10 Reasons Why You Will Love Wild Goose Chase if You Loved Forrest for the Trees and Young Buck
In no particular order, here are ten things I think you’ll love about reading Wild Goose Chase, especially if you were a fan of Forrest for the Trees and Young Buck and if you love the Green Valley Universe in general. It is my very favorite fictional place and I’ve striven to make every book I’ve written in the Green Valley Heroes series read like an homage. Here goes:
Romystery is still my jam. That’s right, I said it. Romystery is a thing and most of my novels have it: a romance with a mystery to solve. Young Buck was about uncovering Buck’s mother’s secret. Forrest for the Trees was about investigating suspicious fires. Wild Goose Chase exposes a high-level conspiracy.
It takes place in one of the series’ most beloved locations. The Noble Pig is the pop-up farm-to-table restaurant that Forrest and Sierra go to for their first date in Forrest for the Trees. Said restaurant is run by firefighter-turned-chef, Chase, and is located on his familial peach farm. Violet works as Chase’s event planner, and helps him rent his idyllic farm out for functions, primarily for weddings. It is a gorgeously romantic location that will give you all the feels.
Speaking of location, Violet and Chase go for a roll in the hay. Actual hay. Because Chase is a farmer. With a barn.
They watch a reality television show called Man Enough. They don’t call it Rom-Com for nothing, folks. All of my books have comic relief, and Man Enough will give you all the giggles. Chase is the only guy invited to girls-night-in and, along with Violet’s best girlfriends, he watches the show every week. Says Chase in the book: “Entertainment Monthly called Man Enough the most egregious display of toxic masculinity ever to appear on network TV. I called it a fascinating study in gender psychology.”
Forrest is a key character in the book. He’s kind of a big deal on a federal level in the fire service. He has a special role that reports to the Secretary of the Interior and he’s the one who recruits Chase to participate in a large-scale wildfire investigation. Also, at this point in the timeline, he’s engaged to Sierra and they plan to have their engagement party at Chase’s farm.
The bromance is strong. Writing firefighters is just too much fun—not just Chase and Forrest as besties—but all the guys down at Green Valley Fire. If you read Young Buck, you know what happened the last time the guys went on an adventure together and weighed in on love advice. Something really fun with this band of brothers happens in Wild Goose Chase.
It builds on a bigger story about something pretty important. I don’t just write firefighter romance because firefighters are hot. I have pretty big feelings about the wildfire epidemic. As a Californian, I’ve seen so much suffering and destruction as a result of wildfires in recent years. All of my books explore the complex factors related to wildfires; they aim to honor the people who put their lives on the line to protect us; and they aim to make everyone who reads them more vigilant and aware. Make no mistake, these books are still Rom-Coms, but they’re also about important things.
It has courtroom drama. There is some tremendously amazing courtroom drama at the end of the book. And, if you love courtroom drama, you are going to love these chapters. I grew up watching Perry Mason with my dad (who was an attorney) and following famous cases alongside him. These final scenes will make you laugh and cry at the same time 😆
Sierra and Loretta are in the book, the heroines from Forrest for the Trees and Young Buck. If this seems like the beginning of a girl squad, it definitely is. Sierra and Violet get close while Violet helps plan Sierra’s engagement party. And Loretta is poised and ready to give Chase advice.
If you don’t cry at the last scene, I’ll eat my hat. I can’t give you spoilers. Obviously. But this is probably my favorite final scene of any book I’ve written 🥰