K.A. Tucker introduced readers to Calla, a city girl if there ever was one, and Jonah, an Alaskan bush pilot and very much not a city boy, almost two years ago. Some people didn't like Calla. They thought she was stuck up or clueless or rude - or all of the above and more. Those people tended not to like The Simple Wild. Me? I loved the book. It was one of my favourites of 2018 and one I still recommend to many people. Calla isn't perfect because no one is. But the story Tucker created? Well, that was close to perfection. It's no surprise I am beyond thrilled that she chose to self-publish Wild at Heart so readers can continue on Calla and Jonah's journey and remember why and how we all fell in love with them and their story.
Here's the synopsis:
Calla Fletcher returns to Toronto a different person, struggling to find direction and still very much in love with the rugged bush pilot she left behind. When Jonah arrives on her doorstep with a proposition she can’t dismiss, she takes the leap and rushes back to Alaska to begin their exciting future together.Sequels can be tricky. Especially when they weren't exactly planned. I'm speaking as a reader and I imagine it's even harder for the author. When I finished The Simple Wild I figured that was it. I loved it and of course didn't want it to end but I thought that was all I was going to get. I was excited, and a bit nervous, when I found out Tucker would be writing a sequel. I couldn't wait to get back to these characters and find out what they were up to and where their lives would go next. But what if I didn't like this one as much? What if I realize I didn't like the first one as much as I thought I did? These are thoughts of a reader who thinks too much, yes, I know. I didn't need to worry though. Tucker's sequel is wonderful and angsty and emotional, just as I'd hoped it would be.
But Calla soon learns that even the best intentions can lead to broken promises, and that compromise comes with a hefty price—a log cabin in interior rural Alaska that feels as isolating as the western tundra.
With Jonah gone more than he’s home, one neighbor who insists on transforming her into a true Alaskan, and another who seems more likely to shoot her than come to her aid, Calla grapples with forging her own path. In a world with roaming wildlife that has her constantly watching over her shoulder and harsh conditions that stretch far beyond the cold, dark, winter months, just stepping outside her front door can be daunting.
This is not the future Calla had in mind, leaving her to fear that perhaps she is doomed to follow in her mother’s fleeing footsteps after all.
A delayed warning regarding spoilers: if you have not read The Simple Wild but want to and do not like spoilers, I would suggest you go read the book and then come back here. I won't give spoilers for Wild at Heart but as it comes directly after another book, well, I'm sure something could get spoiled for someone.
Calla and Jonah both have personalities that are not for everyone. What I love about both characters though is the other side of them that's kind of deeply buried and only shown to those closest to them. It takes time for them to trust others, I think, and that makes them both come across as prickly or stubborn or just plain rude. I liked that this book allowed the reader to really see the softer, if you want to call it that, side of them both. They're way more vulnerable in this book because they've made a massive life choice after an equally massive life change, with Wren, Calla's father and Jonah's father figure, dying at the end of the first book. That would be hard enough to get through when you're not uprooting your life and moving to the other side of the country and, in fact, to another country, as Calla does.
This book is emotional in all the right ways. I mean, yes, I was close to tears at some points but that's just because Tucker is such a damn good writer that I was feeling as anxious, lonely, frustrated, and scared as Calla was (Jonah was feeling some of those things too but Calla is the focus of the book). But even with all of those feelings, Calla still knew she was in the right place. She had to figure out how to make the best of the situation - and needed some harsh words to see that - but being with Jonah was ultimately the most important thing.
This is a romance, sure, but it's so much more than that. It's about what makes these two people tick and how they work as a couple. So, I really liked how much family played a part in this story and how family can be different than traditionally assumed. Family was important in The Simple Wild too but both Calla and Jonah realize throughout the second novel that family is integral to their happiness so I really hoped they could figure out a way to work that into their lives by the end of the book.
This isn't just a emotional, angst-filled story. There are lots of light-hearted moments (and some steamy ones too!) that really give a well-rounded look at Calla and Jonah's lives. There's a fainting goat and his raccoon sidekick, as well as an incident involving a truck and a moose that gets compared to an episode of Schitt's Creek by one of the new characters introduced in this book. I think great novels include the good, the bad, and the ugly and Tucker always comes through with all the best and messiest parts of life in her stories.
The setting is a character as well. I've never been to Alaska (though my sister has, including to the North Pole, one of the towns Jonah flies Calla over) but I feel like Tucker was able to really capture the setting and how it would feel to live there. I grew up in a small town, not like Toronto where Calla grew up, so I might have a better transition but I know I would struggle, even with the views they had from their house (oh, to live on a lake...).
I don't know how much of this rambling review tells you about Wild at Heart but know this: K.A. Tucker has written yet another stunning novel that you're going to be completely obsessed with while you're reading it (and probably awhile after too...the book hangover is real with this one). I highly recommend you read this book, and The Simple Wild too if you haven't yet.
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