Loved this young adult adventure/romance book. It was entertaining, and kept my interest the whole way through. I enjoyed to plot and the characters. They both showed tons of growth and figured out how to move forward through their personal grief and demons. The ending was really good and would like to see more of these characters in a future book.

The narration was well done and I enjoyed that someone with an actual Australian (or who was really good at emulating one) was used.

I fell in love with Lynette, like most people, through the prison healer trilogy. This new genre of YA romance for her did not disappoint. I loved the complexity of the characters, Zander and Charli. They are both much more than they appear. The journey they embark on, although physically difficult and demanding, seems to challenge them emotionally more than anything. The way they showed up for each other in the darkest moments and in reliving trauma together was absolutely beautiful! The plot twist at the end was icing on the cake too!! Another home run for Lynette Noni!!

The voice actors for the audio book were fantastic, all the way down to making Charli’s authentic Australian accent! Wonderful performance!

Thank you Blackstone publishing and NetGalley for the early copy of the audio and eARC!

Wandering Wild is a fantastic contemporary YA romance by Lynette Noni. The story is unique and the characters are likeable. So many things for readers to enjoy with this title! Teens who enjoy reality TV and follow celebrity gossip will enjoy this title. Recommended for all YA collections.

I absolutely enjoyed this read more than I thought I would. It reminded me of a clash between Romancing the Stone and a reality show, which I adore both so why did I have lesser expectations? lol
The characters were charming and well likable and the story line was believable. I felt as if I was along for the adventure.
The narration was *chefs kiss*!

I really thought this would be something different that I would like, but it ended up not being my cup of tea unfortunately. I was not able to push through and I had to DNF.

I gave this audiobook 3 stars, not because of the narration... I thought the narration was great and I wouldn't change a thing. Many congratulations to the narrators.

As for the story, I thought the first part, where we get to know the characters and the setting, was too long, and the survival and challenges part (in my opinion the real reason I was reading the book) was too quick.
This book presented serious and very real problems and worked very well to solve them.
Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone for allowing me to listen to this book.

A contemporary YA romance where two teens head into the wilderness. The author does a great job capturing the emotional tension and growth between the characters as they navigate not just the challenges of survival, but also their own personal baggage and secrets. I also enjoyed the tension between Charlie and Zander.
The audiobook narration by Nikki Thomas and Heath Miller is absolutely amazing. Nikki’s accent is great, and both narrators bring just the right tone and inflection to each scene.
Perfect for fans of young adult contemporary romance, tension, and emotional depth.

This was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. The narration was good though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

2.5 Stars

This book was just not for me.

This was another "new to me" author and even though I haven't read anything from her in the past, I know she has written a couple of series that have been on my TBR list for quite a while that are extremely popular. Apparently, this is her first foray into YA contemporary romance.

I am definitely not the target audience for this so that may have been an issue. The 2 MC's are extremely young - FMC Charlie is 17 and MMC Zander is 18 years old. The premise starts off with the 2 teens going on a four-day reality TV adventure with a famous TV personality and his cameraman in the Australian Outback. Both teens have various reasons for going and there are quite a bit of heavy emotional issues thrown out over the course of the journey.

For me, it just really never felt comfortable. This is a definite "forced proximity" story where the FMC starts off hating the MMC, but even that felt iffy. Her reasons for her hatred towards Zander felt forced and Zanders reasons for even going on this trip never really made sense.

Things happen and the trip goes off the rails, but for me - an event happens at the end of the story that was an EXTREME BETRAYAL. For whatever reason, that gets swept under the rug and everyone seems to be fine with it when it shouldn't have been okay. The fact that no one ever even acknowledges how unethical and dangerous and just NOT OKAY this was made my head explode. After that, I was just waiting for the story to end.

The story was narrated by Nikki Thomas and Heath Miller. Both of these were first time narrators for me as well and while I wasn't a fan of the female narrator, I did enjoy the male narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on May 20, 2025.

This book was fantastic from start to finish. The narrators were perfect and I enjoyed the audio version of this title. The characters and their relationships to one another are wonderfully developed. There were a lot of suspenseful moments included throughout their wilderness adventure. This is much more than a romance story (which was also an adorable aspect) but really includes some deep thought provoking topics of what characters are going through. Highly recommended!

I love romances that are more focused on the individual characters and their growth rather than lovey-dovey. The personal problems add to the push and pull, making it more realistic and adds to my emotional investment.

Zander was the darling of Hollywood until he was labelled a problematic bad boy.
Charlie is a regular teenage girl who despises Zander and his publicity image.
The two are thrust together on a four-day reality TV survivalist adventure where two sunshine turned grumpy teens must survive the wilds and each other.

Lynette Noni can write contemporary YA as well as fantasy! Her characters always feel real and she is not scared to put them in turmoil - internal and external. Normally both at the same time.

I don’t know if I would classify this as a ROMANCE romance, but the hinting and teasing is there. And the expectation of course.

I also wish there was more time spent on the big plot reveal. It really frustrated me how it was handled and brushed over so quickly compared to the rest of the book. It has to do with a background friend of Zander’s and I won’t say more because spoilers.

The narration is great due to the accents and multi-narration for the dual perspectives.

Audiobook arc gifted by Blackstone Publishing.

The adventure of a lifetime. When Sander agrees to a publicity stunt to help straighten his acting career little does he knows that it will endure meeting an incredible young woman, helping each other stay alive while sharing their most intimate thoughts and achieving more than they thought at the beginning of their journey. Charlie and Zander’s story is amazing and the audiobook, and Unabridged version from Blackstone publishing, and with Nikki Thomas and Heath Miller is awesome. They change between the different accents of the characters seamlessly and bringing all the emotion of the story alive.

This book was a total delight, and I can absolutely see it becoming a staple in the YA genre. It’s firmly in the PG zone, making it the perfect gateway “romance” for preteens and early teens dipping their toes into the genre for the first time. The writing style is spot-on for a younger audience—fun, light, and engaging without ever feeling dumbed down.

But here’s the thing: I’m an adult, and I still had a blast reading it. There’s something so charming about the storytelling that it sneaks right past the age gap and pulls you in anyway. It’s sweet, refreshing, and gives off that cozy, nostalgic feeling you get from revisiting your favorite childhood shows. Honestly, it’s the kind of book you recommend to your younger sibling and then totally borrow back just to reread for yourself.

Audiobook/Book Review 🏔️🥾

Thank you so much Blackstone Publishing for the gifted ARC and audiobook!

Wandering Wild
by Lynette Noni
Narrated by Nikki Thomas & Heath Miller

About the book 👇🏽

Zander Rune was the darling of Hollywood until he fell from glory and was labeled a problematic bad boy. His public image needs fixing—fast—or he’ll lose the role of a lifetime, and all his dreams with it.

Charlie Hart is a regular teenage girl who despises everything Zander represents. But thanks to her scheming best friend and an ill-timed social media competition, Charlie finds herself pretending to be Zander’s biggest fan on a four-day reality TV adventure led by renowned survivalist Rykon Hawke.

Scaling towering cliffs, navigating claustrophobic caves, and encountering deadly wildlife aren’t the only dangers facing Zander and Charlie. Because when their trip goes horribly wrong, they’re left stranded in the Australian wilderness. No Rykon, no film crew, no rescue.

🏔️ My thoughts:

This is a YA book I can get behind! I switched between physical read and audiobook for this one. I don’t know what I was expecting but this was pretty dang good. The pacing was great, I loved the adventure, and I literally found myself telling the characters to just do it already OUT LOUD. Everyone around me probably thought I was crazy, and they’re probably not wrong. I really enjoyed that the point of views changed between chapters, it kept me fully committed to this story and truthfully if it wasn’t that, it was the tension. Tension between the characters, tension over the wilderness, the inner thoughts... all of it. The narrators did a wonderful job and didn’t skip a beat when I switched between ARC and ALC making this is a book and audiobook I’d recommend! Wandering Wild hits shelves 5/20/25!

Happy reading 📖 🏔️🥾🎧