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.
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.
After reading – and loving – The Simple Wild in 2018, I was so excited when Tucker announced the continuation of Calla and Jonah’s story in Wild at Heart. And I thoroughly enjoyed this look at what happens beyond the fade-to-black happily ever after.
When Calla returned to Alaska she was thrilled to be reunited with Jonah but that was quickly tempered by the realities of life in her newly adopted home. Calla was completely out of her element and began to feel resentful when she felt she was the one doing all the compromising. At times I was frustrated with her and wanted to tell her to stop acting like such a spoiled princess. While I could understand the culture shock she was experiencing, it took her a long time to engage in her new life and actually make an effort to expand her horizons. She constantly compared her new small town life to her big city background and found it lacking. Over time, sometimes even despite herself, she did meet new people, form connections, and began to make a place for herself in her new community. I really loved the growth in Calla over the course of the story and it felt like her evolution was the crux of the book.
I sensed the tectonic shift somewhere deep inside – my time in Alaska had changed me in ways I couldn’t pinpoint but also couldn’t ignore. Who I was and who I am now seem like two different people.
The secondary characters went a long way in making the
story come to life. Tucker assembled a cast of characters that were bursting
with personality and I could practically see strong-willed Muriel and the curmudgeonly
Roy. And then there was calm and steady Jonah who was trying so hard to balance
his love of flying and the long hours away from home with Calla’s shaky start
in Alaska and her growing pains as she struggled to find an identity for
herself outside of Jonah’s girlfriend. They hit some rocky patches along the
way but I loved the journey.
