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A review by bethreadsandnaps
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
3.5
3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed the beginning of WILD DARK SHORE by Charlotte McConaghy. The nature writing was exquisite, and Rowan’s arrival after a storm to the island of Shearwater intrigued me. With a rotating set of narrators, including Rowan, gruff caretaker Dominic, and his three children Raff, Fen, and Orly, I felt each perspective gave an interesting flavor to the story.
The story got bogged down in the middle part of the novel to me, and then there were several far-fetched plot elements that seemed like they came out of nowhere in the last third of the novel (trying to stay away from spoilers). Throw in a romance that didn’t seem authentic. The novel felt very jumbled to me.
The reviews on this novel are awesome. Maybe my expectations were too high? I actually didn’t really like the author’s ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES. I realized it was well-written, but I thought McConaghy brought in too many issues, and I didn’t feel the mysteries were threaded well. And I must admit that I thought the same thing with her latest novel WILD DARK SHORE.
There was a tearjerker moment toward the end of the book, to which I did succumb, but - again - it wasn’t naturally woven through the book, in my opinion. And so it felt rather manipulative to me.
The audiobook narrators were all good (especially Dominic!), but I might have picked Orly to be narrated by a different voice. Orly is a 9 year old boy and is narrated by an adult male. I actually thought Rowan’s narrator did a good Orly voice when she did his voice in Rowan’s chapters, so I would have suggested a woman to do the young boy’s voice instead of an adult male.
If you liked ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, there is a good chance you’ll also like WILD DARK SHORE.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an Advance Listener Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
It publishes March 4, 2025.
I really enjoyed the beginning of WILD DARK SHORE by Charlotte McConaghy. The nature writing was exquisite, and Rowan’s arrival after a storm to the island of Shearwater intrigued me. With a rotating set of narrators, including Rowan, gruff caretaker Dominic, and his three children Raff, Fen, and Orly, I felt each perspective gave an interesting flavor to the story.
The story got bogged down in the middle part of the novel to me, and then there were several far-fetched plot elements that seemed like they came out of nowhere in the last third of the novel (trying to stay away from spoilers). Throw in a romance that didn’t seem authentic. The novel felt very jumbled to me.
The reviews on this novel are awesome. Maybe my expectations were too high? I actually didn’t really like the author’s ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES. I realized it was well-written, but I thought McConaghy brought in too many issues, and I didn’t feel the mysteries were threaded well. And I must admit that I thought the same thing with her latest novel WILD DARK SHORE.
There was a tearjerker moment toward the end of the book, to which I did succumb, but - again - it wasn’t naturally woven through the book, in my opinion. And so it felt rather manipulative to me.
The audiobook narrators were all good (especially Dominic!), but I might have picked Orly to be narrated by a different voice. Orly is a 9 year old boy and is narrated by an adult male. I actually thought Rowan’s narrator did a good Orly voice when she did his voice in Rowan’s chapters, so I would have suggested a woman to do the young boy’s voice instead of an adult male.
If you liked ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, there is a good chance you’ll also like WILD DARK SHORE.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an Advance Listener Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
It publishes March 4, 2025.