The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker Book Review

“‘Do you think it worked?’

‘Absolutely. She’s on the phone with her best friend right now, saying she’s fallen for a jack** with a death wish.’

‘Isn’t that basically what you did?’ he retorts.”

(pg. 344)

About

Author: K.A. Tucker

Genre: New Adult Romance

Series: Wild book one

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Other Wild Book Reviews

Wild At Heart (Coming Soon!)

Forever Wild (Coming Soon!)

Synopsis

Even though they have conflicting views on love-matches and arranged-matches, the more time Prem spends with Kareena, the more he begins to believe she’s the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But for Prem and Kareena to find their happily ever after, they must admit that hate has turned into fate. 

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 new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps 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. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a 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.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To those we unexpectedly love,

How do I even form words about The Simple Wild?

There just aren’t any.

I haven’t felt this emotionally wrecked, touched, or invested in a story in such a long time, and it was an honor to be ran over by this book 😅. I would like to send K.A. Tucker my health bill for the heartache that The Simple Wild caused me. I’m joking. But not about the heartache.

Just wow. Pure and utterly wow.

The Simple Wild was anything but simple—-the story had so much depth, so much love, growth, healing, joy, pain, and so many tears (my tears, of course). I literally could not stop reading until the very end, captivated by each moment.

One of the things that I would like to give so much credit to K.A. Tucker was her ability to encapsulate a place so beautifully and with delicate detail. I have never been to Alaska, but the way K.A. Tucker described Alaska, made me feel like I was there right alongside Calla, getting to know a foreign place she had no expectations about. I loved the coziness, community, and love that K.A. Tucker captured of Alaska and its native people. I also loved just the overall warm, fuzzy vibes the whole book made me feel—definitely a perfect fall read. I also really loved the way K.A. Tucker crafted sentences so beautifully where they packed an emotional or humorous punch or thought-provoking slap to the head. I couldn’t help but marvel at such great writing—-it gave me the vibes of when I first read a Colleen Hoover book and I was so enamored with how she formed words. Pure artistry. A new K.A. Tucker fan around here, for sure.

But let’s get into the story.

Right from the beginning, I was like, “This is a good book.” I loved how K.A. Tucker started with bad news after bad news in Calla’s life because honestly it built character 😂 and it made me interested in seeing where life was going to take her. It sucked that Calla got axed from her job because technology replaced her, which I feel sucks more than being replaced by a person because at leas then, that person is real. I liked that custodian she met on the subway home because he didn’t seem like a creepy dude; he was just very talkative and friendly. He really manifested Calla’s life to change in the best way, and I liked how he saw something more for her than her job that she didn’t really like anyway.

Then she got a call home from her dad, the dad she hadn’t spoken to for twenty-four years and seen since she was very little.

“‘Maybe you should give him a call.’

‘Tomorrow.’ I continue up the stairs. ‘I can only handle so much disappointment for one day.’

And my father has already delivered enough to last me a lifetime.”

(pg. 15)

YIKES 😅. OUCH.

I mean, she had a point though and I couldn’t disagree with Calla and her anger.

Calla’s mom, Susan, left her husband, Wren Fletcher, twenty-five years ago after having their daughter, Calla. Susan wasn’t adjusting well to the barren and dark landscape of Alaska. As someone who liked to grow flowers and who was fueled by sunshine, Alaska just wasn’t the place for Susan to thrive. It was also difficult for Susan to be in Alaska, fearing everyday that her husband wouldn’t make it back from flying planes at Wild’s because flying those small airplanes were dangerous. Working at Wild also took up a lot of time and effort from Wren, time and effort he wasn’t giving to Susan and his newborn daughter. I could imagine that Susan felt trapped because she wasn’t surrounded by loved ones to help her through the hard days. And she was a new mother, she needed support, aseptically from her husband—she didn’t need added fear of him never returning. I do believe effort is a two-way street and Wren didn’t seem to make an effort to be there for Susan and Calla as much as he should have. Maybe he felt obligated to provide for his family and that’s why he worked so much, but he should have thought about how difficult it was for Susan to uproot her life for him to now live in Alaska, and how hard everything was on her.

I don’t blame Susan for wanting to leave Alaska because she felt unsupported and she didn’t like how she felt there. If I didn’t feel mentally well somewhere, I would want to move for my mental health as well. So Susan left Alaska and Wren, and Wren never went to visit Susan or he never made much of an effort to continue their relationship once she moved back to Toronto. Again, relationships and effort are a two-way street. So as much as she did leave, he could have made the effort to try visit her or visit Calla more if he really wanted a relationship with either of them. I know Wren spent some years communicating with Calla over phone, but that communication stopped. There was also the fact that he kept disappointing Calla by never showing up for her—-on both of her graduation days without a real excuse besides work. From Calla’s eyes, I would feel sucky too if my father chose his business over me and never made an effort for twenty-four years to rectify what happened or to get to know me. I mean, even if he missed her 8th grade graduation, he could have explained why and what happened rather than just the “it was work” excuse because it made Calla feel like she was not a priority. Also, the dad saying he would show up and then not, is much more disappointing and heartbreaking than promising nothing because if he promised something and fell through with it, he created hope that he cared. But if he promised nothing, there’s no hope there.

He gave her hope multiple times and never followed through with making Calla’s hopes come through—that her father loved and cared for her. So I understood her bitterness and anger at her father. I would feel the same way.

Add in the fact now that the dad was calling all these years later, or the friend, Agnes, because he was battling cancer. That was a blow for sure to her already complicated day—-her dad she barely knew was battling something extremely severe and she didn’t know what was going to happen to him. Honestly, if someone calls you to tell you news like that, it’s absolutely painful and the last thing you want to hear. But there’s a part of you that also feels like it’s for a reason.

Everything happens for a reason—-everything that led to Calla discovering this news happened for a reason.

“‘Let me ask you this: What was your first thought when Agnes told you your father has cancer?’

‘That he was going to die.’

‘And how did that thought make you feel?’

‘Afraid.’ I See where Simon’s going with this. ‘Afraid that I’ll miss my chance to meet him.’ Because end matter how many times I’ve lain in bed, wondering why my father didn’t love me enough, the little girl inside me still desperately wants him to.“

(pg. 28)

No matter how complicated our relationships feel, there’s always going to be that younger version of ourselves that still needs to heal—-that will always want something we know we don’t need or shouldn’t have anymore. For Calla, it was for her father to know and love her even if she was angry at him for constantly disappointing her.

Honestly, I LOVED Simon 💚!

A guy named Simon in a book, never does any wrong in my eyes.

He was just such an understanding, inquisitive, calming, nonjudgmental, and safe person for Calla to always go to. I mean, he was a psychiatrist, so it makes sense that he was good at getting to the root of people’s feelings, but he was also such a loyal guy and I loved that. I liked the way he never outright told Calla what to do, but he asked her how she felt to guide her decision. A true person of the people.

“‘Then I think you should go to Alaska. Ask the question you need to ask, and get to know Wren. Not for him, but for you. So you don’t find yourself ruled by deep regrets in the future.“

(pg. 28)

I loved that.

If anything, Calla owed it to herself and her younger self to go to Alaska to get to know her father or receive the closure she always wanted/needed. If she didn’t go to Alaska, she would always regret not getting to know or see her dad, and she would always be left with answers and the painful, “What if” questions.

You know why else I liked Simon?

Was the fact that he was also very loyal. He knew that Susan still had feelings for Wren after all these years even if Susan and Simon were married. He knew Susan talked to Wren on the phone years ago and that she still harbored love for Wren because Susan never really broke up with Wren, they just drifted so much that an ocean and state apart became their barrier. Love doesn’t end because you leave.

But I loved how Simon wasn’t bitter or angry at Susan for still loving her first love, but he showed Susan how much he loved her everyday. He genuinely was such a great man for doing everything for Susan to showcase his love like holding all her bags or going with the flow of things Susan liked but he didn’t really like. He did all those things out of love, and I think if someone goes out of their way to compromise on their interests for you, they must love you. I mean, Susan should have compromised on what Simon also loved because they were in a relationship, but he loved her. If I’m honest, it kind of made me sad to think how Simon went out of his way to always show Susan his love because maybe he felt like if he never loved her enough or show her how to be loved, she would fall back into loving Wren and not him.

Simon’s a good dude and I hope he knows we love him as a character, and a good father figure 💚.

Calla went to the bar that night with her best friend, Diana. They run a blog together called Diana and Dee as part of Diana’s side hustle because she doesn’t really enjoy her law job either. But I liked how Diana also talked Calla into going to Alaska, albeit if her reasons were more for the blog. But what made me go, double YIKES was the fact that her long-term-ish boyfriend who said he was stuck at work, was at the club with another woman!!!! I mean, sis had a shizzy day, and the last thing she needed to add to that list was a cheating loser 😅!

But DANG.

He done lied to her!!!! I swear, some people do look good on paper and in person, but if they freaking lie to you, oh no no no no no! Don’t tolerate a liar 👏🏼. And don’t tolerate someone else who feels up someone else in a flirtatious way because that obviously means something.

Honestly, I would rather someone break up with me if they are bored then go behind my back and lie and cheat on me. Don’t waste my time and energy on lying and cheating if you don’t see the relationship going anywhere, you know. They both probably felt that their relationship plateaued, so they should have just had a conversation and broke up if that’s what they wanted. The lying and cheating? NO. I felt awful for Calla too that she was thinking about how much she wished Corey was there for her on her shizzy day—just one day out of all days—-and how he chose work over her. Or it seemed he was “working.” And lo and behold, he’s feeling up another girl when Calla needed his support.

Also, the fact that they didn’t even fight for their relationship and broke up over text message was a big tell that they didn’t care about each other in the end to keep things going. If they really liked each other, they would have felt more bothered or hurt, not relieved.

“Whatever magic there was in the beginning has been fizzling away, like a slow leak in a tire after it has taken a nail. You could go on for months without knowing something’s wrong, until one day you end up stranded on the side of the road with a flat.”

(pg. 49)

Such a well-written metaphor for how some relationships fall out.

With no job and no boyfriend, meant no reason NOT to go to Alaska, which was obviously the universe’s sign that this was what she was meant to do.

The minute she got to Alaska, I was sooo interested. As mentioned before, I’ve never been to Alaska, yet alone heard many people talk about Alaska or seen it in books, so I loved the change in scenery and focus. I quite liked Billy until they talked about Billy stealing Calla’s luggage to smell her undies, which bothered me like no other. But I liked that Billy wasn’t a jacka** to her 😂.

That is the standard: not a jacka**.

Because Jonah, was a jacka**.

“‘Just don’t make the same mistake I did and fall in love with one of those pilots.

I chuckle. ‘I’ll try my best not to.’

‘I’m being serious.’

. . .’But there’s something about those guys that work up there. I can’t explain it. I mean, they’re crazy, landing on glaciers and mountain ridges, flying through whiteouts. They’re like . . .’ Her eyes search for words within my walls. ‘Sky cowboys.’

‘Oh my [gosh]!’ I burst out laughing. ‘Do I seem like the kind of girl who’d fall for some Alaskan sky cowboy?'”

(pg. 52)

Just wait and see, sis 🤪. We all know she was going to fall in love with a sky cowboy 👏🏼!!!!!

Save a plane, ride a sky cowboy 😂 🤠

Is that the saying???

I’m going to start calling pilots sky cowboys and I blame K.A. Tucker for entering sky cowboys into my vocabulary 😅.

My first impression of Jonah was that he was a broody grump and broody grumps have been growing on me ever since Adam Carlsen from The Love Hypothesis. But then the more Calla interacted with Jonah, the more I was like, “Dang, there is a difference between being an attractive broody grump and being a legit a** hat.” I mean, the first thing he had the utter AUDACITY to do was ask her how much she weighed???!!?!?!? I’m sorry, there’s this golden rule that you never ask a woman, heck anyone, how much they weigh. Least of all when you first meet them. If he asked Calla that without the context of her going on a tiny a** plane, then I would have cheered if she backhanded him across the face because how freaking rude! It wasn’t even like he was clear about why he was asking about her weight until she put two and two tighter. But then he called her high-maintenance with an ego, and I just wanted to slap a sky cowboy out of the sky because what the literal HECK?! Excuse him for being so callous as to judge her when he knew nothing about her. Just because someone looks bougie and rich, doesn’t mean they’re stuck up or narcissistic. I think she should have opened a can of whoop a** on him when he so blatantly DUMPED her gym bag in the mud when getting down from the plane and helping her with her things. It’s one thing to ask about her weight for the plane, another to judge her, but to be so freaking rude to trash the clothes he told her to quickly shove into a gym bag because they couldn’t take her luggage was unacceptable.

What was up his a**? What a jerk. I didn’t like the way he treated Calla or the fact that he was supposed to use a bigger plane to pick her up, but opted for the toy-sized version of a plane just to scare her. He had no reason to be so mean to her, and I don’t care what bad mood he was in. That’s not how you treat a person.

I liked Agnes. She seemed wholesome and kind. Nothing was up her a** 😅. She gave me motherly vibes and a good person, albeit awkward and nervous because this was an awkward situation. She was the one who called Calla to come without Wren knowing because he was too scared to admit he wanted Calla there.

I also wondered what Agnes’s relationship to Wren was. I liked how Calla skirted around the question even if she wanted a direct answer. Agnes said her relationship with Wren was complicated, which meant unrequited feelings for sure or that they used to like each other and didn’t anymore. I got a vibe that something happened between them, which something did. Agnes and Wren did date for a time, but then they didn’t anymore because Wren could never love Agnes the way Agnes deserved. Or Agnes felt like Wren couldn’t love her the same way Wren still loved Susan. That’s what was trippy.

He still loved Susan.

After all these years, he never stopped loving her the same way she never stopped loving him. But they let their careers and life and pride get in the way of reaching out or finding a way to make their love work. They let it fade like a nail in the tire. But the nail was still there and there was still air left. It made my heart ache with how Wren still had all of Susan’s things too—-her furniture, her porch seat, and the lights. A man doesn’t just keep furniture from twenty-four years ago if it doesn’t hold some kind of value to him. I mean, he kept her things 😫!!!

“‘He kept everything that had to do with you, Mom.’

Including his love.”

(pg. 374)

It just broke my heart knowing how much love Wren and Susan had for each other and the fact that they didn’t go back to each other after all these years—–if you love something set it free, if it comes back to you, it was meant to be. They were meant to be, but they just didn’t put effort to go back to each other. Or was this a just a you-never-forget-your-first-love kind of thing? I don’t think so. Not with the way that Wren was obviously effected by the way Calla mentioned her mom and the way he kept her things and memories, or the way the mom was also equally effected by Wren’s calls or the news. No one reacts that way if they were bitter or moved on. Gosh, but the way Wren also kept the mom’s memories of him with her 💔—-her sitting on the porch. He sooo loved her.

But the whole situation sucked for Simon and Agnes who loved these people in their own way. But back to Agnes though, I felt for her because she did like Wren and cared for him like you would a partner, but she knew she couldn’t compete with the love Wren had for Susan, and that sucks to feel like you love this person and will never be the person they truly love. But also, good for Agnes for recognizing that she doesn’t deserve to be treated like a second choice but to make peace with being what she was to Wren. She’s too good of a person with too good of a heart and I love her. She deserves someone amazing.

What also sucked was the way that everyone treated her in the beginning.

I mean, she wasn’t used to being in Alaska or the lifestyle, so I don’t think it was fair for anyone to tease or judge her when she only knew one thing. That’s like judging someone from America for not knowing the minuscule details of another countries culture. That person is not going to know every single detail of that country’s culture, sure they might know some, but it’s not fair to expect them to know everything. I mean, yes, research where you are going and the respect you should have for the sites, people, and culture, but don’t be so rude to someone if they are new and trying because they don’t know better and are learning. What was wrong with Calla running in a hot pink outfit outside if she wanted to? Sure, she become mosquito food, but there was nothing wrong with running in an outfit she felt comfortable in???

And hey, Jonah wasn’t complaining about the view, was he 😉??? He said he got a show with all she was revealing 🤪.

The second interaction with Jonah was still hostile, but he was less of an a**, which was something. He’s also not that bad when he was funny. I freaking cracked up that she low-key calls him a yeti in her mind 😂. I mean, if the beard fit. I recently watched Perfect Pair on Netflix, the one with Victoria Justice where she’s a wine connoisseur and she goes to Australia to get a wine deal with a big company, but she ends up working as a jilleroo to prove herself. The love interest is exactly how I imagined Jonah, except with longer hair, a hat, and no accent 😅. You should watch the movie, it’s pretty good and you would know how I envisioned Jonah, hahaha.

Agnes said that Jonah probably was more on guard and grumpy that day he picked her up because that was when Jonah found out about Wren and his diagnosis. That is difficult news to process, and Jonah was just reacting based on his past with his father, which is something I will discuss more later. So I understood more why he was a jerk to Calla that first day. It didn’t excuse his poor actions, but I get it.

I liked that he wasn’t too much of a prick to not drive Calla to the grocery story. I liked that he took a scenic route to show Calla more of Alaska, which allowed us to se more of its people and culture. I’m not too sure of the authenticity of the representation of the native Alaskan’s or the Alaskan culture because I’m not Alaskan but I thought it was interesting to learn how most people walk no matter the weather and how people carry their furniture even when they move. Gosh, that must be arduous work because I moved across the street and across town multiple times and I couldn’t imagine moving without a vehicle to carry my things. I also thought it was relatable how Jonah explained that people didn’t want to pay that much for gas because it was even more expensive in Alaska than the lower forty-eight. As someone who doesn’t live on the forty-eight, our gas prices our expensive too because they have to ship our gas. Also, groceries here cost your entire paycheck, probably not as much as in Alaska though because gosh, $13 for cereal! That’s insane. I know it’s probably because of shipping but dang, that’s a ripoff 😅.

I also enjoyed seeing the camaraderie and affability between Jonah and the people in the community. They all respected and liked Jonah, so I guess he wasn’t a complete jerk. But also, when you live in a small town, you develop a special bond with the people there because you’re all each other knows and you support one another. That’s one of the things I like about living in a small town too, is that you know everyone and you feel like family. You also do everything you can to help each other because you’re all just trying your best to get by. So I really loved seeing that sense of community and how much Jonah loved the people. The people also loved him. I gotta say, I cracked up when he flirted with that barista girl to make Calla’s soy coffee for his sake, so he didn’t have to deal with a grumpy Calla. You know, everyone judged her so much for being spoiled or picky because she liked soy. I mean, yes, it sounds so particular to want this or that in a drink, but sis was allergic to dairy, she wasn’t being a priss on purpose, she was protecting her health.

It was sweet when Jonah went to a different grocery store later in the day and bought Calla soy milk and left it in her fridge; a nice surprise.

People also gave Calla so many looks because she was so new to town, which makes sense. If the people were so familiar with everything, something new and shiny was sure to draw their eye. But I would have felt judged. When they were at the store, I also thought it was cool to learn how Alaska or that part of Alaska was a dry community. I never knew that there were parts of the world or towns that could do that—-not sell alcohol or didn’t sell alcohol. I had never heard of a dry community, but I like that and respect it. I don’t drink as a personal choice.

But just something I read that I thought was cool because I never knew that.

Anyway, something else that bothered me in the beginning was the way he dad didn’t seem to care she was there.

She landed and couldn’t have bothered to make time to even see her then. I’m sorry, she flew all this way—to literally see him on his soil—and he couldn’t have made the effort to try see her??? Or the fact that the fridge was empty when she was there like he didn’t care that she was coming to stock the fridge. Later my mind changed about the fridge and him being there to greet her because of what Jonah said—-how hard this was on Wren too and that he didn’t know what foods she liked so he didn’t stock the fridge. But I understood it from Calla’s perspective that he wasn’t there and didn’t have food to her like he didn’t want her there.

“But with disappointment comes a wave of the same pain-numbing resentment that absorbed me so many years ago, my way of coping with the raw realization that I would never be a priority for him.”

(pg. 68)

I would have felt the same way.

I thought the moment Calla finally did see her dad after all these years would have been some huge thing. I was holding my breath in a knot of nerves and excitement when the dad came home from his workday and went to see Calla. I was soooo ready for some tears, some apologies, maybe a hug. But they just looked at each other like they didn’t know who the other was, which they didn’t.

It felt awkward at best, which I understood.

“But I don’t feel like a twenty-six-year-old woman right now. Right now, I feel like an angry and hurt fourteen-year-old girl, brimming with insecurity and doubt, acknowledging that this man—the one not moving a muscle to close this last bit of distance—made a conscious decision to not be in my life.”

(pg. 82)

GOSh, I felt for Calla. She felt transported to her younger self who would doubt her worth because of her dad—like why didn’t he chose her, was she not good enough to love? She was reconciling her pain as a kid to the pain she felt in the moment of seeing him and seeing him still not trying to build a bridge between what was broken.

But I was just wanted to know what was running through his head when he saw her after all these years? Did he feel remorseful? Regret? Sorrow? Excitement? Probably nerves and fear of not knowing how she felt?

All he did was say hi and then that he would see her in the morning before he turned and walked away.

I WAS LIKE, “WHAT?!?!?!?!”

Twenty-four years of barely talking to you daughter and seeing her for the first time and all he could manage was a hi and see you in the morning. EX-SQUEEZE ME! Someone needed to go back and drag his boots down the hall to talk to her 👏🏼!!!!!! That’s it. Out of everything he could say. See you later?

And he didn’t even see her later 🙃.

Okay.

wow.

I get it thought, he felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to say to her. Also, Jonah said that Wren wasn’t the most talkative person or someone who said what was on his mind, which made sense then because if he had a hard time opening up, then seeing Calla probably made his brain short-circuit of what to say or do. But for Calla’s sake, I just wanted him to say more or try more now that she was there—-effort is a two way street.

One of the questions Simon posed during one of Calla’s calls home was:

“‘How do you form a relationship with someone without forgiving them first?'”

(pg. 125)

I was like dang, that’s a good question.

I mean, that’s right. How do you form a relationship with someone if you do not forgive them first? Because you’re already not open to that person, so building something as meaningful as a relationship with a person is going to be challenging. I know there was someone in my life who took years for me to forgive and let go. When I say years, I mean YEARS. Not in a petty way because of a petty thing, but because this person did something unspeakable that impacted my life forever and for many years I was angry and hurt by this person and how this person hurt those I loved and myself. So it was hard for me to see past what this person did because of the pain she caused and what ultimately led me to experience many hardships mentally and emotionally down the line. But then time went on and the hurt was less and I realized how people are just people and we all make mistakes or are put in complicated situations that force us to decide what kind of person we want to be. Sometimes we make the right decision for us, but it may be the wrong decision for others. It took me a while to reconcile the fact that adults were human and could hurt others with their mistakes. However, once I was old enough to understand that, I believe more healing took place and acceptance that what happened happened and it happened because this person probably felt stuck in a situation and didn’t know how to get out of it. Sure, what his person did wasn’t okay, but I understood it. So I think when you have time to process and understand your pain, it allows for forgiveness to occur. Or at least, for you to let go of the anger or resentment you carry to let someone in and try to trust who they are now.

I think what’s what Calla had to do and was doing by being in Alaska—-by her being there, she was slowly opening the door to let her dad in again. Enough time had past for her to kind of process why her dad never seemed to choose her, but she sure still had anger, which is understandable because she never had closure. But she was getting the closure or answers she needed now that she was with her dad.

What they really needed was a good father-daughter heart-to-heart to lay it all out there.

I felt really awful when Calla had that second night dinner at their house and she met Mabel. I was like, “Who is this?” No one mentioned a Mabel 🧐. Mabel was Agnes’s daughter. The way Wren acted every bit of the father to Mabel that he was never to Calla, made my heart hurt for her. That sucked like a leech on a whale 😢. Here she was all these miles to see her dad and to only get a hi and a see you in the morning to see him now acting all chummy with this other girl who he called kiddo, the nickname he sued to call her. The way he also laughed with Mabel and apparently played checkers with him because that was their thing. Or the way that Mabel made Wren all these cheese dishes to try like she would a father because Wren was always down to try whatever she was making. The fact that he treated Mabel like a daughter felt like a dagger to the heart that he could be this father for Mabel, but not her. That must have felt like he never loved her, and she was the problem.

But gosh, if Mabel had been her half sister, I would have TRIPPED 😅. That would have been like twisting the darn dagger! I was glad Mabel wasn’t the half sister; Calla really didn’t need that as a further rift between her and her dad. Just the way she turned utterly pallid when she fathomed how Mabel could be her half sister because Mabel was twelve and all those years ago, the dad missed her graduation. So it made sense with the timeline that maybe he never went to her graduation because he stayed for the birth of his new daughter? They should have cleared it up who Mabel was or told her who Mabel was before she walked through the door and we were all like, who the heck was this girl.

I liked Mabel. She was a cute, spirity, and fun character and I love how much life she had. I also thought it was cute she had a crush on Jonah, but sis, he’s double your age 😅. A girl can dream because gosh knows I’ve had celebrity crushes on guys twice my age at her age, but yea, Calla had more of a shot with Jonah and I started to feel bad that Mabel’s crush would never go anywhere. But Mabels’ a catch like her mom and someone would love her the way she deserved.

Mabel is actually the daughter of Michael, a pilot who passed away when flying a Wilder plane one day. Wren was supposed to fly that plane that day, but Wren didn’t because he was supposed to be going to Toronto for Calla’s graduation, but then something happened at Wilder and then Agnes was giving birth and then Michael crashed the plane, so Wren stayed back to support Agnes as Mabel was being born and as emotional support for what recently happened with Michael. It would be extremely difficult to not feel like what happened to Michael was his fault because that could have been him. But Wren shouldn’t place the blame on himself because that what if and what would have happened game doesn’t lead to anywhere good. But Wren was a good man for being there for Agnes and Mabel, however, it was rough when he let down the one person who had so much hope that he would come. I understand that maybe Calla wouldn’t have fully understood his reason for not showing up all those years ago, but I don’t think she was too young to understand even the barest details like there was a crash and and accident and I need to be there for a friend who’s going through a rough time. Calla had to be like twelve or thirteen at that time, and I’m pretty sure a twelve or thirteen-year-old would have the sympathy or knowledge to understand that an accident is important. But saying it was just for work made her feel like nothing significant happened and that he just chose work over her. He never gave Calla a chance to understand before disappointing her.

“‘You knew this wasn’t going to be easy.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s going to be impossible if he runs every time I come into the room.’

‘Is he running? Or are you chasing him away?’

. . . ‘Just remember . . you can’t control him, but you can control how you act toward him.'”

(pg. 125)

Simon said, let me flex my psychiatrist degree 👏🏼!!

It wasn’t like Calla was chasing Wren away, but I could see how maybe her energy or resentment came off towards Wren and he felt the need to run—my repeated saying in this post, their effort was a two way street. I heard of the saying once that if you chase something, it runs away from you because you’re trying so hard to get something to work or something like that

But I really loved when Calla and her dad FINALLY had their heart-to-heart. I loved how intimate and calm the conversation felt with them on the porch, looking at the stars and reminiscing about the good old days of how the mom liked to curl up on the porch too. Wren opened up about who Mabel was and some of his complicated history with Agnes. I also loved how once the dad opened up, Calla felt more comfortable also letting her dad in. I liked how he allowed Calla to talk about her life and everything he missed because when he said he had nothing but time to sit there and listen to her, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy. His interest in her life meant he actually cared to get to know her and that he probably felt ashamed all these years to reach out, because here he was, just listening. I liked that he just listened to Calla talk about the past twenty-four years and how he never once interrupted her or got bored. He listened intently the whole time like he hung on every word. I liked how he also mentioned how they used to have their phone calls and he would listen to her go on and on and then he would put her on speaker to use the bathroom and come back and listen some more—-like he had never left the room in the first place. I smiled when he mentioned that story because he might have not been dad of the year or century, but he always listened and I think he always wanted to know his daughter as much as his daughter always wanted to know her. I just think again, for him it was chalked up to shame, guilt, and not knowing how to communicate that without regret.

But once they moved past the awkwardness, there really was something beautiful to be unearthed about their relationship.

Something that was also interesting to hear in their conversation was how the dad said that he knew the mom and him would never work. That was such an interesting thing to say and odd. Why would he marry the mom or have a baby with her—go through all of the romantic motions—-if he knew that they would never be? He sounded so sure of himself. He loved Susan, but why did he not believe in their relationship? I mean, yes Susan and him wanted different things and had different ideas for the future, but I think that if you love someone as much as Wren and Susan did, then that you would try to make it work. You would do awythgin to make the love you feel with someone work. It sounded like he gave up on them before trying.

“But if ever there was a man born to live in the sky, it’s your dad.'”

(pg. 169)

After those initial days, there seemed to be so much more light and hope for Calla’s relationship with her dad. I also appreciated it a lot more that their reunion wasn’t a huge thing because their relationship wasn’t like that—-they were a slow-to-warm father-daughter relationship—-and it made everything that followed even more special to know how far they had come to get there. I loved when he started to call her kiddo or they had these little movie nights together. I also loved the cute moments when they shared coffee or made each other coffee. I loved loved loved when Calla made gosh darn awful coffee and Wren was like:

“My daughter made this here cup of coffee for me. Dang straight I’m going to drink it.”

(pg. 252)

I mean, that was so cute 🥺.

He’d drink awful coffee from her because Calla was his daughter and that was all that mattered.

I also loved when she tried to make him a healthy dinner that one night and he said he would eat her salad. Then Mabel had to pop her bubble with her cheese dish and say Wren didn’t eat vegetables. That sucked that Calla wanted to do something nice for her dad, only to feel like she didn’t really know him. It was still incredibly sweet the dad didn’t make her feel bad for making a salad and said he was going to eat it before Mabel came.

Calla also got to see how much passion her dad had for flying—to understand his job.

Before going to Alaska, she wondered why the dad would choose his job over her all the time, which is understandable. I mean, we never know the importance of what someone does until we see it for ourselves. I liked the part when Jonah and Calla had a whole-new-world moment, if you will—-when he took her in a less terrifying plane and showed her Alaska from up above and what he and Wild did. I freaking cackled at their banter when he went to her house and put a literal timer on his watch for her to get ready in five minutes or he would drag her out of the house. It was really putting on a literal timer for me 😂. We love a barely-time-to-pee look 🤪. But I agreed with Jonah in how Calla didn’t need to try so hard to look good when there was so much more underneath than her looks and her fashion. I mean, of course Calla can present herself how she wanted to the world because everyone has something that makes them feel confident—makeup, fashion, etc. But I think Jonah and everyone else just wanted to see who the real Calla was because they saw something more to her than this Barbie image she presented.

I appreciated a self-aware moment—a self-aware a**.

Jonah admitted he was an a** to Calla the first time they met, which was nice that he knew that he treated her wrong—-owned up to his fault. Once he let go of this self-entitled outlook about Calla, he saw someone worth getting to know. You should never judge a person based on their social media and your preconceived ideas of what that kind of person is. I liked how they had a funny banter going the entire book with him calling her a Barbie (in a joking way) and her calling him a Yeti and a viking.

“‘No. Hipster is a style. Rockability is a style. Yeti is not a style.'”

(pg. 220)

I loved how she teased him relentlessly about having a pet/not pet raccoon named Bandit. I agreed with Calla, but having a pet raccoon seemed like a healthy violation even if Bandit had his shots. I thought it was funny how bothered Calla was by Bandit because of her own raccoon buddies back home.

My absolute favorite part of their rivalry relationship was how they tried to mess with each other 😂.

This entire time, Calla had been living out of that measly gym bag that Jonah made her pack quickly. Her luggage was supposed to come the following day, but it never did. It just never seemed to show up, and then Calla found it at Jonah’s house underneath some wood boards or something and was ENRAGED. I don’t blame the girl! Honestly, if a dude harbored my luggage under his house, that is not only a flag but a means of revenge 👏🏼! He did her dirty by making her think they lost all her clothes and then here he was, hiding it as a means to humble her. I understood that Jonah was trying to ground her because she had a million dollars worth of clothes packed into that luggage. This is probably a individual thought and not to judge anyone, but there really isn’t any need to buy a $500 white shirt if you can buy a cheaper version for less and still a good quality. Sure a $5 shirt might not be the best quality, but it does the job, and honestly a $30 white shirt is better than $500. You can buy an iPad for $500. But I guess, what you buy just depends on how much you have or what you are used to purchasing. But still, there are economical ways to save.

Besides my rant, GOSH, when she SHAVED HIS BEARD 😂.

I’m sorry, WHAT?! I was like this dude’s picture needs to be put next to the definition of a heavy sleeper!!! How does one shave someone’s entire beard without knowing or waking up???? I would have heard the buzzing noise and felt the tickle of a razor for sure!

I know Jonah was on meds and was knocked out, but still 🤪. How did he not feel that someone was attacking his beard?

A permanent marker mustache is one thing? Shave a beard?

YIKES.

I couldn’t stop laughing with how guilty and jittery she was after she shaved his beard because she knew he was going to be PEEZED 😂.

I mean, you shaved his beard sis! Of course he’s going to be PEEZED. Sorry, wait, shaved his beard while UNHINGED 😂. I don’t blame her. He had it coming with how long he held her luggage captive without her knowing. I also knew at some point we were going to have a moment where Calla shaved Jonah’s beard because she kept talking about how much she didn’t like his beard and wanted to see his real face. Also, she mentioned her beard-grooming experiences for Calla & Dee, so she was obviously going to shave it. I just thought when she shaved Jonah’s beard, it would have been more of a romantic and intimate moment and not out of spite.

I loved how Wren was in on the joke and laughed his a** off too 😂.

The day after when Jonah woke up and saw Wren and Calla leaving for Wild, his arms crossed and giving Calla a death glare? I could not 😂. I thought he would have been more mad, but he seemed more amused than anything. Also, yea, we loved that her whole revenge backfired into her actually liking him more because she could see his face. I didn’t think he would actually be super peezed off because his beard would grow back and Jonah’s the type to take a joke well. But it was funny how he tried to be angry at Calla, but also understood her anger because he did hide her luggage. He wasn’t actually going to chop Calla’s hair of fin revenge, but I thought it was cute that the dad respected her wishes in wanting the doors locked just in case. Jonah did take her make-up bag, which was something else. Not as bad as shaving his beard, but it sure was something. I liked that he took her make-up bag though because she shaved him down to be more vulnerable and he also did something that opened up her vulnerability. to see who she was.

Going back to seeing more of what the dad did, I loved loved loved when Calla flew with Jonah to see more of Alaska.

“You don’t need to understand something to respect it.”

(pg. 210)

I quite liked that sentiment.

Just because you don’t understand something or someone, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respect it or that person—-accept it.

I liked how Calla took scenic shots of Alaska—-pictures she would have never thought of taking of Alaska and in a way that she had never seen it. She also met so many natives who she would have never known or would have assumed other things about. But when she followed Jonah for a personal showcase of Alaska, she saw there was so much more love and heart to its people. I loved loved loved how we could see Calla’s perspective of Alaska change the more she saw and the more she knew. I loved how she also reflected on the pictures she took and how they didn’t capture the real beauty of Alaska—its people and its stories; from the person Jonah dropped off a purifier for because one of the kids had asthma and needed a purifier for the air. Or the food and supplies Jonah also gave to people in need and how those people were so kind to gift Jonah things like food because of his services. I also just loved the camaraderie that Jonah had with the people like they were family and were catching up. Community truly is everything.

When reflecting on Alaska, I liked the thought Calla had with how maybe her mother also didn’t try as hard to adjust to Alaska—-once again, effort is a two way street. Because I agreed that the dad tried to help the mom adjust in some way, but the mom could have also explored more of the community or seen what’s out there to better adjust and find something to love—-there’s always something to love and connect with.

I really loved when Calla offered to create a website for WIld because she had a newfound perspective and love for Alaska and her dad’s business. I thought her offering to make a website highlighted how much she saw how much her dad’s business meant to him and the community that she wanted to support the company because the company was not doing too well. I liked the idea of a new and improved website for Wild because the website could generate more interest from customers. Because, yea, if I was a tourist in Alaska and I saw WIld’s barren website, I would have clicked right off because no one wants to look at nothing on a website. We want to see storylines, credibility, reviews, especially safety reviews if you’re going to ride a plane. Also, Calla helping out with the website also felt like she was finding her place in the dad’s business—like she was part of what her dad loved.

My heart really plummeted when Jonah was almost in that accident in Betty’s. By the way, I love an ode to Riverdale characters 😉. But JONAH!!! As much as he was an a**hat in the beginning, didn’t mean I didn’t care what happened to him. But Betty done almost did him dirty. But that must have been terrifying for Calla to witness given how much she also cared for Jonah and how dangerous she knew flying these planes were; it’s one thing to know the severity of something and to actually witness the severeness.

Moments like that can shake you.

But moments like that can also make the steamier moments, more intense 😉.

Can we just applaud K.A. Tucker for crafting such a rom-com trope-y moment that made us reeling!!!!??? I mean, it had me reeling.

I mean, the one caring stuck in the mountains where it was freaking cold and there was only one bed!!!!! And there was a freaking blizzard outside so they had to be inside with each other’s company. What a dream. I loved that the moment felt so clichéd in its tropes in the best way possible. You know, Calla and Jonah already had all this sexual tension or interest in each other that needed a moment to just be.

Well, nothing says let’s get it on then a cabin in the woods where there is no heat, but definitely the heat of the moment 🙈.

Also, like, chop the wood Jonah. Let off that steam.

I couldn’t stop grinning because it felt like that moment in Six of Crows where Nina and Matthias were traversing Fjerda and it was so freezing that they had to use each other for body heat. I was thinking that that was the direction K.A. Tucker was going to take us because what a lost opportunity if we didn’t. When they finally confronted how they felt about each other in the cabin, a fourth wall sort of broke down where they knew where they stood. However, they both knew Calla was going to leave in a couple of weeks and they both didn’t want to start anything serious despite their feelings; Jonah would undoubtedly stay in Alaska to help with Wild/Alaska is also his home, while Calla (kind of) had a life back at home in Canada.

I liked that they were no longer hating each other’s guts or messing with each other, but then things felt too good to be true with how things were going with Calla’s dad, Jonah, and finding her place in Alaska.

I was waiting for the proverbial ball to drop.

The ball did drop.

Like a wrecking ball.

Right. On. Top. Of. My. Heart.

When Jonah and Calla returned from being stuck in the mountains and finding the lost couple who was hiking up there, Agnes had a grim demeanor that instantly made me want to SCREAM.

The dad was in the hospital again. You know, throughout Calla forming relationships with all these people and places, there were hints of the dad not being well. He seemed slower or he was coughing more, not like in a regular cough way, but a cough you would be concerned about. Whenever he would cough, it was like a bell or a flag in my mind that he was not faring well as much as I didn’t want to think that. So Wren being in the hospital again, really did something to my heart.

When Jonah was like, “You have to tell her,” my heart did a visceral tug. TELL HER WHAT???!?!!?

We all knew what he was withholding from her—what he didn’t want her to know.

“I remember my conversation with Diana in the club that night. It seemed like forever ago that I voiced a seemingly unbelievable thought at the time: What if I came to Alaska and somehow found the dad I’d always wanted, despite his many flaws, despite the fact that he all but abandoned me so many years ago, only to lose him again? It’s happening. I found him, and now I’m going to lose him all over again. This time, for good.”

(pg. 325)

Can you hear that?

That little chinking sound?

That was the sound of my heart being DEMOLISHED 💔.

Utterly WRECKED.

Wren wasn’t going to get treatment because he didn’t want his last days to be someone he was not or a shell of a person; he did not want to be hooked to drugs and be who he was. As much as his decision freaking pained me, like gutted me, I understood why he didn’t want to get treatment. He was already battling so much, and to go through another round of treatment with all these drugs and tests, he knew that he wouldn’t be the same. He wanted to be remembered as Wren Fletcher, the Alaskan Sky Cowboy who loved so many people and who had a daughter he know got to know. He didn’t want to be Wren Fletcher, the person who was pallid and not as strong. I could understand why he chose to live his last few weeks peacefully.

But that doesn’t mean his choice wasn’t painful. The hardest choices often are because you don’t want to bring pain to others, but you have to think what will give you more peace.

I felt absolutely awful for Calla 😔.

First, because Jonah knew all along that Wren had stopped getting treatment or that he wasn’t going to go through more treatment. Calla probably felt betrayed that someone she had grown to love lied to her about what her dad was going through. However, I don’t fault Jonah for not telling Calla what was her dad’s choice. The dad’s treatment was something for the dad to tell her, and it was not Jonah’s truth to tell—-he was just a person in the middle. But being a person who sees a situation from every single angle, I understood that Calla felt hurt. I would have felt hurt too.

Second, my gosh, she was losing her dad all over again, just when she just really got to know him. She was getting to know how he liked his coffee, or what his favorite food was. She was learning what his routine was and what he did everyday for a living. She was learning all these people in his life who helped keep his business afloat. She was learning to let her dad into her heart again, only for her dad to leave.

I can’t even fathom how much pain she was feeling—-to have someone ripped out of your life after you just got them back.

Mingled with the sorrow and heartache was anger. I felt like Calla was going through the stages of grief, grieving the idea of her father and what was their relationship. But she was valid in her anger because her dad didn’t want to tell her and she felt like he was being selfish for not wanting to get better for himself, for her mom, and for her. I understand how Calla felt like the dad’s decision was selfish, but his decision was about his life and I don’t think we can make anyone feel selfish for how they choose to live their life, especially in this situation.

I loved loved loved how once Calla processed her dad’s decision, she had all these conversations with those closest to her to find the strength to be there for her dad. Honestly, what did I tell you, Simon is a real one 👏🏼. I genuinely love that dude and how he was always blatantly honest with Calla without ever making her feel like he was putting his emotions or choices on her. A psychiatrist indeed.

“‘Is there anything else?’

‘Just keep living’, I guess.’ He gives me a resigned smile. ‘Try to have as many good days as I can, until I use them up.’

‘We can do that,’ I say with determination, giving his hand another squeeze. I don’t have to be okay with it, but I can be here for it.'”

(pg.343)

When someone in your life is going through something painful or complex, it is not our choice what they decide to do. We do not have to like that choice, but we can support someone through that choice and be there for them.

I also loved when she straight up spoke to her dad rather than stay angry or hurt—-there’s no time to stay angry and hurt by others. I liked how she asked what she could do for her dad because it highlighted how she accepted his wishes and she did want to be there for him just like Simon advised her to do.

All we have to do is be there for someone through the pain.

The last part of the book felt like a last hurrah in such a bittersweet way. We knew what was inevitably going to happen, but we were going to celebrate life rather than mourn it now.

“Life will keep moving and changing, whether we want it to or not, Calla. There will be days to mourn, when it’s time. But Sharon and Max are leaving us, and their baby will be born, and we need to celebrate the time we have with them while we have them here. That’s all we can do with anyone.”

(pg.350)

Can we get an haleloo 🙌🏼 .

No, but in all seriousness, I agree, that we should celebrate our time with people, heck, celebrate each day because we never know what happens. Life should be celebrated.

I don’t know if I said this already, but I have so much love and admiration for Agnes. Like what a woman.

“My throat beings to prickle for the tiny woman, whose own heart has, however, unintentionally, also been broken by my father in the past. And still she stands stoically beside him, offering her friendship and unrequited love.”

(pg. 351)

I couldn’t even imagine how devastated Agnes must have felt—-to love this man who she knew would never love her back the same way, but to still choose to love him and stand by his side. She must have known that he wasn’t getting treatment, and that pained her even more but she tried not to think about it. But when Calla knew, I felt like maybe Agnes felt like what was happening was even more real. I wanted to hug Agnes until she was okay because I could feel how hard she was trying to hold in her sorrow by masking it with a celebration.

We all know who the celebration was really for.

A celebration of life, love, and loss.

Gosh, when the moment everyone in the community went around and started thanking Wren for what he has done for them, I’m SORRY, I’m not crying you are! 😭

I was sobbing with so much love because it was apparent how much Wren had impacted these people’s lives and they wanted to share how much they appreciated him because they all knew what was happening. They wanted to know how loved he was, by extension how loved he would always be. I also loved how we finally knew why there were nipples on the duck wallpaper in Wren’s house. Haha, good job Max and Jonah.

The last few days were the most painful.

I loved how Calla, Agnes, Mabel, and Jonah really tried to make Wren’s last days special and filled with people he loved. They watched movies and played games with him, trying to have a semblance of normalcy. I loved how Wren spent time flying by himself and with his family because flying was his passion, so they wanted him to fly as much as possible before he couldn’t anymore. That’s rough ,though, to love something so much and to have to say goodbye to that passion. Flying was a part of Wren.

There was this moment during the last day where Calla was talking to Jonah. I loved how they spoke honestly about their emotions and what was happening because there was no skirting around how much pain and sorrow they were feeling. But they also knew they had to be there for each other and those around them who were hurting. They were talking about how downhill Wren was going, and Calla was talking about she felt guilty for not having reached out to her dad sooner to know him. She couldn’t have known what was going to happen or what was happening to her dad to carry this guilt.

“I’ve spent the last twelve years dwelling on all the things Wren Fletcher isn’t. I should have had the guts to come and find out all the things he is.”

(pg. 366)

But it wasn’t entirely her fault.

Her dad could have also reached out way sooner to initiate a relationship with his daughter.

It just really sucked that this was the situation and she was going to lose her dad so soon. When she started to break down in anger at not having enough time or being able to make more memories with her dad, gosh, I felt choked up. Like someone give me the heimlich remover choked up.

Because gosh did I feel her pain.

It sucked.

She accepted his decision and she was trying so hard to be strong for her dad and everyone else, but sometimes you just need to feel what you feel and say, “This sucks.” And it did suck. And she had every right to cry and feel like it wasn’t fair that she wouldn’t get more time with her dad. Also, it sucked that, yea, other people got to know her dad a lot longer and had all these memories with him where else she only had a handful that’s supposed to last her a lifetime. I would feel angry. I would feel devastated.

I felt gosh darn GUTTED and literally wrote in my book notes that I was unwell when Calla’s mom, Susan flew out for Wren’s last day 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭!!!!!

THEY BROUGHT THE MOM BACK TO ALASKA!!!!!! THEY BROUGHT THE WOMAN HE STILL LOVED TO SPEND HIS FINAL DAYS WITH 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩 😭!!!!!

Wreck me.

I did not expect that they would fly the mom to Alaska to say goodbye to someone she still loved. I don’t know how it never crossed my mom that they could fly the mom out for Alaska. I kind of hoped that the mom and Wren would have closure, but with everything going. on in this book already, the prospect of the mom going to Alaska was not in the forefront of my mind.

But I was so happy that she went to Alaska! Sad, but happy.

She got to see the man she would always love, and Wren got to see the woman he would always love.

“He kept everything that had to do with you, Mom.” Including his love.

(pg. 374)

When Wren saw Susan after all these years, I just about combusted.

I would like to hand deliver K.A. tucker my therapy bill 🙃.

When the dad began to sob, I began to sob harder.

And then when Calla started to sob, I sobbed HARDER.

Just the utter calm she felt now after seeing her dad became less strong, but reunited with her mom must have felt like things were coming full circle and that this was really the end—-that the mom was there to say her goodbyes, so everything was that much real.

The dad passing away felt really fast after the mom came. It was like, one moment sob and then the next moment everyone was gathered at the house, trying to find some normalcy. Wren passed away in so much love and strength, as he wanted.

In my brain, I would have liked a more dragged out dramatic scene of his final moments with everyone. However, I really liked the simplicity of the final moment we see Wren, being when he reunited with the person he always loved but never thought he would get to see. And having that moment where they were all crying, felt like there was so much love, heartache, and forgiveness, that that moment felt too beautiful and precious to drag out. I had a feeling when Calla said a calm washed over her, that that was the last moment we would see with Wren because there is always (I hope) peace and calm before . . .

Amidst everything going on, Jonah and Calla were still trying to navigate what they could have or be.

“I know it’s not forever. I know he’s going to stay here and I’m going to go home.’ I feel like I have to say that out loud, to prove that I’m not some lovesick idiot, that I haven’t deluded myself into thinking this is something it’s not. And yet, I can’t imagine being anything else with Jonah than what we are while I’m here.

Jonah is Alaska to me.

My dad smiles softly. ‘I’ve got a lot of regrets, kiddo. But falling for you mother has never been one of them.'”

(pg. 359)

History was kind of repeating itself with Jonah in Calla withJonah’s home was Alaska and Calla’s home was Canada. She was going to leave after everything. But a huge part of me felt like they could make this relationship work if they really wanted to be together. Because honestly, sis, what was waiting for you back in Canada 😂👏🏼!?????!! Like I get Simon and her mom were in Canada and that she had a life there, but she was a changed woman after going to Alaska. I believe if she stayed, she wouldn’t have the same troubles her mom had in adjusting because Calla found a community and beauty already while being there. She could stay in Canada and marry her sky cowboy and help keep Wild going.

Calla had this thought when she was talking to Jonah one night. I thought this thought was very fitting given the parallels between her mom and Wren and her and Jonah because Calla was on the other side now; Calla was the one who felt like what they had could never work out, but I think deep down she really wanted her relationship to be different. She loved Jonah so much that she knew she wanted a future with him but also she feels that daily fear—-of losing him—-her mom felt and didn’t want that for her life. So Calla loved him anyway even if things might not work out for them in the long run—-she wasn’t going to fight how she felt because you can’t tell yourself you perennially don’t love someone when you do. I liked that she could relate to what the dad was feeling, which also unintentionally brought them closer together to have both loved someone so much that they knew that love might not last, but to love that person anyway.

But noooo, we had to make the relationship complex 🤪 because she still wanted to leave.

“I was just remembering something my dad said,’ About how he knew it would never work out with my mom in the long run but he wasn’t about to fight what was happening.

I think I’m starting to get it now, Dad.'”

(pg. 210)

There was also the story of the Raven and the Goosewife that I found very similar to Wren and Susan.

The story goes that a Raven and Goosewife fell in love and they stayed together for the summer. Then the Goosewife left before the snow started to fall. The Raven was going to follow the Goosewife but he couldn’t survive the flight across the ocean so he had to say goodbye and go home. The Goose couldn’t fallow the Raven because the Goose couldn’t survive the winter. In this case, the Goose was Susan and how she couldn’t survive in the winter environment, and the Raven was Wren because he had to go back home where his heart belonged. I mean, the story didn’t have to be this way. Neither did Calla and Jonah’s story.

“With a heavy sigh, she reaches out to smooth a consoling hand over my leg. ‘I did warn you about falling in love with one of those sky cowboys, didn’t I?’

‘Yeah, you did.’ I try to laugh it off.

Until I finally relent to the onslaught of tears.

Because I’m not going home with one giant hole in my heart.

I’m going home with two.”

(pg. 376)

Sis could be staying with one broken heart if she wanted to 🤪.

Thank GOSH for the ending 👏🏼!!!

After two months since leaving Alaska, Jonah showed up to visit Calla 😩 💚 !!!!!!

Can I just say how much I loved that the first thing she blurted out to him was, “What did you do with your face?” 😂 He was yeti no more! Hahahaha.

I could not stop grinning because Jonah being all clean shaven might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but his clean-shaveness felt like he was trying to show her he was open to change and showing more of himself with her because of how much he loved and missed her.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED that he went to see her because he was utterly miserable and didn’t want a repeat of history where they longed for each other for years and never made anything work. Life is too short to hold petty grudges or to not make a move when you love someone. If you love someone so much and you feel like they are the one, do not wait around and make yourself miserable because you think your life is supposed to be one way. You never know who can walk in your life and change it for the better.

I loved that Jonah and Calla came to a compromise with how Jonah was running his own charter pane company in Alaska, however, he would go anywhere as long as he could fly planes and be with Calla. Honestly, that seemed like a pretty great deal to me—-they both could do what they wanted while still letting their love bloom. They did not have to give up each other.

What I loved the most about The Simple Wild was how the plot line wasn’t just about romance. The story took us on a journey through the heart of Alaska and through the heart of healing, forgiveness, family, love, and the sentiment that sometimes our first love never leaves us. I loved the sense of how so much love could exist with so much sorrow. I loved how so much healing could also hold hands with so much heartache. I always say this, but it’s for a reason, but we cannot have the good emotion if we have never known the harder emotion that comes with it. I also really enjoyed the banter between Calla and Jonah because they had an enemies to lovers situation, and a lot of enemies to lovers banter can borderline cruel and hateful. However, I thought Calla and Jonah’s banter came out of misunderstanding each other and just wanting to get under each other’s skin. When they really got to know each other, I loved how they were there for each other and their loved formed out of the love they had for a mutual person.

There truly are no simple words for The Simple Wild 💚. No simple feelings either.

If you read this book, what was your favorite part? Most heart-wrenching part?

What is a place that you have never visited, but always wanted to? 

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

5 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I loved each and every person we met along the way, and how they slowly became part of Calla’s world as people she was learning to love. I think it was beautiful how the more she opened up her heart, the more we got to see these wonderful characters come to life.

Plot: The Simple Wild was like taking a breath of fresh air while a single tear slips down . . . or more like my racking sobs at the end. But such a poignant story about forgiveness, family, and love.

Writing: Four syllables: Phe-nom-e-nal. The banter, the setting the scene, the relationships, the romance, all phenomenal.

Romance: Someone get me a sky cowboy 🤪