Wild Child (Boys of Bishop #1) by Molly O’Keefe

Contemporary Romance

What Goodreads says:

"Perfect for readers of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson, this sizzling romance tells the story of a sexy small-town mayor and a notorious “bad girl,” who discover that home really is where the heart is.

Monica Appleby is a woman with a reputation. Once she was America’s teenage “Wild Child,” with her own reality TV show. Now she’s a successful author coming home to Bishop, Arkansas, to pen the juicy follow-up to her tell-all autobiography. Problem is, the hottest man in town wants her gone. Mayor Jackson Davies is trying to convince a cookie giant to move its headquarters to his crumbling community, and Monica’s presence is just too . . . unwholesome for business. But the desire in his eyes sends a very different message: Stay, at least for a while.

Jackson needs this cookie deal to go through. His town is dying and this may be its last shot. Monica is a distraction proving too sweet, too inviting—and completely beyond his control. With every kiss he can taste her loneliness, her regrets, and her longing. Soon their uncontrollable attraction is causing all kinds of drama. But when two lost hearts take a surprise detour onto the bumpy road of unexpected love, it can only lead someplace wonderful.

“Molly O’Keefe is a unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romantic fiction.”—New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen."

I have read several of Molly O’Keefe’s books and enjoyed them.  The previous books have an offbeat set of locations and different shape-changer characters.  Wild Child has none of those.  It is set in a fictional small town in Arkansas  (That is what caught my eye first as I live in Arkansas).

The two main characters have major problems.  Monica is the Wild Child, a identity she can’t seem to get rid of.  She has come back to Bishop to research a book about her Father’s death and plans to leave as soon as her research is done.  The town mayor, Jackson, came back to Bishop to raise his sister after both of their parents were killed.  He wants to be anywhere but Bishop and lives for the day he can leave.

The story revolves around both of their problems and the solutions they try.  There are some interesting side characters in the story.  There was some tension between Monica and Jackson but it seems to drag on.  There was a lot of sex but that got old fast.  The HEA was different but not that exciting.  The Cookie Factory Story was OK but even that was not enough to hold my attention.

Molly O’Keefe does good writing but I felt that this story was not her best.  All in all a well written story that just did not catch my attention like I expected it too.

Bantam published Wild Child by Molly O”Keefe in 2013.

I received an ARC of Wild Child from Netgalley.