REVIEW | The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

first things first

This was my first read by K.A. Tucker (and I can already tell you it will not be my last). I’ve seen this book floating around bookstagram for years, but I kept putting it off for one reason or another. Finally, I saw a recent review that made me realize, okay, it’s time.

main thoughts

So, first thing I want to mention: while Calla is clearly a spoiled, rich, city girl, she also has a lot of heart and I immediately loved her. Now, I am a country girl at heart, so the city living made me cringe at best. I definitely cannot relate to her love of the city, lol. Now that is not to say there’s anything wrong with city living, I am just way too introverted and happy with a quieter lifestyle to handle a city life.

Anyway, this is not a city vs country debate (we all know there are pros and cons to both and that’s a totally different post). Back to Calla.

Calla starts out as a somewhat superficial girl with a douchebag boyfriend who doesn’t seem to care a whole lot about her (I was NOT sad when they broke up), and a slightly demanding best friend. She also hasn’t spoken to her father in twelve years, and despite feeling like there’s something missing, she is firmly in the camp of, “if he wanted a relationship with me, he’d find a way.” Which…without giving anything away…there are mistakes on both sides and a whole lot of regret that makes this story line that much more devastating.

Let me just tell you…for someone who kept putting this book off, I couldn’t put it down once I started. I honestly could kick myself for not picking it up sooner.

I loved seeing Calla’s growth and the way she starts to thaw toward her dad. There’s definitely hurt on both sides for different reasons, but I thought this was a beautiful example of learning how to extend grace to the one(s) who’ve hurt you in the past and learning how to see things from their point-of-view.

When our MMC Jonah is first introduced, he’s quite the surly jerk to Calla–which, if you’ve read any of my reviews before, you know this is like catnip for me 😂 I always tend to go for the a**holes in books, but man, do I love the subsequent “he’s down bad for her” story line. While Jonah did frustrate me a little bit, I loved him and was anxiously awaiting the “they will” of the “will they/won’t they.”

And then there are the other characters… First off, Simon, Calla’s stepdad, is a gem of a man and he must be protected at all costs. He is a wonderful husband and father and he did such a great job of setting aside his own complicated feelings for Calla’s dad to be exactly who Calla needed him to be. Susan, Calla’s mom, is a little flighty for my taste–not to mention, I can’t help but feel like it’s so unfair that she’s held a torch for Wren all these years when Simon is head-over-heels for her. I know you can’t always help who you love, but dang. It was just so sad.

Wren, Calla’s dad, is most definitely the strong, silent type. He doesn’t talk a whole lot, but when he does, you should listen. He’s also stubborn as a mule and won’t say what he’s really feeling. It makes for some frustrating interactions for Calla…but once they start kind of getting in the groove of rediscovering their relationship…man, it’s so heartwarming.

And then the secondary characters–Aggie; her daughter, Mabel; the brief interactions we have with Michael, the cab driver; and all the employees at Wild Alaska.

SPOILER WARNING: DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

When Susan came to see Wren for the last time…oh my gosh. I was already tearing up, but I started bawling at this scene. Ugh. All the years lost…all the time they spent still pining over each other. It’s just so fricken heartbreaking.

There’s so much more I want to address, but this review is already so long, so I’m going to try to keep everything else to a minimum. The one thing I will say, though…as someone who is extremely close to her parents and absolutely adores her father, this was an incredibly difficult read. I spent the last few chapters of this book bawling my eyes out 😭

END OF SPOILERS.

bullet points

• the raccoons were such a nice addition to this story. I loved the levity they added to this book and it was so cute seeing the side of Jonah with his little racoon buddy that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
• while this book was utterly heartbreaking, it was also incredibly inspiring and so full of heart. There were also just as many humorous moments as there were serious ones, which was so appreciated.
• I thought this book was a standalone, so I’m curious to see where the rest of the series goes as frankly, I didn’t get enough of Jonah and Calla. However, book 2 is gonna have to wait a bit until I emotionally recover from this one 😂

quotes

final thoughts

Even though I woke up with super swollen eyes and a lump in my throat, this book was so worth the read. I absolutely loved this story and I’m looking forward to returning to this world that K.A. Tucker has created.

…Right after I repair my heart a bit 😉

As always, if you read this book, please come back and let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Have you read a book recently that made you cry? If so, which one was it? If not, what was the last book you read that broke your heart?

Happy reading!

like this post? save it!

follow me on Tome!