A Wild Escape

A wilderness sequel to A Simple Wild, K.A. Tucker wows her reader's again with a heart-swelling romance between an unlikely duo: a Toronto city-girl and an Alaskan-bush pilot. Calla and Jonah were introduced as a quarreling duo in Tucker's first novel, brought together by Calla's terminally-ill father, Wren. Calla ventured into the Alaskan wilderness with hope to spend her father's last days on building a relationship with him that would stick with her well after his passing. Fortunately, it wasn't just Wren's memory that Calla clung to, but Jonah's as well. Wild at Heart opens with Calla's decision upon returning to Alaska to reunite with Jonah, for good. Not as jarring as last time, but all the same, Calla has to upend her usual city-flare lifestyle and acclimate to the Alaskan wilderness: open acres, outhouses, and roaming, curious animals. How different could things be? For most of the novel, Calla attempts (or so it seems) to morph herself into an Alaskan. She tries to form relationships with neighbors, develop a comfort to living off the land, and adapt to lonely days without Jonah--a life-saving pilot who never says no to an educational job opportunity. Tucker does an impressive job portraying Calla's internal struggles with moving to Alaska and adapting to an environment she never pictured herself living in. Tucker depicts the see-saw image that comes to mind when a main character is debating between embracing a new path or reverting to comfort zones. Calla and Jonah have arguments throughout the novel and Tucker does another fine job at circulating the different elements that come with an argument in relationships. Sometimes picking a side as a reader is easy, in this case the main character's, because we empathize with the main character's thoughts and emotions. Tucker helps elaborate on Calla's inner dilemmas, but also delves into the different aspects and viewpoints of the relationship and its argumentative factors. Although frustrating to follow as a reader, it's realistic and that's important for a novel. Not every moment has to be romantic and whimsical--it's unrealistic and Tucker does a good job with keeping that at bay (apart from the steamy loves scenes). Accompanying the relationship development between Calla and Jonah, other characters are introduced and friendships sprout--introducing the fact that Alaska doesn't have to be secluded and quiet 24/7. Calla finds comfort in her past relationships between friends and family members, but also spends time in embracing new ones as well. I enjoyed the amount of detail brought to depicting the natural settings of Alaska. The woods, the animals, the mountains, even the sunrise, sunsets, and snow. As someone who's been interested in visiting Alaska at some point in my life, Tucker only succeeds at keeping this dream destination of mine alive. Based on the events that unfolded in this secondary novel, I'd love to see a third. Although, I would be content with the ending of this novel if Tucker so chooses to decline entering into trilogy domain. I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in an Alaskan-based romance, reading about a young-woman attempting to find her true-self in uncharted territory, or someone merely looking for an outside escape during this time of "stay home, stay safe"--something Calla fights with when attempting to venture out into brown bear territory. Either way, it's a wild ride!