This one was really hard for me to connect with.

I loved the idea of the book but for me, it never really got going and my interest in the story was very hit or miss. I committed to finishing it because I really appreciated Liv's character arc and wanted to see her "win". As you follow Liv's desperate fight for survival, you'll be on the edge of your seat, wondering what secrets her captor is hiding and what the true cost of her freedom will be.

I picked this one up as an ARC because the synopsis gave me similar vibes of "These Silent Woods" but unfortunately, that's about all it had in common.

The book really grabbed me right from the start but the ending really fell flat. It felt like a lot of build-up to nothing. The Alaskan survival aspects but especially the cult-like mindset were very intriguing to me. The ending just felt very rushed and really took away from a decent wilderness culty thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book is about a woman who together with her young son finds her "dead" husband (he had reportedly jumped from a bridge in NYC) living in the middle of nowhere in Alaska with two other women and another son. When she tries to leave he locks her up in a shed without their son. She realizes that in order to leave she will have to fool everyone into believing that she has accepted this new way of living. With a fierce winter approaching, this becomes more urgent but she also discovers that her husband is hiding from drug lords. Chapters were good length, story good to keep you reading/guessing.

Liv travels to Alaska to locate the man she once loved. When she arrives, she realizes he is not letting her leave. To protect herself and her son, she must survive the dangers of an Alaskan winter.

The Beautiful and the Wild is told from Liv’s point of view. She is a strong, yet flawed protagonist. She makes for a character that is easy to root for her.

An intriguing story with an interesting cast of characters. Recommended for fans of mysteries with harsh environments and strong female leads.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story starts off with Liv being locked in a shipping container in an isolated area of Alaska. This is where she finds her husband, Mark, who has another woman, Angela, plus a second woman, Diane, who comes and goes as a fishing/hunting guide. To round the group living in this isolated spot are Xander [Liv & Mark's son] amd Rudy, 10 yer old [also Mark's son]. This is a time of living off the grid. Winter weather arrives and with it an issue with the hens and goats, food supply. Mark is hiding out from drug lotds of Calif. as he lost a load of drus.
All these issues and complications of a mixed group living together brings the story to a climax. Read to learn how Liv survives with her son, Xander.

This book is a deep look into whether or not we truly know the people we love or ourselves. Liv is held captive in Alaska in a storage container. Held hostage by a man she once loved and the father of her son, she must escape and get to safety. Can she save herself and her son?

"The Beautiful and the Wild" by Peggy Townsend is a mesmerizing novel that immerses readers in the lush landscapes of Costa Rica and the complexities of human connection. Townsend's narrative follows protagonist Kate as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting her past and the allure of the untamed wilderness. The novel weaves together themes of love, loss, and environmental activism with lyrical prose and vivid descriptions. Townsend's skillful storytelling creates an immersive experience, capturing both the beauty of the natural world and the intricate layers of the human heart. "The Beautiful and the Wild" is a captivating and thought-provoking literary exploration.

Some Alaskan wilderness thrillers are a hit and some are a miss. It really did not feel like the location was important as the story led you to believe which was weird given Alaska's climate.

Trigger Warning: murder, death, rape, wilderness survival

Following her husband into the Alaskan wilderness after he “died”, Liv Russo ends up in a shipping container-turned-storage shed by her husband and his new lover. She vows to do anything to protect her son and escape. Carrying her own secrets, Liv must navigate the tough(er) world around her with the extreme weather, one bad incident away from starvation, and the dangerous wildlife. With winter’s arrival knocking on the door, Liv knows she must face her past and be sneaky in order to make it out alive.

I originally wanted to read this title because I was trying to step outside my usual reading comfort zone and also I wanted a book set in Alaska. This was… okay. It’s marked as a mystery but I guess maybe I don’t read enough mystery to know the feeling of a mystery (if that makes sense). Definitely felt the thriller aspect of it though, especially when it dealt with the survivalist parts of the story.

This book also went back and forth in time, but would still sometimes be in “Present” when the chapter would be marked as “Then” and that kind of threw me off a little bit.

I have such mixed feelings about this overall though, and I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be able to explain why. I both liked and hated the story and its setup, but I enjoyed the ending and how it was finished. It felt more of a survivalist story, but we still didn’t have a lot of survival stuff. I would have loved to know more about Rudy and what all he knew and understood about what was happening…

Overall though, I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it quite enough. I feel like I will end up recommending this as a survivalist story moreover than a mystery though.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Beautiful and the Wild by Peggy Townsend
Pub date: November 7, 2023

When Liv meets Mark in a bar and goes home with him, she never leaves. They marry, have a child and at first, things seem good. Until Mark’s career as a documentary film maker starts to decline and their child, Xander, has special needs that require financial resources they don’t have. Mark takes odd jobs but he soon starts dealing in the shady and when Liv is told that he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge to his death. Time goes by and Liv finds clues that Mark may be alive. This leads us to the Alaskan wilderness and to Liv’s imprisonment by the very man she loved.

While this is, at its heart, a survival story, it’s so much more. Liv’s faced with dilemmas and danger at every turn. If she wants to escape with her and Xander’s lives intact, she must be cunning, wily and alert.
I enjoyed this different take on love gone wrong and the upward growth of a character that at first, appeared beaten and shattered by everything that life threw at her.

My thanks to @BerkleyPub for this gifted DRC.

I love when I discover a new to me author. Peggy Townsend showed me the dangers of Alaska aren’t limited to storms, starvation, and grizzly bears. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is the person you love in the Beautiful and the Wild.

First sentence: The silence was so thick I felt like I was drowning.

In this psychological thriller, Liv discovers that she is trapped in a huge storage container filled with various supplies and a filthy mattress for her to sleep on. She is able to spy through the many holes of the container and notices other small structures, snow on the ground, and a cabin-style house. She also sees something unbelievable --- her husband, Mark, who she thought was dead, standing in front of the house. And her son is missing.

Set on a remote Alaskan homestead, the Beautiful and the WIld is a thrilling survivalist tale. I imagined the book to be a chase through the cold vast Alaska tundra, but I was wrong in the assumption. This is more of a domestic thriller, both introspective and engrossing. It's the kind of story that leaves you wondering if you really know someone? And can you trust yourself to survive.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing group for a nail biting thriller; one that has you rooting for the protagonist.

Wonderfully descriptive and suspenseful. Was a pleasure to read. Alaska felt like it was it's own character.

Beautiful and the Wild by Peggy Townsend is a standalone thriller. We meet Liv Russo, at the start, when she finds herself being locked up in a storage container, by her supposed dead husband. The story takes place in Alaska, with POV’s in current time and in the past. Liv had thought her husband committed suicide jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge a few years ago. With her financials dwindling, she gets a lead that her husband (Mark) is still alive in Alaska, and takes her young son, Xander to leave California and find him.

Liv eventually finds Mark alive, in a remote cabin, within a wilderness area of forest and mountains; and he has a mistress. Mark at first is happy to see Liv, especially Xander; but when Liv threatens to leave with Xander, and get a divorce; he then locks her up in the storage container. Liv is determined to find a way to escape, though she knows she needs to convince Mark and Angela (mistress) that she will work with them living off the land and free love. Mark wants her to conform to his needs (sexual) and wishes. A bit later on, another woman (Diana, who has another son, Rudy) returns, bringing Mark having three women to fill his needs and do chores. I will say that the first half of the book was a bit slow, and redundant in Liv’s trying to find a way to escape.
Part of the POV in the past, revolves around Liv and the life she lived with her mother and father; as well as her spending time in jail, upon the death of the mother and father. We do see many flashbacks during that time, and the trauma Liv suffered. Mark is also hiding from someone who he owes money too.

What follows is a wild time for Liv, pretending she is happy to live in the wilderness, and help with all the chores, including setting traps for animals/fish, gardening; in the extreme Alaska weather and dangerous wildlife. As we reach the last quarter of the book, the story does get more exciting, with Liv getting surprising help from Rudy, to find what she needs (car keys, car, phone). But can she escape Mark and Angela, who will do anything to stop her, especially Xander?

Beautiful and the Wild was an interesting story line, though slow and redundant through more than half the book, which also made it a bit depressing early on. But I did like the last quarter of the book, which had a very good ending. Beautiful and the Wild was well written by Peggy Townsend.

He was her husband. The father of her child. A man everyone said was dead. Yet there he is, very much alive and very angry. And holding her prisoner.

Lizzy, separated from her child and held in a shipping container in Alaska, has lots to time to ponder what went wrong. How did it all implode so spectacularly?

Maybe she missed the red flags. Like when just after they were married, her hubby said that she would never feel more alive than when she didn’t know what was coming next.

But she needs to get free and to make that happen she is going to have to listen to his deluded reasoning for all of it. He follows a path of multiple marriages and assorted other doctrines that she must refrain from rolling her eyes at.

When she’s let out of the container, she isn’t close to her freedom. She must play a role with the other women he has brought into the circle before she is trusted enough to be left alone to make her escape.

No matter the stories we tell ourselves, jealously is a very powerful force for bad choices. And add in an enclosed space in the cold wilderness and it’s a recipe for the catastrophic.

The Beautiful and the Wild is a thrilling story of a mother’s determination to survive.

Oh boy, did this book grab me right from the first page. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down! I don’t know about you, but I love that feeling of getting totally sucked into a book. Where the world disappears, and the story completely consumes you. This book delivers that delicious feeling.

Peggy does a great job of building the tension and mystery. At first, we don’t know what is happening, but slowly, through flashback chapters, we gain more insight into the events that led to this moment. The pace Peggy selected for the story is perfect. The book starts off fast-paced but then slows down a bit. I wasn’t expecting that, but it really helps build a sense of suspense and frustration that adds so much tension to the plot. While the slow down in pace means this isn’t the pulse-pounding thriller I was anticipating, there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing and interested. I absolutely loved the ending.

Liv is a wonderfully constructed character. Complicated and imperfect, you can’t help but root for her. I loved how determined she was and how she gained such strength and confidence throughout the book. She really goes from being a victim to being the hero of her own life.

The Alaskan setting is the perfect place for this story. I loved how it is both a blessing and a curse, how the wilderness provided resources like food and firewood but also much to be wary of opportunity and danger in equal measure. Almost a character on its own, Peggy does a great job of describing its rough beauty.

Overall, The Beautiful and the Wild is a great read to get sucked into. Read it during a snowstorm for maximum effect.

This wasn't what I expected from the blurb. I thought it was going to be a fast-paced nature adventure, but it took forever for the action to start. I thought the story was way too bogged down with flashbacks and for me the backstory was just not that compelling and it felt repetitive. Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me, but more patient readers may enjoy it.

We first meet Liv Russo who has a young son and is working as a housekeeper. She is still trying to get over the loss of her husband.
When one day she receives a text that seems to indicate that her husband may not be dead, and he may be living in Alaska. So she packs up and takes her son to Alaska where she finds him living in a cabin in the wilderness with another family. This is where the story takes a big turn she wants to leave with her son but her husband wants her to stay and live with him and his family. However winters coming and they are in the Alaska Wilderness.
This book is a thriller with big secrets and will have you thinking wow after reading.
Great Thriller
Thank you netgalley ,berkley publishing and penguinrandomhouse

“The one thing I had learned, however, was that you couldn’t think too much about the past or the future. Instead, you had to live in the moment. Like the fox and the rabbit and the bear. Like the animals we were.”

The dangers of Alaska aren’t limited to storms, wilderness, and grizzly bears. Sometimes, the most dangerous thing is the person you love.

This book was not so much about the Alaskan wilderness as it was about fighting the demons of your past and the depth of a mother’s love. Liv was fierce in her advocacy and devotion to her special needs son Xander. And when Liv found herself locked away by the man she married and thought she loved, that fierceness and survival instinct kicked in full force.

As for the audiobook, it’s narrated by @karissavacker so you already know it’s a 10/10 for me. I could listen to her read me the phone book. She just brings that little something something to every story she narrates, and this one was no different. She captured the fear, angst, emotion, and, especially, the devotion of the characters expertly.

Thank you to @berkleypub, @netgalley, and @peggytownsendwriter for the ARC and to @PRHAudio for the free audiobook #PRHAudioPartner.

Ever since reading The Great Alone, I am intrigued by Alaska stories! This novel definitely opened up with a bang and had a great setting for survival. I enjoyed the alternating timelines and the characters. The pacing was a bit slow at times but I still ended up liking it. To me the biggest take away is that humans can be much more dangerous than nature.

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for the ARC of this one!