3.5 stars rounded up

I will always be up for a rom com that has the added element of travel, especially when it's the dead of winter and I need to live vicariously through fiction. Wanderlust takes you on an unlikely adventure with Dylan and Jack around the world. Although Dylan has literally met Jack once and spent a few hours with him and just happens to be her polar opposite.

What I loved:
- Wanderlust is a total escape!
- This may be Elle's debut, but it was incredible for a debut!
- While I didn't love Dylan at the beginning (I found her to be a bit self-absorbed), I loved her character growth and ended up really enjoying her by the end!
- I could feel the chemistry between Dylan and Jack and really enjoyed it. I love the support they gave each other and they felt like real people.

If you're looking for an escapist rom com, give this one a try!

A massive thank you to NetGalley, Elle Everhart and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this ARC!

What a solid debut by @elleeverhart! Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for this ARC of "Wanderlust" in return for an honest review.

4/5⭐
I love to travel and the title immediately caught my eye. Dylan and Jack go on an around-the-world trip courtesy of a local London radio show. It's a bit awkward at first since their only history is a snog at a club months back and Dylan couldn't even place who"Jack the Posho" was on her phone.

I initially thought it might be a light-hearted rom-com for the potential hijinks one can get into while traveling but this book has so much heart and gets into some serious topics, such as cyber bullying, doxxing, consent, abortion, and lack of parental support. It caught me my surprise but in a good way. I love when there's depth to romances.

Everhart does a great job developing the characters and providing their backstories so you know who they are and why they react in certain ways. The only aspect I wish was explored further was Dylan's bisexuality. It was almost a non-factor in the plot. Otherwise, a solid story.

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart was such a fun and sweet rom-com!
And for this to be her romance debut she killed it.

I loved the connection. And the characters were just so much fun.
The writing was engaging and delightful.
The banter was great… And the romance was fabulous. I couldn't have picked a better book to devour.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This started out as a solid 4 star read as I loved the premise of winning a trip around the world, with the catch that you have to do it with a random person selected from your contacts. I was a literal basket of nerves as they selected who she would go with and appreciated the anticipation and build up the author was able to portray.

But...as we dove into a enemies to lovers trope, I couldn't help feeling somewhat misled. I would have liked to have seen more of a flashback to when the two MC's met. There was a mention, but it was definitely a positive experience even though the timing was bad for one of them. As previous reviewers have mentioned, this book with all the misunderstandings and miscommunications between characters, would have benefited from a dual POV timeline.

I would also like to address the pacing and references to time. Some of the destinations were described in glorious detail, while others were more of an afterthought. There were references made they would be traveling for months, but then it would say 6 weeks. Then there would be mention that they would be done in a few weeks, but really a month or more was left. A lot would happen and then you would find out it had only been a few days, when all of a sudden, they are at the end of the trip and you felt like you missed a lot of what had to have happened during that time.

While I really appreciated the LGBTQIA+ representation, I wished the author could have come up with more varied descriptions of the MC than simply, "queer as hell". The first time was great, but the other two times were just repetitive and felt more performative. The MC could have gone a little deeper into her feelings and experiences being bisexual and I would have liked a little more exploration of that.

Finally, as a professional photographer, I was annoyed by a character who played around with taking pictures on his iphone and suddenly decided to become a free lance photographer. Seriously, it's a legitimate career with training involved and proper equipment. Sure, people can do a lot with iphones, but let's not pretend for a minute that one can quit a lucrative career and just have a love of taking pictures and a phone with a good camera and suddenly become a "photographer" just because a girl, with no photography background, says you're really good. I'm all for second careers and doing what you love, but the reality is that you do it on the side until you learn enough and become good enough to create a business. This whole plot line just felt unrealistic.

Overall, a fun premise and entertaining read. First half was 4 stars, second half was 3 stars for me.

TW: abortion

i really enjoyed this book! it was smart, witty, and just fun. i loved the premise, it was really original. and i love Jack, i thought he was very sweet and every time we learned more about him i loved him more. i liked the commentary on what should be shared on the internet, asking for permission to share others, trolls, and the consequences of sharing yourself on the internet. i thought that was a really interesting take that i don’t think is talked about a lot especially in this way. maybe it’s my own bias and things like that but because of it the stakes seemed kind of low, like it was pretty obvious jack was going to forgive her (beyond knowing it’s a romance and hopefully had a HEA), i thought there maybe should’ve been something that gave us more devastation and the thought that maybe they wouldn’t make it. but it was still a super sweet and fun read, definitely great for everhart’s debut novel!

I loved the idea of this story. Two strangers who met in a club traveling together across the world. Adventures & beautiful scenery that both characters couldn’t have dreamed or anticipated seeing. Some work drama between both characters & their jobs makes for some twists and turns you didn’t see coming. The end becomes quite spicy and it feels a little forced because the MC’s travels are ending. Overall not a bad book. The writing style was easy to read for most of it & the MC’s are easy to love.

I liked this book. Do not take my 3 star review as something bad, as for me it marks a relatively average read, but one that I still enjoyed.

Wanderlust follows Dylan, a writer for a magazine who is trying to kickstart her own column with the magazine she currently works for. In a random chance, she wins a radio contest to travel around the world, but the catch is that the station gets to choose one person at random from her contacts to go with her. They end up choosing Jack, a guy she made out with in a club a few months back and never called again. We follow the two of them as they make their travels around the world and bond together as a pair.

I'll start with the stuff I think is really well handled. I think that the discussions around really tough topics are handled very well and with an amazing amount of grace, and I like that both of the characters have very separate problems that they are dealing with. When the pair does eventually get together, they are very cute together and I love their dynamic once that happens. The places that are explored in the book are really cool and vibrant, and I really enjoy the way the author described the locations, and it does give a very real picture of just how exhausting a trip like this would be.

I do have a couple of things with this book that knock it down from being great to being just good or okay, even. The first major thing I have is that I found our main character, Dylan, to be really self-absorbed through the first part of this book. I mean it took me until about the 50% mark before I started to not roll my eyes when she would say things. She treated Jack pretty cruelly through a large portion of the book, and while I think we are supposed to think that Jack is acting distant from her and giving her reason to act the way she is, there's enough about Jack given to us that even through Dylan's perspective, I could see that she was being way too harsh on him. She also goes way beyond the boundary of what I would consider acceptable a couple of times, and while she does acknowledge that she's messed up in the book, and I think it's perfectly fine for characters to make mistakes, I just simply don't buy these two getting together in the end.

There's a lot of telling, not showing when it comes to Jack's character (like he's supposed to be very posh, etc, but really we only get like 2 descriptors of him that might support that? Otherwise it's just kind of Dylan assuming that he's a posh guy). I feel like I would have really enjoyed this book if it was either from a dual POV or if there was more of an exploration of Jack as a character that would justify Dylan's reaction, or maybe even written in such a way that Dylan wasn't quite as antagonistic of Jack right off the bat, this could easily have been a 4 or 5 star read for me.

This was everything I want in a romcom—hooky premise, opposites attract, excellent tension and humor throughout. I was rooting for them both, and getting to see their relationship develop around the world was wonderful! What a joy. Can't wait for more by Everhart!

Let this serve as a reminder to delete people from your contacts when you are no longer interested in communicating with them. A funny romp with serious attitude.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

This story starts of promising when Dylan, wins a trip around the world. The catch is she has to go on the trip with a randomly selected phone number from her contacts. Lo and behold a past failed potential date who she can't even remember is her world trip partner Jack. This was a nice quick read but it was missing more spice for me personally.

**Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

This is a very cute romcom with a trip around the world. It is full of humor and romance. I wanted to be there with them so bad, it gave me travel/love envy. I adored this!
I just reviewed Wanderlust by Elle Everhart. #Wanderlust #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Wow, I really loved this book! I enjoyed how it was a book about the journey of self discovery coupled with the journey of falling in love. Dylan and Jack had such a fun misunderstood antagonists to lovers journey in their relationship. I really loved how the author gave the pairing such an authentic build - from the awkwardness to their softening to a little drama to being reconnected in a stronger way. Part of me wishes this was dual POV, but that's just a personal preference. I think the author did a good job giving Jack the spotlight in small and big moments. His journey of self was lovely to read. I appreciated the descriptions of all the places the characters visited. It made me feel like I was traveling with the characters. I thought the issue of abortion was approached in such a thoughtful way - from Dylan's choice and reasoning to the discussion with her parents. It was raw but done in such a respectful way.

"The whole trip has been great, but getting to do it with you . . . that’s the best bit.”

Thank you for the ARC!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Dylan, wins a trip around the world. The catch is she has to go on the trip with a randomly selected phone number from her contacts.

Who gets chosen, but a past failed potential date who she doesn’t even remember putting his number in her phone.

While Dylan is writing an article of her travels with the grumpy lawyer, Jack, they become closer with each new continent.

A quick, sweet read.

3.5 stars ⭐️ This was a nice little rom-com. I liked the character of Dylan, and her chaotic free spirit, blended with the logical, buttoned up Jack. They seemed like a cute match together, balancing each other out. With the title, Wanderlust, and description, I was hoping for a bit more imagery of the locations they travelled to. It would have been great to get a more detailed glimpse into the wonderful and vibrant cities they explored. Overall, I’d say this was a good book. Nothing groundbreaking, but enjoyable.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Dylan is a writer who on a whim calls a radio contest and wins a trip around the world, but the only catch, her travel buddy is a random contact the radio selects from her phone. The contact just so happens to be Jack, an almost one night stand from a few months earlier. While Dylan is one to take chances and speaks her mind, Jack is more reserved.
This was a great almost enemies to lovers read but I wish this was written from dual povs.

First of all, even though I love to travel, there are maybe two people in my contacts with whom I could bear to spend so much time, so that contest would not suit me at all!
That said, this was such an interesting premise for a romance novel, and I thought it was executed well. I do usually prefer books with dual POVs as it helps the reader get to know both main characters equally, but I can understand some authors not wanting to write that way. I loved the slow burn between Dylan and Jack, starting with their animosity and awkwardness with each other progressing into mutual attraction and respect. Great debut!

Lately, since I haven't been able to travel, I have been really into travel romance novels. It gives me what I need to live vicariously through the characters and this was no exception. Loved it and I wanted more.

We love a romance where there is travel involved and also a slow burn romance with a stranger. But I felt there was something lacking in their chemistry, there was a lot of potential for this to have been even better, But all in all I still enjoyed reading it.

If you are looking for a summer-y rom com to enjoy by the pool then give this a try.

I was so excited to read this book from the synopsis! Traveling the world with someone you ghosted? I can't imagine - what a great concept! I really enjoyed the story and it made me want to jump on a plane and travel!

A delightful debut and a romantic trip around the world with incredible depth! Dylan’s willingness to be vulnerable and honest with her readers about her abortion was beyond brave, and such a timely and important conversation about reproductive health and personal choice.

While Dylan’s initial steamrolling of Jack with her impulsiveness and lack of respect for his privacy was frustrating, her overall growth and willingness to listen and apologize for the hurt she inflicted was quite moving. I kept wanting more from Jack at the beginning and loved how his storyline unfolded.

Everhart delivered all the fun, slow burn and adventures in this jet setting rom-com, while also cultivating thoughtful discussions about the importance of access to safe healthcare, prioritizing your mental health, giving yourself permission to start over and bet on yourself, and never apologizing for asking for what you deserve.