I had recently read some earlier Tess Bailey books, and enjoyed them at least as much as her two most recent series, so I decided to explore more of the back catalogue. Sadly, this one was not so great. There were some good ideas her, totally undeveloped. There were some bad ideas that were fully explored. There were some tropes that I don't like very much. There was terrible character development. It is never clear why Aaron or his siblings act the way they do, why Grace's father acts the way he does, And there was the odd decision to tell the story completely from Aaron's point of view.

Grace exists as nothing more than a catalyst for Aaron's thoughts and actions. She has trauma so he can soothe her. She is "good" so he can focus on how evil he is (the supposed reason Aaron has supposedly turned the dark side and the evidence that he has in fact turned to the dark side is all absurd and insubstantial.) The prose is often truly bad and never exceeds mediocre. There were some good ideas in here, and I am willing to accept they were part of the process Tessa has to go through to write later looks I quite liked. ( )

Aaron Clarkson is the man with a plan. His ambitious nature and smooth demeanor have landed him right in the middle of the action. His road to politics does not include getting distracted. One wrong move could incur another scandal. Enter Grace. A woman who is not afraid to dance to the beat of her heart. When she cares about something, she gives it her all and nothing stands in her way of doing what is right. So why is she drawn to the bad bad boy of politics? Why does Grace make Aaron want to become a better man? Too Wild to Tame is full of surprising twists, searing heat and the most important lesson of all: It's okay to be you. The Clarksons are an unconventional family but behind the tragedies, scandals and arguments there is love. ( )

As far as the Clarkson siblings are concerned, Aaron is my favorite thus far. He is like chocolate...rich but oh so good for you. I liked that both Aaron and Grace had dark pasts that they would not let define them as the people they were today. Grace kept Aaron on his toes. I enjoyed this a lot. Plus, with her doing the things she did, she kept the story entertaining.

What I enjoyed the most about this book compared to the first one was that it felt like Aaron and Grace's story was not all about sex. Not that I have anything against sex in a story, especially a romance story. I just don't like when the story seems to suffer from passion. In fact, Aaron and Grace did not hook up that many times in this book but when they did it was hot. A happy ending for all involved. I can't wait to read Peggy's story next. ( )

3.5 Stars

The second Clarkson sibling is an uptight political advisor who needs a little help securing a job. Aaron's big idea is to crash pancake breakfast with a senator running for president. He crashes it with the help of a very mysterious girl with crazy hair. Grace is on a mission that only she understands when she runs into Aaron.

Aaron, I liked. Grace....not so much. I just didn't understand why she was so wacked out. Crazy hair, crazy way of speaking, and kinda childish. I could understand Aaron's attraction to her, he's so use to senators and their wives. Seeing someone so far removed from his own little world would be exciting, especially someone he ends up working close with.

Looking forward to Bel and Sage's story and seeing who Peggy feels the need to harass.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. ( )

4.5 Stars | Hot Steam
When I read the first Romancing the Clarksons novel, TOO HOT TO HANDLE, I felt zings of excitement with every page turn. I treasured Rita and Jasper and knew in my romance-loving soul that this spectacular family and their keeper-shelf stories were going to be unlike any others Tessa Bailey had written to date. And holy fantastic perfection! Forget zings. TOO WILD TO TAME electrified me into steamy submission with its brilliance. :) I mean it. This astonishing book delivered unputdownable wonder from start to finish. The wealth of emotion, urgency, immediacy, passion, and power of Grace and Aaron’s journey blew me away! I was spellbound...and anxious! Each time the percentage crept closer to 100% on my e-reader I would plead for it not to be over. Not yet! I needed more! More smiles, more tears, more swoons!

I downright worshipped Grace and Aaron. Their connection was an entirely new level of glorious. First we are given glacier cold and painfully wound up alpha-male-extraordinaire, Aaron. He’s blindingly handsome, razor sharp, brave, commanding, hard working, and so very sexy. Next we stumble upon free-spirited, ice-melting, and ethereal Grace. She’s one-of-a-kind special—impossibly lovely, strong, kind, unpredictable, open, compassionate, vulnerable, sensual, and completely at odds with who you would assume to fit with a man like Aaron. But they do fit, sublimely so. And I hung on their every word and moment together. Grace rattles him, centers him, inspires him, unravels him, and helps him revive his humanity. And even though Aaron doesn’t think he deserves Grace, he can’t help but cherish her, support her, celebrate her, and love her unconditionally. He’s mad with fiery love for her. Simply devoted. They both are to each other. It’s beyond beautiful.

And the heat level in this novel? A rarefied inferno. Leave it to Tessa Bailey to write sex scenes so singular, uncannily fresh, intense, molten hot, and criminally naughty. She is the Queen! When this series concludes we’ll all need to jump in the Atlantic along with the Clarksons to cool off.

TOO WILD TO TAME is a must read!

Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ( )