The Wild Beneath

A Novel

De: Kelly Anderson

Narrado por: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

AUGUST 2026 REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

"If you love immersive, magical stories with unforgettable settings and books that spark great conversations, I think you're really going to love this one." —Reese Witherspoon

“Ethereal. . . . A story that reminds us sometimes the impossible is possible.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name

“An entrancing, magical novel that highlights the beauty of the natural world and our fragile place within it. Spellbinding!” —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

For fans of Wild Dark Shore and Remarkably Bright Creatures, a love story as fierce and mysterious as the sea itself.

Annie MacLeod always knew she was different, growing up on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest, navigating by the stars and swimming in the ocean. But when a tsunami shatters her world and her parents are swept away, Annie is stranded on land, grief-stricken and forced to confront just how unconventional she is, despite her enduring love for her childhood sweetheart, Evan.

In the wreckage, she rescues a wordless man named Walker, who emits a hum only she can hear. Their connection is instant, elemental. When Walker disappears—along with any explanation he might hold about who she really is—Annie is forced to decide between evacuating with Evan or staying to unlock a secret that feels vital to her survival.

Six years later, Annie has buried the past. But when Walker’s otherworldly sound returns, it forces a reckoning with the wild life she’s left behind. Is the truth of the ocean more powerful than she knows?

The Wild Beneath is a spellbinding story of soulmates, homecoming and the ancient bonds that tie us all to the natural world.

Well written, well read, a fresh theme, and solution to a unique mystery

The hushed urgency in the voice of the reader leading to the final knowledge and understanding. I was compelled to listen nearly non stop to the end.

Just… fine.

I kept waiting for this to become exceptional and it never got there. Annie was also fairly insufferable and difficult to champion as a protagonist.

New author for me

Kelly is a new author to me. Great story I really enjoyed it. Sarah did a fantastic job narrating this. I’m a big fan. Great job

Good - until the ending

It was intriguing, had me hooked from the beginning and kept me engaged. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest and could relate to so much of the setting. But what the story seemingly implied in the plot, I did not feel delivered at the end …so disappointed. Implied closure, but I expected a much more definitive ending, not leaving up for interpretation.

A Story You Enter, Not Simply Read

The Wild Beneath is an extraordinary first novel—sensual, textured, captivating, and deeply immersive. Kelly Anderson has a remarkable gift for making you feel that you are not simply reading a story, but inhabiting it. Identity, love, loss, and the ocean become beautifully intertwined, with the water itself taking on a life within the experience of the characters. There is remarkable depth and complexity here, yet the writing remains alluring and intimate. I was genuinely blown away. A beautiful and unforgettable debut.