Wild Side by Elsie Silver will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. One minute you’ll be laughing over banter and the next you’ll be wiping tears from your eyes. A story about grief, healing, and how family isn’t always the ones we’re born to but the ones we choose to keep in our lives.
Wild Side by Elsie Silver
Wild Side by Elsie Silver is the third book in the Rose Hill series. It is a contemporary small town romance published on March 4th, 2025 and is 466 pages. You can find the book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and the author’s website here.
Premise
After Tabitha’s sister, Erika, dies from an overdose, Tabitha is gearing up to do everything she needs to take care of her nephew, Milo. Unfortunately Erika’s landlord, Rhys, has a will from Erika that leaves Milo in his care and he’s ready to fight for him after everything Erika told him about her sister. However, things aren’t exactly as he believed them to be, and Tabitha is fighting hard for her nephew.
Both parties are ready to do whatever is necessary to make life for Milo easier and keep him happy. Unfortunately, due to Rhys being an American citizen and Milo born and growing up in Canada, the only way to handle the back and forth and keep Milo with Tabitha is by the two of them marrying until they can figure out a more permanent solution.
Triggers
Triggers found in Wild Side by Elsie Silver include:
- Addiction, Drug Use (off-page,) and overdose
- Child welfare themes
- Sexually explicit scenes
- Grief
My Thoughts
Going into Wild Side I knew I was about to get enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes, what I wasn’t expecting was to get a heart breaking story of addiction, loss, and grief. The entire book was a roller coaster of emotions culminating in healing, growth, and a perfect happily ever after.
Tabitha has been the person trying to manage her broken family after her parents went no contact with her sister. While Erika isn’t our main character in the slightest, Elsie did a fantastic job of sharing her story, of the desperation and struggles that many drug addicts face.
“Pettiness is my love language.” I’d wear that shirt! – Wild Side by Elsie Silver
Meanwhile Rhys, an adult who grew up in a system of foster homes, struggles with connecting to people. He adapted to living a life alone, but he feels strongly for Milo and will do anything to make sure he won’t suffer that same way Rhys had. That loyalty and maybe his reluctant closeness to Cleocatra endeared me to him.
“Listen, this is still my house. Still my life. If you’re expecting me to be a subservient little wife, then I’ve got news for you, pal. So yeah, if I want a cat, I’ll get one. Just like how if you want an alarm system, you’ll get one.” – Wild Side by Elsie Silver
After Erika informed Tabitha that Rhys was evicting her right before she overdosed, Tabby believes that Rhys is the reason her sister is dead. On the other side, Erika told Rhys that her sister was a workaholic that didn’t have time for her. It made the two distrust each other, but when both see how close Milo is to the other, they both realize that they will need to figure out a way that works best for the kid.
“Yeah. Tabitha, sister of my new tenant, is hot, looks like she thinks I might have bodies buried in my basement, and has a mean handshake. Strangely, I’m into it.” – Wild Side by Elsie Silver
Our first spice scene didn’t hit until after 60% through the book, but the tension and push and pull in the scenes leading up to it make the entire wait worth every single word read.
The bickering between these two characters was top tier. Tabitha is a bit petty but in that hysterical way that just endears her to the reader, at least she did for me. However, Rhys can give just as good as he gets.
“It must be hard for you.” “What?” “Not having a woman just fawn all over you. It’s like if you have to do more than be a big, broody, poor man’s Jason Momoa, you get your panties all twisted.” – Wild Side by Elsie Silver
We love good character growth here, and let me tell you the way these characters grow together and individually was some of the best character writing I’ve read. We watch as both characters move through the stages of their grief, and sometimes end up leaning on each other, even when they aren’t particularly fond of each other.
We got to see more of Ford, Rosie, and Cora from Wild Love. As well as West and Skylar from Wild Eyes. However, the sneak peeks into what we can expect from the upcoming Wild Card with Gwen and Bash were chef’s kiss. I can already sense the tension there and I’m excitedly waiting for the September 9th release.
Overall the book gave found family vibes with heavy grief and healing topics thrown in. It was beautifully done with the right blend of tears and laughter that kept me flipping pages.
Who Would Like Wild Side by Elsie Silver?
Tropes found in Wild Side by Elsie Silver include:
- Small Town
- Found Family
- Enemies to Lovers
- Marriage of Convenience
If you liked Takeover by Evelyn Sola, Once Upon A Grump by Penelope Bloom, or Ignite by Melanie Harlow you will likely love this book as well.
Make sure you check out all of my Rose Hill posts below:
Have you read Wild Side by Elsie Silver, or are you adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below. I love interacting with other readers over books we loved.