Another great Christina Lauren book! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I highly recommend this book for someone looking for a quick read with a great plot. Thank you netgalley for the advanced read. I give this book 4/5 stars.

Lily Wilder runs a tourist camp for those seeking adventure in the great outdoors. There is even a treasure hunt to make it more exciting. She is trying to get by and pay the bills after she was left heartbroken and broke ten years ago. Then Leo Grady her first love and the man who broke her heart is back in her life. He is there with his friends to go on a treasure hunt adventure. Leo has no idea the camp is run by Lily but he does know that he still loves her. This book was enjoyable with the sparks between Leo and Lilly in a fun Romancing the Stone kind of adventure setting.

Not my favorite Christina Lauren novel, but still satisfying. They just never miss the mark. A great summer read.

Christina Lauren books are always fabulous, but I have to admit that this one didn’t hook me as much as their previous books. The setting wasn’t as luscious or riveting. The romance was completely there, but it was lost a bit on me because of the scenery.

Honestly, if this had not been a Christina Lauren book, I would have stopped reading it. It was not a story that interested me at all and just seemed very implausible. But I love Christina Lauren books and have read all of theirs so far, so I kept going. In the end it was happy, but I predicted what was going to happen early on. It wasn't awful, but I hope they go back to writing stories like all of their previous books.

I loved this book! Such a 'Wild' ride - long lost loves reconnect and go on a treasure hunt - what's not to love?! The characters were easy to connect to and the landscape description just filled you with wonder. Love the story and all the intricate details. Some of the secondary story lines were a little off, and others were spot on, overall this a fun read!

This Christina Lauren book is a little bit different from some of the others I have read due to the second chance romance storyline. The storyline is also different from the typical, as it's less focused on the romance and chemistry than some others. For me, this meant that I wasn't drawn in as quickly, whereas I'm usually a "read in one sitting" CL fan. I do think readers should be aware that the story is a bit darker than they may expect from a CL read.

First of all, the setting of this book was *chef's kiss* I just loved imagining this treasure hunt in the Canyons.

I loved Lily, her unique background and plucky, independent attitude was refreshing. Leo seemed so charming and clever. Their second chance romance was fun to watch rekindle.

The mystery aspect of this was just plain FUN.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this one to sweet, contemporary romance fans.

I was skeptical about this one as it was a bit outside of Christina Lauren's usual wheel house, but it won me over again. Definitely had "National Treasure but make it romance vibes" and it worked!

3.5 stars. This story has adventure, mystery, murder, mayhem, treasure hunting, chance at second romance, and more. Not the typical Christina Lauren I’m used to and it felt somewhat predictable as to what would happen between Lily and Leo. A good twist of an ending so don’t read ahead.

4.5🌟

Thank you @gallerybooks for the #gifted finished copy of Something Wilder!

This was a wild ride!! So different from all of their other books, but I loved it!

This had such a strong plot separate from the romance in the book. As always, they have sharp writing and interesting well developed characters. There is a huge twist in the middle, which I loved and it really changed the dynamic of the story in a fun way!

I have realized that I really love a second chance romance, and I loved Leo and Lily’s story!

This is a must read for CLo fans and for anyone that wishes they could go on a treasure hunt 🏜

This was a fun read! Like a good episode of a favorite television show. I won't say it broke any new ground or I've never read anything like it before but while recovering from COVID it gave me the escape and sweet romance with a side of adventure that I was looking for. The twist was pretty obvious to me but all in all it was a quick escapist read that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy of Something Wilder in exchange my personal opinion of the book.

I have been been a CLo fan and read all their books as they come out since 2013. Something Wilder is very different and unique from their previous releases. It is not nearly as heavy on the romance and the steam level is a lot lower than their early work. But I did really enjoy the story. The treasure hunt part really drew me in. It was written very cleverly... I felt like I was going on a little adventure with the characters! I was not crazy about the 'miscommunication' between Lily and Leo from the past that kept them apart for many years. I did like the ending with Lily and her closure with her father. Overall the romance was a little flat, but the story was good.

How I imagine Christina Lauren brainstorming for Something Wilder... (sorta spoilery, proceed with caution)
"Man, I am in the mood for some adventure - let's binge the Indiana Jones trilogy!"
"Okay now that's over, you know what we haven't done in a long time? Read Dan Brown. Let's read all the Dan Brown!"
"Wow, codes and adventure are fun. Let's put that all into our new book. Who cares about character chemistry if we have codes to break and treasure to find?!"
"But wait, we write rom-coms, so let's make sure we put in a few tropes like second chance lovers and other random things that don't really fit. Let's also make the MC super angsty and mad! It will be SO FUN if she is just mad!"
"Also, we need murder...."
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Oh my gawwwwwd. I absolutely cannot with this book. It took sheer will to finish it and I honestly have no clue why I did because the best part of the book was when I got to close it and know I never had to read a single word from it again.
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I know I am being super harsh, but this was honestly all over the place and just - bad. I've read quite a few Christina Lauren books and I generally really enjoy their sweet stories - Love and Other Words is one of my favorite books! I don't even know where this book came from. Maybe my own personal fiction hell?
Here are my main complaints:
- No chemistry between Lily and Leo. When I read a "rom-com" (this isn't a rom-com btw, I am not sure what genre it is) it is really important to feel some semblance of chemistry from the main couple. There is nada here. The steamy scenes were annoying, I didn't care whether the couple ended up together or not, and their "second chance" wasn't compelling in any way, shape, or form. If you like someone as much as these two apparently do, you don't just stay away for a decade with no communication.
- Lily is not fun. I can't find one likable thing about this character.
- Leo is one dimensional. I get it, he is older now and has great abs and wow he really grew into is body. And LOOK he can break codes and alas, he can do it all in his head! What else do we really know about him? Blah.
- MAJOR THINGS HAPPEN and the character reactions we get are completely unrealistic.
- I dunno about you, but if my parents leave me a very large inheritance, I prefer they just give it to me rather than sending me on a treasure hunt that could kill and deplete me.
- If I have any near-death experiences, the last thing on my mind is how I am going to make shacking up with my boyfriend work.
- Too much going on. Is this an adventure? A romance? A wild west story? Okay so maybe all three but none were executed well enough and it just felt messy.
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I can't rec this read. I honestly feel like I have to take a long break from CL for a while, too. I appreciate the attempt to write something a little "wilder" but it just didn't work.

While I found parts of this enjoyable it was overall not up to the quality that I have come to expect from Christina Lauren.
There were little to no swoony moments and the couple felt too generic for me to feel like they were meant to be.
The adventure part was done decently well though.

I really enjoyed this book and it was not what I expected it to be based on past Christina Lauren books I've read, but in a good way!
I loved that it had a little bit of everything: romance, adventure, mystery.
My only negative is that I wish there had been slightly more backstory to when Lily and Leo got together originally beyond it just seeming like "young summer love."
All in all, one the better Christina Lauren books and I look forward to more being like this in the future.

Christina Lauren’s novels are always fun and this one is no exception. I really enjoyed this one. The plot is super fun and the characters are solid. I devoured this one from start to finish!

Lily Wilder is just making ends meet, taking hopeful treasure hunters on journeys through the red canyons of Utah and beyond. She knows it isn't enough, but it keeps she and her best friend working and eating. She wants more, but she has no idea how to make that happen. Leo Grady is a math genius, he works through the motions of day to day life to provide the life his sister deserves to have. When his best friend takes their group on their annual trip, he doesn't know the mirage of Lily Wilder will be for real. Their past is as messy as it comes, coated in ten years of dust. As the trip goes off the rails, a fun treasure hunt turns into a real one, and a fight for their lives and their love.

I don't know why it took me so long to fully get into Something Wilder, my mood just wasn't having it for a while, but man when I finally took a second to sit down last week I just fell head first into this adventure. This one is so fun, totally classic Christina Lauren. Something Wilder is 100% unique, a total adventure I could see playing out on screen, and a romance that is as unpredictable as the trail map Lily takes these characters on. Lily is all spunk and sass, she's as tough as her father wanted her to be and then some. She's a total blast and I could not get enough of her. She's driven to succeed, she's not afraid to do whatever it takes, and she's truly full of heart. The rest of the cast, including Leo our swooning, nerdy heartthrob, just showcase her even further. Speaking of Leo, I love a good the-past-comes-back storyline. The way the characters have to work through forgiveness is just the best and really lent itself to a wild wild west romance with a contemporary touch.

If you feel like you're looking at a treasure map when selecting the next book to read, going mad hunting for the red x, I'm giving away the solution right now, pick up Something Wilder. It's a special sort of romance and I just cannot get over the fact that Christina Lauren continue to come up with unique and clever storylines. This one is a win for me!

This book delivers what it promises to be: WILD! I normally go into books blindly so I had no idea what the premise even was but the book kept me in its grab and I couldn’t put it down. It’s full of turns and twists and it was really fun. Both main characters were amazingly adorable, had great chemistry together and complemented each other very well. All the other characters were also cute and I want to read a book about Nicole!

4.5 stars.
Wow. I loved this book! I always will read Christina Lauren books because there's a great balance of angst, love, and humor. This book came with adventure! I was reminded so much of Romancing the Stone, which was a movie I loved from when I was young. Adventure and romance rolled into one? What more could you ask for? While this book was a little slow to start (thus the knocking off of half a star), once it got going, I was HOOKED. Leo and Lily used to be in love and a family tragedy's pulled Leo away. Years later and he's found himself on an adventure tour run by Lily herself. There are perfect awkward moments in the beginning that slowly melt away to give you heart eyes over these who obviously need to get together. Mix this with a planned cutesy adventure that turns into a deadly treasure hunt, I didn't even know I needed this. I could clearly picture the action scenes because they were so vividly described. The bad guys were almost cartoonishly bad and dumb but it worked. Just when you were getting settled into some fun banter between Leo and Lily, danger pops up to keep you on the edge of your seat. All of the puzzles and clues just made their adventure even better. I had a sneaking suspicion (and hope) that something something in the climax would happen and I wasn't disappointed. I loved that conflict to drive Leo and Lily apart happened in the very beginning so that all we really got throughout was the angst of realizing their feelings and trying to figure out how they could stay together. This book was a perfect combination of adventure and romance and I highly recommend it