ARC Review: Wild Side by Elsie Silver

Wild Side (Rose Hill, #3) by Elsie Silver

Pages: 464
Publish date: 4 March, 2025
Publisher: Bloom Books
ISBN: 9781464237522
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

I’d always dreamed of my wedding day. But not like this. Not looking into the eyes of the man who betrayed me.

But when my nephew’s guardianship is contested, I decide I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him in Rose Hill. Even if it means marrying the enemy.

Rhys Dupris.

A man who is secretive, broody, and completely infuriating. A man whose work takes him away for weeks on end and brings him back covered in mysterious bruises—ones he won’t talk about. In fact, we barely talk at all.

Which would be fine, except when he’s not talking, he’s staring. And the way he looks at me is borderline indecent.

The tension between us has always been palpable. But living under the same roof is a dangerous temptation.

I swore I would never forgive him. But that was before I knew the man behind the mask. The one who’s fierce and protective. The one who’s gentle and patient, The one who shows up for us when we need him most.

He’s not at all who I thought he was.

And that makes hating my husband so much harder… and loving him just a little too easy.

Wild Side:

I received an earc of Wild Side by Elsie Silver in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. I tried to limit the spoilers in this review as much as I could, but a few minor ones might slip in.

You know that author? The one that you know before you even pick the book that you are going to love the book? That is Elsie Silver for me. This is now the 10th Elsie Silver book I’ve read, and I have pretty much loved every single one. She is an autobuy author, an autolove author, and I cannot wait for everyone else to get to read Wild Side.

Wild Side is the third book in the Rose Hill series and follows Tabitha as she goes from being just an aunt to her nephew to having custody of him. And Rhys, the secretive next door neighbour of her sister and someone who is pretty much going to change her life. However, let’s just say they don’t particularly get along, so when the only option for Tabitha and Rhys is to marry, well, things are about to get a whole lot of interesting. And I was so here for it.

Tabitha is a strong, independent woman, and I loved her as a lead. She brought this spark to the page that I adored. I loved that she had a job that she loved and that made her happy. But there is one more thing she loves more than her job, and that is Milo. Her nephew is now the person who relies on her the most. After the passing of her sister, she knows and believes that it’s her job to look after him and give him everything that he needs. But she isn’t the only one who believes that.

Rhys is an emgina. We don’t know too much about him from the other books in the series, only that there is a lot of tension between him and Tabitha, and this is immediately explored in Wild Side. And even though it’s dual pov, we don’t truly see what Rhys thinks about Tabitha for some time. He has gone through a lot himself, and all he wants for Milo is for him to feel safe and loved. Because of what he thought was true, he believe that Tabitha isn’t the best person for Milo at first, but soon relaised that she loves and cares for him so damn much.

Now, this book has one of my favourite tropes ever! And when the guardianship of Milo is brought up, things get very interesting. And what better way to remedy a situation like this? Well, we must get married, of course. Ahhh! This marriage of convenience is hot and steamy without any action. The tension and angst are oh so high, and it made for the best scenes between Tabitha and Rhys. There are also some big setbacks between these two because not only is this a marriage of convenience but dislike to love. There is no real hate between these two, it is more of a miscommunication. And this leads to a lot of animosity

I loved seeing them fall for one another without even realising it. They cared for each other when they needed it, they were there for Milo, and oh my, the smut! Yer Elsie Silver just knows how to write it! Elsie Silver knows how to write that great balance between smutting and spicy. They get you all hot and bothered, but the love between Tabitha and Rhys is there the whole time. What I also love about Wild Side is that we get to see the domestic life of these two. Of Tabitha cooking and making sure Rhys is eating, to him making sure she is cared for and looked after when she needs a little break.

Milo is the light of this book. My heart broke for him so much throughout the book. He had just lost his mother. He has moved house, and his life is a little different now. But his is so pure and full of love. He loves his aunty, and Rhys is like a hero to him. And that shines through.

Rhys’s job and why he is so secretive isn’t something I was really expecting. It took me off guard a little, and I did find it a little, strange, isn’t the right word. But not something that I know a lot about. So it did take me a little away from the book, just a little. Honestly, it wasn’t a massive deal.

One of the things that stood out for me in Wild Side is the healing that this book explores. The healing between Tabitha and Rhys, the healing from grief for her sister. The healing for Tabitha, Rhys and Milo and having their lives changed so much. Wild Side was just like a warm hug.

I love that we get to see our bowling crew once again and all the characters we have come to love from the rest of the series. It made me feel warm, not only how they cared for Tabitha but also Rhys and Milo as well. They just surrounded them with all the love. There is also a little insight into what Wild Card might be, and I’m so excited.

Overall, Wild Side by Elsie Silver is exactly what I wanted. This marriage of convenience between Tabitha and Rhys is hot, steamy and full of healing. Tabitha is a strong, independent woman who made me want to keep on cheering her on. I adored her love for Milo and his love for her. Rhys is a fantastic bookish boyfriend and knows exactly what to say. If you haven’t started this series yet, please do!

Have you read any of this series yet? What have you thought of them? Are you excited about Wild Side? Or have you read it already? I want to know what you think. Let’s chat!