It is entirely the fault of the fine ladies at Smart Bitches Trashy Books that I picked up an ebook copy of Patricia Gaffney's Wild at Heart, which showed up on Smart Bitch Candy's list of books with Schlocky Premises But Good Executions. And let's face it, folks, "boy raised by wolves" is a pretty schlocky premise to start with. But yeah, Smart Bitch Candy is right. Gaffney pulled off a surprisingly charming little novel here.It's 1893, and Sydney Darrow, after the death of her young husband, has come back to her family home in Michigan to find that her absent-minded anthropologist father is involved with an astonishing discovery: the so-called "Ontario Man", a young man who's been found in the Canadian wilderness, apparently raised by wolves. Her father and his assistant Charles are caught up in researching whether a man in a feral state can exhibit true altruism, but Sydney is appalled that they've given him a churl of a guard to keep watch on him and that they've given him only the rudiments of interaction with his own kind. With her little brother's help, Sydney soon discovers that "Ontario Man" can actually talk--he just needs to be reminded of it--and she coaxes him into revealing that his name is Michael MacNeil.Once Michael starts talking, the story gets its feet under it. We learn he was lost as a boy, late enough in his childhood that he'd not only learned how to talk and read, he'd even clung to a treasured book on gentleman's etiquette that his father had given him. All of which is Oh So Convenient for explaining why he's not really feral, but it does actually work, and it also sets Michael up for having some very unsophisticated, innocent sensibilities--which is a bit of a switch for romance novels. There's quite a bit of sweet mileage with Sydney's younger brother, who is himself a boy, introducing Michael to the city and teaching him things more easily than the adults, since Michael's forgotten many things that only a child would think to have to explain. His chemistry with Sydney is equally straightforward and refreshingly innocent, and that went a long way to my enjoyment of the plot. (I was particularly amused by one scene where he laments, "Why do you have so many clothes on? Can't you take some off?")Things come to a head when the family makes the mistake of trying to introduce Michael to a zoo, and he flips right out, deciding to singlehandedly release every animal he can get to in one night and thereby causing an uproar in the city. Sydney has to juggle resolving that uproar with tracking down Michael's long-lost family, and there's quite a bit of nice tension around that. There is of course a happy ending; this is after all a romance novel. But all in all the trip getting there was quite satisfying. Four stars.
I was hoping for more "wild man" than we got here, since I am always on the lookout for Tarzan/Jungle Book/Raised by Wolves/Unused to Society types of stories.The first part of Wild at Heart sort of touched on Michael's transition from the wild, but it was less about Michael and more about how everyone else reacted to him. I would have liked to delved further into Michael's head for this (very brief) amount of time when he was not quite yet civilized. But then, it was over way too soon and the story moved on to other adventures. Time spent in a learning environment must have been deemed too tedious for readers or something because instead, the characters were exploring Chicago and checking out Whorehouses. Okayyyy. But the book was named Wild at Heart. I wanted more wild, and less other stuff... ...and then the last part of the book was off and running in yet another direction. I will say that I did warm to the sweetness of Sydney and Michael as a blossoming couple. Their time together tugged at the heartstrings. Innocent men are so darn adorable. As a romance, the story succeeded, and succeeded quite well. As a wild man story, it all sort of floundered and fizzled out. If you do read this, I would suggest going into this book for the sole purpose of reading a darling romance (points for the woman being far more experienced than the man) set near the turn of the century - and not the turn of this century. ;)
Do You like book Wild At Heart (2002)?
This is one of my most comforting of comfort reads. I adore this story of Michael MacNeil and his poignant return to civilization. I love the slow realization that Michael is an intelligent young man who was just lost in the wilderness for years. The growing love between Michael and the young widow Sydney Barrow is tender, funny, touching and all things that are good. I want to cry every time I read about Michael's loneliness. This book is easily one of my top 10 of all time reading. I wish they had 6 or higher stars 'cause that's what I would give this one.
—Kristiej
*1.5 stars* I'm going to keep this review short because this book was a complete let down. This book was actually REALLY boring. You would think that a story about a man found in the woods who tried to fit back into society would be super interesting but it was not. The only exciting thing was when his family showed up but I had to read over 250 pages of nonsense before I got to that point. My main problem with the book was Sydney's character. Wow, she had no redeeming qualities whatsoever ("Oh
—Jenny
I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. I stayed up way too late reading it and was tired at work today, but it was worth it. The premise is pretty out there but it was executed and written really well and you just go with it.Michael is one of my favorite romantic heroes now. He was lost in the Canadian wilderness as a child and raised at first by Indians for a year and he lived among wolves. All this happens before the book starts.He is found in his 20's and taken for some sociological experiments outside of Chicago. These are stopped soon enough when it's discovered that he was socialized as a child and can talk, he just hadn't in so long it was hard for him at first.He meets Sydney, an anthologist's daughter and he falls in love for the first time. He has to adjust to living in society and learn all the rules we take for granted. Lying and sarcasm are especially hard for him at first. It would be really easy in his innocence for him to seem child-like or weak but that isn't the case at all. He's actually very intelligent. I loved it!
—Linds
