Title: Wilder
Series: The Renegades # 1
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Release Date: September 19, 2016

Christine’s Review

I rate this book 4 1/2 Hearts. This is also my first book for Rebecca Yarros. The book had a few slow places for me but the ending was well worth the wait. I also felt like something was mssing from Leah to make her character complete. Maybe she was mssing a sisterly bond that I thought since Penna became her accidental roommate that maybe she would fill that role but that didn’t happen. What I did love about Leah was her inner strength. She was ready to move on with her life again and start living after a terrible trauma that happened early in her life. Paxton Wilder lives up to his title of original renegade. He is an adrenaline junkie that really shows no fear. He has motives for everything that he does in this book. Even down to sacrificing his own happiness. I think the one thing he didn’t plan on was his feelings for Leah.

I really liked this book the only thing that I would say stopped me from giving a full 5 Hearts was that Leah’s trauma was continually repeated through out the book and I wish that she had just told him earlier. And Paxton also had events that haunted him throughout the beggining of the book that I wish he just would have delt with.

My favorite part of the book was when Leah was about to zip line which was way out of her comfort zone and she started praying. And one of the things she promised was to broker for world peace. I loved it.

My Rating:   1/2

Lulu’s Review

I rate this book 4 Hearts and this is my first book by Rebecca Yarros. Started slow for me but by 30% mark I was hooked and needed to find out all the secrets this group of Renegades were keeping and probably the biggest one I did not pick till right before reveal.

The one character that I loved was Leah, although the title will have you believe it is about the Renegades to me this was her story of reclaiming life after tragedy. I do not know much about the X Games and it was just weird being on a boat but I got over that after attaching myself to the characters and their stories. One character I would love a story on is Paxton’s brother Brandon, I immediately felt something for this guy and wanted to know his story, considering these two grew up together they were so different but so loyal to each other in the end.

Now onto the ending, I felt a bit flat I have to say, the romantic in me would have loved for them to be back at Mykonos declring undying love even a month on. Now onto Mykonos, my all time favoiurite part of the book, yes I know it is when they make love for the first time but so much else is revealed to me by both characters. Rachel was an intersting character to the whole story and I would love to read Landon’s story considering his manwhore ways and then his revelations at the end. Penna was probably one of the first charcters who immediately jumped at me, she has a vitality that captured you from the start. Whilst most of the X Games terminilogy was lost on me I did enjoy reading about their tricks which also encorporated the ultimate suspense and mystery of the storyline. I really also loved the first time they had sex, the build up over the days before was perfect and I honestly would have cried if they did not do it at the point in time at the book when they did – perfect location.

My Rating:  

Vicki’s Review

I enjoyed WILDER and thought it was a great start to a new series from Rebecca Yarros.  In this series we have a trio of adrenaline junkies⎯Wilder (Pax), Nova (Landon) and Rebel (Penna)⎯who are the Renegades.  They’re taking a year off competing in order to finish college, but will film a documentary showcasing all their crazy stunts performed around the world while they spend the school year at sea.  Because of his busy schedule, Pax needs a tutor to help him graduate, and Leah has been chosen for him.

Leah is recovering from a traumatic event and just getting on the ship is the craziest and bravest thing she’s done in two years.  On her first day, she meets Pax and is thrown into a situation that terrifies her.  But she’s strong and brave and handles it like a champ.  She would normally never consider doing the crazy things that Pax does, but he makes her want to step out of her comfort zone and live a little.  I liked that while she thinks about her traumatic past, she doesn’t use it as a reason not to be with Pax.  Pax is cocky and arrogant, but he’s also a nice guy who would do anything for those he cares about.  He’s also haunted by a traumatic event for which he blames himself for, but it’s not his fault at all.  He’s determined to graduate college, gain access to his trust fund and finish the documentary to honour a friend.

There was one thing I didn’t like about the story, and that was how many times Pax and Leah’s “secrets” were alluded to before finally being revealed.  Leah’s traumatic event.  Pax hiding something from Leah.  Pax being the cause of Nova’s man-whore ways.  They were talked or thought about so many times that by the time the secrets were revealed, they weren’t shocking because they’d become easy to predict, and that was disappointing.  But other than that, I liked the story and it’s characters, and I am looking forward to reading Nova’s books next, which comes out in February 2017.  WILDER is told in dual POVs and is the first book in The Renegades series.  It doesn’t end with a cliffhanger and comes with a HEA for Pax and Leah, who I’m sure we’ll see again throughout the series.

My Rating: