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The Will and the Wilds  By  cover art

The Will and the Wilds

By: Charlie N. Holmberg
Narrated by: Angela Dawe
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Publisher's summary

A spellbinding story of truce and trickery from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician series.

Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.

Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time.

Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely - and Enna’s soul with him.

©2020 Charlie N. Holmberg (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

Critic reviews

An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Science Fiction & Fantasy

“...an immersive, dangerous fantasy world. Holmberg draws readers in with a fast-moving plot, rich details, and a surprisingly sweet human-monster romance. This is a lovely, memorable fairy tale.” --Publishers Weekly

“Holmberg ably builds her latest fantasy world, and her brisk narrative and the romance at its heart will please fans of her previous magical tales.” --Booklist

What listeners say about The Will and the Wilds

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Good Premise, Bland Execution.

This really bored me, and the main love interest is a demon so I feel like that shouldn't be the case. There was no chemistry between the main characters and the plot was nonexistant. I don't usually read much romance but wanted to mix things up a bit, so I get I'm not really the target audience, but even if I was I feel like I'd have still been bored.

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Didn't Go Anywhere

I really struggled to finish this book. It started out promising and I kept reading with the anticipation of the story going somewhere but it never did. The problem from the beginning of the book is the same problem at the end. The character was literally circling through the book from house to woods house to woods and continuously making stupid choices again and again.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

The performance is wonderful, the story is just OK

It's an interesting world building, and the narrative is well crafted, the characters (however few there are of them) are well defined, but the story itself is too formulaic and overdone. It reads almost like a writing exercise, not an original novel. However, the positives of the writing are there and strong enough to make me not regret having read the book,

The audio performance is excellent and contributes a lot to the experience, polishing the rougher edges of the story.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Just ok

The story was good but I felt like parts were missing. There were times when I wanted to look at a print edition to see if the audio version had skipped over some important bits.
I really like this author, but this was not her best effort. I feel like there was a lot of unrealized potential for a richer, deeper story but it just never really got there.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal!

This is the second book I've read/listened to by Charlie N. Holmberg, the first being "The Fifth Doll". I can't say which one I enjoyed more - both were utterly captivating! They were full of complex, well developed characters in intriguing settings. If you like a well paced fantasy that is infused with magic, imagination and even a touch of romance, I highly recommend both of these novels.

Angela Dawe did a magnificent job narrating; I look forward to hearing more of her performances!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The perfect read for quarantine

I only wish this book was a series! It’s so good and I love the characters. The narrator did an amazing job. I often can’t stand when women do men’s voices or vice versa. But she did an amazing job embodying every character in a believable way.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Mildly entertaining

Charlie has been one of my favorite authors since The Paper Magician series. However this left me mildly entertained. Didn't love it but didn't hate it. I felt like I really didn't get it until the last chapter. It was narrated well by Angela Dawe. I hope Charlie gets back to writing more like her first books. Those were unforgettable.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Will and the Wilds

Charlie Holmberg did one of a very few authors that I purchase anytime I see that she's out out a new book because I can always count on it's excellence!
She once again did not let me down!!!! This book is all about magic and love and Charlie's very vivid imagination! She takes u with her on her journeys and her quest while she call in love with a magical creature little by little! She gears if heart apart with the loss of her lover and takes u on wild highs when she finally has her dream come true! Wonderful fantasy ride; I thoroughly enjoyed every sentence! .Thank you Charlie I eagerly await ur next book!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Lost interest

I really wanted to like this book, but just as it was starting to get moving I was finding myself not able to care about the story or characters. It even started to annoy me somewhat.

Nothing specifically bad about the writing, and I write enjoyed the performance, but I just found that I would rather be listening to anything else, or nothing at all, than finish the story.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected

I enjoyed the story, it was a little slow but the characters were pretty well developed and the plot was interesting. I liked it.

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5 people found this helpful