Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out to inform her that his days are numbered, Calla knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.
She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.
Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago.
It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.
I borrowed this book from the library and read it all in one day, as I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. Not sure if it was the fact it's set in Toronto for part of the story so I could relate to that, or I have this secret yearning to live in Alaska.........which let me reassure you will never happen. Or just because the characters were so believable and likable and the story so well written, but I absolutely loved this book.
The whole dynamics between Calla and Jonah were so realistic that you felt as though you were in the same room as them. This book made me cry, gave me butterflies in my tummy and made me wade through a whole slew of emotions.
Stars out of 5 : 5 Wish I could give it more as it so deserves it. This is the first book I have read from this author but it won't be the last, as I love her style of writing. Well worth purchasing or borrowing from the library.
