his high school reunion, and the night unfolds in ways I never expect.
***
I have three good reasons to keep my hands off Roxy Sterling–her brother’s my business manager and good buddy, my kid is the center of my world, and the last time I fell hard for a woman I was burned so badly that my interest in relationships has gone up in flames. But once I bring Roxy’s body next to mine on the dance floor, I want all the not-safe-for-work things I can’t have with her. So I make a proposition.
Then I learn exactly how risky we might be.“

You cannot go wrong when picking up any novel from Lauren Blakely. She consistently pumps out amazing NA reads. Her latest series, The Heartbreakers has been such an entertaining ride, so far. I gave both the previous installments four stars each, and I am also giving the final book four stars as well. By no means do you need to read all of them, they all read as if they can stand alone. I only recommended reading them in series order to grow a greater connection to the characters as both main ones in their story and side ones in the other books. Plus you do not want to be spoiled about events of the previous book (like how the ending of book two, sets up events of book three).

Below I break down my review into the components I value most in my reading experience:

Characters: Roxy and Miles, both characters had a wonderful maturity about them. Roxy owns a chain of pet boutique salons and makes the decision to use a sperm bank in order to have a child of her own. Miles is raising his son alone and is a wonderful father to the young boy. The cast of side characters features the main characters of the previous novels and it is just so lovely to see how they are doing after their story is over.
World/Setting: New York City. Always a classic city to set an NA Romance, never disappoints.
Pacing: Lauren Blakely paces extremely well. I can finish them in only a few hours, which make them such fulfilling reads.
Romance (yay or nay?): Lauren Blakely writes great tension between the characters. I love how they tried to resist their feelings for each other for so long. Like when they refused to call dates, dates when they were definitely dates.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, check out this excerpt…

“~ROXY~

I find Miles behind a stage that has probably witnessed high school graduations, speeches, and musicals. His eyes take a leisurely stroll up and down my body. The way he stares, every zone in my body feels erogenous. Especially the boob zone, where he spends more time than usual.

When he slides his gaze up to my face, he looks hypnotized, then he shakes it off and brings me in for a hug. “So glad you’re here, Rox. Now go enjoy the show, and I’ll find you the second we’re done.”

Once it starts, I do enjoy the show. I never saw the Heartbreakers in concert when they were in their heyday. I’ve never been a concert person. Not that I’m opposed to music, but my mother set a precedent when I was in the eighth grade and my friends had a chance to see P!nk perform. I asked her if I could go, but the next day I had to take the prep school entrance exam, so the answer was no.

“It’s a better use of your time to stay in and study,” she’d said.

That’s what I mostly did in high school, listening to music on the radio as I worked through math problems and wrote essays on the Vietnam War. The Heartbreakers kept me company that way. Later, when Miles became a solo artist, I’d find myself humming his tunes when I heard them play in Starbucks, or while riding the escalator at Bed Bath & Beyond.

I became a fan, but I’m not a fangirl like some of the others here tonight. I don’t just mean the women. The Heartbreakers have fanboys and fangirls, singing along, belting out tunes. They’re crowding the stage, and the security guards hired when the Heartbreakers were confirmed for the event are standing on alert, arms crossed. Fortunately, there are no bras or panties thrown at the stage, nor briefs or belts either. I’m glad Miles’s high school class is full of fans but not crazy groupies.

The music reverberates in the gymnasium as the trio of gorgeous brothers sings love songs and fun songs and sexy songs while disco balls twirl from the ceiling and strobe lights flash.

When the set nears the end and they dive into one of Miles’s most popular solo tunes, a love song called “Today,” I swear his eyes find mine in the crowd as he sings about yesterdays and tomorrows. The way he sings turns the tingles into sparks, and I’m feeling it now for sure—that click, click, click of my heart, or maybe it’s my hormones.

Whatever it is, my breath comes faster as I dance.

When the show ends and the band thanks the crowd, that’s my cue to find him backstage. He’s sweaty, and I’ve never found sweat so sexy before. He drapes an arm around me, drops a kiss to my cheek, and says, “Hey, sexy bodyguard.”

My voice is a little breathier than I expect as I reply, “Reporting for duty.”