Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Wir sind wild und wunderbar

Okay officially love this author so much. Love and other disasters was amazing and how happy was I to see the characters again?. So. Happy. But really Ben and Alexei stole my heart. Not only did I read this in a day, but it made me cry. I can’t remember the last time a book made me cry. There is a trigger warning about being cut off from family and I knew it was coming but it still hit me hard. Found family means everything to me and the way this book validated that for me was beautiful. I had a hard time with the PCT trail and that they kept leaving it 😅 but that’s my own perfectionism I know. You won’t catch me on there. But this love story is achingly beautiful and relevant and I think everyone should read it. There’s also just enough smut to keep me happy.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Title: Something Wild & Wonderful
Author: Anita Kelly
Series: Love & Other Disaster #2
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: March 7, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Untamed • Affectionate •

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Alexei Lebedev’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail begins with a single snake. And it is angling for the hot stranger who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Lex is prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he isn’t prepared for is Ben Caravalho. But somehow—on a 2,500-mile trail—Alexei keeps running into the outgoing and charismatic hiker with golden-brown eyes, again and again.

Ben has made his fair share of bad decisions, and almost all of them involved beautiful men. And yet there’s something about the gorgeous and quietly nerdy Alexei that Ben can’t just walk away from. Surely a bad decision can’t be this cute and smart.

💭 T H O U G H T S

When a trusted book friend described and raved about this book, I instantly added it to my TBR and placed a hold through my library. When my hold finally came through I dropped everything to jump in. At the time, I was in quite a reading slump and Something Wild & Wonderful definitely changed that. I could not put this book down and fell absolutely in love with this story!

As an outdoor enthusiast myself, the Western wilderness of the Pacific Crest Trail was immediately transporting. The imagery - from the desert to the mountains, from the trees to the birds - all of it came to life. At times I even felt like I was taking the journey alongside Alexei. And as other readers have said, it certainly made me want to go hiking and see parts of the PCT.

But it is the characters that truly make this book shine! While I can safely say Alexei and Ben are opposites, they both are facing their respective life challenges. The heartbreaking reality of Alexei's reason for embarking on the journey evoked great emotion and I just felt an instant connection to his quiet, introverted character. The two men come together to help each other in ways they weren't even aware of and in the process being to heal. Ben's family and friends were also just wonderful.

The writing comes together in a tender and compassionate manner creating a purely magical story. The plot just made me heart happy. And even though the romance does happen fairly quick, yet it felt believable and sincere. There's no doubt Something Wild & Wonderful will be on my 2023 favourites list. It took me by utter surprise just how much I adored this book and it definitely made me was to explore more of Anita Kelly's work. I'd also be completely okay if Alexei and Ben got a sequel at some point.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• M/M romance enthusiast
• fans of Allison Cochrun
• readers who likes adventure

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Being still was powerful."

"There will also never be anyone else to take the place of my parents. Some parts of myself will always be missing. But you taught me I can find people. That there will be other people I meet in my life who will understand me. Who will love me. Who will show me how wonderful and surprising the world can be."

"Moving forward was different from running away."

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sophieamreacher's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read this in one sitting and stayed up till 4am to finish this. Absolutely beautiful book that made me smile, laugh, and cry. There’s just such a sense of joy, sadness, and healing. I loved the characters and I respected their decisions which ultimately just made them a healthier couple. Amazing book.

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This was a more difficult romance to read since it dealt with some tough topics. But I did enjoy it. The narrator was pretty good. However, I got annoyed at the MCs at some points when they did things that frustrated me. I did like the fact it has a neurodivergent MC.

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thefatpaperback's review against another edition

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5.0

“I know you always talked about how I saved your life. But I really think, Ben, that you were the one who saved mine.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOMETHING WILD & WONDERFUL is such a magical, magnetic, and a beautiful story of finding love in unexpected places. I started giggling on page two and I knew I was a GONER for Alexei and Ben. This book checks every box I want in a contemporary romance: fun concept (hiking PCT trail), diverse cast, multifaceted intimacy, humor, and emotional depth in characters.

Alexei is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to find out who the new version of himself, Alexei 2.0, could be. Ben Caravalho is hiking to take a break from men and get away from making bad decisions. A rattlesnake on the trail brings them together the first time, and as they make their separate treks through the 2,500 mile trail, their journeys intertwine. But maybe this is just the trail. Maybe none of it’s real outside this grand adventure. Or maybe they’ve found exactly what they need while trying to get lost.

🏕️ Queer Romance

🏕️ Portuguese and Russian MCs

🏕️ Autistic MC

🏕️ A BLUSHING NERD

🏕️ Introvert x Extrovert

🏕️ Strangers to lovers

🏕️ Forced Proximity

🏕️ FOUND FAMILY

🏕️ They write letters to each other 🥹

⚠️CW: familial estrangement due to queer identity, homophobic language, religion and strict religious upbringing.

Content Warnings

juffnstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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tcull3n's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

meganpbennett's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked up a copy of Something Wild & Wonderful at the Hachette table at a library conference. I'd read a few reviews of it in librarian trade journals, and thought it would be an interesting read. It was. It was a very good trail log, making me wonder how many of the situations within the story happened to the author.

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