Review Thank you to @ashleyrkingwrites for the eARC copy of The Wilde Card

The Wilde Card is a different read to what I've been reading the last month and it is a nice welcome change.

It is based on Simone a 37 year old divorcee, who has a narcissist for an ex husband and a child to look after. Fed up in her big corporate job she decides a change must happen and turns to tennis coaching.
Things take an interesting turn when it turns out that her player she'll coach is none other than Alex Wilde - A hot single French tennis player, down on his game.

I loved the story of The Wilde Card, it's relatable in the respect of the single mother and having to deal with the narcissist ex, It's almost fairytale-ish with the happily ever after aspect.
The writing was good and descriptive and there's some French words too!
Each character brought the novel to life, I felt like it could have really played out in real life - it didn't seem exaggerated for a fiction novel but it still worked.

I'm a big fan of Ashley R King and really enjoyed The Wilde Card.
I look forward to reading more of her work ( )

Ashley R. King is a new-to-me author, so I opened this book with no idea of what to expect. She has a great flair for writing and her humor shoes throughout the book. She also takes you on this international journey while these two fascinating individuals learn more about who they are and what they want out of life.

I'm used to the foreign lover trope. Alex is a Canadian Frenchman who is young, vibrant, and very sexy. It's not hard to love his French charms. Alex is known as "The Wilde Card." He's a well-known tennis player who has been off his game for too long. He knows he needs help to get back into the right mental state.

Simone is a divorced American mom and I sense that she still beats herself up for marrying this jerk of a man. (Actually, her ex-husband doesn't deserve to be called a real man. He blows off his daughter whenever he feels like it. He only shows up when it benefits him.) Simone excelled at a job as CEO but it didn't make her happy. It only made her dad happy. I feel that she filled in a lot of emotional gaps for her father by doing everything that he wanted. She longed for a career that would allow her to feel more fulfilled. When given the opportunity to work at the tennis center, she leaps at it not knowing that she's going to be working with Alex.

The whole "don't-mix-business-with-pleasure" is a huge epic fail here. (But we readers already know that!!) Alex has a way of getting to Simone. She tries to hide her feelings, but he can still see through her. Simone also has a way of getting through to Alex. She knows he needs help on his tennis in order to play more effectively. While the two aren't supposed to hook up, you can't deny the sparks between them.

Simone thinks she's the world's worst person when it comes to picking men. But one thing in her favor is that Alex is nothing like her ex-husband. Alex is thoughtful, considerate, and he wants an active role in her daughter's life. He's good for both of them.

The sexual tension is constantly there. In some ways, it's more than necessary and distracts from the tension he has with his brother. I don't think there is enough focus on the rivalry between the two boys.

In summary, the writing is stellar, but I think it needs some work. ( )

3.5 stars. It was a good story with a great redemption arc. I felt like the characters fell too hard too fast but I tend to prefer slower burn stories. Skipped the bedroom scenes, as usual, but there weren't too many to overwhelm the plot. Good overall! ( )

This is fun light romance novel with tennis as its base. What could be wrong with that? This book didn’t have quite as much drama as the first in the series but I still enjoyed it very much. ( )

This a sweet romance between Simone and Alex. Alex is a struggling tennis player and Simone is his coach. Alex needs to believe in himself and get his head on straight. He comes to realize that people do care about him and he is not alone ( )