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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lovers of Outlander should read this book. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
This inspires me to read Last of the Mohicans.
This inspires me to read Last of the Mohicans.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed reading Into the Wilderness quite a bit. The characters seemed realistic and struggled with issues that I think are timeless. I really liked that Elizabeth and Nathaniel butted heads from the get-go. I also appreciated that Elizabeth stuck to her gut but was also willing to concede when she was wrong. Nathaniel was a strong, complex character. I also liked that we knew who the 'bad guys' were from the very beginning of the books but finding out their methods and motivations over the course of the book.
I really only had two real problems with the book. First, I think it went on for too long. Don't get me wrong, I don't think any of the writing was extraneous, I just think that the book would have been better if it was split into several books instead. Second, for all the meticulous detail and the fact that the author dotted all her Is and crossed all her ts, the fact that she left the very end of the book so open with many unanswered questions brought the story to an awkward and abrupt halt. Again, it would not have felt thus if she had split this book into several books.
I really only had two real problems with the book. First, I think it went on for too long. Don't get me wrong, I don't think any of the writing was extraneous, I just think that the book would have been better if it was split into several books instead. Second, for all the meticulous detail and the fact that the author dotted all her Is and crossed all her ts, the fact that she left the very end of the book so open with many unanswered questions brought the story to an awkward and abrupt halt. Again, it would not have felt thus if she had split this book into several books.
3 1/2 stars
So...stressful week in our country and I was intentionally looking for an epic historical tale to get lost in. This was not epic, but enjoyable enough.
Donati did a fantastic job with her secondary characters...and there are many. And I appreciated the details of Native American life in the late 18th century in upstate New York.
Sadly, much stronger development of the secondary characters than the primary two. This was the real weakness in the book. And Donati made the mistake of placing contemporary ideas in a 18th century British woman. Nope. She also created a male lead that's awfully accommodating to these modern ideas. Just doesn't work. The story lost credibility with those two.
Here's my ongoing rant about graphic sex. Why write it? It just seems lazy. Yeah, a reader can just skip over those scenes as I do, but good storytelling doesn't need it. And I think in this case the author depended too heavily on those scenes instead of fully fleshing out her main characters. No pun intended.
So...stressful week in our country and I was intentionally looking for an epic historical tale to get lost in. This was not epic, but enjoyable enough.
Donati did a fantastic job with her secondary characters...and there are many. And I appreciated the details of Native American life in the late 18th century in upstate New York.
Sadly, much stronger development of the secondary characters than the primary two. This was the real weakness in the book. And Donati made the mistake of placing contemporary ideas in a 18th century British woman. Nope. She also created a male lead that's awfully accommodating to these modern ideas. Just doesn't work. The story lost credibility with those two.
Here's my ongoing rant about graphic sex. Why write it? It just seems lazy. Yeah, a reader can just skip over those scenes as I do, but good storytelling doesn't need it. And I think in this case the author depended too heavily on those scenes instead of fully fleshing out her main characters. No pun intended.
Alright so this whole book has me so indecisive. It should be something I love. It seems to be researched well, it's a historical romance novel, and I find the secondary characters very compelling. There is something I can't quite put my finger on, but the parts that just have Elizabeth or just Elizabeth and Daniel are a bit frustrating at times. (I did listen via audiobook, maybe it wouldn't have been as bad if I could skim the things that annoyed me so much.) I get that Elizabeth is a proper English spinster, well read and into the writings of Wollstonecraft and the like, but I can't stand her for most of the time. I want to like her. I'm saying this because I know it's probably just my own prerogative and not necessarily the writing. (It's always best to go off of a few reviews at least, anyway.)
I'm rating this 3/5 because it is a solid read, but not something I could see myself re-reading.
I'm rating this 3/5 because it is a solid read, but not something I could see myself re-reading.
Everything I loved about Donati's more recent series is here too... I am so glad I realized she wrote the earlier, sweeping series since I can't get enough of her. This novel was long and deep and reminded me a lot of Last of the Mohicans and Christy and so many wonderful things. Can't wait to dig into the next title.
I read Into the Wilderness because I really enjoyed Donati's The Gilded Hour- it had strong female characters, interesting historical notes, an intriguing mystery, and an atmospheric completeness that was fun to live in. I was hoping for the same from Wilderness, but didn't find it. The world of the book is well crafted, but it's first and foremost a romance, which is not my genre of choice. I enjoyed the characters, but the historic inaccuracies (noted in other reviews) were distracting. I may try other books in the series to see if it grows on me, but overall I found The Gilded Hour much more interesting.
I was confused at first because I thought I had read this before. Turns out the confusion was because I've read The Last of the Mohicans. Donati combines fact and fiction with some of the characters from LOTM. (And a little cameo for you Outlander fans). I enjoyed every bit of it, except for perhaps the duck scene.
I was in the mood for some historical fiction...and this popped up in a search as similar to the Outlander series (which, I love). So far, I agree, and am very happy with this book.
I really made a valiant effort to finish this chuck-o-book. I made it almost 400 pages in before I just didn't care a single once what happened to any of the characters. The steamy parts were fun, if not a bit dramatic, and if I had to read one more long description about how beautiful the landscape is I would've screamed. The conflict wasn't too exciting, and there was a huge list of characters to keep track of. Points for the Outlander reference though!