I thought I would love it. I liked the cover and idea. I didn’t feel like we got to know any of the characters very well and couldn’t figure out where the love and friendship was between them, besides just hanging out a lot.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It has great characters, a good sense of place, snappy dialogue, all that stuff, but I kept getting off-balance. Is the book about El's wild list, about her unrequited love, about the house in the country, about her insecurities? It would start down one path, then shift focus. Then the resolution was so fast that I wasn't 100% bought in.

One other thing, when the book describes one of the characters a brown boy in pink shorts, I'd kinda like to see that on the cover.

Probably just not the right book at the right time for me. If it sounds good to you, give it a shot.

This was a NetGalley ARC, the book will be published in May 2023.

The Most Anticipated Contemporary Romance Books of 2023

While it’s easy to recommend contemporary romances based on various combinations of shorthand tropes and archetypes, it’s equally fascinating to pick up on the common themes in a year’s crop of new romances.

In 2023 expect more than one ghostwriter falling for her client (because what’s more intimate than learning someone’s voice) and plenty of author crushes in the flesh. Yet there’s also the themes of writing ourselves into fantasy scenarios or idealized versions of ourselves—or if not writing, then taking the cannonball plunge into summer camp or other group getaways in the sunshine, when we can be freer versions of ourselves not weighed down by expectations or exes. Or if you’re looking for a sharper edge to your contemporary romance, get ready for books that amp up the archetypal enemies or rivals into witch-versus-witch-hunter or competing con artists. This list has new books from Kate Clayborn, Emily Henry, Taj McCoy, Christina Lauren, Tehlor Kay Mejia, and many many more. Truly, it was difficult to narrow down, and this is just the first half of the year.

Wild Things by Laura Kay

Release Date: May 23 from Vintage Anchor

Every few months, my pandemic pod of queer nerds jokes about leaving Brooklyn behind to build a rural commune that we lovingly refer to as Mount Gay, so I was the ideal audience for this book.

Struggling to spice up her staid life with a “wild year,” bisexual El joins gay influencer-in-the-making Jamie, token straight Will, and rakish Ray (a.k.a. her unrequited crush) in moving out of London and into a fixer-upper in a charming village. While there is a slow burn romance, the real love story is among this quartet, as they figure out how to build a home together while making space for each other’s idiosyncrasies.

I really enjoyed this book!

Eleanor is kind of stuck in a dead end job with a roommate she doesn't get along with. When her and her friends,Ray, Will and Jamie come up with a plan to buy a house and all live together, a sort of gay comune, she quickly decides to do it. Only one problem, she's in love with Ray and Ray doesn't know.

I loved all of the different characters and reading about their adventures with buying the home.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.