Exploring K.A. Tucker's The Simple Wild
Amazing. K.A. Tucker’s, The Simple Wild is a book I’ve been told to read over and over again by numerous bookstagrammers and some of my close friends gave me the final nudge to drop everything else and read along with them.
For this, I did the audiobook as I was impressed with Say You Still Love Me’s narrator and knew I wouldn’t be steered wrong. Also, audiobooks allow me to experience a book in a short amount of time and I finished this in two days. It would have been one day but work got in the way.
Firstly, I love love love that a bunch of places in Toronto were mentioned in the story that I have been to! I’ve never read a book that took place (well part of it did) so close to home and it instantly helped connect me to the story.
I have to say, Jonah has been added to my list of book boyfriends. Not as high in ranking as Well Met’s Simon, but he’s pretty high up on the list. His survival skills along with his caring heart (not to mention hunky good looks once he was no longer a yeti) makes him someone I wouldn’t mind being stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with (holla at ya Chapter 21!)
But outside of Jonah’s swoon worthiness, the plot of the story never waned and every detail contributed to the story. Although Calla’s character came across as a bit annoying sometimes because of her brattiness, the fact that she was willing to quickly forgive her absent dad and help out during a family member’s illness made me excuse her shortcomings.
The growing love between Calla and Jonah was heart melting as they began to trust each other and I can’t wait to continue on with the series.
Book Description
Calla Fletcher wasn't even two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.
She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot who helps keep her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.
Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. Soon, she finds herself forming an unexpected bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.