Title: Bone to Be Wilde
Series: Holiday in Sunset Surf: Book Two
Author: Dani Lakely
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 295 Pages
Category: Holiday Romance, Magical Realism
Rating: 5 Stars
At a Glance: Dani Lakely once again delivers an abundance of wit and charm in this sweet romantic package. I dearly and sincerely hope this isn’t the last holiday she spends in Sunset Surf.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Forrest’s to-do list:
1. Convince Jonathan to move in with him.
2. No, seriously. That’s it.
It’s been nine months of playful bickering and bliss for Forrest Wilde and his boyfriend, Jonathan. But in order to move their relationship forward, Jonathan needs Forrest to find closure from his past.
Alexander Adler is back in town and dragging all of Forrest’s ghosts screaming into the light. Is there still a spark waiting to ignite between Forrest and his ex, or are they nothing more than toasted history? Forrest isn’t exactly eager to find out, seeing as sometimes the monsters under the bed are people who haunt us from days gone by.
Every autumn, the town of Sunset Surf comes alive in celebration of the season. But this year, when Forrest falls under a mysterious spell that forces him to forget the person he loves most, there will be plenty of spooks in store for the fun-loving and eccentric residents of this seaside village. Torn between fright or flight, Forrest must face his fears in order to make his way back to true love—or risk losing it forever.
Review: In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey wishes he’d never been born, and then goes on to see what an empty and unhappy world it would have been without him in it. That’s not the absolute perfect analogy for Forrest Wilde’s paradoxical dilemma in Dani Lakely’s Bone to Be Wilde, but it comes close enough when he wakes up one morning and forgets that the love of his whole life ever existed. No, not Alexander Adler. Forrest remembers him. It’s Jonathan Thomas who slips Forrest’s memory, as if he never existed at all, and, as is the way in Sunset Surf, California, Forrest must go on a scavenger hunt of epically mysterious proportions to learn to let go of the past and then bring his future home.
Forrest doesn’t get why his life feels a little empty and unfulfilled. What is he missing that’s making him feel a bit untethered? And what’s with the magical glittery note cards that keep popping up? Those kind of freak him out at first, as one would expect. He knows having Alex back in town after their horrific breakup isn’t helping. He also doesn’t understand why everyone keeps telling him how sorry they are about it, considering it’s the oldest news in town. All Forrest knows is that every single time he sees Alex, it’s awkward, uncomfortable, and he’s paralyzed by the feelings that Alex’s return have churned up, hurt and anger at the top of the list. According to the disturbingly glittery note cards, the most important thing Forrest must do is “make a commitment to finally let go.” That’s easier said than done, though. Especially when all his focus is on the man he’s just fallen head over heels in love with at first sight ::winkwink::
As with her debut novel, and the first book in the Holiday in Sunset Surf series, Merry & Sprite, Lakely delivers an abundance of wit and charm in this sweet romantic package, and I love the twist she gives the amnesia trope. Sometimes losing something you thought you wanted is the only way to find what you truly need. And sometimes it’s true that you don’t know what you had until it’s gone. It’s also true that you can’t move forward with one foot stuck in the past. In this case, Forrest only needs to remember, and when he does, my whole heart was in it. As for Jonathan, well, he learns a lesson of his own in the bargain, so it’s a two-for-one happy ending.
The townspeople continue to be an utter delight, and I love them all. I love Sunset Surf too—if it existed, I’d visit—and I dearly and sincerely hope this isn’t the last holiday Dani Lakely spends in this quirky little place. Plus, I STILL NEED NOAH TO GET HIS OWN BOOK. Ahem. Sorry, but I really do.
You can buy Bone to Be Wilde here:
[zilla_button url=”https://books2read.com/Bone-to-Be-Wilde” style=”black” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]