Something Wilder was a unique and thrilling read, with adventure and intrigue successfully interlaced with a compelling romance. This book gave the readers a complete unexpected journey following Lily and Leo in a second-chance romance with the backdrop of the gorgeous scenery of the desert in Utah. Christina Lauren did an outstanding job of pulling the reader in to the romance, while also providing amazing puzzles and riddles to solve along with the characters as they went on the hunt to find the long lost Butch Cassidy treasure!

In Something Wilder, I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth in Leo's character. While we learned a lot about him and his relationship with his sister, we did not experience that relationship much in the book. I believe this would have made Leo a more compelling hero, especially coupled with the qualities Christina Lauren brought out of him throughout the treasure hunt.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance that are looking for something special as wells as people that want to experience the thrill of adventure!

3.5. Not my favorite Christina Lauren--it lacks the depth and wittiness of most of their other books, and there are some callous / out-of-characters moments and remarks that took me out of the story. The chemistry between Lily and Leo in their second-chance romance is solid, though, and the puzzle-solving adventure is a fun twist on the usual romance tropes.

TW: guns, blood, violence, death, sexual content, incel dudes

Lily Wilder is the daughter of a legendary treasure hunter, and now leads fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah, using her father’s maps. Her life is not what she wants it to be, but it gets turned upside down when Leo Grady, a man she once loved, unexpectedly shows up for a treasure hunt trip with his friends. While Lily leads his group on the hunt, something goes wrong. The group starts to wonder if the treasure is really out there. It’s impossible for Lily and Leo to forget their history while they find themselves on an unforgettable adventure.

Christina Lauren is my fave author duo. I think this is the most creative plot that I’ve read by them so far! Both romance and adventure are stunningly woven together in this binge-worthy story.

✨I love a good second chance romance trope, and this one was perfectly executed. You have math genius & city boy Leo, and adventurous Lily whose dream is to buy back her father’s ranch.

✨The riddles + puzzles to solve the mystery of the treasure hunt were so fun. I loved that Leo’s problem solving skills allowed him to figure out the clues.

✨There is horseback riding, camping, and survival in the canyons of Utah with no phones. I loved Lily and Nicole’s friendship and how they handled leading the group of men.

✨The characters were fully developed. Over time you learn more about Lily and Leo’s history and why their relationship ended ten years prior. Their chemistry was amazing. Lily is independent and knows what she wants. Leo is respectful and a dreamy book boyfriend!

✨I really loved that the story wasn’t only romance focused. Christina Lauren takes you on a wild ride in SOMETHING WILDER, and it’s one I won’t forget!

4.5 stars

I really enjoy Christina Lauren's work. I was looking at their book list after I finished this one and realized I have only not read 4 of their books (3 of which are YA which I haven't really been reading for the last few years).

Something Wilder was one of my most anticipated romance novels this year (Along with Book Lovers) and I'm standing by it being well worth the wait!

This was an absolute adventure of a read. If it was a movie, I'd compare it to Sahara maybe, or the 1999 The Mummy. There was adventure and a treasure and bad guys and romance. A summer blockbuster in book form. Each character added something different to the story, which I really enjoyed. There were so many layers to this book. It honestly felt a lot different than most modern day romances because of the multiple elements Christina Lauren added to the book.

There are two small reasons why I'm stating it's a 4.5 star read (even though I couldn't deduct it a full star on the rating scale). I really enjoyed the prologue of the story, but then something jarred me a little when I jumped into chapter one. It took me a few chapters to get into the characters completely. Almost like I had to play a little mental catch up. Also, it read very seriously in my head for a good chunk of the book. I think I went into it thinking it was gonna be a little more of a lighthearted romp (a lot of the blurbed quotes for the book talked about it being full of fun and laughs and things) but this might have been just how my mind read the narration so I didn't think the book deserved being punished for that. It could very well have just been my current head space.

One last thing: Walter deserves his own book, he is a sweet delicate little flower and he really should get a little redemption and a storyline of his own.

Lily Wilder is the daughter of a notorious treasure hunter, Duke Wilder. After his death, Lily is left with very little money, a lack of patience for tourists, a broken heart and her father's legacy and maps of his adventures. Growing up on a ranch as a child, Lily hopes to move back there. But not without having to save enough to buy it back. Now as an adult, she is left in the canyons of Utah, moving there after her father sold their beloved ranch and starting a new life - showing others who the great Duke Wilder was and a tale of lost treasure. To Lily's dismay, the man who broke her heart way back when, shows up with his friends for a weekend adventure. Leo Grady left without a word and left Lily while attending to family back home. But when Leo never came back, and without a say as to why, Lily was left with nothing but a broken heart. So when Leo is back, she has nothing but hatred for the man. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with Lily. But little known to Leo, Lily is strictly only about her business. After the groups trip goes horribly wrong, the group wonders if perhaps the legend of the treasure is actually true. But this requires Lily and Leo is confront their past and work towards their future.

This was not your typical CLO but in all the best ways! It was such a fun read and loved the action pack ride it brought you on. It was a slightly slower burn read, but it was such a sweet story in several different aspects that I didn't mind it. It was entertaining to the bitter end and I found myself laughing a handful of times. Lots of twists and turns, and oh the adventure! Add this to your TBR like, right now!

I finished Something Wilder today while I was nap trapped - seriously not the worst thing in the world as long as my Kindle is close by - and it definitely wasn't the usual Christina Lauren book we've come to expect. This one had adventure and suspense with a smidge of rekindled romance.

While it wasn't my favorite of this duo's, I did enjoy my time reading it and going on a treasure hunt adventure with quite a few bumps in the road.

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧

Okay the description of this book does not even scratch the surface- I was hesitant to pick this one up thinking “horses? ranches?eh.” But once I was like 35% of the way through I was hooked. The story took a wild turn that’s all I’ll say😉 It was so unique to the rest of @christinalauren books that I’ve read & I loved it way more than I expected to!

👍🏼: This story gave you a little bit of everything- romance, humor, mystery? & even some action that kept me on the edge of my seat! I loved the second chance romance & the adventurous storyline that makes me want to book a trip to do something spontaneous 😍 The ending was also super satisfying & I loved how everything played out.

👎🏼: Was it realistic? I’d say not at all. 😂 But what a fun, wild ride this book took me on! I have no actual complaints!!

Thanks to @netgalley & @gallerybooks for the gifted e-ARC 📚 this one is out Tuesday 5/17! Message me if you read I’d love to discuss this one ✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a unique storyline for a romance book! I was not expecting it to go the way it did at all! It felt like certain parts had to be the climax, but then more drama would unfold.

It’s fun to see and watch Christina Lauren evolve over the years, and I’m eager to see what they do next.

I think it was ultimately obvious how this book would tie up, but I was curious to see how we would get there.

As a fan of Christina Lauren it pains me to say that Something Wilder just was not in my wheelhouse. I love the writing and I think this had a unique style but the tropes and main characters were not not my favorite. The city boy, country girl/second chance romance did not interest me and I found it a little too adventurous for my taste. I prefer many of their other romance novels but I appreciate that they are branching into other sub genres.

Kind of like a movie script...

This one was written much more like a script (think Romancing the Stone or the Lost City).
Its heavy on the adventure and puzzle, and very light on the romance. I would have preferred more romance and back story (like more about ten years ago). I did enjoy Lily and Leo together, though.

I’ve read and liked several Christina Lauren novels before, and this second-chance romance featuring a treasure hunt, all set in the wilds of Utah, sounded like a perfect summer read. While it does live up to some of those expectations, there was one major con that didn’t work for me at all.

“I guess I’m looking for adventure. My day-to-day life is pretty routine.” He turned his baseball cap over in his hands and seemed to note that the mood had grown solemn. “But maybe let’s set the low bar of just not dying[.]”


Once upon a time, deeply in love Lily and Leo were planning on running a ranch together, until misfortune struck. Leo’s spent the past ten years taking care of his sister Cora, while Lily has bee running tours based on notes in her treasure hunter dad Duke’s journal. When the annual buddy trip reunites Leo and Lily, it’s almost too good to be true – much like the rumored treasure in the canyons. But when things start to go wrong, they’re forced to work together and maybe, just maybe, they can make things work this time.

“The truth about tragedy was that once it struck, nothing on this wide green earth could make it any better. Leo had been her spark, had brought a glimpse of love and laughter and security into her life, but his departure had only proven what she’d already known: good things don’t stick around.”


Lily’s in a pretty rough place when the book starts. Frankly, she hates her job, especially for its association with the endless treasure hunts that took her father away from her. All she has are her horses and her best friend Nic, who helps her run the tours. From her dad’s constant travels to Leo’s unexplained abandonment of her, Lily’s learned first-hand that good things don’t last. So while seeing Leo again reminds her of how much she still cares for him, how good it felt to open up to him and share her feelings and dreams, she knows that giving him another chance will only lead to heartbreak for her again. Leo gave up his own dreams to raise his sister, but now that she’s graduated, he’s at a bit of a loss for what comes next. His job creating encryption used to be interesting, but his latest promotion will take him farther into manager-land. Being out in the wild again is like remembering how to live, and that’s not counting how he feels about Lily. Because this time, he’s determined to make it work.

“I had to let you go once,” he told her. “You think I’m letting that happen again?”


As far as a second chance romance, this works out pretty well. It’s only about a quarter of the way through the book when Leo and Lily hash it out and realize what’s kept them apart all this time was a big miscommunication, leaving them plenty of time to develop a new relationship. What’s there is pretty good and I could certainly understand both Lily’s hesitance to try again and Leo’s determination to. Unfortunately, the treasure hunt portion of the book overwhelmed the romance frequently. For the most part, the treasure hunt is the sort of madcap suspension-of-disbelief zaniness that I was expecting, but there’s one aspect that jarred me out of the book fully and repeatedly.

SPOILERS! [

“I think we’re missing the point,” Leo said. “Terry is dead. ”


One of the members of Leo’s group dies. Terry, the book happens to make clear, is a raging misogynist and a generally horrible person, and not really friends with any of them. He falls over the edge of a cliff while threatening the rest of the group, and while they’re initially quite shocked, what ends up happening? One of the things he claimed is that the treasure is real, so they decide to go off looking for it, and then will lie to the police that they thought he ran off and that they were looking for him. And then… the next half of the book happens, and besides some references to the fact that the guy is dead, that’s it. I don’t really care how bad the guy is, I just couldn’t get over how quickly a bunch of normal people just shrugged and decided to go on a treasure hunt. I mean, for goodness’ sake, Leo makes a joke about him being dead while using his condoms. It felt callous and not really in line with their characters, and it really affected my enjoyment of the book. (hide spoiler)]

“I just wanted to say to Miss Nicole and Lily, this has been one of the best trips we’ve ever, ever done.” He looked at Bradley and Leo. “Right, guys?”
“Except for the (spoiler),” Leo agreed, “it’s been great.”

Overall, if you can suspend your belief enough for that particular bit, I think this works as a beach read, so three stars for that.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I'll read anything CLo puts out (and I do mean anything) so I devoured this one once I got started. It's definitely different to their past works but in The Best way! I am a sucker for a good second-chance romance and this one might be my new favorite. All the stars from me, as usual.

Do I normally read westerns? Nope
Do I read a lot of treasure hunts/action adventure stories? Nope
Will I read anything written by Christina Laurent? Absolutely!


Happy Publishing Day to @ChristinaLauren and 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿! This book is so much fun! At its core this book is about a second chance romance, but it’s filled with so much action adventure, friendship stories, twists and turns, father/daughter relationship - there’s truly something for everyone here. The storyline can feel a bit over the top at points but the sarcastic humor and lovable characters make everything forgivable. Go into this book open to the fun adventure.

On a side note, I’m going to announce this loud and clear for the people in the back: Leo is MY new book boyfriend. Please step away. This puzzle solving, responsible guy, taking care of his sister, has obvious skills in the bedroom (or tent as the case may be), loving Lily even after a decade apart - he’s mine! Back off. 🤣

Pack this in your summer travel bag! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I always enjoy a Christina Lauren rom-com, this one just wasn't the one for me. The authors did an excellent job of describing the setting and really transported me to the backcountry of Utah. The treasure hunt premise was fun, but Lily and Leo's story didn't really draw me in. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

🏜 Review 🏜
You guys, this book was so different than what these ladies usually write, but all the same swoony feels are there 😍. This was one crazy ride full of suspense, twists, and turns. What an adventure and what a book! I’m so glad the dynamic duo branched out to create such an exciting read 👏🏻.

I just love their books, y’all. This was definitely different than their “normal” and I gobbled it right up! I could not stop reading it. Especially after the doozy of a twist that was thrown in rather early! I did not see it coming at all, and there was no way I was putting my kindle down at that point. Sleep be damned!

Lily and Leo 😍 even their names just go together! I felt so much anticipation and angst within myself throughout this book. I wanted them to be happy so badly. That beginning hooked me right through the heart and I wasn’t going to be ok unless they had a happily ever after.

The adventure and madness that ensued during their trek/camping/treasure hunt was just a bonus on top of the love story!

It was a blast to read and just what you need if you are wanting a distraction from the real world for a bit! Highly recommend!

Thank you so much to @gallerybooks and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review! 💜

I have loved every Christina Lauren book I’ve read, but I wasn’t as interested in this one. I think i didn’t care much for the setting. Other than that, this author will always be a favorite.

Have you ever wanted book that felt like those adventure cinema classics like Romancing the Stone and National Treasure, with a hint of The Notebook’s romance? LOOK NO FURTHER BABES! ‘Something Wilder’ by Christina Lauren is IT. This book has everything from lost loves reunited to adventurous treasure hunts, from humorous banter to well developed character history that truly invites us into the world of this thrilling and endearing story. Our female lead, Lily, is steadfast and full of gumption, and I love that in a leading lady.

All in all, ‘Something Wilder’ was a book that I couldn’t put down and that made me want to plan my own adventure out west!

Let me preface this review with this; I have solidly come to the conclusion that I am just not a CLo standalone stan and I have to come to terms with this. I loved Beautiful Bastards, Autoboyography, and Josh & Hazel, but everything else from them has fallen a little flat for me. This is in no way reflective of their authorship, just that it's not for me!

I had seen a lot of advanced praise for Something Wilder and that it was less of a rom-com and more of an adventure romance. I love a good rom-com, but I was excited to read a little something different from this duo. While I enjoyed the story, there was just something about the overall experience that was off for me.

I loved Lily. Lily giving treasure hunt tours as a job fulfilled all of my National Treasure childhood dreams. The puzzles, clues, riddles and treasure hunting of it all was so fun and I loved how engrossed she was in the adventure. I loved that her and Leo got a second chance at love with each other since the only thing that kept them apart was distance... and the dreaded miscommunication.

One this that CLo does really well is BANTER! Leo and Lily have it in spades. It was so fun to read about their slow sizzling romance while simultaneously reading this epic adventure story. Dual POV is always a plus!

3.5/5 rounded to 4 stars!

Lily Wilder was devastated when her father, a famous treasure hunter, sold their family ranch in Wyoming just days after the love of her life abandoned her to return to his home in New York City. Ten years later, she is barely scraping by as she leads tours through the wilderness of Utah with hopes of one day being able to buy back her ranch. She is shocked when Leo, her ex, is a guest on one of her week-long tours. The group decides to set out in search of the treasure her father devoted his life to but never found, and while at first it seems like they're all in it together, that doesn't turn out to be the case.

This book was so different from the others I've read by this writing duo and it was a really fun adventure to take! It was an action packed, second-chance romance with lots of twists and turns. I'm not a huge fan of miscommunications that stretch out over the entire course of the book, so the fact that this couple actually had adult conversations right off the bat and cleared the air was a huge relief for me - thank you for that @christinalauren!

MOST of the characters in this one are extremely likable and the witty banter will draw you right in. If this book were to be adapted into a movie you can certainly count me in!

3.5/5, rounded up to 4 stars!

Thank you Gallery Books for this ARC!