WRECKED - Shiloh Walker
Berkley Sensation
ISBN: 978-0-425-26445-4
April 2013
Contemporary Romance

Tucson, Arizona - Present Day

After a childhood filled with chaos, Abigale Applegate came to depend on her lists and plans.  Then, two months before her wedding, her fiancé dumps her and she realizes her perfectly planned relationship was a lie.  Abigale turns to her best friend, Zach Barnes, for solace, and he gives her a book that encourages her to throw out her careful plans and live life.  Her new plan includes telling off her ex-fiancé, getting a tattoo, and having a torrid affair.

Zach has been in love with Abby since they were co-stars in a sitcom in their teens, so he isn't too upset that she's not getting married.  He understands her need for control in her life, but hopes to help her loosen up by giving her the journal, Wreck your Life .  When she asks him to give her a tattoo, he accidentally sees her new list and realizing that she wants to find a new man, Zach decides he's going to be that man. He's waited seventeen years for Abby to notice him; he's not about to lose this chance. Except instead of a torrid affair, he hopes to convince Abby to give him a chance for the rest of his life.

When her careful life is turned upside down, Abigale contacts the person who has always been there for her, and finds something she'd never expected in WRECKED.  Zach has always been the one she depends on, and her only happy times from her life as a child star are those spent with Zach and his family.  She doesn't regret leaving Hollywood behind to own her own catering business, and she wouldn't return to acting for anything.  This is something she and Zach have in common, as he left acting at the same time as she and now co-owns a tattoo shop.  Abby is surprised to find herself checking out Zach whenever they get together and blames it on her recent break-up at first.  One steamy kiss that gets a bit out of control has Abby re-evaluating that, as well as deciding Zach may be the perfect person with whom to have her torrid affair.

While Zach hates that Abby is hurting, he can't help but be relieved that she won't be getting married to another man.  It seems as if he's loved her all his life, and with her broken engagement, his family and friends are encouraging him to let Abby know how he feels.  It's not until he notices her checking him out that he begins to have hope that something may come of his feelings.

WRECKED introduces not just Abby and Zach, but a whole cast of interesting characters.  Zach has four brothers, all of whom have always treated Abby like a sister, and are aware of Zach's feelings for her, and Abby and Zach have also remained friends with another actress they had worked with, Marin.  As all of these characters are single, I can only hope that eventually we'll be seeing more of the Barnes family.  A steamy, fun romance between best friends, WRECKED is a book I highly recommend.

Jennifer Bishop