ENGLISH PROFESSOR GONE WILD BY DAKOTA MADISON!

Gone Wild

by Dakota Madison

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GENRE: Romantic Comedy

MY REVIEW OF THE WILD WAY BY DAKOTA MADISON
By Caroline Clemmons

Like tenured English professor, Bly Daniels, I don't like the outdoors and would prefer being indoors reading a book. Unlike this character, I do NOT read while driving (although I've witnessed  other drivers doing so). When Bly is caught and appears in court, she is sentenced to thirty days of community service that for her is comparable to the seventh level of Hell. She must work at the Wild Way, a therapeutic wilderness program for troubled teens. Or, as Bly thinks of them at first, little hooligans.

In only these few sentences, you can see there are certain to be funny circumstances and difficulty for Bly, can't you? Wait until Bly meets Turner Wild, owner and operator of the program. She hates him instantly! But, sexual tension electrifies the air around them. 

I liked Bly from the start even though she appeared a bit stodgy and pedantic. Maybe that's because I'm a bit that way myself. In GONE WILD, Bly makes a giant character arc. I'm still working on mine.

Dakota Madison writes great, witty dialogue and internal musings that keep the story moving forward at a fast pace. A reader simply can't help laughing out loud in places at Ms Madison's clever writing. And, I couldn't stop reading until I'd reached the end. This is my first Dakota Madison book, but now I'm compelled to read each of her books. Yes, she's that good. An easy 5 stars for GONE WILD.

GONE WILD Blurb:

Tenured English professor Bly Daniels believes the short walk from her campus office to the university library is too much exposure to the harsh elements of the outdoors. She would prefer to spend her days (and nights) comfortably seated indoors reading classic literature.

When Bly is arrested for reading one of the great books while driving home, a judge sentences her to thirty days of community service with The Wild Way, a therapeutic wilderness program for troubled teens.

There she meets Turner Wild, the owner and operate of the wilderness program. Turner is everything Bly despises: rugged, unrefined and outdoorsy. For Bly a trip to hell sounds more desirable than spending an entire month with Turner and his band of hooligans as they traverse the woods of rural northwest New Jersey communing with nature.

Bly certainly never expects to form a bond with the troubled teens she’s been assigned to mentor and forge an unlikely relationship with their fearless leader, Turner Wild.

GONE WILD Excerpt:

“This is as far as I go,” the crusty old cab driver barks as he stops in front of a long dirt road that disappears into the woods.

“How far is it to the wilderness camp?” I ask.

“Pretty far, I would imagine. It’s not visible from the road at all.”

“And how am I supposed to get there?”

“I guess you’re just going to have to walk.”

I laugh until I realize he’s not joking. He expects me to walk into the woods on a dirt road that is God knows how long.

Then I realize I’ll also have to carry my bag as well. I could barely carry my suitcase to the front stoop for him to place in his truck.

“I can only take the cab on paved roads,” he tells me. “Company rules.”

Is that supposed to make me feel better? It doesn’t.

I heave a huge sigh. “How much do I owe you?”

“Thirty.”

I hand him three ten dollar bills, plus a five dollar tip.

“Let me get your bag out of the trunk.”

When he exits the cab I take a moment to compose myself. I’m already so far out of my comfort zone I feel like I’m having a panic attack, and I haven’t even made it to the camp yet.

You’re an intelligent woman with a doctoral degree, I remind myself. You can do this.

By the time I exit the cab my bag is already on the side of the road waiting for me.

“Good luck,” the cab driver says.

“Thanks.”

It probably wasn’t the smartest idea I ever had to wear a dress and pumps. In my defense I don’t have much else in my wardrobe. Work attire and lounging outfits for around the house are about it. When I teach I always wear a dress or a suit with dress shoes. I wouldn’t be caught dead outside of my home in one of my lounging outfits.

Calling the dirt pathway a road is extremely generous. The trail is much rockier and uneven than I initially thought. The shoes I’m wearing are not even close to being appropriate for the conditions. I’ll be lucky if I don’t turn an ankle.

My suitcase is another problem entirely. I can barely make it a few feet before I have to set it down. The muscles in my arms are already throbbing and I haven’t even made it far enough to spot the end of the trail yet.

Luckily it’s still early in the day. I’ve got many hours of sunlight left. Even if it takes me several hours walking a few steps at a time I should make it there before dark.

Unless it’s a few miles to the camp, then I’ll be in a bit of trouble.

Two hours and thirty seven minutes later I’ve had about all that I can take. My feet are blistered and aching. I’m afraid when I finally remove my shoes my feet will be bloody as well.

My arms are so weak I don’t think I can lift the suitcase again.

And I’m on the verge of complete exhaustion.

What was I thinking packing so much stuff? I was thinking I’ll be here an entire month and I need reading materials.

Here is no water but only rock

Rock and no water and the sandy road.

Those words from T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ seem appropriate right now. I take a seat on my suitcase and wipe the sweat from my brow with a tissue that I just happened to have shoved in my pocket. I can’t even remember the last time I sweated. It may have been in high school when we were forced to play those utterly horrendous sports in our Physical Education classes.

I was supposed to be at the apex of my career this year. I was finally promoted from Associate to Full Professor. Edgar had been hinting that when he retired I was first in line to take over as Chairperson of the English Department. I was just a few months away from paying off the mortgage on my house.

Now it looks like I might lose everything, and I’m sitting in the middle of the woods helpless to do anything about it. Edgar was not happy when I told him I needed to take a month of personal leave and he’d need to find a substitute to teach my classes. That coupled with the fact that my arrest and conviction has tarnished the reputation of the institution does not bode well for me still having a career upon my return from this journey into the wilderness. 

The sun is starting to get higher overhead, and it’s beating down on me. I’m not sure how much of the blistering brightness my pale skin can take. I should probably edge closer to the tree line where it’s shaded, but I’m too exhausted to move. 

I’m just about to fall asleep seated on my suitcase when a large pickup truck whizzes by. I try to raise a hand to wave the driver over, but to no avail. My arm won’t lift high enough.

Instead I choke on the dust left in the truck’s wake.

Then to my surprise the trucks comes to a screeching halt, reverses and heads back towards me.

When I rise to greet the driver my legs feel like cooked noodles. They’re so weak I can barely control them as I move towards the truck.

My eyes go wide when I see who has hopped out of the vehicle. The driver is a young, petite woman of Asian descent.

From the neck up she’s beautiful, with long silky dark hair and perfect features. From the neck down she’s dressed like a man. She’s wearing well-worn jeans, black combat boots and a green Army jacket.

“Are you lost?” Her tone is accusatory, definitely not friendly.

I shake my head.

“You know this road leads to a wilderness camp for troubled teens.”

“I do.”

She looks me up and down. “You don’t look like you’re ready for the wilderness, and you’re definitely not a teenager.”

“I’m aware of that.” My voice is weary. “I’m court ordered to be here. Community service.”

She rolls her eyes. “Lucky us.”

“Unfortunately the cab driver wouldn’t take me beyond the main road. I’ve been walking for hours.”

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gone-Wild-Love-Midlife-Book-ebook/dp/B01DSH1CBC

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gone-wild-dakota-madison/1123693969

Dakota Madison, Author, with husband

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

USA TODAY Bestselling author Dakota Madison is known for writing new adult, love in midlife, and contemporary romance with a little spice and lots of heart. Dakota is a winner of the prestigious RONE Award for Excellence in the Indie and Small Publishing Industry. When she's not at her computer creating spicy stories Dakota likes to spend time with her husband and their bloodhounds. Dakota also writes under the pen names SAVANNAH YOUNG, SIERRA AVALON and REN MONTERREY.

Where to find DAKOTA...

Website: http://www.karen-mueller-bryson.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenMuellerBrysonAuthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/karenmbryson/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenmbryson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenmbryson

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Dakota Madison will be awarding 3 eCopies of STILL FINE AT FORTY by Dakota Madison to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway