I LOVED Love and Other Disasters so I was very excited for this one. However, I just didn't love it as much. I wanted to feel the romance between the characters a little more. I just wasn't as excited for them and anxious about how things would go because I wasn't fully involved. BUT I did really like how Anita showed a character with social anxiety. I think the signs and symptoms were shown, but it wasn't made to be their personality. Anita Kelly will still be an auto-buy for me, but this wasn't a favorite.

Alexei and Ben both have the goal of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Alexei thinks he wants to do it alone to get away from his problems until he meets Ben.

I really loved this story. I liked the balance of hard hitting topics like homophobia, mental health, and discrimination alongside the hiking and love story. It was an entertaining story the entire time. My one (small) gripe was the use of letters towards the end. I understand the choice but I didn't love that.

I thought that this was really good! This is the first time I have read any of Anita Kelly’s work and I was impressed. Alexei and Ben were fantastic characters and I really enjoyed watching them open up to one another. They seemed perfect together even if they each had a few issues they needed to work through independently. I had a great time watching them find a future together.

Alexei and Ben were wonderful together. They meet on the Pacific Coast Trail and eventually decide to walk together. Alexei is a bit of a loner so this is a big deal for him to agree to walk with Ben. I liked watching these two get to know each other and I thought it was interesting that they were both at a crossroads in their lives. I felt that the descriptions of life on the Pacific Coast Trail were wonderful and almost made me want to pack up and take the journey myself (but then I remembered how much I like sleeping in beds and air-conditioning).

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mark Sanderlin did an excellent job with the narration. I liked the way that he was able to bring each of the characters to life and added just the right amount of emotion to his reading. I found his voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to the book for hours at a time. I am certain that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring two characters that were easy to root for. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

This book is easily one of the top `ten I have read so far this year. Alexei and Ben are two flawed, yet deeply loveable characters. They meet while hiking the PCT and fall in love. Alexei is dealing with a family estrangement due to his parents homophobia, as well as some religious trauma. Ben is hiking to figure out what is next for his life after finishing nursing school,

This book is truly SOMETHING WILD & WONDERFUL in the most beautiful way. I somehow both devoured and savored this book at the same time. My heart just about melted at least once on every page. Think I’m exaggerating? You’ll just have to read it and see.

Alexei and Ben’s love is so raw, sweet, tender, freeing, and pure that I want to cry when thinking about it. One of the things I loved most about them is their focus and attention to detail about one another. How they would learn and discover so much about each other just by watching and noticing the other’s behavior and actions.

I admired seeing how Alexei and Ben evolved and grew individually from beginning to end. And to see them navigating the Pacific Coast Trail while navigating their lives.

The author’s writing has a way of reaching in and wrapping around my heart. This book wrecked me in the most gentle way. What an honor to have witnessed Alexei and Ben’s story.

Much gratitude to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC!!

"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.