I was pretty excited to read this one. I like survival stories, and the description was right up my alley.

The book started out strong -- right the middle of the action. It helped build anticipation for the story ahead. Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations. The book was a chore to get through. I blame this on the author alternating between viewpoints - especially the character of Mia. Her story line was a complete momentum killer and should have been excised.

Kurt as the antagonist and Natalie and Doug as our protagonists could have been more than enough to keep the story engaging. I felt that Mia and Doug's plot with his childhood friends were superfluous. It was time better spent fleshing out our main characters. I really felt like they needed it too. Kurt especially. I wanted them to have crossed paths much sooner in the story and had greater impact on each other. The tension was nonexistent because Kurt never seemed like a threat. He was a supposed cannibal but came off like a middle science teacher. I was not a fan of this one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2151159893

3.5 stars

This book had a "wicked" good start..female hiker alone in the woods....there is danger...

Then cut to Natalie and Doug's wedding. Something seems to be amiss but Natalie isn't one to nag or question Doug so the wedding goes as planned and they leave on their honeymoon. A honeymoon spent kayaking and camping in the Adirondack forest. It's a BIG place - six million acres in fact. They hope to use this time to not only connect with each other but with nature as well.

But then....

They realize that they are not the only ones in the forest. Six million acres is a lot of land and there are a lot of places to camp, to hide, to start over, to get into a heap of trouble..you get the picture. Because as the blurb informs us..they are being watched. But why whom and Why? This reminded me slightly of the 2009 movie "A Perfect Getaway" where a couple on vacation find that they are not alone in paradise either. Anyways, I digress. Natalie and Doug are being watched (yes, there is a watcher in the woods (bad horror film tie in).

Their honeymoon suddenly turns not so romantic. It becomes a fight for survival. A time when you learn who you really are and who others really are as well. Mixed in with their story is the story of Mia, Natalie's niece in NYC. The stories will eventually merge and make sense at the end of the book.

This book does have a couple of twists. I will say that it did start very strong but then it got slow for me in the middle. I wanted to know what happened to the woman in the beginning of the book. Also, I was hoping for a little more action in the middle of the book. Things did pick up toward the last third of the book, but having said that things never got entirely thrilling either. I was hoping this would be a page turner but it wasn't. I did read this fast and did enjoy it. It just lagged a little too much in the middle for me.

Overall a good book with a well thought out plot - I just wanted a little more action in this. Plus, I could have done without the niece's story line. Perhaps if the entire story focused on the story of survival, I would have enjoyed it more. Plus, not to be nit picky but the book is titled "wicked river" but it's not the river that is wicked in this book.

I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie and Doug embark on an unusual honeymoon that starts to go awry.

Things escalate fast and they are soon fighting for their lives.

*Must read! An exciting thriller*

Natalie and her new husband Doug are planning to spend their honeymoon far away from civilization. They will canoe through the Adirondacks and have all the time in the world to get to really know each other. And that turns out to be the problem, Natalie doesn’t really know Doug at all and his plans have put them both in mortal danger. When their canoe is destroyed, they have no choice but to continue walking overland, but without a map or supplies, their chances of survival are grim. But the true danger comes from someone determined to make sure that the newlyweds never leave the forest again. Milchman creates believable characters and then throws them into a situation almost impossible to survive. This book is impossible to put down!