This book was smart, heartfelt, and beautifully written. I absolutely loved the queer rep in a historical setting, and this one (Norway in the early 1900s) was truly unique, and very unlike a lot of the YA that's out there right now.

What stood out to me the most was the strong friendships and deeply layered interactions. The story starts with Asta and her close friend Gunnar, then expands to their mutual friend Erland, and it just keeps branching out in this intricate web to include more family, friends, and inhabitants of the town, getting more and more engrossing as it goes. I especially loved all the culture and well-researched historical details.

I also felt like the mental illness portrayal was handled very well, in that it was never sugar coated but was presented in a sensitive way, and also in a way that felt appropriate to that time period. All in all, this book tackles a lot of really essential topics for teens, without ever getting preachy or pedantic, and with so much heart at all times. I highly recommend that you check it out!

The Reckless Kind is a historical novel set in a Norway in 1904 and focuses on the lives of three friends; Asta Hedstrom, Gunnar Fuglestad and Erlend Fournier. Asta and Gunnar have known each other since childhood, and they become associated with Erlend through the theatre his father owns. Each of them comes from completely different backgrounds. Gunnar is the son of the local female farrier (horse specialist) and their family has won the village’s annual horse race for the last few years, much to the anger of their neighbours. It isn’t just jealously that fuels this anger; the Fuglestad family are “heathens” (pagans), they do not believe in God or follow the Christian religion. The annual horse race is a celebration of the local Christian saint, and the fact that a heathen family continues to win the race, thus saving the price pig/s from slaughter, infuriates many upstanding men in the village.

In comparison, Erlend comes from an entirely different life; his family are wealthy foreigners and his parents let their son use their theatre to hold plays with his friends in hopes that he’ll grow out of his silliness and settle down eventually. The truth is that Erlend has no interest in settling down, especially not with a woman. He struggles with anxiety, throwing stomach pills down his throat to try to stop the churning he constantly fills. All the while, he puts on a facade that he knows what he’s doing, yet Erlend has never had to do anything for himself or anyone else.

Asta was born Deaf in one ear, heterochromia (different coloured eyes), a white stripe in the front of her hair and with a facial deformity. As Heath points out in her notes at the end of the novel, these are all signs of a condition of Waardenburg Syndrome, however, this syndrome would not be formerly named for another fifty years.

The character of Asta is complete fiction, but the idea for her came from a description of a child that Heath happened upon during her research. What Heath instantly recognised as Waardenburg Syndrome was not how people in a small village in Norway in 1904 would react. She is openly shunned and mocked by her community, kept hidden away by her parents until her two elder sisters had secured husbands. Even to her own family, she was considered an inconvenience, a mistake, and she is made to believe that she must accept Nils’ proposal because no one else will ever accept her.

Friendship is not the only tie that binds these three friends, each one of them is an outcast and that draws them together. When events force them to choose between each other or the people who have never and will never understand them, they choose each other. But standing apart from the wider community isn’t easy, especially for three young people who are disabled, gay (Erlend and Gunnar) and asexual (Asta) and there are more trials and tribulations awaiting them.

(I want to add that while I’m using modern terms in my review, Heath does a fantastic job of remaining within a historical context and refraining from using modern language and concepts.)

While there’s no actual magic in The Reckless Kind, this is a novel that makes it’s own magic. It’s a beautiful story of resilience, identity and belonging, of finding your truth and following your own path. It’s not always easy to do it, and along the way you’re going to stumble and fall (a lot) but in the end you’ll end up where you want to be and with whom you want to be with. The Reckless Kind is a reminder to all of us that our people, the ones who love and care about us for who we are, not what we look like, who we love or what we believe, will always stand by us, and they will walk that path with us.

As I said, I don’t read outside my preferred genres very often, and if you’re the same The Reckless Kind is one book I suggest making an exception for

This was an amazing book with all the reps under the sun from disabled to LGBT. I think readers that are looking for something new and fresh will want to pick up this debut story. The dual POV worked well overall but the writing and story did take a few to get into it. But once I got the hand of it I fell in love.

The Reckless Kind was one of those books that I knew would be delightful before I even picked it up. I worked with Carly on a post about diverse characters in historical fiction and she is so thoughtful that I was positive that she handled these characters with care and I was so right. There is so much heart and soul poured into these characters that everything about them feels like a warm hug. If you are looking for a cozy book for this winer, look no further than The Reckless Kind.

In Norway in 1901, all Asta wants is to be with her best friends, Gunnar and his secret boyfriend Erland, and be herself at the village theater. But it seems like the only future that is planned for her is a domestic life married to Nils, her odious betrothed. When Nils jealously lashes out at Gunnar and gravely injures him, Asta shuns marriage forever and moves in with Gunnar and Erland. Together this found family must figure out a way to survive on their own in the quaint and loving life they've built for themselves.

Carly Heath creates a wonderfully cozy world in The Reckless Kind. The love that all three of these characters have for each other is so deep and genuine, they make such a wonderful found family. You can tell that there is so much heart and love that was put into each of character and it shines so brightly in their relationships with each other. This entire book felt like a warm literary hug. I love the way that Asta, Erland, and Gunnar find a home in each other and are working toward building a life together. It's simple and it is beautiful in its simplicity. It's a wonderful winter read for curling up by the fire with a cup of tea.

This book was an awesome story about friendship, particularly queer friendship, which was unique and refreshing, especially for historical fiction. I loved these misfits and the adventure they go on together--seeing them leave their parents behind for the found family they built and setting out on their own path was beautiful.
Heath's writing style is attention-grabbing and exciting and I would like to read something from her again.

I received an advanced copy of The Reckless Kind so I could share my review with you!

In a small town in Norway, three teens fight against the expectations of the world. Asta Hedstrom has long been counted out of the pool of marriageable young ladies, due to her hearing impediment. Her whole life changes after Nils, an odious young man, asks for her hand in marriage. Suddenly, Asta is expected to give up all the freedoms she’s embraced to become someone she is not. Meanwhile, Asta’s closest companions, Gunnar Fuglestad and Erlend Fournier, have found an ill-advised romance together, which could have damning repercussions for the pair. Together, Asta, Gunnar, and Erlend must push back against a world determined to tell them who they should become.

You can get your copy of The Reckless Kind now from Soho Teen!

Though the story gets off to a rather slow start, I enjoyed the time and energy spent on establishing character and circumstances from the very beginning. This allowed the later parts of the book to move more quickly, without risking leaving readers behind.

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy queer historical fiction, you should definitely pick up a copy of The Reckless Kind! This book would be an especially good pick for fans of The Shadow War or The City Beautiful.

I didn't know much about this book going into it but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased! It's 1904 in Norway and centers around Asta, Erland, and Gunnar--three very atypical young adults who all have "issues." And yet, each of them has qualities to admire and as their relationships deepen, we see the inherent humanity in each of them. The storyline is bittersweet and charming as the trio attempt to save the farm for Gunnar's family. And a wild and crazy horse race ensues. But that's just the plot; the real story is behind the characters' relationships--between Gunner and Erland and Asta's shunning of a beau. Regardless, it's a lovely, heartfelt novel that explores concepts that are relevant no matter what the time period is. Get caught up in this historical, genre-bending, LB,G,T,Q storyline as it will keep you enthralled!

Book Review

Title: The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath

Genre: Young Adult, Historical, LGBT, Romance

Rating: 3.25 Stars

So before I get into my review I have to say that The Reckless Kind was very polarizing for me, personally there were aspects that I absolutely adored about the book and some I hated with a passion but overall I did still like the book despite the issues I had with it. The basic premise of The Reckless Kind is we are following three outcasts in 1904, one ace and two are gay (some great representation throughout the novel in regards to sexuality). As we follow Asta, Erlend and Gunnar through their journeys of the self we get to know them on a very deeply personal level and witness their wants and desires for life and how they make steps to achieve this when the entire society is set against them which was a concept that has been done many times but it had an added element to it. For some of the characters it is something simple like not wanting to eat meat because of their love for animals or not wanting to get married and have children which in 1904 was a radical concept which is commonplace in our modern era.

I absolutely adored the many different kinds of representation in this novel from queer rep to disability rep however I did find it odd that there wasn’t a single person of colour within the novel when Heath managed to touch on so many other levels of diversity. One thing Heath does really well is the found family as that is what Asta, Erlend and Gunnar are to each other and it really explores the different types of love between them and how they each forge their own individual identities. For Asta it is dying her hair and developing an almost dual personality and Erlend love for Gunnar was so heart-warming to read about that it brought me to tears more than once during my reading. Heath also manages to bring in elements of Norwegian culture like rosemaling or Norwegian flower art that I would have loved to have seen more of as I was so intrigued by these cultural elements. That being said there were a few issues I had with the book.

The first issue I had was in the way the book was written with the dual perspective. It took me a long time to get into it and more than once I had to re-read several sections of the novel as I got entirely lost as to who we were following as the narrations are very similar and weren’t very distinct for me as a reader. Heath’s writing style is also very flowery and poetic bringing back memories of reading Austin or Bronte that I’d could have done without as I don’t read classics for that exact reason although it might suit the tastes of others it just really wasn’t for me. The other issue I had was there were some major red flags in characters I otherwise really liked and it bothered me a lot and I doubted my rating of this book because of it. The first red flag for me was after kissing once, Erland strongly pursues Gunnar even though he is clearly uncomfortable with the situation and for someone as self-aware as Erland this felt forced and a little uncomfortable to read. The second was to do with the power dynamics between the characters, as Gunnar is rich and often pays for a lot of things he gets away with a lot because the other characters refuse to call him out on it as he is the one funding them which wasn’t something that sat well with me at all and it would give the wrong message out to younger readers.

Overall, for me while I loved the setting and the characters, The Reckless Kind was very low in terms of plot which can be the case with character driven novels but they need to have outstanding characters to carry the book which The Reckless Kind didn’t for me. The pacing also seemed extremely slow at time and it focused on elements of the relationships that weren’t good for me. Despite this I did struggle with my rating as part of me wanted to rate it so much higher purely because of the lyrical description of the world which sprang to life within my mind but I had to put that aside and focus on the core of the book. Overall, The Reckless Kind was by no means a bad book it just wasn’t really to my personal tastes.

Asta didn’t expect to ever be married. The boys in town only ever teased her for the way she looked and the way she walked. She was happy with the idea of being single for a long time and staying with her best friends Erland and Gunnar for years into the future. Nevertheless, she was betrothed to a man named Nils. She doesn’t care for him at all, which he can tell. In a moment of jealous rage, Nils lashes out at Gunnar who he thinks is the object of Asta’s affections. Nils gravely injures an already injured Gunnar, who had no romantic interest in Asta at all. He was completely preoccupied with his feelings for his friend Erland and only looked at Asta as his best friend, nothing more. Asta, Erland, and Gunnar leave their families in the village behind to live in a cabin together just outside of the borders and to try to start a life for themselves, happily, without the weight of close-minded people on their shoulders.

I came into this book expecting so much more. I wanted a sweet LGBT teen historical romance love story. I really wanted that. Unfortunately, I received a story that felt rather insta-love and felt like it was based more on lust than romance. Erland and Gunnar definitely had chemistry from day 1, but I never really saw how happy they were to be around one another outside of sleeping with each other. It always seemed like Gunnar and Erland were having disagreements about something or another. Between Gunnar’s severe depression and Erland’s severe anxiety, neither of which was being handled well by the characters, they seemed to be almost completely incompatible. I feel like by the end I was okay with their relationship, but it wasn’t a smooth read.

I also expected Asta to be at the center of the story as the main character. Nevertheless, the book focuses more on Erland and Gunnar’s problems rather than her finding herself after moving out. I was hoping for more from her, but she spends most of the book trying to save Gunnar’s family farm and trying to help his little brother. It felt like she was a side character in the story. A lot of the book was told from her point of view, but it was about how she was interacting with the other characters without a lot of personal growth for herself.

The race was an interesting goal to meet, but the book was definitely trying to do too much along the way. The characters were always getting harshly injured and were often in some amount of physical or mental pain. By the time I got to the race, I was so tired that I wasn’t even able to be properly excited anymore. If the book had focused on Gunnar’s healing without any more injuries past that, I feel like I would have been able to enjoy the story more. If the book had focused more on the goal of winning the race and allowed the characters to put their effort into that cause, I think I would have enjoyed the story more. If the book had focused on trying to forge a relationship between two very troubled characters (Gunnar and Erland) without the race & additional injuries and drama added in, I think I might have enjoyed the story more. By trying to do all three, I feel like it was a little bit much.

Overall, I currently would not recommend the book to those looking for a YA historical fiction/romance story. I see that it has many high reviews, so if you are looking for reasons to read this book, there are plenty! Don’t let me stop you! I just personally did not enjoy my time with this story.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 books.

This was so well written. I was engrossed from the first page and it ticked all the boxes of my expectations. I would definitely recommend to others.

I had the opportunity to read this book for a TBR and Beyond Blog Tour, and I was then able to interview Carly and create an aesthetic board based on the book. This is a wonderful book and I hope everyone enjoys it!

5/5 - I could read this over and over.

It’s not common to find a historical fiction story that deals with queerness and disability without painting those things as bad or wrong.

This story handles queerness (including asexuality), queerplatonic relationships, disability, mental illness, and addiction without using the shame, homophobic slurs, and ableist language that are so often utilized to prop up a historically based story.

The relationships among the MC’s are just so wonderfully tender and Asta was such a delight to read.

I’m so glad this story exists and I’ll definitely be buying a copy for my physical collection.

Thank you to Soho Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An excellent YA historical fiction Read, set in Norway 1904. Three teens struggle the constraints that society has placed on them. Bold and daring they seek to forage their on path in a era and place that frowns on anyone who steps outside of strict conformity. Eighteen year old Asta Hedstrom should be happy with her lot in life, having been born with the genetic disease, Waardenburg syndrome.

She is pledged to marry Nils, who is her extremely unpleasant betrothed. He is willing to overlook her shortcomings, but she can’t seem to conform to this marriage or any marriage at that. After Nils does an unforgivable act against her beloved friend Gunner. Asta swears off the arrangement with Nils and moves in with her outcasted best friend.

Erlend is forbidden to love and throws caution to the wind to be with the one that calls to his very soul Gunnar. They from a formidable bond of friendship, making this triad one to cheer for.

This debt was phenomenal, with smooth and effortless narration the author catapults you into an immersive world. Heartfelt characterization and spot on authentic language made this book one of my all time favorite books. A tale of forbidden love and a wonderful found family, that I couldn’t get enough of.

An added bonus for the reader is that this lovely book offers Norwegian Rosemaling Style art at the opening page of each chapter.

Carly Heath is one author to watch out for !

Soho Teen,
Thank you ever so much for this eARC!

The Reckless Kind is one of the realist genre defying debuts I've ever had the pleasure of reading!
A queer historical fiction YA novel. That is beautifully written book that I can't really put into words. Other than just read this.
Asta, Gunner and Erlend are our main characters and they are seriously very well developed. The friendship that is developed is exquisite in every way possible.
The challenges they face and overcome is amazing.
I couldn't put this away, the writing is brilliant and beautiful but yet simple.
Loved everything about The Reckless Kind Carly Heath is now a favorite YA writer of mine and I can't wait for of this!
One of the best books I've read in 2021!
Thank You!

The representation in this book was great, especially knowing that the author pulled from their own experiences to make it accurate. I wasn't as hooked into the story as I hoped to be, but a unique setting and lots of inclusivity makes this a worthy debut and I'll definitely check out Heath's next book.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅:
- The cast of characters... one disabled, two gay. The friendship group was so strong and I literally don't have a bad thing to say about the characters at all. I was sad to leave them behind when I finished the book.
- The setting... rural Scandinavia in the 20th century. I have never read a book with this setting before and thoroughly enjoyed the history and the world-building!
- The writing... it was easy to read and follow and the pacing was really good. I felt like everything was really well-developed and I grew very attached to everyone in this book!
- The representation... I really don't think I have ever read a book before that had such a wide range of characters from different backgrounds. I loved it!

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆:
- The plot... I know this probably sounds weird considering I liked the book so much but the plot wasn't really that great. In my eyes it was the characters who made the story with this one.
- The romance... I think this could have been done a bit better and drawn out a bit more. It felt a tad rushed.

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍:
This book has so much heart with characters you are guaranteed to fall in love with.

While this book has its limitations, it does so very many things well. Representing disabled conditions, asexuality and homosexuality at the turn of the 20th century is undoubtedly a Herculean task, but the novel does an amazing job of it. The relationship between Erlend and Gunnar in particular is beautifully rendered.

The story felt a bit shallow in the first half, but did flesh out quite a bit as it went on. I think it could have been 50-100 pages longer to develop the exposition and character dynamics.

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and Netgalley for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

This has been a fantastic read with even greater representation. In “The Reckless Kind” you get a disabled main character, an ace one and two gay people, one half deaf main character and the list continues. Like many have said already before me, this story was quite unique and important.

Whilst I had my troubles keeping up during some parts because I just couldn’t follow with the P.O.V. changes between Asta and Erlend I loved the writing of Heath so much. I have to admit that I kind of fell in love with the writing style because it felt so “vintage”. Something I don’t usually come across to as I’m more accustomed to the “modern” kind of writing style, even in historical fiction novels.

During the middle part, I started to really enjoy the novel, and I’ve gotten fully immersed into it. Which makes me glad that I stuck with the book until the very end because the pacing was definitely not one I enjoy as it was slow. A bit too slow for my tastes. Nevertheless, “The Reckless Kind” is a well executed and unique read with an amazing setting. And I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading this book at least as much as I did.

Thank you to Soho Press for sending me an advanced copy of The Reckless Kind in exchange for an honest review.

I feel conflicted on this review. I read The Reckless Kind to take part in a tour during its release week. When you first begin reading, everything is atmospheric, dramatic, and there are so many twists and turns. However, the entire middle section of this book is pretty repetitive and the resolution happened way too quickly for my taste.

I had such high hopes for this novel, and I thought every bit of hype in my mind was accurate during the beginning third of this novel. I had so much fun reading about the theatre shenanigans and seeing our main trio trying to navigate life in Muskox Hollow. The character introductions were really well done, along with the way that we were told about all the established friendships and their backstories.

Once the plot began, I was only enjoying it even more. Asta’s internal and external conflict paired with Erlend and Gunnar’s physical trauma made a really tense mood and had me turning page after page. I started connecting with the characters more, I formed opinions on events happening, and the emotions really started popping off. So overall, the first section of The Reckless Kind was a delight to read.

I do have to say that there were some weak points here. After our trio ran away, everything slowed down, which usually wouldn’t be an issue, however the slow pace was accompanied by a lack of a moving plot. I felt like the focus went back and forth between two issues, and outside of these two problems, not much else was going on. I found myself zoning out more and losing focus so much quicker. This was especially sad because I had been enjoying everything else so far.

As far as the conclusion goes, things got fixed too fast in my opinion. One character specifically seemed to have a much too sudden change of heart that felt out of place to me. It was odd, things had been moving at a snail’s pace, so I was extra confused after I got used to not much happening. All I can say is that I wish some of the middle section had been used to give a more gradual build up to the ending.

I think the entertainment levels were still high when I was reading. I’m still so thankful I was part of this tour and I’m glad I was able to read The Reckless Kind early. Not everything was to my specific liking, which is no one’s fault, but there were little things that could’ve made me enjoy it more. If you were interested in reading this, I would say to give it a chance!

It’s a small town in Norway with customs and expectations; expected gender roles, expected relationships, expected occupations. What one wants and who one loves has nothing to do with it. But this trio, who are the main characters in Carly Heath’s The Reckless Kind, defy all those expectations and are determined to live their lives on their own terms.
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These three stood out before they shunned tradition. Asta looked a little different and was deaf in one ear. Erlend was very tall and only really interested in his theatre, and Gunner’s family never went to church, even before Gunner lost his arm. The three bonded and lived for the plays they put on at the theatre, but all that is coming to an end if Asta goes through with her arranged marriage, Gunner can’t act any more, and rumors persist about what all goes on at the theatre between Erlend and Gunner.
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Because of their determination, they all move to a secluded cabin out of town and work together to win the town’s big horse race in order to safely secure their new way of life.
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I really liked these three and felt so bad that they were outcast from their community because they were different. I cheered for them and against the town that shunned them. I will take an underdog any day, especially if there is no real reason for them to be underdogs!
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