Wishful, California may only be 3,000 miles away from New York City, but for Dr. Emma Sinclair, Wishful, with it’s small town atmosphere, lack of Thai takeout, and bears she’s sure are waiting to attack, well, it might as well be a million miles away.  After her father suffers a heart attack, Emma takes a temporary leave from her busy life at a NYC ER to run her father’s clinic in Wishful and the change couldn’t have made her crazier.  Urgent Care in Wishful means treating bee stings, the occasional broken arm, and the ever-irritating Stone Wilder.  The laid-back mountain bum drives Emma mad…when she isn’t dreaming about him naked, that is.  Yet even as Emma counts down the days until she can leave Wishful, she can’t help but notice Stone seems to have set his eyes on her.  What’s more, the more she gets to know Stone, the more she realizes he’s more complex than she ever could have imagined.  But can Emma let go long enough to give into her desire for Stone, knowing she’s not in Wishful to stay? 

Jill Shalvis ups the ante in this second Wilder brothers book.  Instant Gratification is even better than its predecessor, Instant Attraction.  Stone and Emma lock horns, then limbs, giving Instant Gratification a pulsing energy that I loved.  Stone is a hero anyone would fall for.  While he looks like the mountain bum Emma first takes him for, beneath the laid-back exterior is a hard-working, deeply caring man who easily won my heart.  Though she wasn’t as easily won as I, I flat-out adored Emma as a heroine.  She’s brilliant but uptight, masking a vulnerability garnered by past hurts.  I loved watching Stone help her learn to relax and to let herself care.  These two were a perfect match in every way and I read Instant Gratification late into the night, unable to put the book down. 

While Instant Gratification is the second Wilder book, each story stands on its own.  Still, the Wilder family is very much involved in each other’s lives and I loved watching them interact with one another.  Furthermore, in Instant Gratification Ms. Shalvis teases with the friction between the third Wilder brother, TJ, and the woman who is sure to be his heroine.  I finished Instant Gratification eager for TJ’s book, Instant Temptation and, yes, gratified by the story of Emma and Stone’s romance.