Yeah, I wanna be Mrs. Wild Side
Wild Side by Elsie Silver
4.5/5 stars
If there’s one thing Elise is going to do, it’s write a single guardian book that’s going to EAT!
I was interested in Rhys the second he joined the bowling league and had a feeling that he would easily be one of my faves. And, guess what, I was right.
Wild Side follows Tabby, mourning the loss of her sister, as she navigates her grief and showing her nephew his new normal. What she isn’t ready for is the curve ball her sister throws her from beyond the grave. Rhys, her sister’s landlord is now her nephew’s guardian.
Tabby grows from a mistrusting, angry woman, to someone who is so so loved. She is so busy looking out for everyone else, she finally finds someone to look out for her. And Rhys! This big man with secrets, who’s so soft for his girl?? Down bad from day one? Obsessed with his wife? I’m obsessed with him. Also, as someone who grew up watching wrestling (thanks to my brother, hi if you’re reading), the wrestling scenes were some of my FAVORITE parts.
THAT BEING SAID! I do have something that upsets me a bit. On the cover with real people on it, the MMC is an (assuming) white man with poly tattoos. Elise has even said that her inspo was the professional wrestler Roman Reigns, a Samoan man. As someone who is apart of a community where cultural tattoos hold such a significance, it bothers me that this is not addressed.
Rhys, as a character is described as having a swirl of black tattoos, they’re not stated to be Poly originated. He’s also racially ambiguous and that is tied in with his background story. When asked why he wears a mask, he explains his inspiration from Luchedors after having trained and worked the circuit. At no point, are his tattoos explicitly described or talked about. So WHY, choose to have a man on the cover with poly tattoos? It’s a conversation that has been around for ages, about taking certain aspects of marginal communities and tacking it on into a story or a character without actually providing proper representation. Why make Jason Mamoa comments - but not expand on that to Rhys as a character?
Even if my last two paragraphs may not seem like it, I did really enjoy the book and would recommend it if you’ve started this series.