W
ild Wicked Mate by Laurie Gilmore
Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: Maple Hollow #2
Release Date: October 20, 2026
Pheobe and has been in love with Theo forever, they met ten years ago and have been best friends ever since. That is as far as their relationship has gone, despite their mutual attraction and flirting. The primary problem is Phoebe is a wood nymph, and Theo is a werewolf, but a year ago, when Theo was pitted against his brothers in a fight to be the next alpha of the pack, everything changed. Theo had made certain declarations to Pheobe, making her believe they could have a future together, but when he started to heal from the injuries he sustained in the fight, he broke her heart and left. Now they are reunited and working together to find the missing sister of his brother Rafe’s mate. But any hope of finally getting together is in jeopardy when Pheobe is convinced to keep a secret from Theo.
Theo has loved Pheobe for years, but as a werewolf, he couldn’t claim a wood nymph as his mate as long as his father was the alpha of the pack, so he snuck off to see her, but never let their relationship progress beyond friendship and harmless flirting. But when his father’s health started to fail, he and his brothers were forced to fight each other to be named as the next alpha, a position Theo didn’t want but had no choice in the matter. When he was grievously injured and leaves his pack; he turned to Pheobe in his hour of need. In his delirium, he let his feelings slip and ended up breaking her heart when he left. But now they have been reunited, and Pheobe seemed to have moved on, so they are able to resume their friendship. But it will never be enough for either of them, and just when he thinks they might have a future together, she betrays his trust and shatters his heart.
When I requested this title, I didn’t realize this was the second book in an interconnected series, and I think that not having read the first book might have skewed my opinion of this book as this was a very character driven story with deeply established relationships. And I was intrigued by the relationship between Pheobe and Theo, but I didn’t really understand the friendship they had, even though the author did provide a lot of flashbacks, I didn’t feel a deep friendship, it seemed more like simmering lust that had been denied. The story has a friends-to-lovers trope, combined with found family, fated mates, secrets, long-denied love, forgiveness, forced proximity, spicy love scenes and a happy ever after that segues nicely into the next book. Overall, I was underwhelmed by this story, it seemed to drag and since their relationship was fully established, I didn’t feel like I really got to know or understand them. Maybe if I had read the previous book, I would have felt differently and enjoyed the book better. So, to that end, I would highly recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for a DRC/ALC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *
