The Wild by K. Webster
I hate this book. Basically... a father and his teen daughter can finally fuck now that their useless wife/mom is dead and we are supposed to think it's beautiful.
⭐️ Pros: I got closer to my reading goal and made a lot of new friends because of my Tiktoks.
Cons: way too many to name but mainly... the romanticization of a father/daughter relationship as a "beautiful love story" is what sent me
TW: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, Blood, Death
So listen... I hate to do this to you on a Saturday but I need to get this out of my brain. I need to put it in words (somewhat) so that maybe, one day soon, I can return to the life I knew before I knew this book. If you couldn't tell... I hated this entire experience more than I have hated any other books I've read.
I read The Wild under the recommendation from Hannah. She and I both knew very little about it, seriously, next to nothing. We knew it was a “taboo” romance, that Amazon had pulled it when it was originally published in 2017 and that the author proudly touted it as a "banned book." As an avid horror lover, I am no stranger to the gruesome, the gross or the gore. I am also just an annoying person, a glutton for self punishment and pushing my own limits for no real reason and no prizes to be won.
This book however... it was just icky. From the trigger warnings I listed above, you can guess what the book is about. I began typing out a synopsis and summary but I literally can't put myself through it again. Instead, I offer you my YouTube deep dive that I filmed last week.
I hated this book, I found it gross and abhorrent. This was incest porn. We are meant to be rooting for these awful, shitty people and their bullshit. Before even starting the book, K. Webster put a disclaimer stating this book isn't for everyone... "only for the brave" and that had my eyes rolling. I don't feel brave having finished this bad book; I feel tired. That wasn’t the worst note she wrote to us though. After finishing this god awful thing, I found this…
If the dumb disclaimer and sick story weren't enough to gross me out, if the stupid "daddies are my favorite" sticker that came with the book didn't send me to hell... the author's note to the readers at the end of the book finished the job. K Webster requested people keep the incest to themselves so as not to deter anyone from enjoying an "unconventional but beautiful love story" and at best, that is irresponsible and at worst... negligent and intentionally harmful to your audience.
If you're going to write disgusting, graphic, incestuous smut to romanticize a father/daughter relationship... do it with your whole chest. Being shady about it, asking people to withhold information on your behalf and also calling it a "beautiful love story" is almost more disgusting than the story itself. If the author wanted to write a beautiful love story, they would have. This book ain't it.