Wild child Delilah Drummond has been the subject of one too many controversies over the years. After the death of her current husband, her family bands together to force her to go to Africa to her stepfather's estate to wait until the scandal dies down. She takes her cousin Dora with her and when they arrive they find the house in shambles. Delilah isn't really sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't fixing up a house and doctoring the native tribes in the area. And it definitely wasn't meeting Ryder White a local guide. 
 I've read most of the Julia Grey series and I like it a lot. When I heard that she was writing this standalone book, I was skeptical. I needn't have worried. The book doesn't take long to get into, and I found myself not wanting it to end. The imagery Deanna Raybourn conjures up of Africa in the 20's was absolutely beautiful. Really made me wish I could have experienced something like this. 
 Delilah for all her faults, is a good character. I like seeing her on the edge of giviing up and slowly coming back from that edge. Gaining new perspective and life. Thought of as a wild child, Delilah hid herself behind all the wild partying and men because of past hurts. In Africa she discovers you have to put it away. Acknowledge it and put it away because if you lose focus in the wild you can die. 
 Ryder, too, was a good counterpart to Delilah. Both wounded and neither wanting to open the door of permanence. Somehow, they just fit together. 
 The main character, however, is Africa, as I said before I can't even tell you how well I thought Deanna Raybourn described the land and animals and natives. 
 I hope that maybe Raybourn will revisit these characters again, maybe in a short story or ebook. I would love to hear what they've been up to.