I loved the synopsis of this story and the premise of a treasure hunt with a second chance romance. While there were many elements I adored, Lily and Leos romance, the setting, the ending, overall there were too many unrealistic elements in the plot for me to be fully enamored with the story. Towards the beginning something (no spoilers) happens and the choice a group of characters agree just seemed completely irrational to me. This was a sweet story with a surprising amount of action, but it seemed rushed and the romance took a backseat and not as developed as I would have liked.

Something wild indeed— this book was absolutely insane in the best possible way.

I enjoyed that this book drifted from the standard romance format, but was still fun to read. I was expecting a normal, run of the mill, fun romcom. Then some absolutely unhinged stuff started happening. The characters were fun, the plot was exciting and kept me constantly entertained. Great book for fans of National Treasure (which I, of course, am). I would (and have) recommend this book.

Thanks so much to Gallery Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not love this book. There wasn't anything overtly horrible about it, I just could not get into it. The storyline was an interesting one; lost love found, a strained father-daughter relationship that all makes sense in the end, a hunt for Butch Cassidy's bank robbery funds. All makings of a fun read, it just didn't go together the way I thought it would. A simple, fun read but not much more than that.

Christina Lauren have teamed up once again to create a second chance at love romcom that made my year. Not only is romance my favorite genre, but I also live in Western Colorado near where this story takes place. The atmosphere, adventure, scenery, and love story hit all the marks for me. If you're in for a refreshing new romance, then this is the book for you!

A fairly quick read that was enjoyable. The characters were well developed. The storyline moved along at an appropriate pace. Some parts were a bit predictable but that's what you expect from a light hearted fiction book. This may not have been my most favorite book by Christina Lauren but I would still suggest that people that have read their books previously should give this one a shot. I look forward to reading what they come up with next.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Ok I think I hate read this.

I thought this would be a romance, which it is, but it’s also a treasure hunting, wild Wild West, zip tie, mess. It was just over the top cheesy for me. But I still read it all in 24 hours.

2 stars?

I am usually a big fan of Christina Lauren’s books, but Something Wilder was a 3/5 stars for me. I didn’t want to not finish it, so I kept giving it a chance, but I wasn’t super into it. It was a cutesy romance as most of her stories are, but unfortunately it was not for me.

I've come to know almost exactly what to expect from a Christina Lauren novel and write the same little spiel here every time I review their books. They're usually addicting, romantic, steamy, and enjoyable from start to finish. This book though... was definitely a different experience!

SOMETHING WILDER follows Lily and Leo. The two met and fell quickly in love when they were in their late teens and then Leo went back to NYC without ever speaking to each other again. Lily remained bitter and confused about what happened. Almost a decade later, Lily and her friend Nicole are hosting wild west/cowboy-style trips in the desert. She's been struggling since her dad died, trying to find her way and make ends meet. Leo and his friends Bradley and Walter end up being members of their tour during their annual vacation, with their added (annoying) "friend" Terry. The group set off on their cowboy camping trip while Leo and Lily try to ignore their history.

It's kind of hard to review this one without giving away a big thing that happens around 30% in but I'll try my best. The story abruptly changes - the synopsis explains that the trip goes "horribly and hilariously wrong" but I would argue its only the former. It's not your typical Christina Lauren romance - there's a lot of "heavier" stuff in here but I don't even know if that's the right world. It becomes more of a romantic suspense novel in some ways? You really need to suspend your disbelief for a bit.

I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected after the initial shock wore off. There were some good twists and turns (feels weird saying this in a "contemporary romance" novel...). The adventure was a lot of fun! Leo and Lily had some good chemistry but it was hard to get on board at times knowing that their relationship was based off of a five-month whirlwind romance many years prior. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this one! I almost DNFed it around that 30% mark because I didn't know where the story would go from there but it ended up being a fun ride with good characters and a nice ending.

I love this duo but this one wasn't for me. I was expecting romance and got a gun fight in the middle of nowhere with a dash of romance from a couple I wasn't really rooting for.

This was different than expected for Christina Lauren books and I don’t think I really enjoyed it a ton. The romance wasn’t super prevalent and a lot of times, I don’t feel like it was authentic. At times it felt like two people who had just been forced together but didn’t really fit.

As the daughter of famous treasure hunter Duke Wilder, Lily has no patience for it. But with her father dead and bills to pay, she has to use his name (and maps) to lead treasure hunting tours for tourists. Imagine her surprise when her first love, Leo Grady, shows up with a group of friends for a tour. She hasn't seen Leo since he disappeared on her years ago. But when Leo and his friends' tour goes wildly awry, Leo and Lily have to work together just to stay alive.

So this book was not what I was expecting. Think very weird treasure hunt with death and injuries, with some sex and romance thrown in on the side. I never could quite connect with Lily and Leo like I have with many other CLo couples. The camping/treasure hunt gone amok side plot was a lot. It definitely seemed to overshadow Leo and Lily's story. And while I get that the treasure hunting was supposed to be sort of fun and silly, sometimes it was... not.

That's not to say that WILDER is necessarily bad, and I'm sure this book will appeal to a lot of people. It just wasn't my favorite of the Christina Lauren books and was a bit odd.

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

Going into this book, I was aware that it was a departure from both the romance genre and Christina Lauren's usual work, but I didn't expect it to be this adventurous. At around the 80-page mark, there is a major tonal and plot twist that I was not expecting. Instead of being ripped out of the story, I went along for the ride and it was pretty enjoyable. The romance in it was not as fleshed out or believable for me, but I still wanted to know what happened next. Overall, this is just a middle of the road romance for me, but I do want to give it props for not totally losing me when the action and adventure took over.

Christina Lauren does it again with such a unique take on a romcom. There are so many interesting twists and turns and the character development is superb

This took me a little bit to get into, but once I got further in I was hooked. I love to try and figure out “whodunnit” and this one kept me on my toes and guessing. Of course I love a little added romance and finding true love so this was a good mix. If you’re a fan of Yellowstone I would suggest picking this up and giving it a try. The “Wild West” location and bad ass MC reminded me of this show!

I will read anything that the ladies of Christina Lauren put out. I absolutely loved the adventure, mystery and murder part mixed in with the romance. A perfect summer read.

I was not a fan of this book. It moved too slow and dragged a lot. I'm surprised I read it all the way through, but I was curious as to what was going to happen and was hoping the authors could turn it around. I also wanted the villains to receive consequences...

I liked the element of danger, even though it seemed like the characters would have died from all that in real life. Still, it was the only thing spicing up the book. I also liked the mystery aspect but the codebreaking was so confusing. I think this is the first story of theirs that had actual villains, so that was interesting too.

The sex scenes couldn't even revive this story, as I felt ambivalent toward the couple getting back together in the first place. (I usually love Christina Lauren's sex scenes.) And Lily just came off as annoying to me. It was never explained why Nicole called Lily "Dub." It also was only subtly implied that Leo was part Japanese, but I felt like that came in later on. I would have rather had Nicole as the main character, as she seemed more likable than Lily and I loved her sass.

If you like adventure stories, this might be more up your alley. It just wasn't my thing. However, I liked [the movie] The Lost City, so there's that. I've enjoyed Christina Lauren's other books, so this is hopefully just a one-off.

This book is SO FUN! The perfect summer read, with some romance, adventure, and mystery! A second-chance romance set during Wild West treasure hunt is a plot I have not read before, and it immediately held my interest. Yes, the plot gets a bit silly at times, but I absolutely loved following along.

Something Wilder starts off as an excellent read, pulling me in from the beginning. Following Lily Wilder, daughter of the famous treasure hunter Duke Wilder, readers head out on a treasure adventure that just isn’t super believable. Lily leads a group of men (one who ends up being her long lost love) on a pretend treasure hunt that turns out to be a real treausre hunt. While the story is fun, it just wasn’t super believable.

I think this may be my favorite Christina Lauren book to date.
They deliver on the love story as per usual, but threw in a thrilling adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Lily and Leo have a classic misunderstanding come between them only to have a treasure hunt bring them together years later. Everything I could want in a book and more! Love, love, loved this until the last page.

Something Wilder is very different from the rest of CLo’s usual work, but they really knocked their adventure romance debut out of the park. A second chance romance with more than a hint of danger, this book appeals to fans of Speed, The Lost City, and The Mummy (but without the fantasy elements).

Lily and Leo are two people pining for one another despite miscommunications and tragedies that kept them apart after one magical summer together.

Meeting up years later, they are forced together on a team building camping trip that Lily is leading and almost from the start, the trip goes horribly and hilariously awry. Never have I been so excited for the impending doom of a secondary character…but that doom couldn’t happen to a better (terrible) person. From there, the narrative is off to the races for a rollicking and suspenseful adventure that will force Lily and Leo to work together and to see if the spark between them can turn into something…wilder. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)