The Wild Side (The Wild Westbrooks #1) by Cassie-Ann L. Miller

The Wild Side (The Wild Westbrooks #1) Reviews

• 
  Jordan

  the line, "Be careful, Goldilocks. This teddy bear has claws and sharp teeth. And I'm not afraid to bite.” traumatized me more than watching my sister give birth.
  
  the word “grawr” WAS ACTUALLY USED!! like … in a sexual way … fucking what?
  
  i did not enjoy that.
  
  and also like nothing happens in this book lmao
• 
  Raine

  Cash and Meghan
  
  I liked it well enough. Solid friends to lovers small town romance. Cash works in Chicago and goes to his hometown to visit his best friend Meghan who is turning thirty. They had a pact years ago that if they weren't married by the time they turned thirty they would marry each other.
  
  I liked the Westbrook family and look forward to reading about Cash's siblings.
• 
  OpenBookSociety.com

  
  https://openbooksociety.com/article/t...
  
  Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
  
  Cash and Meghan have been best friends since they were teenagers, when Cash’s mom moved him and his siblings to Honey Hill, after his parents’ divorce. Cash moved back to Chicago to work with his dad and is now the CFO of the company with goals of getting the company to the billion-dollar mark by the end of the quarter. However, he has never let his friendship with Meghan wane. She is the one person that cares for him and not the dollar signs associated with him.
  
  Meghan also grew up in a broken family. Her father abandoned her and her mother and started a new family with someone else. Meghan has two half-sisters in town that she isn’t allowed to associate with. Meghan’s mom blames it all on the Hutchins curse, stating that all the women in their family are alone. No man will ever choose them, in the end, and that love isn’t in the cards.
  
  Ten years ago, Cash and Meghan made a marriage pact, if they were both single at age 30, then they would marry each other. It was written on the back of an old gas station receipt that Cash keeps in the glove box of his car. Meghan has a picture of it in one of her dresser drawers.
  
  Now it’s Meghan’s 30th birthday and Cash is rushing to Honey Hill to go visit her. Thanks to his big mouthed sister everyone now knows about the marriage pact and are assuming he’s off to rush Meghan to the altar. The truth is, Cash has had a crush on Meghan for years. However, the two would never want to risk the friendship they have for a relationship that could end in disaster. But can the two really stay friends when there is so much heat between them? And, if they give it a try will the Hutchins curse come to bite them both?
  
  I know some people really enjoy those slow burn love stories. This one took it to another level. Meghan and Cash fought their attraction for about 200 pages! It was such a slow build-up and it was honestly hard to keep reading through all their insecurities. And, when they finally decided to give things a try, we still were fighting through all their issues!
  
  Meghan was also fostering a pair of cats from a local animal shelter. I thought it was great the story brought that up, but I felt the author didn’t really know much about it. I used to foster dogs for several rescues and I can tell you that no good rescue would allow someone (Cash) to take one of their cats six hours away to foster it, especially within minutes of meeting it and without a home check. They also wouldn’t allow someone to adopt a pet, after watching their child abuse it in front of them. In this book, the adopter changed their mind after the cat fought back instead of the rescue stepping up to defend their charge.
  
  This book showcased two very different broken families. For Meghan it was her and her mom against the world and Cash was surrounded by family, despite his parents splitting up. Cash had to also look at his father who chose his business over the people in his life. Cash had to decide if maybe he was following the wrong path and was headed towards a life alone, like his dad.
  
  The story had a syrupy sweet ending, but overall, this book just didn’t light my trigger. It was an okay read, but it took too long to get to the good stuff and once there the good stuff was gone too quickly. It seemed pretty tame for a book titled The Wild Side and it fell flat for me, if I’m being honest.
• 
  Daisy Delfin

  The MC's are 30 or little younger.
  
  The idea was nice, an inofficial marriage pact signed at the age of 20. But from the very start, we knew where this story was headed. And because of this it felt drawn out at times. The narrators did a great job on the audiobook.
• 
  Gladys

  I enjoyed this book. The story was fun and cute and filled with feels. The chemistry was great, the laughs ample and the heart undeniable. Just a wonderful read and a terrific romance. I am electing to post a candid review.
• 
  Katyana

  On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is an insufferably annoying jackass and 10 is one of my favorite characters ever, Meghan is a 2 and Cash is a 3.5.
  
  This was a painful book. Watching two self-absorbed pessimistic jackasses try and hook up... So painful.
  
  1.5 stars...rounded up because I somehow finished it despite desperately wanting to reach through my kindle and tit-punch Meghan. Seriously.
• 
  Chelsea

  This book was unnecessarily long. I picked it up randomly from a Facebook post asking for recs for marriage pacts. I went in thinking that the marriage pact would be a central feature of the book and really, it was an extraneous plot point that didn't matter. I read about 25% of the book then put it down to read a couple other books that I needed to read in order to get an ARC. I did end up circling back to this one. I was in the mood for something lighthearted and a palate cleanser between my darker reads.
  
  I will say that the story was compelling enough that 1. I wanted to know how it ended and 2. I did finish the book. I really liked Cash as a hero. And I liked Meghan and a heroine. I think my issue is that I don't really like friends to lovers as much as a I thought I would. It almost felt like the author was leaning on an assumed friendship history to justify their love/chemistry instead of writing actual character development. It came off as "instalove" without a lot of back up. The sexy scenes were HOT and it was a bit of a slow burn (we have to wait until after 50% to get to the good stuff). I started to get lost in all the characters though. There are brothers and sisters and cousins and business partners and parents and step parents and step siblings and best friends, and yada yada. Sounds exhausting, right? I didn't help that I took a break reading it and forgot who all was who. I assume if you are a fan of the author, a lot of those extra side characters mean more because the come up in other books but with this book being my first by this author - it was too much.
  
  Ultimately - the story was "ok", hence the 2 star rating. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. It served its purpose of a palate cleanser and I will go jump into a darker read now.
• 
  Destany

  Meghan is so insecure. Like, massively insecure. Cash really loved her to put up with it. I understand why she was the way she was. But she hid for so long. Cash tried his hardest and she still pushed him away after everything it took to get them together. I kinda wanted to shake some sense into her.
  
  Friends to lovers is my jam, tho, so I was all in from the beginning. Plus, his family is great! I can't wait to read more of them.
• 
  Tammy Moldovan

  Smart funny and wildly appealing best friends to lovers
  
  This is a swoony heart-warming best friends to lovers marriage pact romance with a side of cute cats. The story included witty dialogue, three dimensional characters who grow, and an engaging storyline. Cash is the CFO of his family’s wealth investment firm in Chicago. Meghan is a vet tech living in their small home town 6 hours away. Meghan and Cash have been best friends since they were teenagers and they made a marriage pact promising to marry each other when they turned 30. When Cash visits Meghan for her 30th birthday, the chemistry that’s always been there heats up and their friends to lovers journey officially starts. Be warned, there is a bunch of angsty c’mere c’mere, get away get away in this one. Cash and Meghan both have trust issues and fears - broken families will do that. On their path to their HEA, there’s a lot of baggage unpacking for both of them to do. The book does a phenomenal job of taking us on the journey of Cash and Meghan as they struggle to transition from their fears and insecurities to learn to jump together without a parachute. While Cash and Meghan follow the inevitable path to being together, it is painful but also beautiful to watch their growth and missteps. The story has plenty of steamy scenes, sweet moments, angst, stupid choices, simmering and overwhelming feelings, all wrapped up in swoony heart squeezing love. I’ll definitely keep reading this series.
• 
  Simply Love Book Reviews

  This was my first book by Cassie Ann L. Miller and I enjoyed it despite that it went on a bit too long with the same issues being rehashed until the end of time. For me it was a solid four, I liked the characters and I understood their hesitation to move from best friends to more because when you have a friendship you cherish do you really want to mess it up if things don’t work out. That said, both characters could use a bit of therapy to get past their issues, but I also loved that when they were together they felt happy and whole.
  
  Cash and Meghan made a marriage pact on the night of his older brother’s wedding that if at 30 neither one of them was married, they’d marry one another. Cash moves heaven and earth to get to Meghan on her 30th birthday not because of the pact but because she’s his best friend and he wants to be there for her so despite the fact he’s late he arrives and they both suppress the urge they have to take their relationship further. They actually do a good job of talking through why they won’t cross that line and I like that they have great communication skills but the problem is neither one is being honest about how much they want the other.
  
  With Cash living 5 hours away and Meghan very happy in her small town distance is an issue not to mention that Cash has it in his head that he needs to make the wealth management business he owns with his dad bigger and better and he’s running himself ragged. There were a lot of characters in this book, Meghan’s friends and her mom and Cash’s family yet the relationship was front and center.
  
  This one was a bit of a slow burn with them trying not to cross that line from friends to lovers, but it worked. I do feel this one could have been trimmed down a bit and it would have been a stronger story but I also couldn’t stop reading and couldn’t wait to see how it all worked out.
  
  While The Wild Side is my first book by Cassie Ann L. Miller, it won’t be my last; friends, family, friction, fun, and love…this book had everything I look for in a romance.
  
  Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
• 
  Christina Rybka

  This book was definitely a Wild Ride
  
  Cash and Meghan have been friends along time, nine years ago they made a pact that if they were both single and thirty that they would get married. Meghan turns thirty and Cash comes to see her, and that’s when things start to change. They both have always been attracted to each other, but friendship was always more important. Now the attraction is getting to hard to ignore for both of them. Can they be more than friends ? Great characters and storyline Highly recommended Amazing Book. Love this new world so much.
• 
  O’rion Risher

  9%. That’s all I could handle… they’re 30 and talk like they’re 13. “Mr. moneybags”
  
  He tells her how basically everyone he dates is after his money and she makes comments about what she would do if she had that kind of money and continues to call him mr. Moneybags. It’s super awkward for “best friends” or potential lovers and makes her sound like money is what she wants.
  
  Then there’s the obnoxious amount of inner dialogue between speaking.
• 
  Dakotah

  unsure how people literally like books where the characters need therapy but instead of getting it they just spew all their toxicity on each other. Over and over.
• 
  Stacey

  This was okay, I really liked it in the beginning. The female main character was a little too insecure and negative for me to really root for her though. I think this would have been better as a shorter story without so many side characters. The author brought up a lot of open-ended storylines and then didn't close them. Like I get there will be more books for the brothers, but the parents? Meghan's sisters? I have questions..
• 
  Terri

  Timing. Monday is not the middle if the week. Don't use days of the week if you can't keep it straight.
• 
  Shari

  Way to long of a story. Spent tons of time in their own heads going over the same things over and over. Ended up skimming to the end so I wouldn’t have to endure their inner dialogue any more.
• 
  NanaX8

  A LOL, should we or shouldn't we, best friends to lovers, all of the feels romance. Grab this and get your feels on today!!!❤️❤️❤️
• 
  Maggie Morgan

  Almost DNF but I stuck it out. I'm not a person who can read a book where the main character has no backbone. Meghan's mother is annoying and not in a way that you love to hate but in a way that she ruined the book (after she ruined her daughter). Unfortunately I will not be reading the rest of the series.
• 
  Jessica Reigle

  I really enjoyed this story...I'm really excited about potentially getting a book for each Westbrooke sibling. I like all of them individually so I'm eager to learn more about them and their journey's. I always love a good friends-to-lovers stories because it's what I'm a sucker for. This one was really enjoyable.
• 
  Anna

  I am being generous
  
  The two star review is generous. This book is boring. Meghan and Cash are like dry toast. I wanted to like this book because the premise is cute - a teenage marriage pact come true but these two have no chemistry. Then it was chapter after chapter of Ms Miller creating “chemistry” by having both Cash and Meghan declare ad nauseam that they’re best friends and they don’t want to ruin their friendship over their supposed physical attraction to one another. Chapters! It didn’t built sexual tension it merely drove me to tears - the bored kind not the emotional kind. The only reason I finished this book is because I was so far into it by the time the two protagonists finally get together. I only gave this book two stars because the cats are cute.
• 
  The Written

  Lost Brain Cells - DO NOT RECOMMEND
  
  DNF @31%. Unrealistic and boring! I skipped to 31%. The summary of this book is BS. Nothing happens but a bunch we can’t, we’re friends, I’ll hump you, let’s forget it bunch of nonsense. Anyone who gave this more than 2 stars is shallow and not smart.
  SEX SCENES - not at 31% but there is a kiss and some lap straddling in the car. Not exciting.
• 
  Kors Chick

  It’s Too Much
  
  This story is just TOO MUCH! Too much inner monologues. Too much back and forth before anything happened. Too much storylines on the side: sick dad (H), sick grandma(H), best friend (h) still wants ex who’s H’s brother, deadbeat dad (h) with other family with sick half sister. And then you factor in a wishy-washy female lead with daddy AND mommy issues! All it needed was for Meghan to have a secret twin that tried to murder her and steal Cash away to truly parody a Greek tragedy. There was no need for all this drama. It’s too much and not in a good way. This author is hit or miss for me, and this was definitely a miss.
• 
  Lorraine Brattin

  Love Cash and Meghan's story! Truly meant to be!
  
  Cash and Meaghan have been best friends since they were 15. Cash was always kind of a Grump, but Meghan understood him and made her way into his heart. Both of them had their parents split when they were younger, so they have that in common. They have always been there for each other when needed. 9 years ago they made a pact that if they weren't married by the time they turned 30, they would marry each other.
  
  Now, on Meghan's 30th birthday she is at home alone with her 2 foster kitties feeling sorry for herself because everybody made plans without her and Cash still hasn't called. They live hours away from each other but they always make sure to talk on their special day. Now sadly heading off to bed she is surprised to hear someone knocking on her door.
  
  Cash barely makes it to town because work made him late, then the storm hit. Now soaking wet and holding her cake and gifts he waits for Meghan to open the door. She is so surprised to see Cash in person that she throws herself at him. He can't believe how beautiful she is. Something just feels different. After talking for hours they fall asleep on the floor hugging. When Meghan wakes up she asks Cash to stay for a few days so they can catch up. Feeling surprised, Cash agrees.
  
  These two have seen each other's best and worst. They know everything there is to know, except intimately. What happens if they cross that line?
  
  Their families and friends are amazing. They are not afraid to push their opinions out to this couple. Will they listen?
  
  Need more about these families! Such interesting people. Enjoy
• 
  Frances Hernandez

  Accepting Unconditional Love
  
  I’ve only read a few books written by Cassie-Ann L. Miller, but if all her books are as captivating as this one, I’ll definitely be reading more books by her. Her handling of the story, characters, and emotions, were outstanding. I was hooked from the first sentence, and hated to reach the end, because I didn’t want the romance between Cash and Meghan,
  to end.
  Cash is single, wealthy CFO, of his fathers Wealth Management company. He has strived to be the best, but isn’t really living a fulfilling life. When he was younger, he made a marriage pact with his best friend. He decides to drive 6 hrs, to be there for Meghan’s 30th Birthday. When he arrives there, old feelings and desires for Meghan become evident.
  Meghan is a hard working single young woman. She works at a Veterinary clinic full-time, but works part time at a pet adoption agency. Her life is lonely, but she fosters pets, until they are adopted. When Cash appears at her door, with a cake, and balloons, she is completely surprised. They begin a relationship that build slowly, but both are aware of their miles of difference, because of their jobs.
  Incidents occur one right after the other, complicating their lives, and a short breakup occurs. Both realize that they can’t live without the other, and Cash comes home to surprise Meghan, and hopefully to reunite their love. Successfully, the couple finally reach their HEA, and the story ends in a beautiful, heartfelt romance.
• 
  Jamie’s Two Cents

  Skip this book
  
  Cash and Meghan’s story is completely predictable and sadly boring. 😕 Here’s a quick recap and my two cents.
  
  Quick recap:
  
  Meghan and Cash have been friends since they were children. Around 20 years old, they made a marriage pact to marry each other if they weren’t married by the time they were 30. On Meghan’s 30th birthday, Cash comes celebrate and suddenly realizes he’s have more than friendly feelings for Meghan.
  
  My two cents:
  
  Unfortunately this book is lacking in every area. The plot has been done many times over and so much better. I didn’t have any laugh out loud moments. There were too many sad moments and not enough good times to balance it out. Yet even the sad moments weren’t too sad. It was like the whole book was just meh.
  
  There was too much inner dialogue from the characters droning on about how they don’t want to ruin their friendship but they are really attracted to each other. So then they have sex that was so lackluster it was like I was watching paint peeling.
  
  There’s also a huge opportunity in missed scenes. The book doesn’t cover the characters 24/7 and sometimes it cuts off when you want to know what happens and it doesn’t fill you in. Almost like half a chapter is missing, but it wasn’t. I double checked.
  
  I’m not going to look for this author again and I hope I don’t accidentally read another book by them in the future. I’m surprised this book is so highly rated. If you’re a lover of friends to lovers, maybe you will fall in love with it. Sadly, it wasn’t the right book for me. Happy reading y’all!