Review - The Wanderer by Shawn Kirsten Maravel

The Wanderer by Shawn Kirsten Maravel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paperback, 322 pages

Published October 26th 2011 by CreateSpace

Source: Author for Review

Synopsis:
'After getting out of the Army, Landon Bradley packs up his motorcycle and heads North West in hopes of closing up old battle wounds and maybe even settling down. Not accustomed to staying in one spot for too long, he's not certain that he'll ever find a place that he can truly call home.

When he finds himself stranded in a small Wyoming town, Landon meets Maxine Abrams, more affectionately known as Max. Her blunt honesty and humble generosity make him feel closer to home then he ever has before. But when his feelings for her grow too strong, the reality that, like everyone else, he could easily lose her too, Landon feels the ever present urge to leave again. And Landon must decide which call to heed. His heart or the open road.'

My Thoughts:
The Wanderer is what I would call a 'real' romance. It wasn't your typical 'love at first sight', mushy, unbelievable romance where the characters are virtually naming their first borns after knowing each other for an hour.
Landon is a guy that you just can't seem to dislike. Even when you know perfectly well all about his womanising and commitment-phobic ways you still develop a soft spot for him because you know he is just a product of his upbringing and that he is still a good man at heart.
Max is also the kind of woman that you grow a liking for as a character as well. She's strong, independent and doesn't go weak at the knees just because a handsome man stands in front of her.
I really enjoyed the steady pace of this book which starts off giving you the story behind Landon and how he came to be riding across the country side. During his travels an unfortunate event leads him to meet Max and then we are taken on a journey as their relationship slowly develops from there.
The Wanderer was to me what a romance should be, a journey between the characters and a real sense of them developing together as people before jumping into bed. I guess you could say I like my fictional romances a bit more like things are in real life. To me this means you can relate to it a bit better and because of this I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Overall, The Wanderer is a great read for anyone after an interesting story with realistic, believable characters.

The Wanderer is the first book in 'The Rider' series. The second book in the series, Shifting Gears, is due for release on the 1st July 2012.

Links:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Shawn Kirsten Maravel's Website