He protects wild animals… She captures his untamed heart.City girl, Stanley Howard risks losing a multi-million-dollar inheritance to charity if she fails to fulfill her deceased aunt’s last wish. Torn between obligation and fear of exotic animals, the pampered diva is forced to live in a Zambian wild life sanctuary. She can handle the handsome lodge manager’s dreamy eyes and the tough volunteer … volunteer jobs he doles out, but she can’t reconcile her memories of the stern guardian who’d raised her to the meek old woman he idolizes. Should she reveal the truth about her late aunt or let the soft-spoken Elephant Whisperer tame her too?
Wild life conservationist, Jeremy Spade’s search for the perfect woman ends when he picks up Stanley at Luskana airport in Zambia. The golden-eyed northern California beauty steals his heart in her chic safari clothing and fedora hat. But she’s like a lioness on a hunt, who’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. He longs to be more than a distraction if not an impediment in this clever woman’s agenda to help save the elephants and village people. Should he trust her well-meaning intentions or fear them?
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Jeremy and Stanley makes for an intriguing story that will keep you glued to the drama as it unfolds. When Stanley’s aunt dies she is tasked with taking the ashes to Africa and staying for a period of time or losing her inheritance. What transpires next is a journey that will change Stanley’s life and along the way capture the heart of Jeremy. Their story has a lot of twist and turns but in the end it was well worth reading. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read by this author. The ARC was provided by Hidden Gems in return for this review. In reading the description, I selected the story for the fantastic location and as other reviewers mentioned, not being able to travel made me interested in this adventure story. The book takes you on a great excursion throughout Africa and hits many of the fabled spots including Victoria Falls.
This is the story of a girl named Stanley, who runs a natural cosmetics company for her aunt and former guardian. Upon Aunt Zoie’s death, Stanley must go live in Zambia and volunteer at a wildlife refuge for three months to earn her inheritance. There are quite a few rules including her giving up her phone and any contact with her former life for this time. When she arrives, Stanley meets Jeremy, who is a veterinarian and runs this wildlife reserve. He has a gift with the wild elephants and therefore they call him the Elephant Whisperer. There is an instant attraction between the two, and suddenly they are quickly dealing with their new relationship while taking care of the animals. Towards the end of the book there are several twists and turns that keep you guessing.
For as much as I enjoyed the African backdrop and the adventure around the wildlife, I could not rate the book higher because of the problems I had with it. First, the dialogue between the two main characters was awkward and are just not things that need to be said aloud. For example, when speaking of his ex, Jeremy says how glad he is that they broke up so he could be available when he met Stanley. I just thought it was strange to say it aloud instead of making it part of his thinking. Then there was Stanley’s fear of the animals that seems to go away overnight and all of a sudden, she is just one of the animal care team. Lastly, the story takes some crazy turns in the last 40-50 pages that seemed rushed to fit all of these storylines in at the end.
Absolutely compelling!
This story grabbed my attention in the very beginning and kept it until the very last word. Stanley was groomed by her aunt to run the family cosmetics company after the loss of her parents. A workaholic she learns that according to her aunt’s will she must take her ashes to Africa and stay there for three months. Despite her trepidation, she goes. When she meet Jeremy, the wild animal vet on the preserve, she understands why this was where her aunt spent her last few months.
Not just an adventure/love story, it’s so much more.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Rifi Strawn, ‘Echoes in the Mist’.
As a Hidden Gems ARC reader I received a free copy of this book and promised an honest review. Here it is.
Rating: 3 (of 5 stars).
In general: Sweet love in the African jungle.
Main characters:
– Stanley (name of a girl; her dad wanted a boy).
She became an orphan when she was 5 years old and was raised by her aunt Zoie, the owner of a company producing exclusive skin care creams. When Stanley was 35 years old her aunt died and she inherited – under conditions – her aunt’s firm and a lot of money.
– Jeremy Bergen.
Manager of Waterfall Haven Lodge near the Victoria Falls in the Zambesi River.
He’s also a veterinarian and an ardent protector of the wildlife in Zambia, especially the elephants.
Stanley’s aunt Zoie loved Africa and spent a lot of her holiday-time in Zambia where she helped the wildlife protection and cared for orphaned children. To get her inheritance Stanley has to perform two tasks:
1. Scatter the ashes of her deceased aunt in the Zambesi River near the Victoria Falls.
2. Working as a volunteer at the Haven Lodge for three months.
Performing task 2 she meets Jeremy. He helps Stanley to learn to survive in the jungle and assists her with her aunt’s ashes.
Gradually they fall in love.
The author, Rifi Strawn, then describes how Stanley and Jeremy find their HEA after a lot of complications: living on two different continents, manipulating family members and a city girl who’s at first afraid of the African jungle she has to live in.
For me very interesting items to read about. Unfortunately at the end of the book there was a turn in the plot that made the story incredible for this reader. A pity, for the descriptions of living in the nature around the Victoria Falls were fascinating.
R. Huiszoon.
This is a difficult review for me to write. I loved the story but there were several times in the book where it felt like you skipped a couple of pages because you went from deciding to take an action to it’s over and you have information that you don’t know how you got. That is just one example of several throughout the book. So I’m not sure if this is an early book and their brain was working ahead of their fingers or what. I hope so. I’ll give the author another try but this book didn’t impress me. Though out of five stars I would give it a three because this like I said the story itself was good.
This book was difficult to put down. The riveting story along with the beautiful descriptions of the area where it took place kept the pages turning at a rapid pace. The twists in the story had me angry at the hero. The love between the hero and star of the book made it all worthwhile. Great read!
I received this book free and I am voluntarily doing A review. The cover is sexy!!! I loved reading about rich girl Stanley and animal lover Jeremy. Their love story is a must read wonderful characters that fit great into the storyline . The author writes them an epic hea
voluntarily reviewed
What an adventure with surprising twists and turns.
I really liked this book, so informative, I found myself learning a thing or two about animals that I didn’t know
To crown if off the setup is familiar which made it more vivid and a beautiful happy ending for Jeremy and sternly
Stanley Howard has led a charmed life. Raised by her loving and extremely wealthy aunt after the deaths of her parents, groomed her for a life running the family cosmetics firm. She’s pretty much a workaholic but after the sudden death of her aunt, after turning down a holiday in Africa with her due to work, she is flabbergasted to realise that her aunts will states she has to take her ashes to Africa. And stay there for 3 months!
If she doesn’t she’ll lose everything she has ever known. But between her city ways and her terror of all things wild, just how on earth is she going to last 3 months! Enter her saviour in safari clothing. Wild Animal Vet Jeremy. His small conservation lodge is where her aunt spent her last few months and she slowly understands why. The staff treat you as family, the wildlife is amazing (though terrifying) and the scenery is heartstopping.
Jeremy is an animal lover, but he also has wealthy blood. He fell in love with the lodge when he was a child, before heartbreak forced his family back to South Africa. He can’t believe that Stanley’s go-getter aunt is the same elderly, female who lived at the lodge. But that’s not going to stop him for falling for the cute American.
What follows is a whirlwind of plot, subplot, double-dealing, gold digging family relatives, deep family secrets and action packed adventure over Africa and California. I loved the fast pace and I soon found myself immersed in the stunning landscapes depicted. I struggled with liking Stanley occasionally, she comes off as just a bit too entitled and rubbed me the wrong way. But overall she was an engaging character. Loved all the big reveals – there was more than one! Just as you get things sussed – plot twist!