Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for providing this ARC!

Wanderlust is a rom-com that features Dylan, a women's magazine writer who wins a radio contest trip around the world. Dylan quickly discovers that there is a catch: her travel partner will be someone randomly selected from her phone's contacts. Enter Jack, a guy who met Dylan once at a bar and has not spoken with since. Jack surprisingly jumps at the opportunity to join the trip, much to Dylan's dismay.

This book had a lot of potential based on the plot alone. However, I felt like it could have been so much more. I could not help myself from making the connection between several plot points in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days to this book. It very much reads as "Andie Anderson How-to Girl who writes fluff for a magazine but wants to write more hard-hitting pieces".

The characters were not incredibly interesting, and I did not see much of a connection between Dylan and Jack. In addition, I felt that the travel piece was really lacking; some locations got several chapters, and some locations were barely covered in a page. All of the ideas were there, I just think they could have been executed better.

I can honestly say I couldn’t imagine something happening like this but loved the premise of the idea. And think it would be the cutest tv show, too. We’ve all felt the feels Dylan is faced with in feeling stuck in a work rut and her actually winning the radio contest is one in a million, and the task of selecting anyone at random in your phone contacts, you just know the rom-com essence is going to end up with a strangers to lovers concept and overall an enjoyable read.

I absolutely loved this book. I feel like I need more time to digest, so I may come back and edit this, but my overall feeling is just...this book is important.

This book is important for bi individuals who get shamed/told "its ok because you can still be in a relationship that LOOKS straight". Because its who Dylan is! She is a wonderful person and she doesn't fit in this box that her parents feel like she should be in. This book is important for people who are speaking their truth and telling stories about abortion that they got because they have that CHOICE. Dylan's life was really screwed up when she told her story. And when she tells Jack, thats the first glimpse that the reader, and Dylan, get that says "he's a good guy". Jack is so different on the inside then his box that HE was forced into.

I just can't love this book enough. And the fact that the cliche third act breakup doesn't happen, because it happens in the middle and then they COMMUNICATE and Dylan gets to apologize? It's amazing to me.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and my reviews are completely my own*

I really enjoyed world traveling with Dylan and Jack. The whole premise of winning a radio competition like this is amazing.

The story started off so cute but overtime, I unfortunately started to dislike Dylan a bit. But nevertheless, Dylan and Jack deserved their ending and I couldn't stop my smile on the last few pages.

*Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for strangers to lovers, opposites attract, forced proximity, and travel trope romance books. Would one classify this as a second chance romance??

While at work, Dylan calls a radio station on a whim to enter a contest to travel around the world. Amazingly, she wins but has to take the trip with a rando from her phone contacts. And of course, Jack is picked. Jack from a pub many moons ago who she ghosted instead of going on a date with. But he agrees to go on the trip with her and unknowingly to them, sets up the perfect opportunity to connect & fall in love 🥰🥹

My first reaction is 4-4.5 stars. I love their interactions from the radio call to the very end. The ups & downs they had, including the fact that the third act breakup didn’t feel like it. It felt like growth in their friendship that was pivotal to their relationship.

I loved the character development and the flow of their relationship, my only complaint is the low spice. But honestly, it felt right and anything else wouldn’t have felt true to the story.

Huge thank you to NetGalley & Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is a beautiful debut from Elle Everhart & I can’t wait to read more of her books.

ARC Review

Rating ARC’s can be difficult because I review and rate based on how a book makes me feel, but I try to be more objective with these. I will say upfront that I loved this book! The premise was fun and just different enough to put a spin on familiar tropes, but not so outlandish that I couldn’t enjoy it.

Wanderlust is a single POV book that dips into rom-com territory but brings along a lot of big issues to tackle as well (abortion, family strife, LGBTQIA+ acceptance, online harassment and threats, and the environmental crisis).

What I really loved:
✔️ strangers to lovers
✔️ slow burn
✔️ grumpy/sunshine
✔️ second chance romance
✔️ forced proximity

There were a few things that had me wavering between 3 stars and 5 stars (so I split the difference) that either just weren’t quite right for me or may be difficult for others.

1. If a liberal view on big topics is a deal breaker for you, then this isn’t your book. I loved it, but some of the issues named above are very sensitive, so it won’t be right for everyone.

2. I feel like this book needed more development for Jack to understand his character better. It might have been better as a dual POV.

3. The unresolved nature of the ending makes my anxious brain itch! A lot of big issues were brought up and left hanging, and huge decisions were made and then… done. I don’t know if this was done intentionally so the author could continue the story in another book, or if other (less neurotic than me) readers would find it a satisfying conclusion but I felt like there was too much left open.

All in all, though, this was a really enjoyable book, and I’m putting this author on my list to watch for because I’d love to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you to netgalley, Putnam books, and Elle Everhart for a chance to read this fantastic debut romance!

Read dates: 03/02/2023 - 03/04/2023
Goodreads review posted: 03/04/2023
Instagram review posted: 03/04/2023

If you won a radio show contest where the prize was an incredible trip around the world but you had to go with a person randomly selected on your phone's contact list, would you go?

Dylan is on the brink of getting her own collumn. If she can write a good series about this trip, perhaps her overbearing boss will finally let her have her chance.

Dylan is willing to do whatever takes, even if it means embellishing the series as a "second chance romance" between her and her randomly-selected-contact vacation-mate Jack. But the more time they spend together, the more she gets to know Jack, the more their bond grows. Now she must consider if her dream job is worth the price she'd have to pay to get it.

This was such a fun and interesting premise! I loved that we got to visit so many places with them and it gave me a serious case of Wanderlust ✨️ I enjoyed the story, and appreciated all the other topics covered beyond travelling and the romance.

I do wish this was a dual POV; it would have been nice to have Jack's perspective. I also didn't care for Dylan too much but that's purely due to personal preference. Given those things, it was the reason I wasn't too invested in the romance aspect of their relationship.

Overall, a great debut by Elle Everhart.

Thank you for the ARC!

CW: abortion (past), strained family relationships

This book was not for me. First let me say that the cover is misleading in that you think you are picking up a breezy, fun romance, but instead I found large parts of the subject matter to be heavy and dark. In keeping with current trends, this book ticks every Woke checkbox (abortion, LGBT main character, etc). Additionally, I found the main character to be very hateful and unforgiving toward her family for having beliefs different than hers, even though they made efforts through the story to hear her side.

I love to read romances for the heartwarming stories. Here, rather than reading a fun story, I felt like an agenda took center stage and was being shoved down my throat the entire time. If you are anywhere other than far left politically, I would steer clear.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam for my ARC.

This book makes me want to enter every radio contest! I thoroughly enjoyed the ridiculousness of a free world trip for two. There were so many times I felt the same emotions as the main character, Dylan, as she navigated her relationship with Jack - this is all thanks to Everhart's writing.
As someone who has been to a few of the places Everhart took these two, she did a good job of highlighting the bit of the locations.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Dylan is stuck writing for a boss that doesn’t appreciate her. So when she wins a radio contest for a trip around the world, she takes it! The catch? The radio show pulls a random contact in her phone to go with her.

Jack is stuff lawyer that Dylan met once at a bar. She doesn’t remember him, but he remembers her and tells the audience that she never called him back.

As they travel the world, they begin to slowly open up. They share their feelings of hurt, hope, and acceptance. It was awesome to read the growth that Dylan and Jack had not only together, but also just themselves.

This book was a cute, fun, and easy read. I thought it had an original concept and really enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more from Elle Everhart!



📘: Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
🗓 Pub Date: July 4, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Everhart, and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads. Will review on retail once published!

It took me exactly one paragraph to be all in for this sparkly romcom with real-life stakes. It’s not just that MC Dylan’s crackling sarcasm is delightful, but that her world is so immediately immersive. A writer irritated with her life and crappy boss, dealing with the trauma of her family abandoning her after she was doxxed online and received real-life death threats for a courageous yet controversial article she wrote, Dylan desperately needs a break. When she wins a radio contest all-expenses-paid trip around the world but learns she has to do it with a guy she accidentally ghosted, we’re off to the races. When Jack arrives on-scene an uptight curmudgeon, Everhart flips the grumpy/sunshine stuck in close proximity trope. With two deeply flawed and hurting characters who constantly surprise each other (and the reader), you’re not only invested in the romance,  you want them both to be okay. The slowest of slow burns, their crackling chemistry keeps you turning the pages, screaming at them to get out of their own way and just kiss, already, and when they finally get together, the steamy payoff is delicious. With British wit, charming characters, and emotional layers, it’s almost like Richard Curtis, Nancy Meyers, and Greta Gerwig got together to make a romcom.

What would you do if you won a trip around the world, but had to go with a person picked randomly from your cell phone contact list? This is how Dylan ends up traveling with Jack, a man she met on a night out but never called. Aside from the romance and important discussion present in this book, I absolutely loved "visiting" the different countries with Dylan and Jack. Lots of wandering and lusting ;)

I was riveted from the very start of Wanderlust. What a fantastic premise for a book! Our main character, Dylan, wins a radio giveaway for a trip around the world. The only catch--she has to go with a person randomly selected from her contacts. When the DJ calls her new travel partner--who Dylan does not remember--"Jack the Posho" sure remembers her. They met at a night out months ago and he tells the radio audience Dylan never called him back. He had the restaurant selected and everything.

These two set off on a trip around the world, visiting a new city every week while Dylan writes about their travels in hopes of drumming up enough engagement so her editor gives her her own column at the magazine. The adventures in each new country were delightful and this book also deals with some heavy topics like Dylan writing about her own abortion years ago and the online harassment that still follows her.

Jack is a wonderful romance hero who's supportive, sweet, and always in tune with Dylan.

While this book feels like an escapist read, it's also a story about standing up to hate and the power in taking back your voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Elle Everhart for an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. The romance didn’t keep me entertained and I didn’t care for the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC! I loved this delicious slowburn where Dylan and Jack have time to evolve on their own journeys while they journey the world together. Dylan may not be a super sunshine, but Jack is a grump if there ever was one. 😼😼

I loved this book! The second I saw the comparisons to "People We Meet on Vacation" and "The Unhoneymooners," I knew I would enjoy it—and I definitely did. WANDERLUST follows Dylan, who is feeling stuck at her job and is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she wins a trip around the world. The only problem? Her travel buddy must be a randomly selected contact on her phone. Enter Jack, a guy Dylan once met on a night out and subsequently accidentally ghosted. Can they overcome their differences to have fun traveling the world together—and maybe even fall in love along the way?

I really enjoyed the romance between Dylan and Jack, but beyond that, it was a true joy to follow both characters' growth throughout the story. Both of them had been through some difficult things in the past, and I loved getting to see Dylan advocate for herself and discover what she wanted from both her career and her relationships, and Jack develop the courage to pave his own path and follow his dreams despite others' expectations of him. The book discusses some heavy and important topics, but does a fantastic job of addressing them while also balancing them with the more lighthearted aspects of the story. I wish we had gotten even more descriptions of the places Dylan and Jack traveled to, but otherwise, I thought this was a great summery read! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

Wanderlust had such a fun premise and was quite an enjoyable read. I felt like I was in a whole other world. I loved that it dealt with some tough topics making it very relatable. Though starting out it was quite awkward between Dylan and Jack for obvious reasons but as they get to their destinations they both begin to open up and their chemistry becomes undeniable. I do wish that we got more of Jack's P.O.V; as well as more of Dylan and Jack's adventures while on their trip. It was still such a great debut novel by Elle Everhart.

Thank you to Putnam Books for providing me an ARC for review!

This was a really cute concept, checking the boxes for second chance romance (in a way!), grumpy x sunshine, AND forced proximity. The story follows Dylan, a writer working at a Cosmopolitan-meets-Buzzfeed magazine with dreams of getting an official column of her own, who wins a radio giveaway for a trip around the world. The catch? She has to bring along a random person from her contacts, who, of course, ends up being a guy she met in a club years before, a stuffy lawyer named Jack.

Let's start with what I liked: Dylan is bi, and it's initially mentioned in passing in a way that I really appreciated - I always love to see more representation without making it a huge plot point, and Elle Everhart did a great job of executing that. Dylan also discusses at length the harassment and doxxing she faced after writing an article detailing her experience getting an abortion, which again, is just huge to see mentioned in books, and I really commend Elle Everhart for including it.

That said, I found it harder than expected to get into the story. Sure, we're TOLD there's lots of tension the whole time, but I never really felt it at any point. In reality, Dylan seemed to really disproportionately dislike Jack from the beginning, and for way longer than what felt reasonable. I kept waiting for it to click, for me to want them together, but the moment just never really came. Everything was set up for me to feel the usual excitement of a slow burn, but it just never really connected for me, making the back half fall flat. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this one at this time, but I'm regretful that it didn't work for me!

Overall, I really do think Elle Everhart shows a lot of promise with this as a debut, and I'm hopeful that her next will better resonate with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and PenguinGroup for this ARC. When I saw this book was teased as a combination of “The People You Meet on Vacation” and “The Unhoneymooners,” I had to read it. I am so glad I did. This was a very quick read because I could not put it down. Between the gorgeously described locations and adventures the main characters experiences to the incredible chemistry between them, I was hooked.

Dylan is a writer and she works at a magazine called Buxom. One morning, while at another grinding day at work, she calls into a radio station contest and wins a trip around the world IF they get to pick one name in her contacts to go with her. The person picked happens to be a guy she ghosted a few months before. And let the adventures begin!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was fun, made me laugh but had enough serious issues that were so well done. I was very happy to see the author uplift an assertive bi character, and who deftly and unapologetically handles women’s healthcare, family dynamics and the pros and cons of social media engagement. I loved it!

Wanderlust was a really cute rom-com, funny characters, grumpy sunshine. My three stars just means it was ok and I didn’t devour it! Still something I would recommend to any travel lover!! The traveling felt kind of rushed at times, but didn’t take away from the romance.