Wilder

De: Kayla D. Ward

Narrado por: Jo Ryder

This is not a love story.

Isla thought running would keep her safe. Far enough from her past, far enough from him.

But in the quiet isolation of the Scottish Highlands, something feels… wrong.

Things move. Objects go missing. Footsteps echo where no one should be.

She tells herself it’s stress. Trauma. Her mind playing tricks.

Because the alternative is worse.

Someone is watching her.

Learning her.

Getting closer.

WILDER is a dark psychological horror with obsessive themes, a morally black MMC, and a slow, suffocating descent into fear that doesn’t stay fear for long.

Perfect for listeners who love tension, dread, and stories where safety was never real to begin with.

©2026 Kayla D Ward (P)2026 Kayla D Ward

Mmhmm... Just what I needed!

I’m such a sucker for stories like this… I don’t know what that says about me, but honestly? I don’t care. I loved this book. The writing was beautiful, vivid, and holds you in an emotional chokehold from start to finish. Such an intense ride.

And speaking of intense… this might be one of Jo Ryder’s best performances yet. She was so emotive and full of passion that I could feel everything the character’s were. Truly phenomenal work. Love all of this!

Predator and prey

This is the story of a traumatized woman who has let fear rule her life. Then, her greatest dream and worst nightmare come true at the and time, at the hands of the same person.

The writing is very pretty. Plenty of turns of phrases that make you go, “wow, that’s beautiful.”

Jo Ryder absolutely gives it her all with this narration, making the FMC feel like a terrified and frantic prey animal. The frenetic fear is unrelenting for the first half of the book, and you really feel how distressing it would be to be in this FMC’s mind. Things change a bit in the back half of the book, but the fear and insecurity is still there, just mixed in with other emotions.

I’m not a regular dark romance reader, so some of the aspects of the book I didn’t love may just be a feature of the genre. I wanted there to be more dynamism in the characters — I wanted to see them change and develop over the story. The author’s warning that there is a grim resolution to the story is definitely accurate, and it leaves a purposefully unsettling feeling.

The story definitely stays with you and fans of dark romance should definitely give it a try!

visceral, raw, inner thoughts steeped in fear

When the torment is too much to bear, and neither medication nor vast distance can squelch the fear lurking in every shadow and sound, is it time to give in and accept the descent into darkness that was perhaps meant to be? Told through the eyes (but mostly the thoughts and actions) of both Her and Him, we witness and take park in the taming and control rituals that turn a frightened woman into ... something else. Jo Ryder excels at conveying the skittish, unsure, wanting, desperate needs of Her and the steady, tormenting, and primal demands of Him with distinct and subtle voices depicting spoken words and thoughts. The content might be disturbing, or uncomfortable, at times, but the story stays true to course and is masterfully crafted with minute details and the written equivalent of jump scares. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.0x.]