Narration by Connor Crais & Megan Wicks
Rose Hill, Book 4
From the author:
Sebastian Rousseau is a grumpy, hot as hell fire pilot who is too damn good with his hands. It’s the perfect combination. But unfortunately for me, he’s also my ex-boyfriend’s dad.
A chance meeting brought us together and a missed connection has kept us apart.
One year later, a stroke of fate has us living under the same roof—which makes everything between us downright messy. Because even after all this time, he’s still the man I think about when I fall asleep. The one I can’t get over no matter how hard I try.
He’s working on mending a fragile relationship with his son and we both know acting on these urges would be the ultimate betrayal. But I see the heat in his eyes. That look of need that never fails to send a shiver down my spine.
The mutual longing is borderline unbearable and the simmering heat between us is downright palpable. We both know there are rules when it comes to situations like this. But then again…following the rules never has been my strong suit.
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the ex-boyfriend’s dad trope, but I should have known better than to doubt Elsie Silver. She made it work—and made it believable.
The age gap is only about 12 years, with Bash nearing 40 and Gwen in her late twenties. That’s not an issue for me. A forty-something paired with someone barely out of their teens tends to give me the ick, but that wasn’t the case here. Still, readers who dislike age-gap romances or heroes over 40 may feel differently.
What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed this book.
Gwen Dawson is sunshine personified. At 27, she’s vibrant, funny, confident, and endlessly kind despite growing up emotionally neglected by the people who should have supported her most. What I loved about Gwen is that she refuses to let hardship define her. She approaches life with optimism, treats setbacks as lessons, and genuinely believes everything happens for a reason. It’s hard not to be inspired by her. Yes, I’m aware I’m taking life lessons from a fictional character.
She’s technically a people-pleaser—and normally that’s not my favorite character trait—but Gwen never feels like a doormat. She helps others because she’s naturally generous, not because she lacks boundaries. She’s emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and refuses to let anyone walk all over her. Her passion for yoga was also incredibly wholesome and added another layer to her character.
Sebastian “Bash” Rousseau is Gwen’s opposite in many ways. At 39, he’s grumpy, guarded, and emotionally withdrawn. He spends so much time overthinking his feelings that he often shuts down instead of communicating, which definitely frustrated me at times. I understood where his insecurities came from. After being abandoned by two significant partners, he’d convinced himself he was simply a stop along the way to someone else’s happily-ever-after. But there were moments when I wanted to shake him and remind him he’s a grown man who should know better.
Thankfully, Bash grows tremendously throughout the story. By the end, he recognizes his mistakes and actively works to be better, which made his character arc satisfying.
Beyond that, he’s a genuinely good man. Like Gwen, he takes pride in helping others. He’s a firefighting pilot who literally risks his life for a living. He donated a kidney to a friend. He built Gwen a yoga studio so she’d have a space that truly felt like her own. Beneath the gruff exterior is someone deeply caring, dependable, and generous.
And yes, he’s hot.
What I appreciated most was his restraint. He didn’t act like a hormone-driven teenager the moment he realized he was attracted to Gwen. He thought carefully before making decisions and took the consequences seriously, which felt refreshing.
The romance itself was beautifully developed. While the initial attraction is immediate, the relationship grows into something much deeper. Every stage of their connection unfolds naturally, and the slow-burn progression feels earned. Silver handles the ex-boyfriend’s dad situation with surprising maturity. There’s very little unnecessary drama, and the conflicts are resolved in ways that feel realistic rather than manufactured.
I also appreciated the lack of a ridiculous third-act breakup.
That said, the book does drag a bit in the final quarter. After the 70% mark, the pacing slows noticeably, and I would have preferred more focus on Gwen and Bash working through their final conflict instead of some of the external action that follows.
One aspect that didn’t fully work for me was the son storyline. At times, it felt like it existed primarily to justify the ex-boyfriend’s dad trope. The character himself wasn’t particularly compelling, and his entitlement made him difficult to root for.
Still, Wild Card was impossible to put down. Silver’s writing is addictive, effortlessly pulling you through scenes even when nothing particularly dramatic is happening. Returning to Rose Hill one final time was bittersweet, especially because this is the last book in the series. Seeing beloved characters from earlier books living their happily-ever-afters added an extra layer of warmth and nostalgia.
Gwen and Bash couldn’t be more different on the surface: she’s free-spirited and optimistic, while he’s gruff and routine-driven. Yet both carry scars from their pasts, and those wounds shape a love story that’s tender, healing, and deeply emotional. The narrators really captured these characters and I was completely drawn into this story.
While some books in the Rose Hill series remain my favorites from Silver, this one doesn’t quite reach those heights. Even so, it was a pleasant surprise—and one I ended up enjoying far more than I expected.
6/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WILD CARD by Elsie Silver. Narrators: Connor Crais & Megan Wicks. Self-published. (September 9, 2025.) ASIN: B0FDBJM8KX. Listening Length: 11 hours and 19 minutes.
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 