As an adult, I hesitate to pick up a YA romance. Sure, I loved them back in the day but now that I'm older with teens of my own, I want to be careful in how publishers fuel that fantasy of spice and romance.

This one was adorable and I really enjoyed the writing. The 3rd act element where we have to have something for our folks to overcome in their relationship felt weak to me, but this was solid storytelling overall, funny, romantic and educational.

Kaitlyn Hill is a new author for me and I'd gladly pick up another from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this earc

This was a nice summer beach read YA rom com full of laughter, cuteness, friendship and romance.

I didn’t love it or hated it. It did exactly what I expected from it. The grumpy/sunshine relationship is always a winner. If you’re into hiking, you’ll definitely like this one.

Pick it up for your next vacation

Cute young adult romance with adventure. I enjoyed the story. Thank you to the author and the publisher for the book. All options are my own

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I wanted to give it a chance because I live in TN only 45 minutes for Cades Cove. It's my hometown area and I love the Smokies. I am not a hiker nor am I into reality TV, so perhaps I should've known this wouldn't work for me ahead of time. I wanted to venture outside my wheelhouse and see if I would like it given I know the area. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I will still highly recommend it to my family and friends. I'm in the minority of people in my circle who doesn't like reality TV, hiking, or outdoor related activities, so this will most likely appeal to them.

This was a fun read. A good mix of adventure and YA love story. It was cute and sweet. It felt relatable enough to where a reader could feel part of the story.

This was probably one of the cutest books I have ever read.

As an outdoorsy person myself, I connected a lot with Finn's character but adored Natalie's as well.

The pros:
- Finn's character development was great. I love a MMC that can admit when he's wrong AND apologize - someone see if hell froze over!
- Natalie's character development as a constant people pleaser to someone who's figuring her crap out which is sometimes ugly
- The scenery! Loved being transported into the Smoky Mountains!
- The banter - it was *chef's kiss*

The cons:
- Third act breakup. These predictable plot points just frustrate me. But I'll give it to the author since it wasn't officially a breakup and it was quickly resolved.

This book was adorable and I'd highly recommend to anyone who favors sweet romances with grumpy/sunshine characters and great banter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was adorable AND funny!

Natalie is a contestant on an adventure show that offers the winners a $100k college scholarship grand prize. She gets paired with Finn, a grump. Together they compete in challenges along the Appalachian Trail, film their progress, and sleep in a tent.

It’s single POV, and young adult.

TW: death of a parent that is off-page and in the past.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Wild About You!

𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙳 𝙰𝙱𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄

1. You’re a fan of the sunshine/grumpy trope.
2. You love a witty and sarcastic FMC!
3. You’ve always wanted to be on a travel adventure show like Survivor or The Amazing Race.
4. Cute romcoms are your absolute favorite genre.
5. You’ve hiked the Appalachian Trail in some capacity and want to read about it.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.

Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?

Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital-O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all...

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for the ARC!

I really loved this book. I had so much fun reading it. I was skeptical at first because of the setting and how the whole book would be taking place outdoors. (I am not an outdoorsy girl at all.) But I quickly got over that and enjoyed it a lot.

First of all, the characters had me hooked. I really liked Natalie and was able to relate to her. Her anxiety issues reminded me of my own and I felt very seen through her. The author clearly has an anxiety disorder because the way she writes about it is so real I felt like she read my mind. I also really understood Finn and his grumpy disposition. I feel grumpy a lot too and I just got him. All of the side characters were well done too. They all felt very human. Being able to write good characters that people care about is the mark of a talented writer. Kaitlyn Hill has that down.

The romance. Oh my. I was obsessed. I loved the way it started. I loved all the middle bits, I loved how sweet Finn was to Natalie, how understanding and supportive he was. It is genuinely so cute and melted my heart.

The only qualm I have with this book was the whole third act argument/miscommunication. I was upset with Natalie for not listening at all to what Finn had to say, not believing at all that he loved her. She created all this drama when Finn did nothing wrong and it was frustrating to read. The only thing it did was make the book longer and annoy me.

Overall, I liked it a lot! I had so much fun reading this. It comes out May 21st, so go pick it up!!!

Natalie enters a reality TV show competition in the chance of winning the money to cover college costs. In love with makeup, the wilderness challenges may not be her strong suit. Getting paired up with a grumpy partner isn't helping much.

This book was really well written. I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine banter between Natalie and Finn. I really enjoyed her snarky internal monolog. Personally I would have loved to have read less about Natalie's makeup obsession and more about her anxiety struggles. Overall this was an adorable YA romance that I will definitely recommend to others who want cute without spice.

This was such a super cute YA romance! Honestly, in the beginning of the story I did not connect to Natalie and found her a tad annoying. But as the story progressed, she grew on me. Much like she grew on Finn lol. I loved watching their relationship grow and how the author addressed issues such as anxiety and losing a loved one (grandparent and parent both in the past).

I didn't realize this was a YA romance when I first requested it, but that honestly didn't matter. It was relatable and reads like an adult closed door romance, just with college aged characters. This was a really fun read!

Read if you like:
Grumpy x Sunshine
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity
Only One Tent
Reality TV

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fun book. Who would not love to read about a grumpy boy and upbeat girl falling in love in the wild. Yes, Natalie knows she isn’t technically made to be camping and in the wild, but when life gives you lemons, or should I say college tuition to pay to make her acting dreams come true, sometimes a girl got to do what a girl got to do. Finn loves the wilderness it reminds him of his dad. When both Finn and Natalie are forced to pair together, what could go wrong? This book is fun and light. Natalie’s dialogue brings humor to the story. And while being outdoors is maybe not always Natalie’s thing, I love the fact that the competition allows both of their unique abilities to shine throughout the show.
Thank you to Random House Children’s, Delacorte Romance, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill is a young adult contemporary romance novel with a side of adventure to it. The story in Wild About You is one that involves the old opposites attract and a grumpy/sunshine romance.

Natalie Hart has hit a rough patch in her freshman year of college while mourning the loss of her grandmother who she always felt closest to. Stress has caused anxiety and losing her scholarship has caused more stress so Natalie needs a way out without a lifetime of debt.

The popular reality television show Wild Adventures is filming near to Natalie and with a chance at a huge scholarship Natalie thinks why not sign up. Being tossed directly into the wilderness isn’t exactly Natalie’s strength but she’ll do whatever she can to win this competition and that includes thawing out Finn Markum, her randomly assigned partner’s icy exterior.

It’s no secret that I enjoy a good virtual travel adventure here and there and I also consider myself a reality TV addict so how could I pass by Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill? This one takes place along the Appalachian Trail which made for a fun setting and with the characters jumping through reality tv hoops in the competitions it had plenty of fun antics to enjoy. The story does get a little heavier with the lead suffering from anxiety and both characters dealing with loss but it kept a good balance of the light heartedness and the deeper material and when finished it’s definitely one I’d recommend checking out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Kaitlyn Hill is one of my favorite authors (which is saying something since I don’t generally read YA), and it’s because she knows how to put together an engaging romance that’s often mixed in with thrills and life lessons too. Wild About You was no exception to this.

Kaitlyn does an excellent job in Wild About You at portraying Natalie’s anxiety. As someone who also discovered her anxiety first in college, and seeing it affect her work (but not to the same extent as Natalie), I related a lot. Additionally, I thought that the romance between Finn and Natalie was top tier. The build up was fantastic and natural, and the swoon factor was there.

Overall, I thought Kaitlyn once again killed it with this book, and it’s a 5 star read for me!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This cover had my little National Parks-obsessed heart absolutely swooning, and the content was great as well. I did not know that this was a YA novel prior to requesting the ARC, but that didn't really end up mattering to me. It was very cute and the grumpy sunshine trope was perfectly executed. It is very refreshing to see YA authors addressing issues that will hopefully make these characters feel more relatable to their readers. Natalie and Finn were great push-pull characters and the added chaos of the reality show made it a tad campy but I was honestly here for it. I loved the setting and descriptions, and there were some funny moments as well. Four stars!

Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill is a captivating wildlife adventure full of romance, exploration, and self-discovery. It is an engaging read of a grumpy-sunshine romance with lots of drama and romance. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Natalie Hart is adept at sporting a positive demeanor even when circumstances around her are less than ideal, like they have been lately. That is why, when she is offered a place on a reality challenge called Wild Co-Edventures, she jumps at the chance to compete for the $100,000 grand prize. Unfortunately, the show requires more than just survival in the wilds of the Appalachian Trail; Natalie must also learn to collaborate with her surly partner, Finn. When the cameras are turned off, however, their real personalities come to the surface, and the two unlikely teammates find more than friendship on their journey.

This enjoyable, fast-paced new adult novel is a charming blend of quirky personalities and safe levels of danger. The slow-burning enemies to lovers romance component is expertly paced, as well, and though it is obvious from the beginning what will happen, the journey getting there is a delight. While the story is told in the first person from Natalie’s perspective, readers are still surprised at points when her inner feelings become more obvious, and these revelations endear readers to her and her experience. Likewise, details about Finn’s backstory appear at appropriate moments and permit readers to further connect with him, as well.

As this is a new adult novel, there are occasions of strong language, romance, and mental health challenges found within the narrative. Though these are lighter than some other stories for this age group, it is worth noting that this novel is best suited to mature readers. It is these inclusions that help the novel feel authentic in its representation of college students who are struggling to embrace their individual identities, and for that reason this book is both a pleasure read and a cathartic investigation of the experience of entering adulthood. Well-designed, enjoyable, and filled with charming characters, this is an excellent addition to contemporary fiction collections for new adult readers.

”I feel lucky that by random chance, I could do this with him by my side. Falling for Finn was the easiest part of wild adventures. I didn’t even have to try, and I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to.”
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Natalie Hart is a college freshman who has recently been diagnosed with anxiety as well as lost her merit scholarship. In an attempt to get back the recently lost money, she applies for Wild Adventures, an outdoor survival reality TV show with scholarship money being the prize. Although Natalie doesn't have much experience with the outdoors she is excited for the adventure! When she gets paired up with the very outdoorsy and experienced but grumpy Finn Markum they have to learn to navigate their differences to reach their end goal and get the scholarship money.
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This cover is everything and made me so excited to read this book. I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately so I was ecstatic when I loved this one as much as I did. This book was so sweet and perfect for summer. I loved both of our main characters their chemistry was so well done and although the grumpy/sunshine did switch pretty early on that did not bother me at all. I loved the anxiety representation in Natalie and how quickly Finn became accustomed and in tune with her.
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Overall this book was too freaking cute and I am begging you all to pick it up once it is released on May 21st.
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Tropes
grumpy/sunshine
forced proximity
reality TV

All the giggles and smiles over this story! This was such a cute book!
Fans of Survivors Amber and Rob might just die over this one:)
The banter between Natalie and Finn was so perfect and felt so real! I found myself smiling throughout my whole time reading it!
The way that heavier topics like grief and anxiety was handled with so much care just shows how much the author cares about her characters🫶🏼
Natalie is such a girls girl, I just know we would be besties :) she’s so relatable!
I was so surprised at myself, but I did tear up during a couple specific parts:’)
You’ll have to read it and find out why…
I will definitely be rereading asap!
I already pre-ordered a physical copy:)
Highly, highly recommend!!!

Kaitlyn Hill once again slams home an absolute gem of a romance! I don’t think anyone else could make being outdoors seem somehow both fun and romantic. A true grumpy/sunshine masterpiece. I am a Finnatalic for life!!