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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wild Heart - Lori Brighton, February 9, 2010
This review is from: Wild Heart (Zebra Debut) (Paperback)
Ella, who spent her younger years at an orphanage, is hired as a governess for Leo Roberts. Now, don't get confused - Leo is a fully grown man, and his problem isn't that he doesn't know his lessons. He needs help behaving in polite English society. When Leo was young, he witnessed his parents murder in India. For years, he lived on his own in the jungle, having to perform horrendous things to stay alive. Now he is back in England, determined to find his parent's killers. His grandfather wants him to take over his estate and duties, and Leo is there just to go through the motions. But Leo is a very broken, tortured soul. He rarely speaks to anyone and often has violent temper tantrums and outbursts of anger.
When Ella meets him, she is overwhelmed with his feelings of anger and desperation. Ella is an empath, she can feel human and animal emotion. With the promise of freedom in six months if she can make it that long with Leo, she is determined to get through to him. Soon, her calming influence takes hold, and Leo starts realize he may have an ally and someone he can trust. With that, an attraction develops and together they try to untangle the web of lies and bring closure to Leo's tortuous past.
Wild Heart has one of my favorite types of heroes - the broken, tortured man. Leo is very damaged. When I first started the book I mentioned to a friend that I hope he stays tortured throughout most of the book - and he does. Not that I like to see a hero suffer, but Leo is so broken to begin with, I didn't want an overnight miracle. Lori Brighton makes Leo work in this book. He starts barely able to suppress his anger enough to talk, and by the end there is a very believable love story between him and Ella.
It works so well because Ella has no other life to return to at first. She forces herself to six months with Leo, and then she can be on her own. Yet, she soon sees a different side of Leo. He is still quick to anger, and hides behind a mask, but once she gets a quick glimpse of the real him, she knows he is something to work for. For Leo's part, many times he plays the arrogant ass, full well knowing it gets under Ella's skin. He is no dummy, and knows how to play her. But foremost on his mind is finding his parents murderer and that rage is what drives him in this story. The mystery plays a big role in this book and I liked the twists and turns it takes. There are a few times Ella puts herself in danger for silly reasons, but for the most part, I liked how Leo and Ella work together.
Wild Heart is billed as a paranormal romance, yet the paranormal aspect in very light and in my opinion is weak and I think this book would have been just as good, maybe better, if the paranormal is taken out. Her ability factors into the plot and mystery of the book, but for most of the story I forgot she had this ability.
Wild Heart has a very intense, lustful romantic feel. Terrific tension builds throughout this story, and Leo brings his wild, dark life into the bedroom as well. I really enjoyed this one and hope to read more from Lori Brighton.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 stars - **Might be Spoilers**, December 14, 2010
***This review might contain spoilers - if you don't want to know - please don't read this!***
I did like this book - I love a tortured/brooding hero and Leo is definately tortured and brooding. I won't rehash the plot as other reviewers did a much better job with that than I could. I will just point out what caused me to give this book a 3 star rating.
The major problem I had was that Leo's past left me boggled! This might be a spoiler!
OK - let me see if I have this right - He went to India with his parents when he was around 12 - they got killed and he lived in the jungle for 4 years and then was captured and was a slave for 2 years and then went back into the jungle for 2 more years. What I didn't get was how did he end up in Italy? Where did he get the money - because if he had money - why did he stay in the jungle for 6 years? Also when exactly did he sleep with an Indian Princess - I would think someone who lived in the jungle for 6 six was not exactly on the guest list for royalty - not to mention - he also says he slept with Italian royalty - how did he meet them?
This whole gap in his past irked me, I found it very hard to believe that after living in the jungle (like an animal) he just walked out of the jungle and ended up in the highest social circles.
I am hoping the next book is about Colin and answers some of the questions left hanging in this book - because this book ended very abruptly and Leo seemed fine with just letting it go (another thing that I had a hard time swallowing - as he was so driven to find out who killed his parents). The bad guy got away - how was he OK with that? Also, I think Ella's "gift" was too understated - it almost felt like an afterthought to tie her into the villains scheme and wasn't really part of the story.
Putting that aside - I liked the story - it was very well written and I enjoyed that the plot kept me wondering until the end. Anyway - I will read the next book when it comes out and hope that it answers the questions left hanging in this story.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wild Heart, November 15, 2009
This review is from: Wild Heart (Zebra Debut) (Paperback)
Ella Finch hasn't had much in life, so being plucked out of the orphanage by Lady Buckley wasn't exactly a salvation, but it allowed her a semblance of a comfortable life as a governess. However, now Ella is being sent off by Lady Buckley to become the governess to Leo Roberts, the grandson of a powerful lord, but in this case it is a grown man, not a child. Leo spent his formative years in India, which in the eyes of society makes him seem uncultivated rather than exotic. He appears to be intractable and wild in unpredictable ways, plus he seems to strike a spark deep within her that she's unable to control. Still, the more that Ella gets to know Leo, the surer she is that Leo is not as mad as the world thinks, but that he is haunted by the ghost of his past that will not rest until he finds the truth.
Lori Brighton takes a unique path in her debut novel Wild Heart where she skillfully weaves traditional romance elements with the mysticism that India represents and a murder mystery. Ella is an interesting character as she has secrets of her own and even though she risks herself, she never gives up her faith in Leo. Leo is a man surrounded by mystery, contradiction, and lots of danger, while seemingly not trusting those he should - his family. However, as the plot progresses the romance moves at a fast clip, while leaving the mystery and mysticism lagging behind, which are, after all, the novel's allure outside of the romance aspect. I look forward to reading further contributions by Lori Brighton as I believe she will make her mark in the historical genre as she defines and refines her own writing style. Get yourself Wild Heart for an unusual read that will keep you turning the pages!
Sabella
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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