Helpful Score: 7
I thought this story was darned near as good as it gets. It's very touching and funny, and has a unique storyline - my #1 criteria for an exceptional romance. The secondary characters were very lively and well written, the story vivid and highly evocative. Michael is the quintessential perfect hero; I loved everything about him, and will probably always regard him as one of my favorite romance heroes of all time. He's a man of strong character, convictions & courage, and even though he is considered wild & uncivilized, he shows time & again that in spite of his his ignorance of the laws and polite rules of society, he is a true gentleman in every sense of the word. This is a wonderful story and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Grade: A+
Sensuality Rating: R
Grade: A+
Sensuality Rating: R
Helpful Score: 3
Wild at Heart is the story of a wealthy Society widow, Sydney, her eccentric family, and her love for 'wild man' Michael. This story is simple and sweet, graduates to thoughtful, insightful, and ends... On an abrupt note.
Michael views the world differently than others, and has the ability to open the eyes of those around him. While others take Nature for granted, Michael views the natural world and creatures within it with respect, wonder and love.
This is a wonderful book. I cannot say enough good things about it... But... My only disappointment with this novel is that in the last fifty pages it disintegrates from a serious romance to romantic silliness....
The author introduces a fantastic story line, and rushes through some major plot developments, to bring about a rather abrupt 'happy ending,' which hit a sour note with me.
I would much preferred a slower ending, without the long drawn out last minute (silly) plot complication.
Overall, still, an excellent read... AND a keeper!
Michael views the world differently than others, and has the ability to open the eyes of those around him. While others take Nature for granted, Michael views the natural world and creatures within it with respect, wonder and love.
This is a wonderful book. I cannot say enough good things about it... But... My only disappointment with this novel is that in the last fifty pages it disintegrates from a serious romance to romantic silliness....
The author introduces a fantastic story line, and rushes through some major plot developments, to bring about a rather abrupt 'happy ending,' which hit a sour note with me.
I would much preferred a slower ending, without the long drawn out last minute (silly) plot complication.
Overall, still, an excellent read... AND a keeper!
I loved it.
Fun and entertaining!
They called him the "lost man". Raised in the woods, without speech, without civilization, he was beautifully, wonderfully wild. And when he was captured and locked away to be studied by scientists, he was treated more like an animal than a human. Only Sydney, daughter of a renowned anthropologist, looked beyond the wildness to see the man. Something in his fierce loneliness called to her, imploring her to help him, to save him, to make him her friend. But the worls was not nearly so understanding. And soon, still haunted by the mysterious tragedy of his past, he wanted more from her than friendship. He wanted all of her - her love, her heart, and her soul.
Ms. Gaffney takes an unusual concept - a man raised in the wild by wolves - and drops him into the family of a late 19th century scientist. The scientist's purpose - to observe and document the wild man. What no one had reckoned on that the man, though raised in the wild, was still human, albeit with different sensibilities. Aside from the wonderful romance, the reader learns to see the natural world of plants and animals from a very unusual point of view. I just had the privilege of re-reading Wild at Heart. I recommend it highly.
The only word to use with this book is: unique. A man raised by wolves is captured by men with the purpose of scientific study. The only problem was that the scientists didn't look at his humanness at all. It took the anthropologist's daughter and sons to bring Michael to speech. Michael taught those around him an appreciation of nature, in all its forms.
Michael is an incredible hero. He lacks the trappings of society but maintains a wonderful sense of civility and compassion. Actually, all the characters seemed to be fleshed-out well, so they were interesting and realistic. I'm so glad I read this book.
Michael is an incredible hero. He lacks the trappings of society but maintains a wonderful sense of civility and compassion. Actually, all the characters seemed to be fleshed-out well, so they were interesting and realistic. I'm so glad I read this book.
From Literary Times
Confused and alone, the lost man paces his cell, the small room where the people have locked him so they can study the ways of the boy who was raised by wolves. Inside, he yearns for the freedom of the forest, for his friends the wolves, but at the same time, he aches for the touch and companionship he sees the people around him expressing. But he can't communicate any of this. The words they speak, like his old name, are a long-forgotten part of his past. Wounded by the death of her young husband, Sydney Darrow has returned to her family's summer home in Michigan. But instead of healing, Sydney finds herself stifled by the very prim and proper life she's forced back into. She's back where she was before her marriage, taking care of her father, the absent-minded anthropologist, and seeing after her two younger brothers. And then she sees the disheveled stranger staring at her from the window of his small cottage. The more she gets to know him, the more she aches for the sensitive, insightful man locked inside his wild shell. In the lost man, Sydney sees an intelligence and wit the academics studying him can't fathom. Sydney tutors the stranger in the ways of civilization, while he begins to teach her about love. But even as they grow closer, the so-called experts are planning what to do with his life, and the lost man's mysterious past is catching up with them.A delightfully different romance! Wild at Heart brims with laughter and passion! A hero as wonderful, as sweet and sexy as Michael Mac Neil comes along with the same frequency as a solar eclipse! Patricia Gaffney is simply an outstanding storyteller! Wild at Heart is her best yet! Patricia Gaffney delivers again!
Confused and alone, the lost man paces his cell, the small room where the people have locked him so they can study the ways of the boy who was raised by wolves. Inside, he yearns for the freedom of the forest, for his friends the wolves, but at the same time, he aches for the touch and companionship he sees the people around him expressing. But he can't communicate any of this. The words they speak, like his old name, are a long-forgotten part of his past. Wounded by the death of her young husband, Sydney Darrow has returned to her family's summer home in Michigan. But instead of healing, Sydney finds herself stifled by the very prim and proper life she's forced back into. She's back where she was before her marriage, taking care of her father, the absent-minded anthropologist, and seeing after her two younger brothers. And then she sees the disheveled stranger staring at her from the window of his small cottage. The more she gets to know him, the more she aches for the sensitive, insightful man locked inside his wild shell. In the lost man, Sydney sees an intelligence and wit the academics studying him can't fathom. Sydney tutors the stranger in the ways of civilization, while he begins to teach her about love. But even as they grow closer, the so-called experts are planning what to do with his life, and the lost man's mysterious past is catching up with them.A delightfully different romance! Wild at Heart brims with laughter and passion! A hero as wonderful, as sweet and sexy as Michael Mac Neil comes along with the same frequency as a solar eclipse! Patricia Gaffney is simply an outstanding storyteller! Wild at Heart is her best yet! Patricia Gaffney delivers again!
They called him "the lost man." He was beautiful,wild.Raised by wolves, without speech, without civilization. And when he was captured and locked in a room to be studied by scientist, he was treated more like an animal than a human being.
Only Sydney daughter of a reowned athropologist,saw beyond the wildness to the man.
Only Sydney daughter of a reowned athropologist,saw beyond the wildness to the man.
Haven't read it....sorry
