This is what I'd call a saga about a family during the end of the Napoleonic wars in England and progresses through their relocating to America. Their struggles, personally and with the times, are gripping. The author ties in historical events really well and this, interestingly, includes the history of horse racing and the breeding of thoroughbreds.

I always find it interesting to see audience recommendations for a book, as it reminds me of my contrary nature. Outlander? Never read it. Same with the Poldark series. Haven’t seen any of the television adaptions either. I HAVE read Daphne du Maurier, one book to be exact – Rebecca – and I’ve seen the classic 1940 Hitchcock-directed movie. So, what made me accept an assignment to read and review A Wild Hope? The answer is that I simply liked the sound of the plot. While I was reading it, I decided it had a touch of Thomas Hardy to it, and John Jakes too, perhaps. (I read and watched North and South as a teenager, thanks to Patrick Swayze.)

A Wild Heart is a massive story. It covers two continents and 18 years and has a long list of characters, both human and equine. I don’t know that I was prepared for how much of an epic it was, but that doesn’t mean it was difficult to read. Could it have been shorter? Possibly. I’ve read that de Blasis would do extensive research for her books and, at times, it feels like she didn’t want to leave anything out. Therefore, we get paragraphs of background information to help with the scene. But do readers need an explanation of the Missouri Compromise? Sure, Maryland has a complicated history when it comes to slavery and, yes, the issue is a feature of the second half of the book. But does that mean the Missouri Compromise had to be included? Having said all that, I loved the description of the Devon village where Alex lived with the Falconer family. I had to look up Clovelly online, and was enchanted by what I found.

Fair warning to regular readers of my reviews: this isn’t my usual reading material. It isn’t a clean or sweet historical romance. There are several graphic sex scenes. There’s also a scene about the, er, mechanics, of horse breeding. Did the book need these? Not necessarily, in my opinion. Does that make me prudish? You know how I said I read Jakes’ North and South when I was a teenager? I was thirteen. I could quote chunks of it to my school friends, and it wasn’t the battle scenes I was quoting!

If it sounds like I didn’t like this book, think again. A Wild Heart is a five-star read. I loved it. I bawled my eyes out at the end. De Blasis pulled me in and made me invest in the lives of the characters, from Alex and Rane, to St John (not a character I initially liked), to the people with whom they worked. This is an epic novel and holds up well despite first being published in the 1980s.

Disclaimer: Although I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, the words and opinions above are my own.

This is book is number one of a trilogy and with 690 pages this really is an epic read! I turned my kindle on and it said reading time was over 20 hours. It took me longer than normal for me to read this book but it did hold my attention from the start to the end.

If you are looking for a well researched, sweeping saga spanning many years and two continents then look no further. This will appeal to lovers of historical fiction and would make a great netflix movie or mini series.

I wasn't over enamoured with the sex scenes or horsey content so I have marked it down one star, but that is just my opinion. Having said that though, I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.

Reread. Loved it as much as the first time. Epic saga of love and loss and one woman’s great strength and ability to cope with changes of fortune.

(4.5) One woman in love with two men and an 80s saga that survives the test of time. Wild Swan begins in 1813 as thirteen year old Alexandria (Alex) Thaine's grandmother sends her to live with distant relatives on the west coast of England to get her away from her hateful mother. In Devon she thrives with the Falconer family and especially forming a lifelong bond with the younger son Rane. Rane decides to wait until Alex is old enough before he asks for her, but in the meantime Alex's sister dies and her mother calls her back to help raise her two infant twins. The twin's parent St. John (pronounced sinjon) returns badly wounded from the Napoleonic wars, Alex nurses him back to health and a bond is formed between them and the children that leads to a marriage (albeit not sanctioned by the Church of England), unbeknownst to Rane who waits until Alex is 16 and arrives too late to propose marriage to the already "wed" Alex. Wah!

Alex eventually makes a good marriage with St. John and to get away from family influences they make their way to Maryland to strike their fortune at horseraising/racing. Alex faces quite a surprise when she finds herself face to face again with Rane who also left England to find a new life away from memories of his love for Alex. At this point the story take up with Alex and St. John's efforts to purchase land (named Wild Swan) and start raising thoroughbred horses and life on the racing circuit, that eventually leads to the aquisition of a mad horse that has dreadful consquences on St. John, Alex and their children. More than that, I'm not telling.

All in all a highly enjoyable read and I had a hard time putting it down and lost more than an hour or two of sleep (always a good sign??). Despite being typed as a romance, this novel was packed with plenty of historical details to place it a step or two above the norm, especially as the author dealt quite nicely with the slavery issue and the St. John's opposition to same. My only minor quibbles are that unless you are a "horsey" person (which I'm not) there are some spots that become a bit slow (but you can skip them) and the sex scenes, while not gratuitous, were a bit...well...ahem....just a bit too detailed for my tastes (especially one scene - you'll know when you get there). If it had been a "true" bodice ripper than I wouldn't have minded, but eventually enough is enough. Outside of that, it was a pretty darned good read and there are two books that complete the story, Swan's Chance and A Season of Swans.

An Impressive Saga

Stretching from England to Maryland, the story of this family is entertwined with the history of horseracing. I loved it and have
ordered the second book. One criticism is the unusual number of typographical errors. Someone else should go in read this novel more closely and make the needed corrections as they are quite distracting.

One of my all time favorites! I felt the need to revisit these old friends as summer fades into fall this year. I smile, I cry, I'm sad to see them go- but am glad for 2 more novels to continue this saga!

Eh, disappointing. I hated all but the first book. I knew they would end up together … but i hated all of the crap in the middle. The book was too long. The sorrows so intense. I just wanted more Rane and instead just got so much of everyone else. Literally tossing this book in the garbage. Two stars for book one. His love for her was so sweet. I had such high hopes for their romance.

The book is pre civil war. Its about a young woman who immigrates from England to Maryland and begins a horse farm dynasty. I like the writing and felt a part of the story. It had a lot of historical references but did not get super in-depth about the historical details. It is based on a horse racing farm in Maryland and also deals with ship building of the time.

Despite the silly title - which sounds like one of those "bodice-ripper" romance novels - I took a chance on this book after reading the good reviews on Goodreads and on Amazon. I've enjoyed historical romance novels in the past - as long as they were mostly history and light on romance (the Outlander series comes to mind) - but this book didn't grab me for some reason. I found myself wishing I were reading something else. When I realized my mind had wandered throughout an entire chapter, I gave up. Having said all this, I admit part of my problem with Wild Swan was reading a paperback with tiny print (bought used from Amazon.) I'm spoiled by my Kindle and by large hardcovers from the library.

This was a good story but it was long for me the story of Alex and singe, Alex and Rian. And the horses they breed

Possibly the only historical romance trilogy I have ever read. I really enjoyed this during my high school years... loving horses is an added bonus.

I was pretty shocked to see so few reviews and learn that this is now out of print. One of my favorites from back in the day. (Really not sure what my opinion of it would be these days).