”Everyone gave me away. No one kept me.”
Her heart stuttered, squeezed. “I’ll keep you,” she whispered.” ❤️
“Well, I . . . hope you find it. The thing that fills your soul."
“You . . . you fill my soul.”
The Story:
“You will die. Or you will survive. But that is up to you. It will all depend on your will to live.”
That’s what Jak was told when he was inhumanely left alone in the woods as a child. After a decade alone, Jak has learned to survive using his instincts.
Harper lost her parents when she was a child and has been raised in foster homes. She is a wilderness guide who is helping a detective navigate the area where a murder was committed.
Initially, Jack is a suspect in the murder. But once they begin to see how he has lived, his heartbreaking life story comes to light. There is an instant pull between Harper and Jak and they have more in common than they know.
“I’m lost, and I think you are too. And I’m not sure what can be done about my own situation, but I hope you’ll let me help you with yours.”
“She felt seen by him in a way she hadn’t been seen by anyone in a long time, even if he didn’t always understand her words.”
Characters
Jak (early 20's):
The following words/phrases were used to describe Jak: stoic, angry, bitter, caveman, wild man, curious, intelligent, innocent, quiet, watchful, observant, lonely, lost, reserved, resilient, silent, safe, caring, perceptive
Something to know about Jak:
- Intentionally left in the woods when he was around 8 to see if he could survive. A decade later, he’s still surviving in the woods alone.
A quote about Jak:
“he brought up questions that were both sophisticated—considering how he’d lived—and extremely insightful. He was a complete dichotomy—wild and sensitive, uneducated and astute.”
Harper (early 20's, local wilderness guide):
The following words/phrases were used to describe Harper: inquisitive, lonely, stuck, empty, lost, alone, caring, beautiful
Something to know about Harper:
- She lost her parents in a car accident when she was 7 years old and was raised in various foster homes
Some quotes about heroine:
“The hunt for her parents’ wreckage had kept her from moving forward. All these years, it’d kept her trapped in a way—emotionally immobile.”
“she couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t suffered loneliness, the sense that she was adrift, always trying desperately to catch hold of something—anything—that would anchor her.”
“In her heart of hearts, she still felt like the little girl no one wanted.”
“at some point, she had to find her own value and believe in it.”
My Thoughts:
The following are my thoughts about this book:
- The prologue certainly got my attention.
- Jak captured my heart. ❤️ Incomprehensible what he endured and lived through. Awww Pup 😥😥
- Both characters were sad and lonely and they dealt with feelings of abandonment. It was a gut-wrenching story to read and the majority of the book was a bit sad and depressing and my heart hurt reading about their journey.
- The writing was so good and made me feel like I was experiencing and living through the harshness Jak faced. Maybe that’s why my heart hurt so much, because I felt it....I didn’t just read it. And honestly, I’m not sure I wanted to feel all that pain.
- The main characters (H/h/detective) all suffered the loss of a loved one. No one seemed to escape that common ground and it was another layer of heaviness.
- I felt like there were a couple holes. Why did a certain someone kill Driscoll but then leave Jak alone in the woods still?
- I guessed who put him in the woods and why at 20%, so I wasn’t surprised by the reveal.
- The twist at 90% blew my mind 🤯🤯
- The story was very engaging. I didn’t get bored.
- Slow burn. Anything else would not have worked well for the story.
- I closed the book feeling happy for the couple, but still sad for all they went through and all those who were still suffering.
Overall:
- POV: multiple POV’s
- H likable? Yes
- h likable? Yes
- h virgin? Hero is a virgin
- First time they kiss: 56%
- First time they sleep together: 73%
- steamy? some parts
- OW/OM drama? no
- H/h cheat? no
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? nothing that tears the couple apart
- Did I cry? it was emotional and my eyes got a little watery in places
- Did I laugh? no
- Cliffhanger? no
- HEA? yes
- Epilogue? 6-9 months later
- Recommend? yes
Quotes
“she couldn’t understand how no one in her community, people who had known and cared about her parents, had been willing to keep her.”
“He had both internal and external scars to contend with, and she did too. But they would both adjust, both overcome, both thrive.”
“Sometimes miracles—like love—arrived gently. Softly. Without fanfare. Without a lightning strike. For true miracles needed no such thing.”
"Well . . . I guess it sounds sort of fantastical, but do you think that if people meet here on earth, the people they’ve loved and lost meet too, because they’re watching over their loved ones?"
“You make me see beauty where I didn’t see it before, Jak,” she said, turning her face and closing her eyes as she kissed his palm. “You make everything new. Even me.”