Expected publication date: January 29th, 2019
Cover blurb: The river runs wild …
Former Fish & Wildlife Officer Charlotte “Charlee” Tanner still carries the guilt of a tragic drowning accident that occurred on her watch. She hoped moving back home to the wilds of central Florida would provide a safe haven—until she learns the death was no accident, and she’s the intended target.
… But no wilder than their passion.
Tough and decisive, Lieutenant Hunter Boudreau loves his new job as a law enforcement officer with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Charlee is his best friend, so when she comes under fire, he’s not letting her out of his sight until the killer is caught. But Charlee won’t sit by and let anyone else die for her.
As danger closes in and Charlee and Hunter’s attraction threatens to consume them, Charlee has to decide if she can trust Hunter. And to save Charlee, Hunter will have to trust her, too.
**
This is a new-to-me author, and I was intrigued when I read the description on Netgalley so I decided to give it a go! (Even though there were not any half-naked men with guns on the cover!)
Charlee Tanner left her job as a FWC officer after the tragic drowning of a teenage boy during a kayak trip she was leading for a side job. When the story starts out it is the one year anniversary of the accident, and she is trying to deal with the residual guilt and fear from the accident. After leaving her job she has taken over running her family’s guide and outfitting business after her mother suffered a stroke. Her unease is only heightened by the knowledge that she has to lead another group out that day.
Knowing the significance of the day, Lt. Hunter Boudreau comes by the Outpost to see Charlee before she leaves. As a longtime friend to her brother and her best friend he is worried about her. Add to that his secret attraction to her and he can’t help himself from following her group out on the river trip. As it turns out, it is a good thing he did because Charlee and her group are ambushed by an unknown person. A teenage girl is shot and Charlee suffers a concussion after getting grazed by a bullet and hitting her head on a tree. They quickly determine the timing of the incident cannot be a coincidence and after the danger spreads to her family, they must find out who has it in for Charlee before it is too late.
While I enjoyed the book overall, I admit that it started to drag about 3/4 of the way through. There was an overabundance of characters and storylines and trying to keep track of everything was bogging me down. There was also a secondary storyline involving Hunter’s promotion to lieutenant that cropped up repeatedly and I actually would have liked to read more about if there hadn’t been so much going on in the main one. I would give this one 3.5 stars but I am looking forward to reading future books in the series as I would like to read more about Charlee’s brothers!
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review!