Musings and Ramblings

Best Worst Mistake

Brightwater, #3

Lia Riley

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Date of Publication: October 20, 2015
Number of pages: 235

Sometimes the worst mistakes turn out to be the best…

Smoke jumper Wilder Kane once reveled in the rush from putting out dangerous wildfires. But after a tragic accident, he’s cut himself off from the world, refusing to leave his isolated cabin. When a headstrong beauty bursts in, Wilder finds himself craving the fire she ignites in him, but letting anyone near his darkness would be a mistake.

After her Hollywood life went up in smoke, Quinn Higsby decided to leave Tinseltown behind and return to Brightwater to care for her ailing father. She spends her days in a small bookstore, until her peaceful existence is up-ended by a fascinating but damaged man. Quinn is determined not to be scared off by Wilder, not once she’s experienced the heat of his passions.

But when an arsonist targets the community and Wilder is accused, he must confront the ghosts of his past. Will his desire for Quinn burn him up or will he be able to tame the wildness inside and rekindle a hope for their future?

Excerpt: 

“Would you do something for me?” She inched closer.

“What’s that?”

She patted the side of the bed. “Come here. Be next to me. We don’t have to sleep together to sleep together. Maybe I’m not ready to go whole hog, but what about cuddling?”

“Cuddling?” His breath sounded labored.

“Don’t be so dismissive.”

“I’m not, it’s just that … no one has ever asked me to before. I don’t exactly have a reputation as the warm and cuddly type.”

“Or no one’s ever bothered to look close enough.”

He froze before sitting on the edge of the bed, the mattress creaking from his weight.

“There we go, that’s a start,” she said encouragingly.

“Now what?”

“Now we both lie back on your pillows, get under the blankets.”

“What about shoes?”

“Right. Shoes. Very practical. Glad one of us handles the details. See? This is what makes me a terrible Virgo.”

“You nervous?” He slowly undid the zipper to her ankle boot, easing it off, giving her toes a squeeze before proceeding to the next boot. Her stomach muscles clenched. This guy would give amazing foot rubs; she knew it.

“A little, but in a good way.”

He considered her. “You’re strange.”

“And you are terrible at giving compliments.”

He chuckled at that, tossing her boots on the floor and pulling back the blankets, tucking her in.

“Aren’t you getting in too?”

“For my sanity, I’d rather have this as a barrier.” He tugged on the thick comforter, “Otherwise, I’ll never fall asleep.”

“Am I that hard to resist?” She batted her lashes with a faux-seductive voice.

“Woman, you drive me crazy.” But he sounded happy or at least not angry, which was a change. And for not being a cuddler, he had an excellent way of putting his arm around the hollow of her waist and spooning her against him.

Guest Post: 

Quinn Higsby, Best Worst Mistake’s heroine, works at Brightwater’s sole bookshop, A Novel Experience. Before ever meeting the reclusive Wilder Kane, they connect over a shared love of literature. As you’ll see in the book, Wilder has a wide, eclectic reading range and here are a couple of his hands down favorites:






Legends of the Fall by Malcolm Lowry









For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway









One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Of Mice and Men by John Steinback

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Invisible Man by H.G Wells

Giveaway: 

Author Bio:

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.

To connect with the author online:

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