An antique dealer and his inconvenient(ly irresistible) new colleague must contend with an illicit stuffed goose and their sizzling attraction, from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler.
Antique store owner Callahan Leitner has an illegal taxidermy goose in his living room.
Why? It’s…complicated.
But it may end his career unless he finds a legitimate way to dispose of the bird ASAP. Unfortunately, there’s an unexpected wrench in his plans—the frustrating, effervescent Annie O’Neill.
Annie is happy to fill in for her uncle at his antique store; it’s the perfect opportunity to gain more experience before opening a shop of her own, and to finally meet his handsome young business partner. Unfortunately, Cal is nothing like the charming man she expected. She’s tempted to take his apparent dislike personally, until she stumbles upon the source of his the contraband waterfowl hiding upstairs.
When the goose goes missing, it puts both of their professional reputations on the line. As Cal and Annie attempt to track down the bird before it can be traced back to the store, their tentative alliance turns into something much deeper. Will the hunt for their felonious fowl lead to true love, or end in ruin?
Antique store owner Callahan Leitner has an illegal taxidermy goose in his living room.
Why? It’s…complicated.
But it may end his career unless he finds a legitimate way to dispose of the bird ASAP. Unfortunately, there’s an unexpected wrench in his plans—the frustrating, effervescent Annie O’Neill.
Annie is happy to fill in for her uncle at his antique store; it’s the perfect opportunity to gain more experience before opening a shop of her own, and to finally meet his handsome young business partner. Unfortunately, Cal is nothing like the charming man she expected. She’s tempted to take his apparent dislike personally, until she stumbles upon the source of his the contraband waterfowl hiding upstairs.
When the goose goes missing, it puts both of their professional reputations on the line. As Cal and Annie attempt to track down the bird before it can be traced back to the store, their tentative alliance turns into something much deeper. Will the hunt for their felonious fowl lead to true love, or end in ruin?
Title: Wild Goose Chase
Author: Sarah Adler
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Expected Publication Date: July 28, 2026
Review:
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Who doesn't like a good goose hunt? This was my first Sarah Adler book and it was fun.
Callahn Leitner spent 15 years with the same woman until one day, it wasn't working. But when she calls him to come help her and her husband with something, he doesn't hesitate. And when that something is a very illegal stuffed goose, he assures her he can set things right. Annie O'Neil is Cal's partner's niece and has come to help him for a month while the partner is off getting married. When Annie accidentally finds out about the goose, she agrees to help Cal figure out the mystery of where it came from and how to handle it. When the goose goes missing and they start chasing it's whereabouts all over Baltimore, an attraction ensues.
I have to say I did like the characters in this book. They were fun and quirky. I did feel like Cal was different on the page in many of the chapters. Sometimes forward, sometimes bashful. But all the time tightly wound. Annie is a free spirit who has always relied on her looks and sexual prowess to keep her moving forward, making herself smaller than who she truly is. But she's tired of it and has decided to just be herself and have that be enough. The character development is mostly there but not totally there. I wish Cal's background was more concrete than what Adler chose to give us. And Annie's background just revolves around all the boyfriends she's had to make herself small for, but we don't see how that initially happened.
The side characters were fun. I wish we could have gotten to know some of them a bit better.
I didn't truly feel the chemistry in this book. It was all tell and now show. I needed more tension. I wanted to feel them falling for each other but it just wasn't totally there for me.
The banter was cute. I giggled a few times.
The pacing was a bit slower for me. While the goose chase was fun, sometimes the chapters felt stagnant.
I liked the flashbacks to Ora and her involvement in the goose debacle.
Overall this one had a great premise but kind of missed the mark for me. I felt like some of the chapters really didn't push the story forward. And the spicy scenes weren't really vibing for me, probably due to the lack of chemistry I felt between the FMC and MMC. I won't rule out reading more books by this author in the future because I did enjoy the writing. And I seem to be the minority with my rating so give it a try if you find the premise interesting or love the author.
Author:
USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler writes romantic comedies about lovable weirdos finding their happily ever afters. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and very mischievous cat. When not working, you can find her attempting to course-correct an ill-advised late afternoon nap with an equally ill-advised late afternoon coffee, as she is incapable of ever learning a lesson.
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