WILD THINGS by Laura Kay⁣
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El hates her admin job, hates her passive-aggressive roommate, and hates the unrequited love she’s had for her best friend Ray for five years. She’s trying to break free of the rut and trying to be less boring, by doing one “wild” thing each month for a year. In May, she decides the crazy thing is to ditch renting in the city and move to a village with her three best friends, Ray included.⁣
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This is a cute read with great rep and some chickens named after Twilight characters. I particularly loved El’s friend Jamie and their new neighbour, an older lady called Sally with a surprisingly colourful life. I do feel though like El really frustrated me as a character. She doesn’t do much growing throughout the book and she can be pretty passive. Sometimes I wanted to shake her: tell Ray the truth or move on, but absolutely don’t get into a housemate situation with her!! That seemed like the worst of both worlds. I would have loved to see El take control of her own destiny a little more. ⁣
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That said this was a pretty compelling read that I ate up in less than forty eight hours. Great if you are looking for something low stakes. ⁣
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I haven’t read Laura Kay’s previous books but I know that The Split is pretty beloved. ⁣
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Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the ARC. Wild Things is out later this month.

Who doesn’t want to escape London and live in an LGBT commune with your best friends and some chickens in the back yard? Just a touch of unrequited love added in and a slight snark of unfulfilled office drudgery for good measure. Thanks NetGalley!

A sweet, light hearted read about a group of friends moving to the country - this book follows the ultimate dream of creating a commune in a quiet village with space to grow vegetables and have chickens. I enjoyed following the four friends on their new adventure as they met their new neighbours and threw themselves in to the new house.

However, I wasn't very attached to the love interest Ray in this book and wasn't rooting for her - I actually preferred some of the other extended characters introduced. I'd have liked to see some more focus on Ray's and Will's characters, rather than the storyline being solely based around El and her pining for Ray.

This book would make a good holiday read!

This third book from Laura Kay proves she is a capable, witty and confident writer. The story follows El on her 'wild year' as she tries to prove to herself (and her crush) that she is capable of brave and spontaneous acts. The book follows El's journey and that of her friends as they navigate unfulfilling jobs, modern dating and the need to escape the city. Told with lightness and warmth full of unrequited love, enjoyable pay-offs and gentle life lessons this is a great summer read.

"Wild Things" is a powerful and engaging novel that will resonate with the protagonist. It is a celebration of the power of passion, friendship, and the natural world, and a call to action for all of us to do our part to protect and preserve the world around us. The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Wild Things is a gentle, uplifting, lighthearted tale of El, a young bisexual woman who secretly loves her best friend Ray. When El is given the opportunity to house share with Ray, the secret threatens to be revealed. This was enjoyable and quite funny in places.

While the romance element is nice here, I actually didn't end up feeling like that was the core of the book. Instead what struck me was the found family element, and how absolutely integral these characters are to each other's lives. Truly living the big house with your friends dream. The romance didn't hit as much for me, the 'boring friend El' angle threw me off a bit. They were very sweet in the end, just some bumps along the way. But overall I really enjoyed this.

3.5 stars

I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. It’s not a bad book, don’t get me wrong, but it was lacking momentum, excitement and emotion for me, and I found the main character kind of a little bit annoying. Maybe I’m just tired of reading about people who want their lives to be different but make no real effort to do anything about it. El finally quitting her job (even if it was just because something else literally landed in her lap) was such a relief, even though we never experienced the payoff.

I also just felt zero chemistry between the main character and her love interest. I actually genuinely expected El and Rachel to end up together. I felt more chemistry between them in just a handful of exchanges than I did between El and Ray.

However, I ADORED the whole commune thing. I loved this friend group, the found family dynamic, the village life, etc. Every time the whole ensemble were together, I enjoyed it so much more. Every single side character in this book, from the love interest to the random, fabulous elderly neighbour were fantastic. They gave this otherwise fairly dull book so much life and I lived for these moments with everyone together.

This was ultimately an easy read with some really fun moments, and who knows, maybe you’ll love the MC a lot more than me!

This book drew me in with the cover but I absolutely loved the romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

need a group of friends to start a queer commune with please

i loved this book, the queer friendships, the found family, the sapphic relationship. the mental healing and making life feel better instead of feeling stuck.

there was amazing rep, with a bi main character and other queer and poc side characters!

i highly recommend!

My kindle and I have a tumultuous relationship (an understatement, if anything), but all gets quickly forgiven and forgotten whenever the possibility of reading a new Laura Kay comes up - thank you to Quercus Books for the opportunity!

Leaving London to live in a queer commune in a quaint village? I mean, sign me right up. If you’re going with hell yes, you need to read Wild Things. If you’re not, you still do.

Did I cry? I vaguely remember crying at some point (at quite a few points, to be honest!), but the levels of steam quickly escalated and it was all one glorious dream but also reality – and the laughter! The pace can feel a bit all over the place at times, but my advice? Just go with it. Choose happiness - rich with happiness! Always. That and Twilight chickens. Chickens in general, really. Just brilliant!

Laura Kay's Wild Things is a rainbow rollercoaster and I, someone who usually hates these things, absolutely loved it and would 10/10 do it/go through it again. Out May 25th!

WARNING: you will end up spending quite a bit of time going through properties right outside of London and making mental lists of people who you know would jump at the idea of… A QUEER COMMUNE. For full disclosure, a few texts were also sent.

I thought the book was an easy, light-hearted read that was overall enjoyable. It's advertised as a romance, but to me, it felt more like a story of four friends who previously lived in the city but now are finding their way in the country. Together, they had some funny moments, and I liked their chemistry together as a group.

At times, it felt a little slow. There were a couple of big events such as buying the house, but other than that, it just tapered along and hinged on the friendship of these four people. I didn't love the "romance" between El and Ray. El was basically pining over Ray the entire book, and it seemed like Ray was toying with her about that at times. Miscommunication was a big issue and is one of my least favorite things to read about. I almost wondered if there would actually be any romance in the book at all because of how little they communicated honestly to each other.

this book has:
- wlw friends to lovers
- queer representation
- found family

feeling like she's stuck in a rut, el decides to start doing one wild thing every month for a year. throughout the year, she also ends up moving in with 3 of her friends as they buy a house in the countryside. one of those friends is ray, the person who el has had a massive crush on for the past few years, but never worked up the courage to pursue anything.

this book had a great premise & i love anything with queer found families but it fell flat on many aspects. i felt more chemistry between the side couples (will/tess, jamie/mk) rather than the main one (el/ray) & i was hoping that el would ask out rachel instead because el & ray didn't make sense to me at all. el spent so long pining over ray & ray never showed signs of reciprocating until the housewarming incident which ended up feeling forced & out of nowhere. although i did still love the found family aspect of it & the community which they found within the village - especially their friendship with sally.

tw: alcohol consumption & drug use, infidelity (not of the main couple), death of a grandparent

thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a pleasant surprise, I did not expect to enjoy this so much!

Wilg Things popped up on my Netgalley front page and I decided WHY NOT, I never find enough f/f romance books out there and if anything would love to have supporte the author.

I am so glad I gave this a chance!

The book follows out protagonist El who works a job she doesnt love, lives in an apartment with a roomate she hates, and is ever pining over her best friend Ray. El, Ray and their friends Will and Jamie decide to all chip in to buy a delapidated house in the countryside (which they call Lavender House... and a queer commune haha). Jamie falls in love with rescued chickens, Will falls in love with a local girl, Ray falls in love with the chance of lifestlye while El falls in love with Ray (even more).

I found the dialogue in this book absolutely laugh out loud hilarious. Truly. I also love the friendships in this book (Jamie is a gem)

I kept imagining Ray as that hot blonde chick on tik tok that uses an axe to cut wood, with muscles for days. So obviously I loved Ray. I also loved El which often doesnt happen in Rom Coms, I find main characters can get boring but El was sweet and emotinal and passionate and funny.

I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

➳ arc rating: 2.5 ★

First of all, I want to thank the author, Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Wild Things by Laura Kay will be coming out on May 25th, 2023.

Laura Kay is an author and journalist who released her debut novel back in 2021. She writes queer romcom books,— with ‘Wild Things’ being her third novel.

What is the book about?
The story follows Eleanor who makes a New Year's resolution to “be more wild!!” and do more things out of her comfort zone every month for a year.

When a plan is made for El to move out to a ramshackle house in the English countryside, with Ray- who she’s in love with -and their best friends, she sees it as a chance for a fresh start.

However, living in close proximity to the love of her life without revealing her feelings proves to be a challenge.

Can best friends ever really become lovers or could the truth ruin life at 'the commune' for ever?

Tropes and themes:

• Friends to lovers

• Slow-burn

• YA romance

My review:
Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this book: At first I was very into it because, you know, it’s queer! —but it was actually bland… Like the romance doesn’t even start until chapter 12 (74%) out of 18 —literally nothing happens between them….

At the outset, I thought ‘yay, a slow-burn sapphic romance!’ but after reading over half of the book I realised it was a reeeeally really slow-burn and it felt dull and repetitious, sorry.

Feels like the book is about Eleanor and her three best friends moving into a new house on the countryside and how they settle in, —whilst romance is just a subplot.

Now, when they both finally confessed their feelings to each other? It was everything!, and I really enjoyed that part.

This really was a good and cute book, just not my cup of tea.

My favourite quotes:
“‘You're just being who you always were. So you carry on with it or you don't, but it's you, all right? You're not some new and improved version of yourself. Remember that. You're enough, yeah?’”

“‘You're my best everything, Ray.’”

“‘I don't want to leave these four walls and you, ever. You are everything I need.‘“

“Five years of holding my breath. I've been all in from the moment I met her.“

Who I recommend this book to?
• People who like YA sapphic romances.
• People who like slow-burn romances to another level.

#WildThings #NetGalley

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

Wild things follows El, a bisexual woman living and working in London. She’s been in love with her best friend Ray for years. El moves into a house, also referred to as the queer commune, in the countryside with 3 of her friends including Ray.

The plot had potential but should have explored the monthly ‘wild things’ El challenged herself to do more, especially considering the book was named for this.

There were very few descriptions of the characters appearances and their personalities were underdeveloped. This made it really hard to connect to the characters and actually care about them.

The characters of Rozalia and Lisa were pointless and added nothing to the story. I was also underwhelmed by the Rob and Polly side story which I expected to go in a different direction, all the signs for this story suggested terminal illness or similar.

Overall i rate this book 2.5

This was such a lovely read. The dialogue was snappy, the story was compelling and the characters were great.

The perfect summer read. Love the idea of setting up a commune of like-minded people to live off the land. This is deal for our LGBTQ+ readership at the library which is a section we are currently expanding. Cannot wait to purchase copies for our collection.

El is going to have a wild year. Every month, she is planning to do something wild to help her stop feeling stuck in life. El also has a huge crush on her best friend Ray, not that Ray seems aware!
This is a lovely, gentle story about a blossoming romance between friends. This is an inclusive, character driven plot that is heartwarming and funny. I loved the friendships written in this book and the project they embark on that brings them all closer.
The perfect holiday read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this early access! This was my first Laura Kay novel and I really enjoyed it! Heartwarming and sweet, funny and really inclusive. I will definitely be reading her other books, this was joyful.

Many people dream of an escape to the country but few follow through - but what if you friends come too? This is a fun, breezy love story, written with warmth and humour although I'd have liked a little more uncertainty in parts