SAVAGED

Mia Sheridan

Add to Goodreads

Buy Amazon US | Amazon UK (Also Free in Kindle Unlimited)

Release Date May 28, 2019

When wilderness guide, Harper Ward, is summoned to the small town sheriff’s office in Helena Springs, Montana, to provide assistance on a case, she is shocked to find that their only suspect in the double murder investigation is a man described as a savage.

But the longer she watches the man known only as Lucas, on the station surveillance camera, the more intrigued she becomes. He certainly looks primitive with his unkempt appearance and animal skin attire, but she also sees intelligence in his eyes, sensitivity in his expression. Who is he? And how is it possible that he’s lived alone in the forest since he was a small child?

As secrets begin to emerge, Harper is thrust into something bigger and more diabolical than she ever could have imagined. And standing right at the center of it all, is Lucas. But is he truly the wild man he appears to be? A cold blooded killer? An innocent victim? Or a perplexing mix of all three?

Harper must find out the answers to these questions because the more time she spends with him, the more she risks losing her heart. 

Mia Sheridan continues to surprise me in the best of ways and manages to pull me into her worlds no matter the subject matter. This story is unique and fresh. The world building is detailed and so vivid that I felt like I was right there. The story line is layered over a web of mystery, lies, secrets, and manipulation. It is such a unique plot that it could have come off as unrealistic or more campy. But Mia made me believe that every single thing good and bad that happened in this book was real. That a child could be left in the elements and be forced to survive on his own merits. 

Jak has a strong will, intelligence, and survival instincts. He has lived through situations against all odds. He has been deceived and isolated and has been lonely, but he is ultimately a survivor. But he is not sure what he is even still surviving for.

Harper is a wilderness guide that lost everything at a young age and had to survive a different kind of hell. She is still a bit lost and trying to find an anchor, but  is also strong and caring. But she has also felt alone her whole life. 

These two meet under unusual circumstances. And as they spend more time together, a connection builds. The wild man and the nature guide...she can both admire his survival skills and appreciate the goodness in him despite his circumstances. Their lonely hearts connect. Their chemistry is strong. Whispers of fate or soul mates filled my head.

But this story is so much more than an unlikely love story. It has murder, mystery, secrets, lies, and manipulation. The situation is so much bigger than they could ever imagine, and with the help of a field agent, Mark, they start to try to unravel the mystery. But Jak also seems to be right in the middle of the investigation. There are so many questions and so many possibilities. It is hard to know what to believe and who to trust.

This book is a beautiful romance, but it is not like anything I have ever read before. The prologue shocked and gutted me. Parts of it broke my heart and some made me cringe. There are some funny, sweet, tender, and sexy moments. There are strong emotions and deep hidden feelings and fears. There is suspense, danger, and mystery.

The romance is done very well, and I adored Jake and Harper together. His adaptability and thirst for knowledge coupled with his social awkwardness, inexperience, and rough edges make him even more likable. He is man undergoing so much change and has already overcome so much and is facing still more. And due to Harper's own background, I think she could see more than others might.

I kept trying to figure out some of they mysteries and though I had kind of figured out some things, there were a couple of twists that took me by total surprise. One in particular had me shouting expletives and bouncing in my seat, but in a good way. There are so many little connections and layers to this intricate story that kept me completely captivated. It was already a five star read until the last part, and then she hit me with something that I never saw coming and that took this story up another level. I love it when authors can just blow me away like that. 

I loved the positive themes of survival, patience, hope, family, love, fate, and destiny that are ultimately more important than the negative ones based on manipulation and lies. It's a look at  nature versus nurture, good versus evil, and civilization versus wilderness.  It makes you wonder if there are other forces at work bringing people together...if fate, destiny, or even miracles do exist. I feel like I have been on an intense, emotional, shocking, and unforgettable journey, but my heart is so full right now.

Harper Ward grew up in Helena Springs, Montana. She is a self made wilderness expert in this quiet, small town, and is called upon to help guide an investigator brought in to solve two recent, brutal murders. When a suspect is brought in who is more savage than civilized, Harper is intrigued by the man, and pulled further into the case than she could have ever imagined. Known only as “Lucas,” the man seems to be hyper aware of his surroundings, even as he is clearly confused and out of his comfort zone.

His survival instincts are finely honed, after years living in the wilderness, cut off from the town and its people. Her knowledge of the surrounding wilderness is unmatched, until she meets him. They are both anomalies. He isn’t used to being a part of society, she has felt like she doesn’t quite belong.

This is a story filled with intrigue and suspense. Beginning with the murders and continuing through the search for who was behind them and who Lucas really was built a level of suspense that had me continually turning the pages. As Harper follows her instincts and learns more about who Lucas is, they find themselves playing with fire as the chemistry between them builds.

Flashbacks from Lucas’s development give insight to how he came to live alone in the wilderness and builds the connection between him and the murdered individuals. As readers learn more about his upbringing, it becomes clear that he fears more than just re-entering society, he fears those he looks up to learning the secrets behind how he survived.

I loved the way the side characters built themselves into the story. There were a set of characters that had me hoping they would be able to find the peace they were seeking in Montana, and others that had me questioning their motives. I was surprised by the way all the characters seemed to be touched by a bit of fate, and the idea of destiny guiding decisions.

Once again Mia Sheridan has crafted a story that pulls me in with intriguing, dynamic characters and then has me guessing and re-guessing at plot points through the entire story. I was shocked at some of the revelations the characters both revealed and discovered through the journey of this book. I am still thinking about some of these revelations and connections days after finishing the book and this is easily going to be one of my top reads of the year.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.