Wild and Free

by Wendy Holden

Wild and Free by Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden sees the author of Bad Heir Day and The Wives of Bath at the top of her game. Fun for fans of Jane Costello and Carole Matthews.'Super-sharp ... This hugely entertaining novel is chick lit at its best!' CloserWild & Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait to sprinkle a little midsummer madness on them all.Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark, and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild & Free to reform his college band ... desperate not to be seen by anyone he knows. Mark's bandmate James dreams of a festival blow-out with his son, Guy ... until his wife Victoria's ambition kills the dream. Now she and Guy are en route to Wild & Free instead but when Guy meets Shanna-Mae and falls for her earthy charms, Victoria is determined to snap Cupid's arrow.Will the magic of the festival send them wild? Or set them free to find peace and love?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction

482 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2015

About the author

Wendy Holden grew up in Yorkshire, and studied English at Girton College, Cambridge. She worked in magazines for many years before joining Tatler's in 1997 as deputy editor, and later moved to the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, which she left in 2000 to concentrate on writing. She regularly writes features for newspapers and magazines on a range of social, topical and lifestyle subjects and is also a television and radio contributor.

She has now published ten novels, Gallery Girl, Beautiful People, Bad Heir Day, Pastures Nouveaux, Fame Fatale, Azur Like It, The Wives of Bath, The School for Husbands, Filthy Rich, Farm Fatale, Gossip Hound, Simply Divine, all top 10 bestsellers.

Holden is married, and lives in England with her family.

Reviews

[Roomie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing because of too many characters, esp minor female characters.
I didn't enjoy it and was annoyed at the constant references to the beauty girl being fat.

[Budgie · Rating 1 out of 5]

All this book taught me was that it is indeed possible to cry from boredom. This book made me so bored, I wanted to tear the hair off of my scalp just so I could feel something. It made me so bored I would've much rather watched paint dry or the kitchen tap drip. I was tearing up halfway through the book because I had been waiting for the action to start for the past 200+ pages, but they were still on the character's backstories before they went for whatever it was they were going to. About three quarters through the book, I thought I was actually going to be hospitalised from an aneurysm due to boredom. Why? Because while the characters -- whose names I don't even know cause I forgot -- were FINALLY on their way to the Wild and Free thing this book is supposedly based on, guess what WE ARE STUCK IN FRICKING TRAFFIC ON THE WAY THERE. 50+ PAGES TO DESCRIBE THEM BEING STUCK IN THIS JAM. (Or at least it felt as long as 50+ pages) From that point on I simply gave up on reading the book. Never have I ever read something so unengaging and boring. I could make a longass list of things I would much rather do than put myself through the torture of reading this massively dry book, except I'd rather use the time wisely to find an ACTUAL good book to read.

[Lauren-Tess Anderson-Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild and free was my first Wendy Holden book and I will be reading more.

I felt the first 50+ pages were slow and I was so close to giving up, though, I'm glad I didn't. I ended up enjoying the book from start to finish.

It is a book I can recommend to anyone who likes contemporary fiction.

[Jane Linfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The modern festival is ripe for Wendy Holden to plunder, and she wades in here, and has a ball. With great characters, and a skilfully woven storyline, this book offers the perfect mix of wisdom, wit and intellect. Fabulous, and funny, I got my copy from an author signing, and saved it for the hols. It was a great holiday read, which my other half also enjoyed. Brilliant!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book! It's light, fluffy, and funny as hell, with real heart. I wasn't sure how the author would manage to balance so many characters and viewpoints, but the book races along and each one is clearly drawn. It's got a wonderful comedy of errors (or should that be comedy of manners) aspect to it that put me in mind of Jane Austen, and there's a Dickensian flavour to the amazingly apt, hilarious character names. Sweet and warm like a fresh baked pastry with a good mug of tea, I will definitely be reading more Wendy Holden.

[Marese Hickey · Rating 1 out of 5]

As an author, I have some idea of the work that goes into producing a finished work, which is why I was disappointed to find a wrong name used for a character about ten pages in. Oh well, I thought. But when it happened another two times, I thought: I'm glad I got this from the library and didn't pay good money for it. The problem with the wrong-name situation is that it is jarring, and it pulls you out of the story. Disappointing.

[Chantelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book but was quite disappointed with how it turned out. There were too many characters and not enough description to make you actually like them all.
There were times where I forgot who a character was and I felt this happened to the author too because random name mistakes popped up all through the book.

[Dar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a Wendy Holden book every year. The wordplay and social commentary make me laugh and so do the silly people and situations. It wouldn't be a proper summer without one!

[Jessica Mahoney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, engaging, clear. I enjoyed reading this book. Not very deep but sometimes that’s what you want

[Annie Voguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing, tying up all the different characters to meet at the Wild and Free festival for all their different reasons, all with humour. Would definitely read more of Wendy's books.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Nothing deep here- a generic Rom Com. A lot of characters to follow and feels muddled .

[Danielle Bizjak · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of characters in this book and I couldn't find anywhere that listed the characters (or at least most of them). Here it goes:

Mascara Snakes University Band
Mark (Now head teacher)
Rob (the least mentioned band member)
Spencer (whose idea it was for them to get together for the Wild and Free music festival competition)
James (Corporate man whose wife Victoria convinces to run for parliament in an easy seat)

Jude who just got out of prison who wants to rob the festival (he is the first character we meet)
Frankie Jude's business partner whose idea it was to rob the festival.
Boz and George are Jude's accomplices
Jess was the prosecuting against Jude. She is Ginny's friend.

Beauty Bus (do spray tanning at the festival)
Shanna-Mae
Rosie

Writers
Sparkle D'Vyne the socialite who ghost wrote a book
Olly wrote the bestseller Smashed Windows
Isobel Olly's fiancé who is unhappy he wrote a book about their life.
Lorna Newwoman wrote a story that was politically correct for her son Alfie

Other characters who don't quite fit in these groups
Ginnie Senior teacher at the school that Mark is the headteacher of Jess's friend. Alfie's teacher
Mark and Ginnie are the main love story of the book
Nadia Mark's opposition for the campaign for office
Victoria James's wife and Guy's mother.
Guy is James' and Victoria's son who was going to go to university until he meets Shanna Mae.

Plus many more. I don't think any of the characters had a good wrap up in the book. Ginnie, James and Mark were my favourite storylines and Olly and Isobel was my least. I didn't care too much for the beauty bus and Guy storyline either. It's been a while since I read a book this confusing.

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how I ended up reading this but it wasn't good.

[Stace · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the characters we are introduced to at the start of the book are heading off to ‘Wild & Free’ – a festival set in the beautiful countryside of Somerset. Some are going in order to perform. Some are going to escape everyday life, chill out and have some fun, and some are going to get up to no good at all.

There are many characters to meet, and to begin with I found it confusing. I had to occasionally flick back a few chapters to remind myself who was who, and this did put a bit of a dampener on the book for me (especially when the name of one character briefly changed, which a proof reader should’ve picked up on!) However, I ploughed on with it and it became easier.

Each of the characters were unique and there were some I liked and some I didn’t. Amongst them there were jewel thieves, an ex-convict, a politician, a crazy wannabe children’s author, a middle-aged reformed rock group, two teachers, a judge, two beauty business entrepreneurs, and more.

A lot of the characters became linked to each other and this helped bring the story together which made reading easier. I enjoyed reading about teacher, Ginnie, and headmaster, Mark. The will-they-won’t-they element was a nice contrast to other stories going on, such as the two escaped murderous convicts, Boz and George, who were disguised as a drag act.

The character of Lorna Newwoman (she changed it from Newman much to everyone’s horror and amusement) was another character I enjoyed reading about. She is determined to introduce her début books at the Story Jam; ‘The King Who Couldn’t Wee’ and ‘The Princess Who Couldn’t Poo’ much to the utter humiliation of her young son, Alfie. I felt a surge of sympathy for Alfie throughout the book due to his mother’s awful and embarrassing antics. Even his teacher, Ginnie, tries to lessen the blow for the poor boy at school.

There are several comedic moments and my favourite was where someone gets locked out of his hotel room whilst stark naked. It might sound like a cliché but the scene was well written and very funny.

The description of the characters and the settings were vibrant. You could really picture what each of them looked like and what was happening around them. The setting of the Wild & Free festival was very similar to Latitude Festival in Suffolk. The Hibbertygibberty Wood reminded me of The Faraway Forest where performances are staged and stories told.

It took quite some time before I started to enjoy reading the book$, but after some perseverance I began to look forward to the characters’ stories. I’d recommend the book as it has a bit of everything in it: romance, drama, suspense, and comedy.

Reviewed by Jodie at www.whisperingstories.com

[Gingercat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Headline and Bookbridgr for providing copy of Wild and Free for review purposes. The review copy was a paperback version and I was immediately drawn to the colourful cover. I was also excited to read this book as I have read almost all of Wendy Holden's previous publications and love the sense of humour in those previous works.

Wild and Free is a satirical take on an upscale music festival, the type attended by public school types and the middle class Range Rover driving set.

The book contains a variety of different protagonists, rather than focusing on just one or two, and as a result there are a few main storylines interspersed with some smaller plot lines. We are introduced to each protagonist by way of a backstory explaining how they came to be attending the Wild and Free festival.

We read about a group of middle-aged men keen to revisit their lost youth, a teacher escaping from a romantic mishap, a lawyer hiding from a dangerous client, a politican’s wife, a public school boy who falls in love, a beauty therapist and her odd friend, a pretentious author, a rich Russian, a poor aristocrat etc… and many more

The author gently pokes fun in equal measures towards all stereotypes, be it public school boys, politicans’ wives, lawyers, criminals, wannabe artistic types, hippies, teachers….. no one is safe from ridicule! However, beneath the ridicule, the author also allows us to understand and empathise with the mixed group of protagonists as they endure their weekend at the festival.

The addition of Jude, the recently released jewel thief, and the escaped cons was an unusual aspect to the tale and gave the story a ‘Carry on’ film feel to it which was slightly superfluous to the story, but which I quite enjoyed. This storyline provided an element of slapstick-comedy, although I must admit that I found some of the humour slightly too juvenile at times, however that is only a minor quibble in an otherwise greatly entertaining book.

The story is almost caricature-like and carries a great sense of fun and humour as the characters romp through their weekend at the festival, hoping to make it out the other side unscathed. As they all arrive at the festival, mayhem soon erupts.

I understand that Wild and Free is the sequel to Gifted and Talented, which I had not previously read. However this did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book. Wild and Free works well as a standalone novel.

Wild and Free is easy-reading, humorous and entertaining, a great summery festival read. It lived up to my expectations and did not disappoint, although I’m not sure if it would persuade me to go to a festival myself!

[Jackie Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild and Free, by Wendy Holden, is an enjoyable romp through the modern phenomenon that is the upmarket, artistic festival scene. Resplendent with irony the author gently mocks the occupants of the yurts and designer tents, the artistic types who perform, the nostalgic middle aged trying to recapture their youth, and the expensively educated youths who have not yet learned the shallowness of celebrity.

The protagonists are a varied group of characters with an interlinked past. The author introduces each with their backstory leading up to why they choose to attend Wild and Free, a well known fictional summer festival held in the West Country. The cast is large containing amongst others: a city money man, his controlling wife, their cosseted son; a headteacher, a member of his staff, her lawyer friend; a writer and his girlfriend who is keeping an eye on two ambitious teenagers; a trio of criminals intent on relieving the wealthy of their baubles.

The plot and the language are overdone, reminiscent of Shakespearean humour. This is a fun story that, in gently ridiculing the habits of stereotypes, gets to the heart of why these people act as they do. I laughed at the accuracy of the observations yet felt sympathy for each of the characters attempts to be something they could not quite attain.

The satire may be sharp in places, the humour slapstick, but the story is light and enjoyable. If you have ever attended a festival or considered going to one then this could be the book for you.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Headline.

[Carol Peace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky to get this as part of the first reads giveaways and I am so glad I did.
I was taken first by the striking cover which made me want to look inside, The story is of a festival called Wild and Free which is an unusual name but thats ok as it is an unusual festival.We meet a number of people who for very different reasons are going to the festival, Teacher Ginnie is going to get over the crush she has on the headmaster and to keep her friend company.Guy was going with his dad but his mum puts paid to that and she decides to go instead, every boys nightmare!. Mark is going to join his old college band for the battle of the bands, unfortunately not everything goes to plan and the outcome is a funny , witty but at times poignant fast paced book that you really do need to read.

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild and Free is the "it" Festival, everyone wants to be there, Some go to forget love and some to find it, and Cupid is waiting.. for Ginnie the English teacher who has the hots for her headmaster Mark, who in turn has them for her, both go to the Festival, without knowing, that love is in the air,not just for the adults but also for the youngsters such as Guy who to his horror has ended up there with his mum Victoria, Shanna-Mae and Rosie.
Add to the mix, an escaped jewellery thief and his side kick, an old college rock band, and the mother from hell, and you are in for a book to curl up and giggle with, ,,

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed books by this author before but this just didn't seem to have the same engagement levels as the others. I enjoyed Mark and Ginnie's story but some of the other characters were far too over the top and just not relatable at all. The heist during the festival of the jewellery by the 3 criminals was just ridiculous and the story could have done without that plot line completely. This was a disappointing read which I mostly skimmed through to finish it.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich cast of characters, some of which know each other, but all have one thing in common the festival Wild and Free.Some of the stories, I cared about more than others, some were very funny, and others just enjoyable. Very enjoyable experience of a festival, with all the types of people that attend.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feel-good book with a large cast of characters all heading for life-changing encounters at a music/literary/all-sorts festival somewhere in the English west country. Easy reading with some humour (though resorting to silly names, such as Conn de Sendyng,was a bit annoying and juvenile humour. At 460 pages it was getting a bit too long.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I loved it! Rather than focus on just 2 or 3 central characters the book follows several people who all end up at the Wild and Free festival for various reasons. Because the story went from one to another I never lost interest. Would recommend as a great summer read.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this looked like a fun read but with too many characters (some with even dafter names) I was getting confused - and bored I'm afraid. I did manage to finish this book but wished I hadn't bothered. Shame as some of her earlier books were much better

[Sarah Thorogood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book, really got me in the right mood for the summer and the music festival season. Nice easy read, although some of the characters seemed a little far fetched for me. I haven't read the prequel either, Gifted and Talented, so some of the back story would have made more sense if I had.

[Kelly Dombroski]

uh. I guess not my thing, and felt a bit like a last minute rush of writing. Characters names would be randomly exchanged mid paragraph and pretty sure the list at the end contains characters who werent in the book. I did actually finish it though, so cant be that bad

[Michelle Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to other Holden books, many plot threads are based around one central theme. In this case, some tenuously linked people who are all attending the same festival one summer. A fun read which was not too taxing on the grey matter to follow. Enjoyable, but not overly memorable.

[Dilys Myhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

QUITE ENJOYED THIS NOVEL WITH PLENTY OF ACTION.

[Neil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through First Reads. However, I have not received my copy of the book and the publisher has not had the decency to respond to my e-mails.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but just not quite up to the standard of books I normally read

[Megan English · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strictly Holiday Reading! Entertainingly the same as all Wendy Holden's other books but in a new setting.