Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker // Horror Awesomeness

Beware the Wild (Beware the Wild #1), by Natalie C. Parker                               Publication: October 21, 2014, by HarperTeen                                                     Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance                                                                       Pages: 327                                                                   Format: Hardcover                                                   Source: Borrowed                                                     Rating: 

It’s an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp—the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn’t return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp’s done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance—and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her.

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance.

Michelle’s Thoughts:

I’m the biggest diehard horror, gore fan you’ll ever meet. But I only read YA horror, because I’m still kind of hesitant to get into Stephen King, or else I’ll pee my pants of fear. So the first sentence was kind of exaggerated, please excuse me for that. *giggles* Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker is one of those Southern novels that has its own concept, own thrill and whirl of uniqueness. It’s a step before perfection.

Have you ever read a book and gave it four stars, but feel like there was nothing wrong with it, it’s just the rating that you choose to give it? Yeah, that is the feeling which is punching me in the guts at the moment. Beware the Wild scared the heck out of me, but only in one of those ways where I know it is simply impossible to occur in the suburban area which I live in. Thank goodness I do not live close to a swamp or forest though. There is a pond nearby though… *getting some weird scenarios stuck in my head*

This could definitely be Sterling! She’s so beautiful.

“Don’t fear. Your way home will be clear and as for finding me again, all you need do, my brave girl, is say my name. And I will find you.”

I totally can imagine a movie coming out of this. BTW is about two siblings, Sterling and Phin who are super close. When Phin goes missing by running into the swamp that the whole town is afraid of, Sterling knows that she’s not hallucinating or dreaming about anything when someone else returns, a girl named Lenora, who claims to be Sterling’s sister. Basically acting like a detective alongside super-hot guy Heath, Sterling wants to figure out what happened to her brother and who the heck Lenora May actually is, because something’s fishy.

It’s a fast paced story that’s for everyone. Parker’s plots seem to be very straight forward but leading to the point. I seriously would be in total shock if I read about a story like this on the news, but at the same time, it sounds totally believable. Although there are details turning to fantasy with monsters and strange creatures and abnormal events, it’s not like your typical cheap American monster movie. At least, it’s not stereotypical or found often all over the place. And the fact that this is going to be a series makes the happiness worth a diamond ring practically.

3 Reasons Why YOU Need to Beware the Wild in this Book:

1. A Sexy Hot Male Love Interest: What would a classic horror story be without a sidekick, trying to save the day alongside the girl? Heath and Sterling had this special connection that left them in love. They were seriously in love, without all of that instalove. It’s like Heath was the bad boy and Sterling disliked him at first, but then felt attracted to him as he wanted to help out. Agh, geez, my heart still flutters when I think about how cute their story ended up.
2. Shine and the Side Characters You’ll Meet: They’re wicked and wild, honestly. You’ll meet Lenora May and Shine… and hate them at first. But as Parker continues her story from Sterling’s perspective, you’re bound to discover that without them, the story would’ve gone nowhere. At least they acted like one of those villains who felt like telling the truth to the people they hate. *giggles*
3. The Ending: WOW. POW. SHOOT. HOLY. OMG. Those are the words that kept splattering my mind as I flipped over the last pages of the book. I couldn’t believe what had occurred, and I must say that it still longs in my head to this day. I just am not able to comprehend and move on after what Parker revealed to us about Lenora and everything. It’s like Sterling’s whole life was a lie.

This is one of those stories that readers of all genres are bound to love. There are practically hints of everything, all packed up into a dust jacket of 327 pages. Parker is a freaking cool author who knows exactly how to attract all kinds of readers to her horror-fantasy read. Trust me, there are tons of lies involved with every single character, and you won’t be able to tell who is telling the truth and what actually is the truth. Wow.

What do you think of books with horror/fantasy all mashed up together? bY THAT, i MEAN CREATURES AND WICKED MAGIC AND STUFF. BECAUSE MAGIC OBVIOUSLY HAS TO DO WITH PHIN’S DISAPPEARANCE, RIGHT? DO YOU LIKE BOOKS THAT DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF GENRES TOGETHER? WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE HORROR READ?