Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - A History of Wild Places: A Novel

oooooookay. where do I start.
this is really badly written—not just the plot construction (which wasn't good, either) but the writing itself. I call it "fanfic voice" and I legitimately have not read something written this way since middle school. first person present tense. short, abrupt sentence fragments. italicizing the narrator's thoughts. multiple narrators with identical voices. I'm sorry, it was truly so bad. also, there were multiple typos and grammar/punctuation issues in my library ebook copy, which... come on. that's embarrassing.
the other big issue: using blindness as a plot device, ESPECIALLY

curing the character of their blindness as part of said plot device

is really shitty, and even if this author doesn't feel embarrassed about her writing, I hope she feels ashamed of that narrative decision.

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jademrosas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A History of Wild Things is atmospheric, mysterious and engaging. I really enjoyed the book overall because I believe Ernshaw was able to take the reader into the minds of the characters but also into Pastoral. I will say that, for me, the downside was how predictable it was. The reveals weren’t entirely revealing since I was able to see them pretty early on in the book and I did feel like the ending was slightly rushed. However, despite it being predictable, I still felt the story and writing was compelling enough to keep reading.

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paronomaniac's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. Based on the description, I thought it would be about exposing the secrets of a cult and people trying to escape and, at a superficial level, there is some of that. But there are themes and ideas running much deeper through the book: ideas around self-discovery, the family we choose compared to the family we are born into, the power of memories, the power of fear, who we love and why. Shea Earnshaw writes beautifully descriptive passages about both the characters and the settings and really grounds the reader in the world that is Pastoral. Early in the book, a character looks up the definition of "pastoral" and, throughout the book, Earnshaw plays with those different definitions as she builds the world and the characters.

So many thrillers rely on characters keeping secrets and this book is no different, but secrets are revealed at a good rate, which I appreciate. Yes, there are big reveals at the end but there are smaller secrets shared among the characters throughout the book, which helps to build the tension and create a fuller story.

It's also no mistake that the cover of the book shows a Rorschach inkblot. Like the different characters, different readers will have varying opinions on the story and the setting. I can't stop thinking about it.

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tamara_joy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

As the back cover says, "a riveting, atmospheric thriller" is right.

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