Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: RETURN TO WYLDER by Maria Imbalzano

Return to Wylder

by Maria Imbalzano

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

The untimely death of EJ Hampton’s father kills her dream of practicing law with him in her hometown of Wylder. Heartbroken, she now has two weeks to organize the practice for sale. When she meets her father’s millionaire client Dylan Addison, he is demanding and entitled—yet his charisma captivates her.

Dylan is under pressure to renovate the Wylder Hotel before his father pulls the plug on his project. He needs EJ’s expertise, but she is bent on returning to her life in San Francisco despite the fireworks between them.

EJ walks a tightrope trying to balance Dylan’s needs against her own, but doing so is far more complicated when emotions get in the way.

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EXCERPT

“How long have you been in Wylder?”

“Off and on since January, so going on five months.”

“Then you must have met a lot of people in town by now.”

“Not really. When I’m here, I pretty much keep to myself. Although I do know Claire since I eat in this restaurant all the time. Not well enough apparently for her to ask me to put in a good word for her with Bryce, even though she knows I spend a lot of time at your father’s office.”

“That’s because you don’t seem like the smalltown, friendly type.” Her inky eyes, more sapphire tonight in the overhead light, flashed with mischief, and a grin appeared on her luscious mouth.

“What do you mean? I’m friendly.”

She bit her lip, drawing yet more attention to her mouth. “Small-town friendly is different. You’re civil. But you’re no-nonsense. Unapproachable. And very demanding. You dress like a rich business owner, which you are, but it sends the wrong message. Even though you think you’re dressing down, your jeans are probably dry cleaned and your boots are polished Italian leather. The men around here wear flannel shirts, worn-out denims, cowboy boots. Have you noticed that you don’t fit in?” Her laugh tickled my heart.

“Why do you fit in? You have on a designer suit, silk blouse, high heels. A big-city outfit if I’ve ever seen one.” But of course, I loved that she stuck out like an emerald among sea glass. “I have my lawyer uniform on. And I grew up here. People know me, despite my clothes. I could wear casual pants and a sweater to work while I’m here, but it doesn’t send the right message. I definitely do not have to wear a suit. That would only be required if I were going to court. Or meeting with an out-of-town city client. Which I have been.”

I felt my smile bloom. “So you’re dressing to impress me?”

“No. Most definitely not.” Her response held the hint of a bite despite her teasing demeanor. “Today is only my second day here. Yesterday I had no idea what or whom I was going to face.”

I pushed the envelope. “You did today.”

“You may recall that you showed up without an appointment. And tonight was a mere coincidence.”

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Review: It was her father’s last request for Emma Jane to return to Wylder, where she’d be organizing his law firm and contending with a high-profile client, Dylan Addison, a handsome—and demanding—entrepreneur. The pressure was mounting to make the plans for the Wylder Hotel work. His ruthless father was breathing down his neck, and her poor mother needed the money from her dad’s law firm.

“I’d been in Wylder for less than a day and already been labeled a rule breaker, an outsider, and

lacking the nice gene by someone who could be instrumental in burying me and Dylan in paperwork and

process while construction lay dormant.”

As the two work under the gun, they somehow develop a spark that turns into something more. It’s sort of a slow burn as the characters were more business than personal. At least, they were trying to be anyway. But what happens when they shed those business suits and…get down to business? Oh yeah!

But then came the question: Will she stay in Wylder or go back to her old life? For once, did she have a reason to stay?

The writing was good, and the story was engaging. A nice love story!

Rating: 4 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Maria Imbalzano is an award-winning contemporary author who writes about strong, independent women and the men who fall in love with them. She recently retired from the practice of law, but legal issues have a way of showing up in many of her novels. When not writing, she loves to travel both abroad and in the states. Maria lives in central New Jersey with her husband--not far from her two daughters and granddaughters. For more information about her books, please visit her website at http://mariaimbalzano.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

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