Lovely Wild by Megan Hart
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About the Book
From New York Times bestselling author Megan Hart comes a haunting and insightful novel about a woman trying to find her place in the world…
Brought up in the savage captivity of her unstable grandmother's rural Pennsylvania home, Mari Calder once yearned for rescue. Now she struggles every day to function as an adult in the confines of normal society. Left with only a foggy recollection of her childhood, she's consumed with being a dutiful wife to her husband, Ryan, and mother to their two children.
But an unexpected twist of events returns her to that long-forgotten house in the woods. Soon, Mari is greeted with reminders of a past life, the clarified memories only inviting a new level of strangeness into her fragile world. To protect her family, she must find the beautiful, powerful strength hidden in her inner chaos. Because someone is bent on exploiting Mari's trauma, and as normal and wild begin to blend, a string of devastating truths force Mari to question all she thought she knew.
Brought up in the savage captivity of her unstable grandmother's rural Pennsylvania home, Mari Calder once yearned for rescue. Now she struggles every day to function as an adult in the confines of normal society. Left with only a foggy recollection of her childhood, she's consumed with being a dutiful wife to her husband, Ryan, and mother to their two children.
But an unexpected twist of events returns her to that long-forgotten house in the woods. Soon, Mari is greeted with reminders of a past life, the clarified memories only inviting a new level of strangeness into her fragile world. To protect her family, she must find the beautiful, powerful strength hidden in her inner chaos. Because someone is bent on exploiting Mari's trauma, and as normal and wild begin to blend, a string of devastating truths force Mari to question all she thought she knew.
4 stars****
First of all... what a GORGEOUS cover! Love, love, love it... and the title fits the story beautifully. I think this is one of my favorite reads by Megan Hart... very interesting story. The author did a wonderful job creating the character Mari. A character that was raised wild until she was rescued. She eventually turned into a lovely and beautiful woman, wife and mother. I adored her character! Her quirky habits and mannerisms always kept me connected to where she came from and how she was raised. I wanted to know more about her past.
I can't say the same about her husband Ryan, however. I just didn't like him at all. He was not a good person and took Mari and her innocence for granted. Ryan takes her back to her childhood home for his own selfish reasons. I couldn't even believe he would do that to her. He had to know how difficult it would be for her emotionally. While they spent time there, Mari finds herself remembering the past and reaching back to embrace the comfort of her wild side.
Mari had the best kids... they were her greatest success. Mari was not loved or wanted as a child so she poured all of her time and attention into raising them. Which makes sense because we always strive to give our children everything we never had. It was this part of the story that I loved the most... her relationship with them.
While the family resides in her childhood home, mysterious and disturbing things begin to happen. Eventually this leads to some surprising revelations and Mari finally learns the truth behind her neglect. This is the only part of the book that seemed a little... off. I didn't like the twisty turn of events that took place and when the truth finally came out I was very annoyed and angry. I really hoped and wanted Mari to be strong enough to walk away from everyone. She deserved better... much better.
I did think the story wrapped up a little too abruptly. I had more questions than answers by the end. And, I think I would've liked a different ending all together. I'd be interested to know what other readers think about it...
I did not find this to be a dark read, I mean her childhood was dark and disturbing but it was very fade to black. This story was mostly Mari's emotional journey of finding a way to cope with all that happened to her. She was also trying to make peace with her wild side that was always her safety net.
So, not a romance, not really a dark read, but perhaps a book that would interest the Women's Fiction crowd... it touched me more for her experiences with motherhood and marriage than anything else.
ARC was provided by Harlequin via netgalley
I can't say the same about her husband Ryan, however. I just didn't like him at all. He was not a good person and took Mari and her innocence for granted. Ryan takes her back to her childhood home for his own selfish reasons. I couldn't even believe he would do that to her. He had to know how difficult it would be for her emotionally. While they spent time there, Mari finds herself remembering the past and reaching back to embrace the comfort of her wild side.
Mari had the best kids... they were her greatest success. Mari was not loved or wanted as a child so she poured all of her time and attention into raising them. Which makes sense because we always strive to give our children everything we never had. It was this part of the story that I loved the most... her relationship with them.
While the family resides in her childhood home, mysterious and disturbing things begin to happen. Eventually this leads to some surprising revelations and Mari finally learns the truth behind her neglect. This is the only part of the book that seemed a little... off. I didn't like the twisty turn of events that took place and when the truth finally came out I was very annoyed and angry. I really hoped and wanted Mari to be strong enough to walk away from everyone. She deserved better... much better.
I did think the story wrapped up a little too abruptly. I had more questions than answers by the end. And, I think I would've liked a different ending all together. I'd be interested to know what other readers think about it...
I did not find this to be a dark read, I mean her childhood was dark and disturbing but it was very fade to black. This story was mostly Mari's emotional journey of finding a way to cope with all that happened to her. She was also trying to make peace with her wild side that was always her safety net.
So, not a romance, not really a dark read, but perhaps a book that would interest the Women's Fiction crowd... it touched me more for her experiences with motherhood and marriage than anything else.
ARC was provided by Harlequin via netgalley
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