SUMMARY

Alexandra Moody’s BookTok sensation DARLING DEVILS series is back with the most devilish Darling brother of all — in a wholesome, banter-filled ice-hockey romance perfect for fans of Hannah Grace, slow-burn chemistry, and happily ever afters!

She’s ready to take a shot at her goals. He doesn’t realize that his heart is wide open . . .

Parker Darling is ready to take center ice now that his older brothers have left to play hockey in college. He shows up to the first practice ready to be team captain of the Ransom Devils, only to find a new coach at the rink—one who already hates Parker for a dumb mistake he made years ago. A mistake he made with the help of Coach Foster’s daughter, Mackenzie.

Kenzie Foster loves hockey, too, and she’s a ruthless goalie. If only her dad hadn’t forbidden her from playing—not that she’d want to be on any team with that arrogant jerk Parker Darling. She can’t believe she’s stuck on the bench at a new school, watching the Devils struggle to win without the force of all three Darling brothers.

Parker hates losing, and when the Devils’ star goalie is cut, he knows he has to step up and lead the team back to greatness. Kenzie, meanwhile, sees a wide-open net and an unused uniform just waiting to prove her dad wrong. They’ll need to work together to reach their goals—without getting too close to making another big mistake.

Image and summary from Goodreads.

REVIEW

I don’t think I’ll ever forget where I read Wild Darling.

I took this book with me on my trip to Antarctica (well it was loaded onto my kindle), and there was something so surreal about sitting on an expedition ship, surrounded by glaciers and icebergs, while getting completely lost in Parker and Mackenzie’s story. Reading has always been one of my favourite parts of travelling and this book will always remind me of one of the most incredible trips I’ve ever taken. I honestly don’t think I could have picked a better place to read it.

Wild Darling is my favourite book in the Darling Devils series so far.

I’d been looking forward to Parker’s story ever since meeting him in the earlier books and Alexandra Moody absolutely delivered. Parker was such an easy character to love. Beneath his confidence was someone who genuinely cared about the people around him and I loved getting to see a different side of him. Watching him grow throughout the series only made me like him even more.

I also really enjoyed Mackenzie as a main character. She held her own and I loved how determined she was to prove herself. Her journey wasn’t just about romance it was about finding where she belonged and refusing to let other people’s expectations define what she was capable of. That made it really easy to cheer her on from the very beginning.

One of my favourite parts of the entire book was how supportive the Darling Devils team was. It would have been easy for the story to focus solely on the romance, but I loved that the team felt like a family. Their determination to help Mackenzie get onto the team even if it meant coming up with a few creative ways to outsmart her dad made for some genuinely fun moments. It showed just how much they believed in her and I couldn’t help but smile every time they all rallied around each other.

And can we please talk about the friendship bracelets?

I don’t know why such a small detail made me so happy, but it really did. It was such a simple way of showing how close this team had become and moments like that are what make Alexandra Moody’s books stand out for me. She doesn’t just write romances, she writes friendships that feel just as important. Those little moments of team bonding made the story feel so much more wholesome and reminded me why I love sports romances in the first place.

Alexandra Moody’s writing continues to be so easy to fall into. Every time I pick up one of her books, I know I’m going to fly through it, and Wild Darling was no exception. It had the perfect balance of romance, humour, friendship and emotional moments and I found myself wanting to keep reading every chance I got. Even while I was travelling through one of the most breathtaking places on Earth.

The only reason this wasn’t a five star read for me is that there were a couple of moments where I wanted just a little more. A few scenes felt like they wrapped up a little quickly and I would have happily spent even more time with Parker, Mackenzie and the rest of the Darling Devils before reaching the final page.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It gave me my favourite romance of the series so far, made me fall even more in love with the Darling Devils and now holds a special place in my heart because of where I read it. I know that every time I look at this book on my shelf, I’ll immediately think of Antarctica and how much fun I had reading it between wildlife sightings and incredible landscapes.

This was an easy 4 star read for me. Wild Darling has officially become my favourite Darling Devils book so far, and I already can’t wait to see whose story Alexandra Moody tells next.

-Rachelle

I’m on Instagram at @rachellesbookshelf