Running Wild

The Simple Wild is one of my favorite contemporary romance series, and if there was one side character I wanted to have a book, it was Marie.

She’s been in love with Jonah for years and when Calla shows up on the scene, Marie became a character you could easily dislike—but you also know how much it hurts to see your unrequited crush fall in love with someone else, so I felt her behavior was understandable.

I love how Tucker gives us veterinarian Marie’s heartwarming point of view and helps us realize that she was never truly the villain in Calla and Jonah’s love story. She and Jonah are still best friends, even though he’s in a different stage of life than Marie.

Running Wild Summary

After her dreams of marrying Jonah go up in flames, Marie’s guarding her heart and not planning to date, even though her well-intentioned family keeps trying to set her up. When she meets Tyler, a misunderstanding and Marie’s protective and sensitive nature of animals helps them to start off on the wrong foot.

Tyler is a professional sled dog racer who moves to Alaska with plans to run the Iditarod. He is healing from significant and heartbreaking loss, but training and racing is a form of therapy for him. He has chemistry with Marie that makes him want more with her, but he’s still too broken to give it his all.

A Slow Burn That Simmers Nicely

Marie and Tyler’s road to a happily ever after is not an easy one, but worth the read for fans of the series.  The slow burn in this is on par with the one in The Simple Wild.

Even if you were anti-Marie in the previous books, I promise you will love her by the end of Running Wild. Her determination and compassion shine in this one and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a smile on your face by the end of the story.

The gorgeous and grueling scenery, the menagerie of animals, and the beloved side characters round out the storyline and have a personality all their own. I loved getting a chance to head back to Alaska to see some of my favorite characters again!