The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath - Sheaf & Ink

The Story

From the Publisher

It’s Norway 1904, and Asta Hedstrom doesn’t want to marry her odious betrothed, Nils—even though a domestic future is all her mother believes she’s suited for, on account of her single-sided deafness, unconventional appearance, and even stranger notions. Asta would rather spend her life performing in the village theater with her friends and fellow outcasts: her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, wealthy Erlend Fournier.

But the situation takes a dire turn when Nils lashes out in jealousy—gravely injuring Gunnar. Shunning marriage for good, Asta moves with Gunnar and Erlend to their secluded cabin above town. With few ties left with their families, they have one shot at gaining enough kroner to secure their way of life: win the village’s annual horse race.

My Review: The Reckless Kind

Haunting.

The Reckless Kind will seep into your memory like water into a sponge, holding you captive, soaking up all the loveliness of each luminous character. Until Heath squeezes all the water out.

From the opening pages, the momentum of this story is like trying to catch a wild mare. Impossible to put down, The Reckless Kind has a rapidly beating pulse.

Where Heath’s novel plays its own soundtrack. One that has the eerie and foreboding notes found in a Hans Zimmer score. Heath propels the reader into a cold (literal and figurative) town on the fringes in Norway, taking three unique teens and pitting a town against them.

Seeing how each of these characters, Asta, Erlend, and Gunnar will define themselves and who they love.

Every turn of the page had me anxious.

A Few Last Thoughts

Lined within every pages is this feeling of unease. That something awful is going to happen. Wanting desperately to know what Heath will put these characters through next. It is nail biting, edge of your seat, apprehensiveness that you can’t quite shake.

I wondered, if any of these precious humans that I was frantically rooting for would make it to the end.

A tender story about friendship and love (platonic and otherwise) Heath’s debut The Reckless Kind is an engaging read with characters you will hold close even after the story ends.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

RATING: – Exceptionally Inked

Photo Collage by Sheaf & Ink of The Reckless Kind

Photo Credits:
Tim Stief on Unsplash
Chris Bair on Unsplash
Scott Warman on Unsplash
Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Edward Howell on Unsplash
Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Tim Marshall on Unsplash
Kenneth Schipper Vera on Unsplash
Liam McGarry on Unsplash

Publication Details

Pub Date	ISBN	Page Count	Publisher	Age Group	Source & Format	Review Posted Online
9-Nov-21	978-1641292818	336	Soho Teen	YA	NetGalley, Digital Copy	November 5, 2021