cover image Wild Love

Wild Love

Elsie Sliver. Bloom, $17.99 trade paper (464p) ISBN 978-1-4642-2081-4

Sliver (the Chestnut Springs series) launches her Rose Hill series with a sizzling contemporary romance. Growing up, Rosie Belmont took great joy in annoying Ford Grant, her wild older brother West’s best friend, and their verbal sparring matches remain legendary in their small hometown of Rose Hill. For his part, Ford, who’s now a successful app developer turned music producer, has been in love with Rosie for as long as he can remember, but holds himself aloof out of respect for West and their friendship. In contrast to her brother, Rosie has always been demure and stable, but after burning out on city life, she returns to Rose Hill feeling “monumentally tired of having it all together” and ready to cut loose. Still, she needs a job, and Ford, who was just named Forbes’s “World’s Hottest Billionaire,” and is in town to open a music studio, is happy to provide. Meanwhile, Ford’s world is turned upside down when the 12-year-old biological daughter he never knew he had shows up at his doorstep. As both characters cope with major life changes, their barbed sparring turns into outright flirtation. Rosie’s able to penetrate Ford’s emotional armor and Ford sees Rosie for who she is, outside of her brother’s shadow. Silver makes it easy to recognize these two as meant to be. Readers will be swept away. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (Apr.)