Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I’m using last week’s prompt, which was: Titles That Would Make Good Band Names.
1. The Royal We
6. Ninth House
Tag Archives: The Boy From the Woods
Review: The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
Synopsis from Goodreads:
In the shocking new thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away, a man whose past is shrouded in mystery must find a missing teenage girl before her disappearance brings about disastrous consequences for her community . . . and the world.
The man known as Wilde is a mystery to everyone, including himself. Decades ago, he was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. After the police concluded an exhaustive hunt for the child’s family, which was never found, he was turned over to the foster system.
Now, thirty years later, Wilde still doesn’t know where he comes from, and he’s back living in the woods on the outskirts of town, content to be an outcast, comfortable only outdoors, preferably alone, and with few deep connections to other people.
When a local girl goes missing, famous TV lawyer Hester Crimstein–with whom Wilde shares a tragic connection–asks him to use his unique skills to help find her. Meanwhile, a group of ex-military security experts arrive in town, and when another teen disappears, the case’s impact expands far beyond the borders of the peaceful suburb. Wilde must return to the community where he has never fit in, and where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it’s too late.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
The Boy from the Woods publishes March 17, 2020.
This was a highly entertaining read. Most of the books I’ve been picking up lately have been pretty disappointing, but The Boy from the Woods ended up being even more enjoyable than I was expecting.
One thing Harlan Coben does really well (among the many things he does really well) is character development. There are a lot of characters in this book and I felt really invested in all of them. I’ve read in other reviews that one of the main characters of this book, Hester, has shown up in many other of Coben’s books, but as I am woefully behind in catching up on his backlist, I think I’ve only read of her once before. While I’m sure more familiarity with her characters would make people love her in this book even more, I found her very compelling without all the backstory. Like I said, Coben does a great job with character development and we get to learn a lot about Hester and her past and her future. What I really love about her is her quick wit. She has so much great banter with multiple characters and I was here for it.
I also really liked Wilde. He has a fascinating backstory and was a really unique character. I really hope there are more books to come with Wilde as a main character because this story ends with a whole lot of unsolved questions about him. I am one of those readers that like things tied up in neat little bows at the end of a book, so not getting those questions answered about Wilde really bugs me.
I thought the story was really well paced. Even though it was very character driven, the plot moved along with every chapter and I was disappointed any time I had to put it down. There were a lot of threads to the mystery, with several red herrings. I found it interesting, if ultimately kind of far fetched. I did like the discussion about today’s political landscape. Without actually going into political agendas, it explored how volatile things are right now and how extremists are becoming more of the norm and how dangerous that is. I had a bit of a hard time, though, with getting on board the train of thought that Rusty, the presidential candidate, was going to be responsible for the death of millions through manipulation alone.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Boy from the Woods. I loved the characters and the banter and the steady pacing made for a very addictive read. There were a few things I found a little too unbelievable and was frustrated by some big unanswered questions, but it was still a really fun book. I will be anxiously waiting to see if another book with these characters will be coming soon.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
Reviewing the Unreviewed: February 2020
I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.
Carpool (Milford College #1) by Noelle Adams. Read January 31-February 2. 3.5 Stars.
Jennifer frustrated me sometimes, but I did ship her and Marcus. I liked the small town setting and would’ve liked to have seen even more of that. Overall, this was a cute romance. I got it as a free e-book deal and I’m not sure if it’s still available for free, but definitely worth checking into if you’re a Romance reader.
Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning. Read February 4-6. 3.5 Stars.
This had a few issues, but it was cute. I liked Liv’s family and how close she was with her brother. I liked how quickly the football team accepted her, even if it felt a little unrealistic. I thought the romance with Liv and Grey was pretty adorable, too.
There were some things that didn’t really work for me, though. I thought Liv picked up football way too quickly. We’re basically supposed to believe that she’s never played before, but she has a savant level spiral and is a good athlete and it takes her no time at all to be basically their best player. There’s also obviously a big dramatic moment with the romance and I thought it was resolved a little too easily. I read the part where things are supposed to be explained and afterwards I honestly had to re-read it because there was nothing in it that seemed worthy of a resolution to me. There were a few other nitpicky things here and there, but overall this was enjoyable.
Anti-Stepbrother by Tijan. Read February 14-15. 4 Stars.
I loved this so much! It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, it ended up being much more. Summer was pretty quirky, which doesn’t always work for me, but I found her likable. I thought most of the characters were pretty likable and the angst and drama were on the low side, which was nice. I absolutely adored Caden and Summer together. It was kind of an enemies-to-friends-to-more story and I was here for it. I loved their friendship and it was kind of a slow burn to them getting together. I appreciated the “fade to black” love scenes. It really focused more on their relationship and feelings and it was so sweet and I just loved it. I’ve been disappointed by a lot of books lately, but this one totally broke me out of my slump.
Ryan’s Bed by Tijan. Read February 15-16. 3 Stars.
I had a hard time getting into this one. It was a pretty depressing read, mostly exploring grief. I think there were some very realistic emotions, but I wish that more attention would have been drawn to how Mackenzie’s coping methods were pretty unhealthy. And even though I liked the relationship between her and Ryan, I couldn’t help feeling like Ryan kind of took advantage of her.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Read February 16-18. 3 Stars.
I thought this was ok, but not anything special. I’m kind of bummed I wasted one of YA BOTM credits on it. I liked Pip and Ravi, though Pip’s behavior did annoy me sometimes. There were several things I rolled my eyes at, but for the most part I thought the evolution of the mystery was pretty well done. It felt a little too long, though, and I lost interest well before the end of the book. And there were a couple scenes that felt completely lifted from tv shows I’ve watched.
*****DNF*****
My Best Friend’s Royal Wedding by Romy Sommer. DNF-ed at 15%. Just couldn’t get into this one.
*****Books with Future Reviews Scheduled*****
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel – 2 Stars
The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben – 4 Stars
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – 4 Stars
Stephanie's Book Reviews 