The Savage Wild

by Roxie Noir

Wilder Flint was the worst mistake of my life.

I should have known better than to fall for his cruel charms and cut-glass eyes, but I was good at calculus and bad at understanding people.

He shredded my heart to pieces.

I spent ten years forgetting Wilder Flint, and it took every minute.

Of course he shows up again. He’s got the same blue eyes, the same cocky grin, and a brand-new swagger that makes me weak in the knees.

I’ve got a summer research project in the Arctic and three canceled flights. Wilder’s got a plane.

But when we crash deep in the middle of nowhere, all we’ve got is each other.

I hate Wilder. I hate him in the depths of my soul, with a fire and fury I’ve never felt about anything else.

But that doesn’t mean I can resist him.

After all, love and hate aren’t so different.

Genres: Romance, Second Chance, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity, Second Chance Romance

Unknown Binding

First published May 16, 2018

About the author

Roxie is a romance author by day, and also a romance author by night. She lives in Los Angeles with one husband, two cats, far too many books, and a truly alarming pile of used notebooks that she refuses to throw away.

She's the author of the Loveless Brothers series, the upcoming Wildwood Society series, and a bunch of other books that are also delightful.

If you need updates or free stories, you can sign up for her newsletter: http://roxienoir.com/newsletter

Reviews

[PointedlyBlunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts out with Imogen trying to get to Yellowknife after a delayed flight has screwed up her arrival time. Panicking about what to do she asks a flight attendant what her options are. The flight attendant sees a man she's been sleeping with that happens to be a pilot who has a history of chartering private flights for a hefty sum. The man happens to be Wilder Flint, someone from Imogen’s past that happens to hate her as much as she hates him.

There’s clearly something that happened between Imogen and Wilder when they were in high school, but it takes several flashbacks before we find out what that is. All we know is that both feel like they’re the wronged party and have held onto their hate for ten years. But the more I read, the more I realized that Wilder is one of the worst heroes ever, and Imogen needs revenge some serious groveling.

I'll hide the rest of the review under a spoiler tag, because it's chock full of them.

The flashback scenes are brutal. Wilder was the rich, popular football star in high school and Imogen was the middle-class, weird nerd. But for some reason Wilder found himself drawn to her and he pursued her… despite having a girlfriend, Melissa. Wilder would take Imogen to secret locations and have sex with her in the back of his dad’s car over and over again, but once school was in session, she ceased to exist. Imogen had to watch Wilder making out with Melissa in school, had to hear about the gifts he would send her for holidays (like when he drove over two hours to get Melissa a gift he couldn’t find close by), but apparently Imogen got the better gift: his dick. This lasts months until Imogen finally realizes that Wilder will never break up with Melissa, so she threatens to tell her unless he does. Wilder doesn’t take that well.

“And you think she’s gonna believe you? […] You think that, if you, Imogen Gustavo, tell literally anyone in the whole school that you’ve been screwing me, they’ll believe you?"

He proceeds to tell Imogen he couldn’t give a shit if she leaves, because he’ll just start fucking Melissa finally.

She thinks I’m going to break up with Melissa – my picture-perfect cheerleader girlfriend – for her, the weird nerd.

*************

Hell, no. Imogen can barely string two sentences together when she’s in a group of people. I can’t tell my friends that she’s my girlfriend, I can’t take her on dates and shit. No one would ever talk to me again.

*************

At worst, Melissa will come to me, crying prettily, and ask me if it’s true and I’ll say of course not. I’ll wipe away her tears and it’ll be everyone’s word against Imogen’s, and in a couple of months maybe I’ll get up her short little cheerleading skirt.




Imogen does tell Melissa by showing her a sound recording she accidentally made of Wilder giving her oral. Melissa freaks and steals Imogen’s phone, then returns it. Not long after, Prom happens. Wilder and Melissa win king and queen, and as they’re in the middle of their dance, the recording comes on over the sound system. But only Imogen can be heard, since Wilder altered his part out. Imogen runs out as Wilder smirks at her.

Accurate portrayal of what I wanted to do to Wilder at that moment.


Imogen never returns to that high school.


Seventeen years old or not, Wilder was beyond cruel. I don’t care if he was young and spoiled and under parental pressure, he lacked all sense of morality. And the entire ten years they’re apart he spent hating Imogen and blaming her for what happened. That’s why when they’re reunited as adults, he’s just as cruel as ever. He insults her parents.

“Your parents finally win the lottery? I used to see them always buying tickets.”
“No.”
“I had a feeling they still hadn’t quite made it.”

He flirts with and gropes the flight attendant he’s been screwing in front of Imogen hoping to make her jealous. He contemplates leaving her while passed out unconscious after the plane crashes. After they’re rescued he makes an attempt of getting Imogen to give him a chance, but she doesn’t believe he’s changed and tells him no. He gets pissed and immediately thinks this:

I want to find another woman here – literally any woman would do – seduce her in five minutes, tell her my name just so she’d scream it loud enough for Imogen to hear when I fucked her. I want to pull someone’s hair and imagine Imogen, on the other side of the wall, crying.



Yeah, how dare she not believe he's changed and that she could trust him?? *Sarcasm*


Imogen does make him grovel a bit and rejects him 2x, but more people deserved to know how shitty he treated her. He should’ve shouted from the rooftops what a dick he’d been, but sadly Imogen caves after a few weeks of him skyping her almost daily. Because it proved he was “invested”.

Despite somewhat redeeming himself as a person by the end, I can accept that Imogen forgave him, but I can’t accept that she gave him a chance romantically. People change with time/age, but if he was able to be so callous before, he could do it again. I would never be able to trust the hero, and I can’t believe the heroine could either.




The only reason I didn’t DNF was because the story is well-written and researched. And I did like Imogen’s excitement over her profession, but that doesn’t come close to making up for what I had to suffer through with the hero.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Paula (on hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Color me confused, but what’s up with all these 4 & 5 star reviews? Both the Hero & heroine are supposed to be in their late 20’s and act like immature 14 years olds! The so-called Hero in this story is a real prize. A loathsome, entitled, whiner who sucks big time! For too many reasons to mention, he is a f****g immature asshole (past & present). The heroine, while slightly better, is too “nerdy” for my taste and too forgiving. Even if the f****r grew a pair in the end, there was no way I could call this one a romance.

Some reviewers excused his behavior of what he did & how he treated heroine as kids being kids but that is too lame for me. No one – kids or not – with any morals or decency would ever treat someone the way Hero did with heroine. He knew what he did was wrong (both present & past) yet the fucker kept blaming heroine & continued to be the same asshole he was in high school when he met her again and pretty much continued up until the last few pages. Skip this one people if you want your sanity….

Hero came from a rich family. Heroine was the “nerd”. He had a girlfriend in high school who he did not sleep with because she was saving herself for marriage so he slept with heroine instead on the side. Heroine at first thought he had broken things off with his GF but later found out that it wasn’t the case and still continued to sleep with him – knowing he was with someone else. She asks him one night to break up with his GF or she will tell her that they are fucking. He says no and she ends up telling the GF and they break up. She goes to the prom where he & his GF are crowned homecoming King & Queen and it is there that a video of her & him having sex is leaked for all to hear which the hero instigated so that he can get payback for her telling his GF and to embarrass her. Humiliated & hurt, she leaves town and they don’t see each other for 10 years. Hero ends up becoming a manwhore who sleeps with married women and whoever takes his fancy.
When they reconnect @ the airport where heroine is stranded 10 years later, Hero acts like a scumbag in which he tries to make heroine jealous by coming on to a woman he had been having sex on & off. This OW later comes back to bite his ass. So while their plane goes down, the story progresses in bits chapter after chapter to learn what transpired in past. By the time you get to the end, I still think he is the same douchebag as he was before and stupid heroine took him back anyways. Whoopee-do!

[Lu Bielefeld]

note to myself: piece of shit hero and doormat spineless heroine

Review Here

Review Here

[Mindy Lou's Book Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Survival Stars!

Wilder Flint was the popular jock in high school who noticed the weird, nerdy girl. He's been crushing on Imogen big time, but he's already got a girlfriend and he has to keep up appearances. The problems is he can't seem to stay away from her which results in disaster...for Imogen. Fast forward 10 years and their worlds collide again. Neither Wilder nor Imogen has recovered from the fallout from high school. When they are thrown together and end up having to survive a plane crash, they have to lean on each other but can't seem to let go of the past.

I'm a big fan of Roxie Noir. I have pretty much loved everything I have read of hers because I'm a huge fan of the way she writes. Her stories always suck me right in and before I know it, I've finished the book. I mention this because this book was no different. I pretty much devoured this book once I started reading it. The only reason I didn't absolutely love this book is just a personal preference. You see, I'm just not a fan of heroes who are jerks to their heroines even when they make up for it by the end. It's a me thing and I know there are a lot of readers who love to see this kind of thing and would love this book for it. I did really like the ending. I thought the author brought them together in a way that was more realistic but also satisfying.

ARC provided by Author.

[Carvanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a pleasant jumble of romantic tropes. We have nerdy girl/handsome hero, secret affair, revenge and finally enemies to lovers. This book ran me through the gamut of emotions and I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up at the end. I truly enjoyed the feeling.

Wilder is not my favorite type of hero and I’m not sure if I ever really felt that he had redeemed himself or that I even liked him. His actions ten years ago did not say “this is the girl I love”. I understand teen angst and heartbreak at that age but even now a decade later Wilder’s thoughts did not lead me to believe he regretted the way things happened so long ago. I needed him to feel differently and I never really thought he did until it was a little too late to change my feelings, even if Imogen was able to forgive him.

This has some flashbacks that are well highlighted so there is no confusion and I did enjoy getting to experience what happened with this couple rather than just being told about it. I understood where Imogen and Wilder were emotionally during that time.

This is a well written, fast paced read with scorching steam, a heroine that I loved (I do love a nerdy h) and few secondary characters. I wanted to love Wilder and I suspect that many readers will totally forgive him, understand his current emotions and be able to see him for a true hero. He does wrap things up rather nicely at the very end.

There is plenty of action throughout this story and I definitely felt concern over both of these characters as they fight for their survival. Now THAT, I loved! Ms. Noir really pulled me in all the way with this aspect of the story and I was totally blown away by it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dual POV
Safe ow drama; H has secret affair with h while dating/kissing/holding hands but no sex with other “prettier/more popular” girl; H publicly humiliates h because she wanted H to tell ow about them and when he refused, h told ow; when reunited ten years later, he cozies up to different ow in front of h; H has sex during separation but unknown whether h does – she does say others got to second base
Triggers social anxiety; panic attacks

[Rejane]

I wonder what kind of woman would stay/forgive/ find a reason or excuse this kind of man.

Both hero and heroine have no morals. 17 years old people knows exactly what is right or wrong. She’s no better than him. IMO

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Frankie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hero is a disgusting scumbag! Not only is he a cheater, but he is an entitled prick who never grew up. From start to finish, he was a total looser and heroine is no better. She knowingly got involved with someone who was with someone else - both times! The ending sucks big time too. So people, don't believe all these 4 & 5 star reviews because they are total lies!

[boogenhagen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and I liked that the H managed to grow up and become a better person.

I was not overly ecstatic about his big redemption, it was not terrible and it wasn't a short term reformation, I just felt it was a bit lacking. But the h really loved him and they were great together by the end. I just wish he hadn't been so horrible the first time around.

[Amy Imogene Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 actually, no thanks stars

This was well written, the survival element was realistically done for a romance. But that romance??? HELL no.

Plot/Pacing: ★★★★
Realism of setting: ★★★
Actual romance arc: ★
Enjoyment: ★★

The Savage Wild is one of the romance books that I picked up for free during the annual Stuff Your Kindle day—if you're not aware of that program, it's run by romancebookworms.com and includes hundreds of romance ebooks for free on specific days. It's a fantastic program and gets a lot of books into a lot of people's hands!

So, given that preface there, I'll be honest and admit that this free ebook was one of my rare(r) duds from that event.

Imogen is a scientific researcher trying to get from Seattle to the Artic Circle—and we meet her as it quickly becomes clear that an approaching storm is delaying one of her flights. She's in a pickle: there are very, VERY few planes going to where she's going, and the last leg of her journey involves a once-a-week tiny plane that can't adapt to her delay. She has GOT to make it to her connection point within a day.

So she's desperate and out of options when Wilder walks into the terminal bay.

Wilder is from Imogen's past. He's the sole reason she left her small town and the scars from their interactions run deep on her psyche. (Wilder is the reason for a lot of Imogen's therapy.) But Wilder is a pilot with access to a private plane. And he can get Imogen to the next stop on her journey if she's willing to trust him. Imogen DOESN'T trust him, but she needs that plane.

Cue the setup: they're on his plane, they hate each other, and then the unthinkable happens. The plane crashes into the remote Canadian Rockies.

Now these two enemies must trust each other enough to survive in the freezing outdoors and make it to civilization before they run out of food. It's a lot of time to be stuck with someone you hate. Especially someone who still makes your heart beat too fast for possibly not-so-innocent reasons...

Alright, so that's the setup. It was a good hook, and I devoured this book relatively quickly in one evening so I definitely tip my hat to this writer for the engaging sense of pacing and plot that kept me invested for the entire story (I'm a notorious DNF-er.)

But that romance??? Yikes. No. I did not think that Wilder was a good romance character. The more we learned about his backstory, the less I liked him, and he did NOT redeem himself or become anything more than "not an asshole" before the end of the book. I thought he'd go through either more of a redemption arc OR that their backstory was something that normal people could reasonably move on from... (To me, this was a no on both counts.) So I found everything about this romance off-putting and I could not understand why Imogen accepted him as an adult, especially given his continued fumbles of douche-ness throughout the entire present timeline.

These are all obviously personal reactions based on my own feelings about romance and people, so take them as you will. I appreciated the ability to read this one and would read more from this author to see if their good writing and plots work better for me with a different romance dynamic.

Blog | Instagram | Libro.fm Audiobooks

[Rosalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Irredeemable hero

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 3/10/25- rating stays the same. Just a little warning Wilder is a massive asshole and it takes him a while to realize he's a massive asshole😂😅


I enjoy a good enemies to lovers/second chance/ unrequited love book, and this had all the above. Definitely recommend reading

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let’s be honest, the whole enemy into love story line isn’t really my thing. The only thing they manage to do is piss me off and make me frustrated because either the conflict is completely stupid, a misunderstanding a simple conversation would fix or one of the love interests did something completely unforgivable and is still somehow forgiven by the end of the novel(s).

While the conflict in this novel isn’t as bad as say kidnapping someone or murdering members of your significant others family-and yes I’ve read books with these plot lines-what Wilder does is completely and utterly f****ed up and something that CANNOT be forgiven in the span of ONE NOVEL or even three. Or EVER!!

But the most frustrating thing is that for 80% of the novel Wilder cannot even admit that what he did is wrong that somehow what Imogen does-which is still screwed up-even comes close to what he does. Which is basically this:

10 years ago in high school Wilder cheats on his long term girlfriend Melissa with Imogen. When Imogen dares to try to make Wilder choose to either come clean to his girlfriend or end their affair, he goes completely psycho and decides to ruin her life after she feels guilty and tells Melissa the truth. He does this by going ‘Carrie’ on her ass and showing the entire school a sex tape he made of them during PROM. This forces Imogen to move and change schools and never see him again until 10 years later.

I’ll be honest the plot intrigued me, two ex lovers trapped in the wilderness trying to survive? Interesting. But only if the couple is believable and they are NOT. But I have to give Imogen props; it’s only towards the end of the novel that she even gives Wilder an inch. I felt she was compelling and easy to relate to, a girl who was sexualized but ostracized because she was deemed to geeky by others in high school grows up to be successful and confident in herself and her abilities.

I genuinely felt bad for her and liked how she handled Wilder, managing to act as maturely as possible in the situation put in front of her and not backing down even when Wilder gets in her face and pokes at her and their past for nothing except to get a reaction.

On the end this books wasn’t my thing but it might be yours, I love the author of this book which contributes to my frustration and disappointment.

[shms · Rating 2 out of 5]

New writer for me, the rating is not a reflection of the writing, more so for being waaaaaaayy to long. Also while I can see how a life threatening episode can give new perspective to past events so you'd want to let bygones be bygones, the heroine made it too easy for the douche. He seemed as immature in the present as he had been in the past. Doesn't help getting his pov, it just went to prove to his level of douchness so turnaround at the end then becomes difficult to get on board with.

[liza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does this even deserve one star? Wilder is one of the worst romance heroes I’ve ever read and I cannot believe Imogen was pathetic enough to take him back. He was beyond cruel in high school and not much better as an adult.

Also, how do you have parents called Brenda and Marcus and a brother called Grayson and you end up being called *Wilder*?

[Alex ♈]

...

PointedlyBlunt's review
Paula's review

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing- I was so looking forward to this survival romance. The only way the story could have been redeemed was if it ended in the FMC beating the sh*t out of the MMC and leaving his a$$ in the dust. See highlights for examples of schmuck behavior

[Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m gonna tell my kids this was hatchet

[Vivi Chatzikiriakou · Rating 4 out of 5]

" My first Roxie Noir novel and I absolutely love it! A beautiful, heartwarming, suspenseful story that grabs the reader's attention to the hilt."

Book rates: 4+stars
Plot: 5stars
Characters: 4+starts
Writing: 4stars
Pacing: 4stars
Cover: 4stars

Hero: Wilder Flint
Heroine: Imogen Gustavo

"I received a complimentary copy of this book and have volunteered to leave a review."

WOW! What a story! The Savage Wild is the first book I have read by Roxie Noir and have to say that I'm very impressed by the storyline itself as well as the author's writing. Small details about the cons in narrative however it's a well illustrated story through and through, which worth reading.

Imogen and Wilder are both sharing their personal stories and points of view in the narration. The synopsis introduces us to them fast and simple. They have been known each other from high school. For ten years since, Imogen has been trying to forget him. They had a past, one that he had unfathomable broken her heart. Now, ten years after, she has to trust him again for a chance to survive. After the crush, the days Imogen and Wilder are alone into the wilderness contribute to the outpouring of the feelings they suppressed all those years. Anger, hate, care, love. It wasn't easy nor fast for them to came across and deal with these feelings. But in the end, every single step was worthwhile and meaningful.

The Savage Wild is everything its title promises. Savage. Wild... I love its plot. It's one of these I will never forget reading about. An action-packed, full of suspense and angst story, whirling around the love-affair of the past to the one that trying to be identified and intensified again in the present. I like that the author created two incredible different characters and linked them together. Their thoughts different, their actions different yet they are somehow connected. The twists and turns on both heroes emotions are palpable and in a way understandable. With each chapter, the author reveals more about their past. Unfolds slowly what feelings both Imogen and Wilder have for one another while they getting through dangerous situations into the wilderness. The cons: the unnecessary-occasional babbling.

To sum, Roxie Noir delivers a story impossible to put down until you reach The End. Yes it's long, still not the length that appeals to my reading tastes, but it's fast paced, and grabs the reader's attention entirely. The HEA ending is one that meant to be only for them. Beautiful and heartwarming as their relationship deserved to be long ago. I guarantee that this book is one you don't want to miss reading.

Until next time, enjoy your free time reading great books with the most unforgettable stories.

Vivi

Follow me on
my blog instagram twitter facebook

[Nightwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noir writes funny, relatable heroines, which is a problem because the hero in this one is an asshole. I'll spoiler-tag his high school antics because there's a certain mystery to what precisely he did: he and the heroine were secretly dating and began having sex, all while he had a more popular, "official" girlfriend; when she told said girlfriend about their relationship he retaliated by playing a tape of her sex noises over the intercom during prom. This is really, really awful, even for a teenager; and the hero faced no consequences for it - from the school, from his parents, from other students - except for losing the heroine, who he could never forget and he saw her face in every other woman blah blah blah. When the book opens and they're meeting for the first time ten years later, he has the unmitigated gall to be angry with HER because she hurt his FEELINGS in high school and made him feel like a JERK. Then he acts like he's dating his flight attendant casual hookup to try and make the heroine jealous. So basically his redemption arc? Not starting from a good place.Anyway, they crash in the wilderness blah blah blah, but then there's flashbacks to high school - hence why I spoiler-tagged what he actually did - which I couldn't even READ in too much detail because you know something terrible is coming down the pipeline. Which it does. The two of them slowly come to trust and care for each other, I guess, but I found the flashbacks disruptive to that process because they kept reminding me of how badly the hero had screwed up back in high school. Then after their return to civilization (not spoiler-tagging because I'm guessing everyone figured that was going to happen) the flight attendant shows up and the hero is like "no we totally weren't dating what are you doing here?" and she leaves in tears; the heroine realizes that the hero hasn't actually changed much since high school, which seems fair to me. I guess we're supposed to think that because the hero has fallen in love with the heroine over the course of their wilderness adventure, he is now redeemed? But the fact that he has spent the last ten years continuing to be just as callous with women and totally blind to his own privilege and assholery makes me a little skeptical that this reformation will last. Then there is a weirdly-paced section where the hero tries to win over the heroine but it involves a lot of telling rather than showing. Not buying it. He's a jerk, she can do better.

[Reading Addict · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to start my review by saying that I am a Roxie Noir fan. She's an excellent writer that does a great job of keeping the reader engaged in the story and there's always lots of laughs to balance out the angst. So why the 3 star rating? Because sadly there just isn't a lot to laugh about in this story and the angst gets kind of heavy and oppressive after awhile. We start the book with Imogen a biologist leaving for a summer research project in a remote Canadian area. Her flight keeps getting delayed so the perky flight attendant has an idea of Imogen chartering a private plane to take her to meet her group before she misses the flight. The problem is the pilot is Wilder the boy that destroyed her high school heart and still seems smug about it. Neither one wants to do this but neither one wants to back down. They leave on what should be a fairly short flight but encounter mechanical difficulties and the plane crashes. They both survive but begin to realize that if they don't hike out to save themselves, no one is coming for them. Through this journey back to civilization, they reflect back to their time in high school and why they dislike each other so much. Now back to my dislike of the leading man. He really is full of himself and with good reason but it's 10 years later and if this plane crash hadn't occurred, he would still be the same self centered, rude, a-hole that he was in high school. I really just didn't connect with him at all and the story is told from dual POV. Now remember, this is my opinion and should not stop anyone from reading this well written story of rugged adventure, angst, anger, and redemption. I received a review copy and this was my freely given, honest opinion.

[Nike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not an enemies to lovers. This is a bully romance.
The MMC is a self-centered, insecure, man-whore with no respect towards women. There is no grovel and not a proper apology.
Whenever Imogen does something that Wilder doesn't like, his first reaction is to hurt her, and I'm suppoused to believe he loves her?

Imogen want's to come clean about their relationship, he bellitles her, because she's the weird nerd, and no one would believe her.
When Imogen tells his girlfriend the truth, he humiliates her in front of the entire school.
Then goes on a sex bender as if it wasn't his own fault she left him.
When they meet 10 years later his first reaction is to hurt her, he uses a woman he has been hooking up with to do that. (It doesn't matter that he later hurts her feelings, because she isn't smart, and he was simply using her to pass the time)
When Imogen rejects him again, his first thought is finding some woman to fuck, so Imogen could hear it and would be hurt.....


and then they simply spend months talking on skype and all is forgiven. Even though he still walks around thinking about random women "she's cute, a year ago I would have gotten her number and fucked her till I got bored."

[Jen (mrs-machino) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure of a second chance romance - Imogen gets stranded in the wilderness with her high school ex. I especially loved the last 20%, Wilder was forced to confront what he’d done and make a conscious choice to improve in a way I feel is fairly rare in romance.

Content warning for cheating - Wilder and Imogen’s high school relationship is secret by mutual agreement, and he had another girlfriend publicly. It didn’t bother me because it was in the past and clearly they’d matured, but ymmv. Also contains my pet peeve of the hero giving the heroine an unwanted nickname

[Kailia Barbour · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never hated a MMC so much, I wish he would have drown in that lake. The book was well written but Wilder was a horrible person who didn't deserve a HEA.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook. Purchased. Wilder did not grovel nearly enough for what he did, but I really enjoy Roxie’s writing style and really loved Imogen.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, the writing was good and it was a unique premise for me. The H was a big jerk and I did feel at times he was being pulled over the irredeemable line just bc his thoughts and words occasionally didnt quite gel enough for me to totally buy into how he felt for the h, we really don't need to pile on the cruelty when he was going to do one huge cruel thing. In the end I felt I was pulled over the line to accept it, because he did have some really nice inner thoughts. The h was great, I had no issue with her really, everyone kind of paid for their own part of all the cheating so that aspect didnt bother me. They were teenagers in the flashbacks making bad but ultimately somewhat forgivable choices, at least within a fictional realm. I did think at times both the H and h as adults were written quite childish, but I appreciated the juxtaposition of them learning from their bad choices and deciding to change how they went about things, especially the H who was prone to acting out when his ego was bruised or he didn't get what he wanted.

Also, liked that the H had to give up his life to be with the h and not her give up her career for him. He had to do all the work if he wanted to be with her which was fitting for how he treated her in high school.

I would consider this a very narrow safe with exception based on what you can handle, he is with other women, and that usually bothers me but his inner thoughts were so good that I was able to look past, maybe other ppl won't. NO descriptive stuff tho. The h also was with ppl based off one comment she made. Their inner thoughts are all about each other.

[Crystal N · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. So why the three stars you ask? You might see a few DNFs or 1 star reviews for how the hero conducted himself - especially in the past. Now see, it didn't kill the book for me, but it did make me kind of go hmmm... Like, did he do enough in the end? Should Imogen forgive him? Especially when he was rejected he is tempted to be a cruel bastard again for a second, which didn't help. I dunno. So, three stars. I liked it, but I could have easily really liked it.

[(libraryofsha) · Rating 2 out of 5]

> Cheating
> Doormat heroine

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

unrealistic. who would want to be in washington instead of canada

[Cranky - The Book Curmudgeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Cranky Stars


Is plane crash survivors roughing it in the wild a sub genre? Well If not it should be because it’s now my favorite thanks to Roxie Noir.


Imogen is the quirky nerd girl who captured the eye of the big fish football player named Wilder. It was a secret affair they had but Imogen was just happy to have his attention. He never told anyone because image was everything to him. When he commits the ultimate betrayal Imogen flees their tiny town and makes a new life for herself. Flash forward 10 years later and she’s trying to make a flight for a research expedition. She is researching musk oxen in the wild seriously rutting musk oxen. In walks Wilder to hopefully help her out and while her reaction is to run far away she’s determined to get a flight.


Wilder has always secretly had a thing for Imogen using her behind his cheerleader girlfriends back his feelings become way deeper than he intended. When he betrays her and breaks Imogens heart and her trust he laughs. 10 years later he is going through the motions using girls to forget about her. When he comes into the airport and sees Imogens face he wants to break her down like she broke him. He agrees to help her get to her connecting flight but tragedy strikes. Now he’s just trying to get her to safety.


I will admit I kind of hated Imogen for being the side piece as she called herself. I get why she did and she had a reason but all in all girl think better of yourself. She’s a smart intelligent girl. Wilder was a douche plain and simple yet I believe he truly loved Imogen in his own way. The Savage Wild had a lot of mystery and love and some steamy sexy times between Imogen and Wilder.


I don’t hate Wilder anymore FYI his teenage self-angered me. Boys!! That scene with the photos in the airport killed me. I was laughing and seriously felt second hand embarrassment for Imogen. One thing that bothered me was the fact that she had all this equipment and even mentioned a laptop and she had no kind of satellite type service to email for help. I guess because she was going to a facility it wasn’t needed. This isn’t my first book by Roxie Noir in fact I just recently binged her Dirtshine series and when I seen this book come up I jumped at the chance. I love her writing and her stories. They suck me in and keep me going. I just had to get to the bottom of why these two did what they did to each other. I will now need a list of plane crash romance books to feed my addiction. Thanks Roxie!!

[Robin Langelier · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Amazing Story!! Roxie Noirs' best book yet!! This is a standalone novel. Told in Dual POV. It takes you from Present Day to 10yrs Ago. Imogen Gustov the high school class nerd, secret lover of the richest high school football jock. Wilder Flint high school football jock, son of Marcus Flint richest Man in Solaris, Idaho, boyfriend of Melissa and cheating with the class nerd Imogen Gustov. Wilder has to keep up his football jock image and only be seen with his cheerleader girlfriend Melissa around school and in public. He sneaks around to see Imogen to places that no one can see them together. Imogen likes the attention but she also feels it's wrong. Wilder makes excuses. When she sees him around school with Melissa it hurts her. She tells him to tell Melissa about her or she will. He says no one will believe her. Wilder embarrasses Imogen on several occasions. ..... ffwd.. Imogen left Idaho and now is a Biologist & going to the Arctic, Inuvik to the Tekkeit Research Station, she studies Musk Oxen & Their mating habits. She is at the airport going through security & what could go wrong does. She finally makes it to the ticket counter, the attendant Amy, tells her, her flight was cancelled & there aren't any more flights out until the next day. Imogen needs to get to Yellowknife by the next morning. Some flight attendants come through a door behind the counter & so does Wilder Flint. Amy calls out to Wilder to come to the counter. Wilder tried to avoid her but he couldn't and he was surprised by who was on the other side. Once again Wilder acts like a Playboy. Imogen does her best and acts like a woman with a plan & a place to be. Wilder ends up being the pilot to get her to Yellowknife by the next morning. Here's where I stop. There is so much more to this story. Plus an Epilogue.. I voluntarily reviewed advanced copy of this book. ❤💎💋🔥