This story was cute, but the pacing is 100% off. It starts slow and ends quickly with this weird perfect period in the middle.

Dylan and Jack are adorable together. The perfect quirky/sunshine and quiet/private mix. The characters are spot in and I love the journey they take both literally and metaphorically.

But be warned, the pacing threw it off enough to take away from the story for me. This is why I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I’m so disappointed that this book wasn’t for me. I loved the premise, the plot, the queer representation, and the pro-choice story arc. However, I did not love the main characters, Dylan and Jack, at all. I found them whiny and immature, each with parental problems that they had let simmer for years and years without addressing. Their interactions with each other were stiff, awkward, and high-school-ish for most of the book. The romantic plot just tried way too hard. The conflict was portrayed as a huge obstacle when it really wasn’t and could have been resolved with a bit more communication along the way. However, what I absolutely loved was the plot line of a trip around the world, with stops in some of the world’s most amazing cities. Yay! Sign me up! I loved the scenes focused on one adventure or another and wished there were even more descriptions of the places they experienced. Great premise, and I’m sure many readers will love it, but the romance just fell flat.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @putnambooks for an early copy of Wanderlust by @elleeverhart. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Wanderlust is a heartwarming story about Dylan and Jack who both won a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The two couldn’t be more different as the two started their trip being aloof of each other, but this trip meant a lot to Dylan as it could be her chance to have her own column at the lifestyle magazine she works at; and her chance to get past the abortion article she wrote the year before. As her articles about the trip get more popular, so does her bond with Jack.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This novel for me is more of self-discovery for Jack and Dylan than a romantic one; I enjoyed that despite their differences and how they started off their trip, they learned how to be each other’s moral and emotional support as they bonded and got to know each other better. I didn’t particularly enjoy Jack’s lack of emotional response and him being so closed off especially when they started out their trip, but it was enlightening to know him and his layers as the book progressed.

Although I didn’t expect it as the blurb suggested, Wanderlust also touched on issues like access to healthcare and abortion, and online bullying. While a lot of people have different perspectives on abortion, I would agree with both Dylan's and Jack’s stances about the issue.

Rating Wanderlust ⭐⭐⭐.5/5. Released last July 4th, 2023, and available to purchase from book retailers.

A very cute story! Dylan wins a radio contest for a two month trip around the world. The catch? Her traveling companion will be someone they pick randomly out of her phone - and she doesn't recognize the man they choose! The story proceeds as Dylan and Jack travel all over, having new and different experiences and learning about each other along the way. The book is well written and you can't help but fall in love with Dylan and Jack's characters (I also loved Dylan's roommate). It's deeper than it originally appears - both are fighting some serious demons and dealing with a lot of family and social drama. The thing that fell flat for me in the book was the descriptions of travel. We got very few windows into things that Dylan and Jack were doing and only a few cities really got highlights. I wanted far more! I think a journal format might have worked for this book - or at least interspersed Instagram posts? Something more to highlight the travel that should have been such a part of the story.

Dylan is a writer for a magazine where she feels stuck. Dylan turns on the radio at work one morning to find herself calling, and winning, an around-the-world traveling experience. The only catch? She has to let the station pick ANYONE in her phone to be her traveling partner. When the station picks Jack, someone she met at a bar one night who she never called, it’s bound to be awkward. He’s incredibly posh and cold. They’re complete opposites. Jack is incredibly reserved, while Dylan dives into everything head first. Over the course of their few months of travel, they begin to grow closer and realize they may have more in common than they think.

This book started a little slow for my liking but overall I enjoyed it! This was a great debut and I really felt connected to Dylan. Cannot wait to read more from this author!

Read if you like..
• second chance romance (kinda?)
• opposites attract
• travel
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for sending me a copy of this book to review.

I read it while on the plane to my own vacation, hoping to absorb the jetsetter vibes I thought I'd get from the blurb.

But it didn't work that way for me. I thought Dylan to be too rude, especially to Jack. And Jack's character to be inconsistent. I didn't connect with the characters.

The descriptions of their destinations were also surface level at best and I didn't get immersed in the vibes of the place - which I want to experience when reading a travel-themed novel.

This freaking book!!!!!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

4 stars!

"Wanderlust" by Elle Everhart is a slow-burning romance that sees main character Dylan Coughlin entering and winning a radio contest that will allow her to set off on an all-expenses paid trip traveling the world... the only catch is, she has to go with a contact in her cell phone chosen at random by the radio DJs. The man she's going to be traveling with, known by his contact name Jack the Posho, was meant to be an app date for Dylan several months prior, but she ghosted him before the date even happened. Now, the two are thrown together in some of the world's best and finest cities, sightseeing, drinking, eating, and observing, but they don't know a thing about each other. As they connect with the world around them, they connect with each other, too, in more ways than one, wink wink, though it is a slow, slow, slow burn, slow-moving relationship.

Though this is not a relatable story to me in the slightest, I found myself drawn to both Dylan and Jack as characters. I absolutely love the premise of this book and how they are thrown together, a random radio contest acting as a divine intervention for Jack and Dylan to get their second first chance. Jack slowly warms up to the idea of giving Dylan a chance as Dylan eventually learns to break down her walls. I really like the chemistry between Dylan and Jack once they get to know each other a bit better. Unfortunately, being strangers-turned-friends-turned-potentially-more, there are a lot of miscommunications between them, which I hated. Both Dylan and Jack can be cagey characters who read too much into everything and anything, and I guess I understand *why* this happens, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I also truly appreciated the plot line about Dylan's abortion and how she received hate and was doxxed online after opening up about it in the online magazine where she works. I think it is important to advocate for the right to choose. It's also vital for readers to comprehend how many people still don't believe this is an inherent right that women have. It shows the lengths anti-choice people will go to to shame, mar, bring down, and even threaten those who get/support abortion/abortions, sometimes with violence. Everhart tackles this subject tactfully and importantly. I also love how Dylan is a proud bisexual woman!

This is the perfect summer read, especially for those who cannot afford to travel! Author Elle Everhart paints such a clear picture of traveling across the world, each city getting its moment to viscerally shine through her text. Give it a go!

Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Everhart, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

This was a cute read! Dylan wins a trip through a radio station contest, the catch is that they get to pick anyone in her phone contacts to go with her on the trip. They pick Jack, a guy she met while out one night before her world felt as if it came crashing down around her - so she never called him. The tension is thick when they leave on their adventure but soon, they find themselves enjoying each other's company. I loved how this story had two characters that were forced to let their guards down do to their situation - traveling for a few months together, sharing a hotel room, knowing nobody else in the places they vist. Overall, a great read for a little adventure and romance!

This was such a fun book! If you’re in the market for a lighthearted romcom, this will quench your thirst!

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart is an fun travel story filled with both heart and humor! The banter and sparks between the two main characters were just so much fun. I also hugely appreciated the social commentary within the book and felt it was done with such a skillful hand. The issues around topics like social media and women’s reproductive rights feel so deeply pertinent right now and they were well represented within this novel.

Entertaining and a perfect quick beach read. Mostly surface level so not a whole lot of feedback but is a great summer release

I was hooked at the premise of winning a radio contest and thoroughly enjoyed the trip that came after. Great characters and relationship building in fabulous settings.

This was an arc provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept of going on a holiday vacation. I loved the beginning of this book, but overall, I was hoping for more to happen throughout the vacations. I have been to thailand, and they could have gone and saw elephants or something more. I also love second chance romances, so I loved how Jack gave her a hard time at the beginning of the story.

I have posted my review on my instagram @teach.travel.read

Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review!

When I received a copy of Wanderlust in my email, I knew immediately that I was going to love this book. And I very much did! While I was wondering in the beginning if I might dislike our FMC Dylan, I grew to love her so quickly. Much like Jack, who is a bit grumpy in the beginning but then warms up to you quite quickly - they both deal with a lot of familial trauma, and other unresolved trauma's that they have to work through over the course of the book and I really enjoyed reading through their story and healing; both as individuals as well as learning to trust each other.

I thought that the heavier topics in this book were discussed in a really natural way as well. It felt like how I would talk about those kinds of things with friends, not so much like the preachy ways we are talked to about those topics in some books which i personally really appreciated!

Overall, 4/5 stars for this book and I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a great rom com that also has some heavier topics and healing and light but good spice! I adore Dylan and Jack and would love to see more of them in future books by Elle Everhart, so i'm hopeful they make some cameos!

The idea of a trip around the world with a random contact in my phone is both nerve-wracking and exciting. We all have those contacts we should have deleted many moons ago. I think that is what makes the "game" that much more exciting.

In this enemies-to-lovers/forced-proximity romcom, the laughs are all there and the stakes are high. I think the premise of a random partner on a trip is a pretty great plot line and the added career move kinda was too much for me, but alas, I still enjoyed this.

Wasn't a favorite of mine. The relationship didn't feel authentic and there were certain elements, like imagery and emotional intimacy, lacking that could have heavily contributed to the overall plot. I think the concept was unique but I was hoping for more description when it came to locations and character building.

On a whim, Dylan calls in to participate in a radio contest for a trip for 2 around the world. To her surprise, she wins. There is a catch though…the radio station is going to randomly select a contact from her phone to go with her. Enter Jack or Posh Jack as he is saved in her phone. Jack and Dylan met on a night out and agreed to follow up but Dylan never did. That sets the scene for their 2 month adventure around the world.
This was such a great story for those who dream of traveling. The locations were amazing (hello Robot Cabaret) and the tension/slow burn between Dylan and Jack was amazing. Also there are some tense emotional moments and there should be a trigger warning (abortion). But overall, it was a very fun, sweet book that you should check out.

WANDERLUST - ELLE EVERHART

4⭐
PLOT - Dylan Coughlan , a magazine writer is stuck at her job with her editor not giving her a permanent column. While working she times into the radio and finds herself lucky to win a trip arpund the world with a random contact from her phones contact and it is none other than Jack The Posho guy whom she met once at a night out and then accidentally ghosted. Dylan's boss gives her a chance for permanent column if she writes about her trip featuring Jack in it. As the trip gets going so does jack and Dylan's relationship but Jack is averse to social media and by putting him there will Dylan have to pay the price?

MY THOUGHTS -
Who wouldn't enjoy reading a book which takes you all over the world - for a travel fanatic like me it was a complete yes. The premise hence was definitely a plus ( 2 strangers on a trip round the world). Though there were some meaningful conversations between the two the romance itself was very slow burn (last 15%) and in between with all their travelogue it got a bit boring. I was expecting a bit more from my home city (Mumbai) being mentioned as one of their travel destination but nonetheless I quote enjoyed he book.
Fans of The Unhoneymooners and The amazing race check this one out .
Thank you G.P Putnam publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

It was enjoyable read. I loved how Dylan and Jack’s banter and the friendship they built. It’s definitely a slowwww burn but I’m a fan of slow burns. Dylan’s friend Gwen was the absolute best and was always looking forward to their conversations. The growth that Jack and Dylan do on their own and their growth together was really interesting to see. I loved seeing them root for each other to get out of their comfort zones and reach for something they really want.

This book covers several heavy topics (look at the TW before reading.) my biggest complaint is that at times I felt a little overwhelmed with everything that angered Dylan - something as simple as Jack opening the car door for her set her off - it felt a bit much sometimes. I think it could have benefited from being dual POV so we could get more insight on Jack and what he was thinking/feeling.