Cover Image: Wanderlust

Wanderlust

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Member Reviews

The tension was really good between the MCs, made the slow burn worth it. The premise of the book is very unique, winning a trip from radio contest with a random person from her phone contacts. Made for a really good time. The enemies to lovers, mostly one sided because he ghosted her, gave really good banter.

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Finally getting around to my backlist of ARC reviews.

It’s always tough giving…not good reviews. This one had a lot of promise, and I’m a huge fan of when two people have to be in close proximity to each other when they don’t want to. I feel like it just makes for a perfect romcom set up. However, this book? So messy, and not in a good, funny, wholesome romcom way. This was messy and the FMC sadly was the reason for it. I think not liking the narrator of the story makes it almost impossible to enjoy the story. I couldn’t for the life of me enjoy the book when I found the narrator to be herself? I feel guilty just typing it out. I was just so confused as to why she was so angry at the MMC when it didn’t feel like there was a reason for it? The amnosity felt so one sided and unnecessary. It ended up feeling mean and not at all in a cute, witty, angry banter kind of a way. I didn’t like her tone or way of thinking at all and I ended up feeling bad for most of the book Jack and very annoyed with Dylan. Therefore, I couldn’t root for them or even want them to work out in the end.

So this was a definite miss for me.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the chance to give my honest feedback. I’m so sorry this one didn’t work out for me!

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2.5 rounded up to 3.

I adored the premise of this book; but it ultimately fell flat for me. I was SO excited with the idea of the radio contest and one night stands reconnecting over a fabulous world trip… but the book never truly took off.

There were some sweet moments between Jack and Violent but I never truly felt the connection or the romance.

There are some heavy topics in this book and I give the author credit for addressing them in such a poignant way.

This book just wasn’t for me.

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Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of Wanderlust by Elle Everhart. This was a fun read because I love a travel story. This was a slow burn that felt like it ended too quickly. The pacing was a little off for me. Still good though.

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WANDERLUST by Elle Everhart is a delightful debut about a woman who wins a radio contest for a trip around the world - the only catch is that she'll be traveling with a randomly chosen contact off her phone. In Dylan's case, this contact is Jack, a one-time hookup.

I loved this sort of enemies to lovers, sort of second chance love story. Dylan and Jack had great chemistry, and I loved their character development and the development of their bond. I really enjoyed Everhart's writing, the believable characters and witty dialogue - and it was so fun to travel vicariously through Dylan and Jack!

I will watch out for Everhart's future work and will read anything she writes with excitement!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

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Wanderlust is the story of Dylan, who calls into a radio station contest and wins a 2 month trip around the globe! The only contingency- she must let them pick her traveling partner from someone in her phone contacts! The station picks “Jack the Posho” from her phone- a date she met out one night and ghosted on their first date. The contest comes at a time that Dylan is trying to get a column at the magazine she works for and her boss says she can write about her trip.

Jack says yes, but he’s cold towards her as they head out on their 9 city tour around the world. The first city is Sydney, Australia and they bond when they are doing the harbor bridge walk… because Jack has a debilitating fear of heights. They are friendlier and Jack even understands after Dylan tells him the reason that she stood him up on their date.

The book was really fun and I loved the concept. But the pacing was a little off- we spent a long time in a few cities and then blew through some so quickly. I like that Jack and Dylan bonded over disappointing their parents; but living their own lives according to themselves. I felt horrible for Dylan for her online trolling and even taking it offline. Hiding behind a screen makes people bold and they forget real people put themselves out there each day. I enjoyed this debut novel and I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you @putnambooks and @elleeverhart for my gifted ebook. Wanderlust is out now and perfect for anyone who dreams of traveling the world on someone else’s dollar.

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I loved this book. I was hooked right from the start and knew I was going to enjoy going along for the ride. I highly recommend it!

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I do often enjoy forced proximity and this book delivers! A fun read.

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I so enjoyed reading Wanderlust by Elle Everhart - this was my first book by this author and I am looking forward to reading more! Happy reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

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Good book for a summer read, the premise of traveling and banter is compelling but I couldn't connect with the FMC. I don't enjoy when characters want to avenge other people specially for something so minimal like ghosting, fell like that's a bit immature. Needed more chemistry between MCs and more descriptions of the places they visited just to connect with the traveling aspect.

Overall it was an okay read, not memorable.

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This was a really interesting concept that I found really entertaining and amusing. I loved these characters and loved seeing their relationship evolve over time. I wish we got a little more about the places they were traveling, but it really made me want to go on a trip like theirs.

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thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

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I went into this book expecting a fun story about travel and self-discovery but this one had some heavier topics woven in. I liked the premise of the story and it was a cute book, but I felt like there was just something that I didn’t quite connect with.

I did enjoy Dylan and Jack’s characters - she was a quirky, sunshine FMC and he was a reserved, quiet MMC which made for a fun dynamic with some great banter. The forced proximity trope in this kept it interesting too! I loved the descriptions of where they were visiting on their travels and Ella’s writing style was smooth and easy to read.

Overall, if you don’t mind some heavier topics wound into your rom com, this one could be a good option to pick up!

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Not my favorite romance but still very cute! Was expecting more of a travel, Unhoneymooners vibe. I didn’t expect the heavy topics. While I enjoyed it still, I wish it was more lighthearted

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This book is the ideal arm-chair travel, escape. I loved the premise of traveling with a stranger to various countries. The audio is excellent, More people should pick up this book.

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Gosh, what a lovely story, despite the serious subject matter covered. It was so well-written and I felt just like I was traveling with them on their trip. I think we can all appreciate having to work our 'grown-up" job while longing to follow our dreams and strike out on our own. Having a crappy boss that takes advantage of those dreams for their own benefit. Dylan has been through a LOT and having the trip of a lifetime fall into her lap, as long as she drags a rando from her contacts list seems like an easy enough clause to accept. Of course, it happens to be someone she never called back, valid reasoning or not. Jack starts out a bit grumpy with her, understandably so, but they eventually find more common ground than they could've imagined! I really enjoyed all of the support he gave her once she finally explained herself, but I especially loved that she was able to find her strength by herself, not just bc of a man.

TW: Abortion, harassment

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Went into this thinking it would be light and fun romance.

This was not it.

It’s a book about traveling but you didn’t get a lot of descriptions of the places they visited.

Will definitely try other books by this author but this one wasn’t a favorite.

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Picture this: You’re stuck in the office for the summer, plotting your next move up the corporate ladder. On a whim, you call in to the local radio station when they’re running a once-in-a-lifetime travel sweepstake. And you win. The trouble is that you’re sent packing with someone else, and he happens to be a guy you met at a bar just once. That’s how Dylan and her almost-fling, Jack, travel together through Marrakech, Tokyo, Sydney and more. Elle Everhart’s July 2023 debut novel, Wanderlust, is a perfect summer read—plenty of sexy enemies-to-lovers tension and enough immersive travel descriptions to feel like you got a whirlwind vacation too.

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The title immediately grabbed me - I mean, I have a wanderlust tattoo 🤷‍♀️ The romance is definitely a big part of this story, but I would have read this book just to learn about all the places they traveled! They got to see so many cool places and I'm so, SO jealous!

Ok, so on to the romance. I could not imagine winning a trip that's going to last 6 weeks and my travel buddy is a random guy I made out with drunkenly one night. 🤣 They both are so frustrating to one another and honestly just complete opposites that I was cracking up during some of their first interactions together. But then, when they start opening up together, it got all swoony.

This was a cute book but was a bit on the longer side for how long I prefer my romances. There were also a few places that didn't seem to flow very well, but it could have been the lay out of the book since this was an arc rather than final ebook. Overall, it's still a cute ready and I'd def recommend it - especially for romance readers who love travel and their books to deal with a few heavy topics throughout.

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Millennial writer Dylan works at a Buzzfeed-esque website, where she's stuck writing listicles and quizzes instead of the meaningful work she knows she's capable of. One day she spontaneously calls into a radio contest and wins a trip around the world. The catch? Her plus one will be a someone in her phone contacts chosen at random by the radio host.

It's a great plot for a romantic comedy. It's also not a bad idea for an ACTUAL radio contest, although it would be pretty easy to quickly scrub anyone with the last name "from Hinge/Tinder/Bumble/etc." But Dylan is more honest than me; she takes her chances and winds up partnered with a casual in-the-club makeout buddy named Jack.

While the premise had-me-in-the-first-half-not-gonna-lie, I found it hard to root for the individual characters. At first I was totally Team Dylan, unlike other rom com protagonists she didn't feel like a Mary Sue or a "pick me" girl. But Jack was being a major creep (and not in the hot way). He's butthurt that Dylan never followed up with him about a date. It pissed me off: anyone born after 1960 understands that if you make out with someone in a club, they owe you NOTHING. In fact, if you're macking on a stranger in the club you should do so with the assumption that you will never see that person again in your life. Jack was angry at Dylan, which was completely unfair and his entitlement made him made him totally unattractive.

However, by the end my loyalties did a 180, because Jack suddenly becomes charming (the excuses for his earlier bad behavior boil down to "I was joking") and Dylan is the one in the wrong. It was a somewhat jarring switch for me.

I also think the story could have benefited from focusing on the trip Dylan's personal journey (one that is separate from all things Jack) throughout; I think that would have made the eventual HEA more impactful.

There is a good deal of internet-speak in this novel and WhatsApp back-and-forths. While it kind of took me out of the emotional aspect of the story, it's definitely a personal preference and I can see that it could appeal to other younger, more hip readers than I. Overall it's a fun light read, the characters just weren't my favorite.

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