The premise of this book is just the cutest for a summer read. It fell a little flat for me. I love a book with atmospheric settings and this book had the perfect opportunity to create that but I just felt like it fell short there because the characters never spent enough time in one place. Jack felt closed off for too much of the story so it was hard to believe the romance when that hit. I did appreciate how the author approached difficult storylines and thought that was done well. I loved Dylan’s character. It was just an ok read!

I adored this book! Another incredible travel romance from Putnam. It made me want to book a flight like no other. I loved reading about all the different locations that Dylan and Jack traveled to. I've been to a handful of them, but now I absolutely need to visit the ones I haven't!

This book was heavier than I was expecting, but the author did a good job of balancing the romance with the heavy stuff. I would have liked a little more chemistry between Dylan and Jack, but I always can enjoy a good sunshine and grump story. The audiobook was incredible, narrated by Olivia Dowd.

This is the perfect book to read or listen to on a plane while you're headed somewhere awesome. Do you have any interesting travel planned this summer?

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Dylan wins a radio contest for a free trip around the world. There's just one catch. The station gets to go through her contacts and randomly select who among them will be invited to accompany her. And they land on Jack, a man she met at a club but never called afterwards.

I was quite pleased with the pacing of this book. It had a quick start, getting to the key premise and through the synopsis early. I really liked both Dylan and Jack. And I loved their trip. They hit up nine different cities. We got more details on some than others, but all made me want to travel.

In amidst all of that beauty were some tough topics including online trolls and doxing, issues around privacy and consent, and how climate change will affect each of the cities they visited. I also quite appreciated the queer representation.

But the romance annoyed me at times. When a first person narrator says that she knows she should tell her love interest something but isn't going to yet, I can understand that. But I am only okay with that a maximum of two times. When we hear a third time why the narrator plans to delay and be secretive, I get pretty frustrated. They know better. This might frustrate those who get annoyed by miscommunication.

That also means it often felt this book was more about a woman's personal journey than a book focused on romance. The writing was fantastic and worth recommending, but not the romantic story I expected.

The audiobook was narrated by Olivia Dowd with a great variety of English accents. At 10 hours and 18 minutes, it was a great length and engaging throughout.

CW: biphobia

Unfortunately this one was just not for me. A few things at the beginning that are things I don't love in books & I just decided not to continue reading. DNFed around 10% of the way in. I think lots of people will really enjoy it - just my personal preference.

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart had my interest right away with the premise. The main character wins a radio show contest, and she gets to travel around the world. The catch? The radio station randomly selects a person from her phone to go on the trip with her. The randomly selected person ends up being Jack, a person she met one night at a bar.

Violet and Jack traveled to make fun places. The writing made me feel as if I was there too. That said, I couldn't feel the chemistry between Violet and Jack. Jack feels cold and distant throughout the book. This book had some heavy topics, such as abortion and doxing. That didn't both me, but going into the book would have been nice to know. I expected a fun rom-com travel romance, but the main characters missed the mark. This would have been a good dual-POV book.

Thank you, G.P. Putnam's Sons, for my complimentary copy for my honest review.

I was 100% here for the premise of this book: Dylan, a writer who feels a bit stuck at her job for a buzzy magazine and website, wins an incredible radio contest: an all-expenses-paid trip around the world. There is, of course, a catch: The radio station will select a contact from her phone at random to accompany her on the vacation. As luck would have it, they choose Jack, an uptight lawyer who Dylan met (and kissed) one night in a bar. I felt that the chemistry between Dylan and Jack fell a little flat, or perhaps it took too long to progress. And there seemed to be a bit too much outside drama (both of their jobs and both of their families), plus I found it hard to believe that Jack wouldn't expect the story to play out online.

It wasn't for me, but I'm sure plenty of readers will enjoy it! I was intrigued by the premise of this debut romance, so I didn't hesitate to give it a try. I love the concept of traveling the world with someone you had one encounter with before things took an awkward turn, and I'm always up for a road trip romance with tons of forced proximity. However, I found the execution itself to be a little lackluster. The vast majority of romance novels out these days are written in first person, so I found the third person POV to be tougher to get into - especially since the heroine has a traditionally masculine name. It was just one extra thing to try to keep straight in my mind. I also didn't like Dylan's character all that much; she seemed kind of self-involved, and it was no wonder why Jack was irritated with her. Not that I liked him all that much better, but I was definitely curious about his character at the start. Ultimately, this didn't play out the way I was hoping and the lack of chemistry between the characters meant the love story didn't hold my interest. I ended up DNFing somewhere along the way.

This was a first time read for me by this author and I had such fun reading it, that it definitely won't be my last. It is a cute and fun story that will having you smiling and laughing along the way. Dylan is feeling kind of stuck in her life and on a whim, calls in to a radio station for a chance to win a trip around the world, and she actually wins. There is one catch, though. She has to randomly choose a travel partner from her contacts. And she ends up choosing the last person she would want to go with, Jack, an annoying and uptight guy who she had met on a night out. Despite all the awkwardness they initially had, after all they were virtual strangers taking a trip together, they ultimately began to bond and a wonderful chemistry developed between the two. I enjoyed following the character growth between Jack and Dylan and also how they championed each other. Both were well-developed characters and I liked getting to know them. This was an entertaining story and I look forward to reading more by this author.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Dylan is a magazine quiz writer struggling to get her big break. On a whim, she enters a radio contest for a trip around the world. The only catch is that she has to travel with someone randomly chosen from her phone contacts. The randomizer chooses wound-too-tight Jack, who Dylan met months ago and ghosted him before their first date. He surprisingly agrees and the two set off on their trip together.

I really enjoyed the personal journeys of Dylan and Jack individually. The both really came into their own and found out what they wanted to do with their careers and with their futures. It made the romance aspect feel like the cherry on top and not their sole purpose, which was refreshing and appreciated.

Overall, I loved all of the travel adventures that they went on and their character growth. The family subplot was especially timely and I also loved the bi rep. The romance wasn’t the main focus, but when the slow burn came to a boil, it was definitely hot! I would recommend this one for anyone who loves to travel and anyone who loves novels about writers.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I went into this book really hoping for a light, fun romance that was heavy on the travel.
What I got was different... And for that, I'm thankful!
This story did a lot of things well: We have likable enough lead characters, a fun narrative device that allows for forced proximity, our characters traveling to interesting locations, slow development of the lead character's relationship, and discussion of heavy/difficult topics is a really well done way.
What did this book do best? Definitely the story's conflict between our leads. Our female lead (and the reader's POV) does a not so great thing, which was refreshing. She made the mistake, she wasn't the "victim" of the mistake. The conflict doesn't make you want to roll your eyes, it's real, makes sense, and the male lead's reaction is warranted. Our character's discussion of the conflict and them working through the conflict allows for development of their relationship and communication, which is great.
I do wish the story had focused a bit more on the travel and the sights our main characters are fortunate enough to see. I also wish we would have gotten a bit more of our female lead's inner monologue with regards to her relationship with her parents, especially in the lead up to the reader understanding why there's tension there.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would recommend giving it a read. It would be a great book to bring on a plane!

I loved this book until I didn't. And even though I didn't agree with all of the choices the FMC did I still loved Everhart's writing.

Loved the concept of this book and how it was executed. The idea of having to take a trip anywhere, much less around the world, with any contact from your phone is daunting, but Dylan is a fun, vibrant character that takes in everything around her with joy and interest. She is willing to take this chance for an adventure. Jack is a bit of an uptight guy she met a few months ago and never called him back. He decides what the heck and says he will go on the trip. Obviously they are approaching this in very different ways. Dylan wants to absorb everything around her. Jack wants to follow a schedule. Dylan is also hoping to gain more through her job by writing about her experience in each place. Jack asks that she just doesn't include him. As you can imagine, this is difficult and might prove impossible for Dylan. They have a great relationship building throughout each city. Highly recommend reading this one to see what they end up doing by the end of the trip.

I do think that it should be noted that there is mention of abortion and online bullying and this may be triggering for some

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

a cute and charming romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

#readpairsharereview

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the eARC of this beautiful book & chance to give my candid review.

Wanderlust
by Elle Everhart

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) but only one scene

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Just like the book blurb, it’s exciting and captivating right away.
🤩 The grumpy-sunshine and how it switches when Dylan is sleep deprived.
🤩 London and then traveling the world—I love to travel in my books. Especially in a forced proximity situation.
🤩 The magazine column writing & Instagram posting is interesting and fun.
🤩 Pro-choice representation.
🤩 Bisexual representation.
🤩 Opposites attract, possibly neurodivergent representation (but never discussed).
🤩 Precious, sweet, and supportive hand holding.
🤩 Rum buckets.
🤩 Slooooooooowwwwww burn to the max. One pretty hot steamy scene.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I wish I had the audiobook. Narrator Olivia Dowd sounds great on the Amazon/Audible sample. I love to be entertained with an amazing English accent.
💫 The secret keeping didn’t seem like Dylan’s true character.
💫 I’m a fairly quiet introvert of a person, but the silent treatment from Jack was not okay. It’s horrible to be the person living on eggshells, not knowing why you’re being quiet or when you’ll stop.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own. This post contains minor spoilers.

Where to begin? This book is absolutely amazing. It follows Dylan, a journalist who won a radio contest for a trip around the world. There was a catch, though: the radio gets to choose a random person to accompany her. The person selected is Jack, the man she made out with at a club once. Jack seems aloof and condescending in the beginning and Dylan quickly gets annoyed with him. But as their trip goes on, Jack reveals himself to be funny and kind.

I cannot express how much I love these characters. Dylan just wants to get a column for her magazine, but learns throughout that the column is not worth sacrificing her mental health. Jack wants to make his parents proud at the sacrifice of his own happiness. The two help each other to realize their own self worth and value. I love them both so much. There were a couple moments when reading I had to hug my phone and go "oh my babies *crying*."

There aren't a lot of side characters considering the majority of the story takes place with just Dylan and Jack on the road together. The side characters that were there, though, are amazing. We never meet Jack's sisters, but I love them. I hate Dylan and Jack's parents with a burning passion. I hate Dylan's editor with a burning passion. And I love Dylan's brother. Each side character had so much depth that I felt they were real.

On to the romance. Dylan and Jack had such an amazing relationship. They start off at ends with each other, but their forced proximity helps them become closer. Jack is such a secret softie; Dylan is definitely the one to tell the waiter that he ordered no ketchup when they go out. They help each other out with their issues and balance each other so well.

There were multiple moments when I had to stop reading to let out a little scream because I couldn't handle how much I loved them. THEY HELD HANDS WHILE SLEEPING!!!! How am I supposed to deal with that in a calm manner?

Suffice to say, this is one of my top books for the year. I will be forcing all my friends to read it.

This didn’t really work for me. The story and the romance felt unnatural and forced. Not enough details on the around the world trip, too many details on the backstory and family stuff. The setup was awkward. Found the ending to be unsatisfying

I really liked this book... for the first 60%. It became something else after awhile, with very little dialogue between the characters, too much angsty internal dialogue for the fmc, and a LOT OF HEAVY CONVERSATIONS around TW topics like abortion, toxic parents, toxic workplaces, etc. The romance developing at the beginning of the book gave me those 5 star butterflies, but they disappear around the time of the [nearly?] 3rd act breakup, which occurs at the 60% mark. After the conflict, there was little building of the relationship, even after the resolution.

The nitty gritty things: I hated that it took the FMC 2-3 cities on her prize vacation to apologize to the MMC. We missed seeing their adventures in a lot of the cities. There are 2-3 REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES of the adventures the two main characters went on and the things they worked through to grow closer together. Then, when the tension hits, we get an example of their excursion with the tension, but weeks go by without it being resolved and then suddenly they're together but they don't really talk to each other?

I loved when they climbed the bridge in Sydney together. I loved when Dylan helped Jack make a list for his future. I loved Dylan's apology when it happened, eventually, and her grand gesture. I just feel like I read two halves of different novels a bit. Plus there was a lot of righteous beliefs in there, which showed some really tough conversations (re: emails, tweets, more emails, etc.) that didn't empower the way I think they could have. As an early-30-something, I might draft an email, but a lot of particularly Dylan's behavior felt like she thought she was always right and therefore she had a *right* to behave the way she did. From my own experiences navigating challenging adult relationships with my parents, yes, it is frustrating and yes, I'd love to write a heartbreaking email, and yes, it's okay to feel the way you feel, but you also need to acknowledge that there are differences in generations and sometimes you want people to love you in exactly the way you want them to love you, but that's just not possible. So if anything, this book is a reminder to please, be gracious with people. Get frustrated, but teach them to be better. You can't harbor negative feelings for years and expect them to just GET BETTER RANDOMLY. It takes work.

Anywhoooo... this book gets... 3 stars? from me. I liked some parts more than others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for advanced access to this one! These are my honest thoughts.

Wanderlust is my kind of book! Traveling city to city and experiencing different cultures, while figuring out your own life! The love story along the way was the cherry on the top! The execution could've been better, but it was a solid story! I would recommend! 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

🧐 my thoughts:
I was super excited to read this since reading that it was being compared to The People We Meet on Vacation. I really enjoyed the concept of that book, so I knew this was one that I had to read!

👌🏻what i liked:
I really did enjoy all of the travel despite it being quick stops in each place. I felt like I was along for the ride with them on this wild adventure. The banter in this book was top notch, very enjoyable! Even the banter between the side characters was great! I loved the character growth between Dylan and Jack.

🙃 what i didn’t like:
I really thought that the description of the places that Dylan and Jack travelled to could’ve been more. It was hard at times to paint that picture of where they were at. I also felt like they moved from place to place too quickly. They only stayed in one spot for a couple chapters before it was on to the next stop. I feel like this could’ve been so much more than it was.

🥰 special thanks
Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Everhart, and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was cute and fun and a great summer read. I love the idea of meeting someone when on a trip like that. So ideal!