cover image Something Wild

Something Wild

Anna Martin. Dreamspinner, $14.99 trade paper (214p) ISBN 978-1-64405-273-0

Jurassic Park gets a romantic makeover in this cute tale of science, kisses, and very big teeth. Dr. Logan Beck is the head ranger on a Pacific archipelago where dinosaurs that survived the Permian-Triassic Extinction have thrived for millions of years. Dr. Kit Sterling is a scientist studying the dinosaurs’ habits; according to Logan, he’s also a “certified hottie.” Kit and Logan’s collaboration has always been turbulent due to their opposing personalities. When Logan takes Kit to observe a species of dinosaur more closely, they discover an injured dissimosaur and bring her back to Logan’s apartment, against island rules. As Logan rehabilitates the dinosaur, his relationship with Kit becomes less professional and more intimate. Soon the two are teaming up to find poachers who are selling illegal dinosaur leather. When Logan’s dissimosaur is kidnapped, the pieces of their search come together. Martin holds the reader’s attention while Kit and Logan’s relationship deepens, but the dry dinosaur facts sometimes distract from the romance, and the ending resolves everything much too quickly. Those flaws aside, this is an endearing, scaly twist on the workplace romance. (Oct.)