GRR Reviews Wild by Lexi Whitlow

Wild is a reporter vs. recluse romance that managed to do a successful pivot once the couple got together into an adventure. With the timely topic of cryptocurrency, the whole thing is handled "decently" well, except the author forgot to hire a tech consultant for ONE fact that conveniently got overlooked.

Zee is an intrepid freelance reporter on the trail of Fox Guthrie, the rumored head of "Encrybit", the cryptocurrency that swept the world. FBI wants Fox found, as he's accused of money laundering and much more by his ex, a fellow hacker, but nobody had heard of him for years. Her clues lead her to this snowy mountain in Utah... when she wandered into a beartrap and she was slowly bleeding out, too weak to move, when a man rescued her and tended to her wounds in his cabin. Is he Fox, even though he denied he is?

Once you got past the rescue and later, the coupling, and admission that yes, he's Fox, the book managed a successful pivot when Fox got away from the mansion and escaped all the way to Vegas, then executed yet another escape plan for Zee to join him. And together, they will have to figure out why FBI was so hot on Fox, since Fox knew he didn't launder any money... The extended ending did explain all that, albeit in a somewhat less dramatic fashion.

With that said, there are two problems that the book didn't address. 1) I just find it horribly convenient that the law enforcement didn't put a tail on Zee since they tried charging her with obstructing justice 2) even if the house is energy self-sufficient (windmills, solar panels, etc.), the cryptocurrency mining is not handled alone. How is Fox getting the internet connection from high up in the mountains? And why didn't anyone track that? That's why this is 4/5

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Reporter chasing after the inventor of cryptocurrency, and was rescued by a stranger, but is he the one she's looking for, even as authorities close in?

Overall Rating: 4/5

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