"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

This is the softest, sweetest romance, even in the midst of some seriously heavy stuff, and it was such a joy to read. Alexei and Ben are both just so tender with one another, learning about themselves and each other as they slowly fall in love on the trail.

I adored both boys: their energies, their struggles, the way they related to the world. I loved that they both came from mixed cultural backgrounds and were bilingual. The inclusion of the heavier themes was handled with such care and realism, and never threatened to overwhelm the story. There's also an epistolary section toward the end that was just so so lovely.

The highlight for me was definitely the Pacific Coast Trail setting; it made me long to get out there and go backpacking! There was also SO much Tamora Pierce appreciation in this book, which was the happiest surprise because I was obsessed with her growing up.

Be sure to look at content warnings, but if you're looking for a beautiful and emotional soul-searching romance set in nature, don't miss this one!


Thank you so much Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Love & Other Disasters so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

I really liked the characters of Ben and Alexei and I enjoyed watching how they grew closer and overcame things together. The romance aspects of the story were sweet and felt natural. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the setting. I liked the idea of two hikers meeting along the way and developing a relationship, but since I know pretty much nothing about the PCT, I found myself switching between having no idea where they were/what the significance of their location was and honestly not even caring. I found myself putting the book down a lot because I was getting bored, though I was invested enough to come back.

One other thing I didn't care for were the time jumps. Now, when you're reading about people hiking thousands of miles, you don necessarily need details for every mile, but there were several time jumps where the story would skip weeks ahead but then have paragraphs talking about everything that was skipped. I would've enjoyed seeing those events happening instead of just having an info dump of everything that happened between chapters.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but not as much as I was anticipating. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next!

I loved this one! I was a little worried about the instalove but the characters were so well developed and spent so much time together, it didn’t feel instant at all. Alexi and Ben are both so lovable while growing and finding themselves. I loved how different their journeys were and how much support the provided each other. Their relationship felt so natural and believable.

I loved the PCT setting and thought it was really unique and added an interesting layer to the story. This book manages to blend really difficult subject matter with a sense of hope and joy in such a way that this book just left me happy at the end. There was also great representation!

I highly recommend this book if your looking for something heartwarming but with depth!

This is my new favorite romance. It's tender, sweet, and charming yet also full of adventure. Nature takes prominence as a main character alongside Alexei and Ben as they fall in love while hiking the PCT.

Anita Kelly manages to balance some of the heavier topics like family estrangement and homophobia with queer joy, nature, and absolute magic.

In this dual POV M/M romance you'll find:
- rattlesnake meet cute
- hiking side by side in silence
- so many birds
- Autism rep that goes without diagnosis until the epilogue
- some spicy scenes
- two lovable men healing themselves from different traumas
- beautiful descriptions of nature
- set in PCT with a prelude in Nashville
- CW: homophobia

Real Rating: 3.5 /5 Stars

In the first few pages of this book one of our two main characters, Alexei, is setting off on what I would call a “cathartic hike” (which I am fond of myself”, or maybe you could call it a long, dark journey of the soul on the infamous Pacific Coast Trail (do yourself a favor and look it up, because this trail covers some of the most beautiful land and views on the west coast and stretches from Mexico to Canada). Anyway, he’s hiking to grieve and hopefully close off some chapters in his life so he can start over as a revision of his former self, hopefully without all that baggage on board.

It’s going well until he’s only been on the trail a nebulously short amount of time on the trail, when he suddenly has a funny, if terrifying meet-cute with fellow PCT hiker Ben. I had to admire both hikers for handling the situation at hand in this scene, considering I’d lose my marbles in the worst way. Alexei joins up with the other hikers Ben’s been blazing the trail with for a while until all the people and chaos gets to him and he decides he wants to get back to hiking solo. To his surprise, Ben asks if it’d be okay if he hikes along with Alexei until they get to Kennedy Meadows (a well-known refueling and rest stop on the trail). Alexei’s crush on Ben, along with how Ben seems to need a little saving here and there leads Alexei to agree to the proposition. And so our two intrepid explorers set off, with mutual chemistry, fascination, and awkwardness settled over them like a transparent cloak.

I didn’t hate this book, but I was disappointed by it. I live within a couple of hours of several PCT trailheads and have hiked small sections of it before. I wanted to backpack most of it before I was 50, but chronic back injuries and epilepsy took that away. And I love gay romance. The blurb for this book had me so excited I knew this was one of the titles I was most excited for this year. But I feel let down.

Kelly’s debut effort, “Love & Other Disasters”, was one of my favorite novels last year. It was effervescent. It was like champagne bubbles in a book. It was impeccably written. This book? It doesn’t shine like L&OD did. It’s just as well-written (save I thought the book lagged a little in pacing during the early part of Act II), and the epistolary section of the book in Act III made me sob like a baby (I seriously tear-stained my silk pillowcase something fierce), but the book as a whole doesn’t feel as polished. I never felt like it was much of a comedy, but closer to a dramedy, and I never felt like it fit into the grumpy/sunshine trope. I feel like marketing Alexei as grumpy is insulting and it does the character a grave injustice, especially given events later in the book.

I know I seem to be in the minority in not singing this book’s praises, but I call it like I see it. I’m still a huge fan of Anita Kelly’s writing style and their efforts to bring us contemporary romances for the OwnVoices crowd. I can’t wait to see what they bring us next.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All views, opinions, and thoughts expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Gay Romance/LGBTQ Romance/MM Romance/Romantic Comedy/Rom Com/Contemporary Romance/OwnVoices/Books with a Psych Aspect/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Friendly Read/Spice Level 2

I read an ARC for NetGalley and really enjoyed this read. It was part romance and part spiritual growth, which makes for a delightful combination. Alexie has a lot to figure out in his life, and the long trek along the PCT gives him time to sort things through. Meeting Ben creates cracks along his outer walls that allows the light to finally seep in. It’s a sweet and moving story with surprising depth.

I loved everything about this book! Ben and Alexei were such well developed characters. I loved their interactions with each other and you could tell how much they cared about one another from the very beginning.

The setting for this was so unique and fun for a romance novel. I really enjoyed all of the people they met along the trail.

Anita Kelly did a great job writing the emotional aspects of this book.

I will be highly recommending this one for a long time!

This book is perfection! I loved every minute of this book and growled when people interrupted me. Both Ben and Alexei are both fantastic characters that make you fall in love with them right away. The side characters are also so beautifully done. I just love everything about this book. I will always read anything Anita writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

My heart. This was such a soft, tender romance and so well done. The backdrop of the PCT demanded a lot out of them mentally and physically and yet gave space for Alexei and Ben to quietly process and heal. In so many ways this is Alexei’s coming of age as a gay man. He had hundreds upon hundreds of miles to unpack his strict, religious upbringing and find inner peace with who he is.

I wanted to wrap up Alexei and protect his heart at all costs. I loved that he was a birder and that Ben accepted Alexei for all his quirks and nerdy tendencies. By far my favorite part of the book was toward the end when it turned to epistolary style. What a genius way to move the story along and send me running for tissues as the emotions leaked from my eyes.

If you like queer romance, found family, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romances, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

This was a good read. I liked the idea of two hikers getting to know each other on the trail. There are some really interesting bonds formed on the trail and I could see this happening! The differences between Alexei and Bend were great... one quiet and wounded the other bright and animated. These two men mix well and there's enough on a connection right off the back for me to feel connected.

I've read books by Anita Kelly before and I really enjoy her work.

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly is such a soft novel that conveys so much, as our characters, Alexei, and Been, spend the time hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Individually, the two embark on this journey to close one chapter of their life and start a new one.

Alexei is trying to reinvent himself. He's recently informed his parents that he's gay, and they've cut him off. He's not sure who he is without his family. He was also laid off from his job. So without any ties, he will use the hike to find out what he wants for Alexei 2.0. Then we have Ben, who spent most of his 20s not knowing what he wanted, and in bad relationship after bad relationship. He's finally figured that he wanted to be a nurse, and now that he's passed his exams is celebrating with hiking the trail.

I love how Kelly fills this novel with quiet moments, but doesn't sugarcoat life on the trail. Not only are there a lack of showers, but there are dangers that live among the beauty - for example the opening scene.

I enjoy Ben's experience for life, and Alexei's caution. How they are very much opposite personalities, but very right for each other. The forced close proximity of hiking together really gives the two a chance to get to know each other.

Though they are a hiking family of two, Kelly also takes the time to show us that they make friends along the way, sometimes they hike with these other friends, and in a way this expands their found family. Which helps to replace their missing family.

While this is not a coming of age novel, you do see how the characters grow into themselves, become more confident -either through the journey or in the decisions that led them to making the journey.

Anyways, these two precious beans must be saved from all dangers. Also there was a surprise epistolary section.

Content Notes: family estrangement, homophobic language, snakes (brief, but makes a wonderful meet cute)

I loved, Love and Other Disasters so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this novel. I was not disappointed. This book follows the two main characters Lex and Ben as they trek across the PCT. I never thought I would love a book involving hiking and camping but Anita Kelly has proved me wrong. I adore this book and the entire cast of characters.

The characters were lovable, the setting was inspiring, there was humor as well as serious introspection and facing real issues. It’s quiet and beautiful but also raw and real. I highly recommend this novel to all fans of romance. It is perfect.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the eARC.

This book is adorable, I enjoyed it a lot even if it not my cup of tea at all. But I loved the first book of Anita Kelly, so I had to have this one either! And I totally satisfied with it.
The characters are well written and absolutely loveable, the plot is very simple but cute.
We need more stories like this.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

When I pick up an Anita Kelly book I always know it’s going to be special. Happily, Something Wild & Wonderful lives up to that hype & it was one of my fave reads of February.

Largely set along the Pacific Crest Trail, this book is about two people connecting to each other as the miles pass & learning more & appreciating more about themselves. That self-appreciation offers some of my favorite moments in this book—we can do hard things, right?

With autism rep, epistolary elements, an adorable guitar performance, a consideration of what faith can mean to someone personally when members of that faith have exiled them, nature and therapy love, & strikingly beautiful final lines, this is a book to love.

5⭐️. Out now!

CWs: Parents exile Alexei from family. A bad sexual experience with someone who was “not so gentle. Not so kind.” Homophobic language.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds up the ebook in front of a flowering redbud tree & blue sky.]

This book is SO soft, earnest, funny, tender, and heartwarming. I cheesy grinned, cackled, eye rolled, and teared up occasionally. I love books that provide an emotional rollercoaster experience and this one did just that but in the best way possible! It’s such a good journey.

This is about two men, Alexei and Ben, who leave their respective homes to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in hopes to find introspection and healing during their journey. Their paths collide on the trail and after discovering how comfortable they are with each other and learning each other’s fears on the upcoming terrain, they decide to stick together on the trail. Over the course of the entire book is them sharing about themselves, them listening, learning, and creating space for one another. It’s beautiful and the way these two care for each other has me crying in the club 🥹🤧

There’s a dinosaur attraction visit, first margaritas, love for fruit loops, and gummy bears. A tender acoustic guitar Wonderwall by Oasis performance that will melt you at how soft it is. There’s autism rep. Plus so much more! Also, we get cameos from our favs Dahlia and London!

If you haven’t picked this book up yet, please do yourself a favor and do so because this book is truly 🥹🥰

CW: homophobia from parents, f slur on page several times in the scene, discussions of faith/reconciling with the church.

The title of this book is so fitting! This novel was wild and wonderful. I’m not sure if I would call myself a nature girl. I enjoy being outdoors but hiking for DAYS?! No cell phone service?! No daily showers?! No ma’am. Not for me. So I was skeptical if I would be able to truly enjoy a book about two people on a wilderness trail. Anita Kelly proved me loud and wrong. I devoured this book
In two days. Because I just needed to see if these two crazy kids ended up together. I loved Ben and Lex. Alsoooooooo I might need to go hiking and start listening to bird calls. Who am I??

I've been wanting to read a book by Anita Kelly and this one sounded fun and unique.
After Alexei comes out to his super religious parents and is disowned, he decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail to contemplate who he is and how to navigate his new life. He meets a handsome stranger named Ben and continues to run into him on the trail. Once they decide to travel together instead of alone, Alexei truly starts to open up and learn more about himself.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It felt a bit insta-love at times, but remembering that these two guys were spending hours hiking together helped me remember they had hours to get to know each other. I thought the author tackled Alexei grappling with his religion well. My favorite quote is "Because you might have been the one to bring me to church, Dad. But I go to know faith on my own. And your interpretation of God is a tragedy." I thought this was a really powerful line because it shows that Alexei didn't falter in his faith even when others tried to tell him his lifestyle was wrong.
I only have two complaints about the book and they are just my personal preference. I wish it was written from the character's POV. I feel like we would have better understood Alexei if we got to hear what he was thinking instead of reading about it. I also felt, at times, that the story had some details that weren't relevant which caused the story to drag a bit.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and gave it 3.5 stars.

THIS. BOOK. Y'all. I am almost speechless (jk I'm never speechless). The romance god's have really blessed me recently because this is another absolutely incredible book in a string of amazing romance novels.

In SOMETHING WILD & WONDERFUL, Ben and Alexei meet while hiking the 2500 mile long Pacific Crest Trail. The backdrop of nature and hiking was something I have never read in a romance before and I adored every second of it. Ben and Alexei had me hooked immediately. They are sweet and thoughtful and funny and HOT. The way that the used nature and hiking to bond and heal from some pretty serious trauma in their past was so beautiful.

I honestly could write about this book for way too long so instead I will just say - YOU SHOULD READ THIS. It is March but I already know this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year.

CW: homophobia, religious bigotry. Alexei was recently disowned by his religious family after coming out. Take care of yourself, readers. <3 (StoryGraph is a wonderful resource for content warnings!)

I inhaled this, it felt both quiet and gentle, while also hitting me in the heart strings. I took many notes as I read this, and am picking out my favorite moments, elements, themes, etc. as well as sharing some things that took me out of the story.


Things that really worked for me:
- This was the Wild book I wanted. Yes for hiking through your internal conflicts and having to sit with yourself for months. Love the premise and Kelly did a great job with describing the hike while also not getting overly technical or overly descriptive.
- I loved the quiet and calm moments between Ben and Alexei. ADORABLE.
-Dual POV really worked well in this. I loved that each lead had very distinct voices, and that things that one person might internally think was negative, the other would find endearing or positive. Yes yes.
-'Lex'
- Alexei working through losing his parents, understanding his faith better, and not losing his religion over his sexuality. I have the experience of the other way, cutting off all ties with religion over the hate it brings out of people. I thought it was a thoughtful element to include religion as such an integral part of Alexei, and that his hiking only made him feel closer to his god. Good for him.
-Online D&D gamers!
-Reading a favorite book out loud at camp together.
-Needing bullet points and excel spreadsheets to get feelings figured out
-Emphasizing that penetration isn't the only way to have sex, and that you don't need to be sexual to be queer.
-Alexei and his sister moments. Had me sobbing. "We've always been siblings, but when I get back, can we be friends?" Writing to his sister, so sweet. I love that Alexei did get to go through a personal growth arc during his hike. And that he did have a supportive sister on his side. He didn't have to be alone.
-I thought it was great to see the unsent letters to one another, and it added some great conflict of 'just talk to each other please! send that damn letter!!'
-Alexi 1.0 > Alexei 2.0
-Both boys go to therapy, we learn in the epilogue that Alexei gets asked about getting an assessment for autism, and that it wasn't a focus of his personality, he just was himself. After getting a diagnosis, he felt like he could understand his brain a bit better and get tools/language to help better advocate for himself.
-Mark Sanderlin did a great job narrating! Would definitely read more from this narrator.


Things I didn't enjoy:
-At times, it felt like Kelly was throwing in conversations and topics that feel relevant in the real world, but also were so clunky for the characters in the moment. I get that they wanted Alexei and Ben to be our competent intersectional and inclusive boys, but also adding in "what's your political opinion" at a family event and then never expanding or talking about it again felt a little performative? Throwing in token side characters that reminded Alexei to reflect on his privilege in passing felt performative? Let's dig deeper if we're going to bring things up. Include a conversation or insightful comment, give us a chapter about that character! If there's time to learn about the elderly hiker, Tumbleweed, there's time to learn about other hikers the guys ran into on a deeper level.
- I'm on the fence about using the f-slur, especially in 2023. And when it feels unessential to the story. I think Kelly showed bigotry excellently in Love & Other Disasters, where we knew that shitty things were being said without actually writing out word for word the hate. That's not something I personally enjoy reading in my romances. There's plenty of queer hate in the real world, it'd be really nice to not have to see multiple multiple multiple f-slurs used. This one kept going with the slur, and it felt gratuitous, and not like it was a pivotal moment for the lead. Alexei wasn't surprised, Ben was, other hikers yelled at them, the end.
- If we're going to read slurs, for the love of god, can we get a full explicit sex scene? This managed to be both kind of open door, kind of fade to black, and kind of explicit? I have no clue how to label it. There was some base grabbing, some opening up, some cum, and then fade to afterwards. Watching faces, euphemisms talking around the sex. Mentioning in passing that they had some great times in a hotel room back at a pit stop. I was also trying to think back on if Kelly has included explicit scenes in their other books, and iirc they did? This one could definitely be a me problem or could be a publishing decision. Just felt like with how much detail was included to the leads noticing things about each other, and how much description was included on the hike or in small moments together, there would be a more descriptive intimate scene.
- Getting a tattoo that reminds you of someone else that you aren't on good terms with is such a risky move. I'm happy Ben got something to commemorate his hiking, but did it have to be of a random bird you barely saw that Alexei said once in passing that he liked? Do it for you, not for someone else.
- I was hoping that "the big move" might have been both leads moving to a new place together, or Alexei moving to Nashville with Ben and getting to experience his family and friends and getting that complete family experience. I was glad that Lex didn't feel like he was running away (since he does that a lot), but also it didn't feel like he was too tied down to Portland.


Overall, this is a 4.5/5 star read. I really was in my feelings throughout this and couldn't stop shedding tears randomly. This was both emotional and very sweet, it was a romance but also some great reflection for both the leads. There's definitely a lot of religion in this, and while I didn't always agree with the choices made, overall, I loved Lex and Ben.

Something Wild & Wonderful is a poignant, atmospheric and thoughtful story with the loveliest, softest characters finding their way to each other and healing their hearts in the process. Ben & Lex are the sweetest characters and show the utmost kindness to one another. This story is full of hope and acceptance and Queer joy and love. Anita Kelly has quickly become an autobuy author for me. Both of their novels were sexy and introspective. I can't wait for what is next!