Sunday 30 November 2014

Review: Lovely Wild by Megan Hart

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.


Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Published November 25th 2014 by Harlequin MIRA 

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an e-copy of this book from Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The best way to describe this book is to say that it is different. From reading the synopsis I got a glimpse of what the story was about but it didn't necessarily play out the way I was expecting. This wasn't a bad thing and because of it, I was unable to put it down. I needed to know the whole story. At some points I was confused and angry but mostly I was just plain curious.

The story is told from Mari, her husband and her daughter's perspective. This is a style that I have always liked because I feel you get a better understanding of all of the characters this way. The reader learns that Mari had a pretty traumatic past as a little girl where she was basically left to care for herself in any way she could. She lived in poverty, hiding from "Them" and scrounged for food along with the animals of the house. Years later she is a healthy, somewhat stable mother and wife, living the American dream.

It is through flashbacks and circumstances that things come to light when the family moves to her childhood home for the summer. It is also at this point where things start to get a little strange. Is someone trying to hurt them? Who is the Forest Prince that Mari starts to remember? What the heck is happening?

Without giving anything more away I do feel the need to mention some of the players in the book. I absolutely hated Mari's husband. He was cold and selfish and his motives were less than stellar. I really wish that there had been more consequences to his actions. As far as the "Forest Prince" part of the story went, I can't quite put it in words. At first I was intrigued and wanted to know who he was but as events played out I found that whole part of it odd and creepy. I'm still unsure if I like the way it played out.

In the end, it was a truly unique and entertaining story. Even though some parts left me unable to decipher how I felt, it was what made it a good story. Any time a story leaves me feeling something one way or another I feel it has done its job. I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it.




About the Author

Megan Hart has written in almost every genre of romantic fiction, including historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, futuristic, fantasy and perhaps most notably, erotic. She also writes non-erotic fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing to occasionally dabble in horror.

Connect with Megan

 

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