Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

11 reviews

daisy1_f's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kshertz's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad 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

5.0

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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sophieamreacher's review

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

heydebigale's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book filled a hole in my heart I was not even sure existed. Hiking, birds watching, learning to love yourself, and finding a new relationship with friends and also with god. This book was everything to me. 

CW: homophobia, abandonment, some medical content

This book is about Alexei who is hiking the pacific crest trail to process a faith crisis after coming out to and being shunned by his religious family.

If you are someone who has had a crisis of faith & are processing religious trauma, I would highly recommend this book.

I loved the way Anita Kelly portrayed Alexei’s crisis of faith. He still wanted to worship & be a part of a community of believers, but a new community that would not shun him. 

“does it count if the person they miss isn’t actually me?” 

I loved all of the birds in this book!! This is a bird watching romance and I cannot recommend it enough. 




Expand filter menu Content Warnings

shelvesofivy's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

From the moment I saw that one of the main characters was autistic, grew up in a homophobic environment, and left the religion that controlled his childhood, I knew that this book would throw a mirror at my face and punch me in the gut. And I was right! It did so in a way that was simultaneously beautiful and heartwrenching. I still don't truly have the words to describe how much of myself I saw in Alexei. Even though this was a romance, it felt like so much more. Even though this won't be the case for everyone who reads it, this story felt like healing, in a roundabout way. 
But of course, the romance itself was also lovely!! Whenever characters start falling for each other and mutually pining while being either oblivious and/or stubborn about it, I eat it up! And this delivered that in spades in at least the first half-ish of the book. 
I do have way more thoughts on this, but don't know how to articulate them. All I can really say is that this book has easily become one of my favorites ♡

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jazhandz's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lost_windsock's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book was so full of deeply emotional moments. Alexei's pain at being disowned, Ben's feelings of inadequacy, and their combined struggles to do what felt right for them. The need to be alone versus the pull to be together. It was fun seeing London and Dahlia again, and all of the hiking friends they made along the way gave so much depth to the story. The letters in end about broke my heart, but the actual ending was so sweet and perfect. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

analenegrace's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

I read Kelly's other book last year, and I was super excited for this one, not even realizing it was in the same universe (which I didn't realize until Chef's Special was mentioned lol). 

Alexei and Ben's relationship was beautiful. They were both well-written characters with complicated stories that made them feel so real. Alexei's coming out journey and his complicated relationship with faith were so important and relatable. Ben's journey to realize he was deserving of good love was also beautiful, although this book definitely felt like Alexei's story. My only thing is that I wish Alexei's autism and diagnosis had been a little more than a mention at the end of the epilogue. 

The descriptions of the trail and the adventure Alexei and Ben went on were so well-written, as were the letters they wrote to each other and that Alexei wrote to his family in the middle. The side characters felt full and like real people, something that is a sign of a fantastic author to me!

I loved the little bit of the characters of the last book being featured in this one and I look forward to rereading Love & Other Disasters soon because it's the June pick for my book club!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

caseythereader's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

Thanks to Forever for the free advance copy of this book.

 - What a gift SOMETHING WILD AND WONDERFUL is. It pulls of the balancing act of dealing with very real homophobia and giving the characters real queer joy.
- Kelly excels at writing characters who care so deeply for each other, for all their quirks and complicated personal histories. I particularly loved being there with Alexei while he tried to figure out his new relationship to faith and church.
- This is also the rare romance novel that didn't have me rolling my eyes and speeding through the third act breakup. The way Alexei and Ben worked through it was so beautiful and precious.
- And! We also get to see Dahlia and London from LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings