Cover Image: Wanderlust

Wanderlust

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

As a writer I loved the opportunity the FMC had to write about traveling the world. Literally a dream 🤩 I loved this book, I just thought it was a little too slow-paced for me. I’d like to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC (sorry it took so long for me to read it).

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed the story! This is my first buy this Author, and it won’t be my last.

This is a story about our main character, Dylan, and how she wins a radio contest to travel around the world. The catch is that the radio show will select her travel partner from a random contact in her phone. Here is where we meet our secondary character Jack, who is labeled as “Jack the Posho”in her phone. Dylan forgot that they had a one night Makeout session in a club a few months back.

Jack is extremely uptight, whereas Dylan is really more carefree. It is truly an opposite attract situation and I loved it! I also love that we get to travel around the world going to Australia, Japan, Africa, North America, and South America! If you’re a lover of travel, this will definitely be interesting to you with all the little snippets.

We learned that Dylan, Rowan article about having an abortion for the magazine earlier in the year, and received death threats, and had to eventually move because people on the Internet stocked her, and threatened to kill her. We also learned that her company did nothing to protect her. The company that she works for has been dangling her having her own column over her head for a while now and has asked her to write travel pieces while she’s on her trip that insinuated. She’s in a romantic relationship with Jack.

Jack is a lawyer and has been micromanage his whole life by his parents. He does not want to be a lawyer but has always feared disappointing them. He truly wants to become a photographer and takes amazing photos throughout the trip of Dylan and all their visits.

Both Dylan and Jack go through a realization that they current life isn’t working for them. at the same time forest proximity through all their travels, bring them closer together and they share more about themselves with one another. Their friendship develops some real trust that leads to a really great relationship between the two of them at the end.

One thing that was a bit shocking to me, which is why I doxed one star the friendship and growing feelings turned into dirty, talk and sex between our two characters. Just kind of seemed abruptly and out of character.

Thank you to Netgalley & G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this arc!

Was this review helpful?

Based on the description, I was hoping to read an easy breezy travel (romance) book but it had heavy hitting topics. I thought the pacing was off - it started off very slow for me and then ends quickly. I thought it was just ok.

Was this review helpful?

I was intrigued by the synopsis of Wanderlust and thought it would be a quick, easy rom com read. And I was right! I liked the travel aspects and second chance romance (my fave trope). Dylan and Jack were a cute couple, and I enjoyed their witty banter.

The book also had some serious topics, which were done well. I also liked that the "third act breakup" happened earlier than usual. It made the book that much better.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for my gifted e-book!

Was this review helpful?

This is a low-stakes, sweet romance about two people awkwardly navigating the close proximity of traveling the world together. Right off the bat in the first call with Jack we get the sense that he's a little bitter or hurt over Dylan not calling him, even if we know from her POV that she didn't call because her life and career were imploding a bit at the time.

Was this review helpful?

When Dylan Coughlan finds herself burnt out at her cooperate job she rings into a radio contest and wins. The prize: a trip around the world. The catch: you must go with a random person listed in the contacts of your phone.
Enter Jack, an uptight lad who Dylan met in a night out and has since ghosted (not fully on purpose).
Will her new travel companion ruin her chance for self discovery or is there more to this man than his buttoned up ways?

This book took me forever and a half to read. I simply didn’t feel connected to the characters. A major portion of this book is travel, however even those aspects were not thrilling most of the time. The miscommunication in this book often felt really drawn out. Due to this, at points it felt as though both the characters were one dimensional. Overall. this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I was excited about this because it sounded very unique. However, I had no attachment to the characters, I did not root for them, and there was way too much miscommunication for me to enjoy this story. It fell way too flat for me, and I was ultimately bored and frustrated.

(I will not be sharing this review to social media)

Was this review helpful?

A clever rom-com; this is the perfect fluffy beach read! Dylan wins the trip of a lifetime, but there's a catch! Since its a radio promo, they get to pick her travel partner at random from her phone contacts. Bam-of course, they choose a rando--a person Jack who she blew off and ghosted before they ever had a chance to date. Nonetheless, Dylan sees this as an amazing opportunity to travel and prove to her boss once and for all that she deserves her very own column, so she's agrees. Jack agrees to go and he ends up being a great guy. It has a bit more emotional depth and some of the writing ends up being a confessional as Dylan starts to reflect on her travels and the bits and pieces of her life that she regrets.
My only real critique is that some of the cities are detailed and others are passed through quickly. I feel like there was an opportunity to learn more about each stop and to travel vicariously through the trip's itinerary. Great read from a debut author. I think I will definitely check out the next work! I read this one courtesy of NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

This romance wasn't bad but it also wasn't great. I thought the beginning flowed well but as the story progressed, I became increasingly lost and annoyed by the main characters. There was way too much miscommunication which is a huge peeve of mine and then there wasn't really any resolution - the characters just ended up together. So a little confusing for me.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book. The majority of my knowledge of UK class differences comes from Love Island UK when I google to understand the implications of different home towns and accents. That knowledge served me well here!

There was a bit of loose ends and items that could have been explained better between the characters but overall, it was a fun book that served as a reminder that rich or poor, family struggles still exist. The dangers of the internet was a bit heavy handed (my brother is a journalist who is famously targeted by antisemites and even he would roll his eyes at some of that part).

But overall, it was fun and I loved the different backdrops as Dylan and Jack traveled the world.

Was this review helpful?

Honestly this book has one of the most interesting premises I've read in a while so I was very excited for it. Sadly, this didn't work well for me. While I expect miscommunication to be a prevalent trope in romance, sometimes it doesn't make sense. Also, the FMC made very iffy choices and the MMC did not grow on me.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a fun read! I could see it being a great summer beach book. I didn't love the missed communication between the main characters, as that's one of my pet peeves, and the female MC made a lot of dumb choices. Ultimately, I found this book enjoyable and appreciated the break from reality.

Was this review helpful?

The book blurb caught me and I was hooked by this unique mesh of forced proximity romance.
Overall, the book was a fun, light read. The MFC is stick in a job she doesn't like and enters a contest on a whim. She is somewhat tossed into a vacation with a near stranger - our MMC, who is personality wise, her complete opposite. The slow burn is... SLOW. In the beginning of the book, it felt like it moved at a great pace - I loved hearing about how our characters grew closer via these travel experiences - though at times was annoyed at the MFC "I should but I won't" fix the problem.

The 2nd part of their trip seemed to be jumped over. While It makes sense for book length, It seemed such a strong contrast to the beginning.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

I was really excited about the premise on this one but it fell a little flat for me. One day when Dylan was listening to the radio and heard about a radio contest where the winner wins a trip around the world but there’s one catch… you have to go with someone randomly selected from your phone contacts. Dylan, who loves to travel thought what the heck so she calls in and she became a winner. When the radio host picked the contact from her phone it was Jack (Posh). Dylan had no idea who the contact was but once they call him she realizes she met him at a club years ago. Jack agrees to Dylan’s surprise and they are off on a set of vacations all over the world with a complete stranger.
I was really intrigued with this premise I love to travel and was really looking forward to reading about over the top fun stories from all over the world. This book didn’t quite deliver on that. I will say I enjoyed the travel scenes the most but I wish there were more travel scenes and less at home time. I was kind of hoping for the trip to be continuous instead of multiple week long trips. My biggest let down with this book was Jack, personally I just did not like him so it was a little hard to root for them. The pacing was really slow burn and made it feel a little long for me but the writing was good. I will say it didn’t feel so much a rom com as women’s lit with some of the heavier topics. I hope to read more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This was a super cute travel read that made me want to get up and get on a flight. I enjoyed getting to see the characters develop feelings for each other and all of the places they got to visit. This was a unique concept for a book that was well executed!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Wanderlust by Elle Everhart.

Was this review helpful?

Read this one awhile ago - super cute! I love the travel aspect, and I loved the relationship these two ended up having. This is definitely something ID NEVER do so I loved being able to live vicariously through these characters. Very cute!

Was this review helpful?

A trip around the world with a random from your phone?! Sounds fun and dangerous. I liked the characters of this book. They dealt with real life issues. Definitely should have a trigger warning though.

Was this review helpful?

The premise of this book was so fun and unique - I was immediately drawn in and invested in these characters. The story definitely felt more character driven with the focus on Jack and Dylan's feelings towards each other and their individual confrontation of major obstacles/challenges they have faced in their life. While I appreciated the depth of the story, I do wish we felt a little more of the travel adventure - settings were not strongly developed and the story could have happened anywhere. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Was this review helpful?

The premise of Wanderlust was so cool and original. A once-in-a-lifetime trip with a random phone contact (the book actually made me go through my phone and delete people haha). I liked the travel angle and I would've liked more trip details for sure. The chemistry between Jack and Dylan wasn't obvious and it really took me a long time to root for a romance to develop. Readers did get a payoff, but I just wish the ending wasn't so rushed.

Was this review helpful?