I used to enjoy Janelle Denison’s Harlequin Temptations, but it’s been a while since I’ve read one of her books. Too Wilde To Tame, the latest in her Wilde series, delivered the high level of sensuality I expected, but suffered from weaknesses in several other areas.

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Mia Wilde shares a flirtatiously antagonistic relationship with Cameron Sinclair, her cousin’s business partner. She has a reputation for being a wild girl, while he’s more solid and dependable, and she loves yanking his chain. For his part, Cameron has dutifully hid his attraction for her, not wanting to cause trouble in his working relationship and friendship with her cousin. One night he spots her taking part in a wet T-shirt contest at a local club. From her behavior, he decides she must be drunk and knows her brothers would be appalled that she’s acting this way. He intervenes and insists on taking her home. Mia isn’t drunk in the least, but plays along to get him to her place, where she reveals the truth. The attraction between them is finally too much for Cameron to resist, and they hit the sheets.

Then Mia is targeted by a stalker who begins sending her photos taken without her knowledge with slanderous words written on them, accusing her of being a slut and a whore, among other things. Rather than turn to her overprotective brothers and have them overreact, she asks Cameron for his help finding the person responsible. Naturally, being forced to spend more time together leads them to indulge their attraction a few more times. Cameron slowly gets to know the woman behind Mia’s “wild” image, while she tries to make some decisions about her future.

The best aspect of the book is the scorching sensuality Denison delivers. She knows her way around a sex scene, and the ones here are all convincingly hot. There’s also enough of them to satisfy anyone looking primarily for a sexy read. The chemistry between Cameron and Mia is strong, and I had no trouble believing in the attraction between them. Mia’s artistic talent for making beautiful stained glass with erotic images embedded in them is an intriguing touch that nicely adds to the story’s sensual tone.

If only the story built around those sex scenes was as effective. Instead, it’s pretty…well, blah is the word that comes to mind. Not bad, not good, but rather squarely in between. For starters, the characterization isn’t very strong. Mia is the most developed character in the book, which isn’t saying much. She’s likable and gutsy, and it was easy to sympathize with her dream of making it as an artist despite her family’s lack of support. At the same time, her character felt uneven. She came across as sort of wild in the early scenes, but overall was nowhere close to being as wild as billed. Though I haven’t read any of the earlier books where she appeared, this felt very much like a case of a formerly wild character being watered down in her own book to make her an appropriate romance heroine. Some of her family issues seemed tacked on in an attempt to give her some depth, which didn’t work because they’re handled so lazily, especially when it came to her mommy issues. Overall her character never really snapped into focus the way a good character should.

Cameron is a fairly standard P.I./good guy hero. I liked him well enough, despite his somewhat overbearing attitude at the start, but he’s very bland, making little impression beyond the familiar type. The same goes for the supporting characters, most of whom are one-note types with little dimension: the over-the-top evil abusive boyfriend, his weak doormat girlfriend, the jealous friend, etc. Then there are Mia and Cameron’s respective families, the usual extensive romance novel clans with a horde of characters swarming the hero and heroine. I don’t mind characters like this if they come across as interesting people in their own right and actually contribute to the story at hand. That’s not the case here. Instead these family members just came across as stereotypical, a cluster of characters here simply to hassle the main ones and prove that they, like every other romance novel hero and heroine under the sun, have a ton of family. Readers who’ve read the previous books may enjoy revisiting some old friends, but I found their presence annoying. Another family member appears for no reason other than to make readers aware of his existence in preparation for an imminent book of his own.

The stalker subplot is incredibly weak. All but the most easily stymied readers should have the culprit pegged by the first chapter, and Denison’s attempt to throw some half-hearted suspects into the mix to throw off the reader never comes across as anything but transparent. There’s another subplot with Cameron’s investigation of a possibly cheating wife that seems like padding. I couldn’t figure out what the point of it being here was. It’s certainly not interesting enough to justify the space dedicated to it.

I know there are many readers who believe a single-title romance is better than a series one by default, but I’d recommend one of Denison’s Harlequins, like Christmas Fantasy, over this one any day. Yes, the sex delivers, which may satisfy those looking for a steamy read. Otherwise, the story is too bland and underdeveloped to rise above average.