The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
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.
If you are a sucker for plots focusing on enemies to lovers or opposites attract, look no further. Jonah and Calla are the perfect mixture of this. City girl meets small town country boy. Two very distinct souls from contrasting sides of the tracks or in their case countries. Their antics will drive you a bit insane, with the over the top push and pull and antagonistic exchanges. The bickering and bantering. The judging and lack of communication. The hatred. You name it, Calla and Jonah were aces at it. Hang in there though, they are soooo fricken worth it. I seriously couldn't get enough of these two.
These are two characters you definitely want to get your hands on. They'll take you for quite the ride; your emotions will be a series of ups and downs. They'll have you swooning, laughing, crying, and wanting to smack the ever loving hell out of them.
These are two characters you definitely want to get your hands on. They'll take you for quite the ride; your emotions will be a series of ups and downs. They'll have you swooning, laughing, crying, and wanting to smack the ever loving hell out of them.
Just an FYI: Jonah could be a downright twat-waffle to Calla. A complete and total ass. A judgmental ass, at that. But, in all honesty, there were many moments I could understand why he thought or said the things he did. I'm not excusing his behavior, by any means. However, once you meet Calla you'll see what I mean. You’ll get it. If you can look past his initial behavior you’ll fall hard for this “yeti”. And I promise it won’t take much to fall, Jonah was a major sweetheart with a heart of gold, at least to those who weren’t Calla.
Calla was one of those characters who would typically annoy the hell out of me. For some reason though, I found myself feeling something other than annoyance and contempt for her. Was she spoiled? Yes. Was she bratty? Absolutely. Did she act immature? Without a doubt, especially for her age. Did she take things for granted? Hell yeah, she did. All of these traits in any character would drive me bat sh*t crazy, normally. And it will probably drive you insane, too. But like I said with Jonah, don't give up on her. She'll grow on you. Life has some pretty consequential lessons for our heroine. And due to this, you'll see steady progress and maturity as Calla tackles a lot of self-exploration and revelations.
Will these two polar opposites come to appreciate one another? Will they look past their prejudgments and give the other a chance? Will they learn the value of empathy and compromise? Will comfort zones ever truly be pushed to their limits? Will they learn to forgive and move forward?
The Simple Wild was all kinds of crazy good! It’s the second book I’ve read over the last couple of weeks with such poignant messages. Within these pages lies a journey that stresses how precious and fragile life is. How it's most definitely not guaranteed. Calla, Susan, Wren, and Jonah's stories are a reminder to live life to the fullest, don’t sweat the small stuff, and never leave things to regret. Their struggle and encounters stand as a sign to evaluate what’s important in life, because tomorrow isn’t always definite and we can’t go back to the yesterdays.
K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.
She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Causal Enchantment, Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and her upcoming contemporary fiction, The Simple Wild. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly.
K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband and two beautiful girls.
0 comments