I love books set in Alaska. I visited in college and fell in love with the ruggedness and the beauty of the land. There is something about books set in Alaska that appeals to me. The Beautiful and the Wild was just such a book. Both the setting and the story itself are a bit dark and bleak. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering if Liv would escape. Townsend did a great job with the pacing and giving the characters the depth they need to keep the reader connected through to the end.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The dangers of Alaska aren’t limited to storms, starvation, and grizzly bears. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is the person you love.
It’s summer in Alaska and the light surrounding the shipping-container-turned-storage shed where Liv Russo is being held prisoner is fuzzy and gray. Around her is thick forest and jagged mountains. In front of her, across a clearing, is a low-slung cabin with a single window that spills a wash of yellow light onto bare ground. Illuminated in that light is the father of her child, a man she once loved. A man who is now her jailor. Liv vows to do anything to escape.
Carrying her own secrets and a fierce need to protect her young son, Liv must navigate a new world where extreme weather, starvation, and dangerous wildlife are not the only threats she faces. With winter’s arrival imminent, she knows she must reckon with her past and the choices that brought her to the unforgiving Alaskan landscape if she is ever going to make it out alive.
A story of survival in the wilds of Alaska, The Beautiful and the Wild explores the question of whether we can ever truly know the person we love—or ourselves.
