A little while ago I read about ‘The Simple Wild’ on another book blog. They were so enthusiastic about this book, I couldn’t resist and got myself a copy from some GC money I had left. There was something about this book that really made me want to read it, and although I needed to read another ARC, I couldn’t wait any longer and started reading.

In ‘The Simple Wild’ we meet twenty six year old Calla Fletcher. Calla is living with her mom and her stepdad in Toronto. Her life is busy and filled with friends and family. But there is one thing she misses: her father. When Calla was two years, her mom left with Calla from Alaska to Toronto. Her mom simple couldn’t handle life in the Alaskan wild. She left Calla’s dad Wren behind and Calla has never seen him again. When she receives a phone call telling her, her dad is sick, she decides to go back to Alaska and the life she left more than two decades ago. Life is very different in Alaska. Calla has to get used to a lot of new things. And she doesn’t only have to get used to trying to get to know her own dad, but there is also another pilot called Jonah who seems to hate her from the start. But there is something about Jonah that makes Calla feels things, she really shouldn’t.

Wow. I just.. I mean wow! ‘The Simple Wild’ was such a great read! I loved it so much. From the moment I started reading, till the very moment I finished it at 1.00 a.m. in the morning. I simple couldn’t get enough of this read. ‘The Simple Wild’ was such an emotional read, that really made me feel all kinds of things. It was romantic, really funny, thrilling, touching and also sad. I definitely cried my eyes out in the end.

I haven’t talked or seen my own dad in more than fifteen years, so this story spoke to me in a lot of ways. And it made me sad, but it also really made me feel like I was a part of this story. And although my story is very different than Calla’s story, I felt like I could really connect with her, and I understood her pain for the most part. I could easily forget I was sitting in my own living room, and I was in Alaska with Calla.

Calla’s character was definitely fun. In the beginning she seemed a little shallow. Still living at home at twenty six, used to wearing a lot of make-up, got a boyfriend she isn’t really in love with and life just seems to go smoothly for her. But when Calla arrives in Alaska, where things as Starbucks and one day delivery services are unknown, she really has to take some time to get used to these new things.

Jonah’s character is just very mysterious and I totally loved him from the start. The interactions between him and Calla are really funny and I definitely liked these two. Reading about Calla and Jonah definitely gave me the butterflies, and even now.. 24 hours after finishing the book I still think about them a lot. I loved them so much.

‘The Simple Wild’ was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2020 so far. It was so good and touching and just perfect. I wouldn’t have changed one thing about it. And now I know there is a book two I can’t wait to dive into that one too.