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alisonreadsitall's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
When a book is described as a mashup of two of my favorites (People We Meet on Vacation meets The Unhoneymooners), I had no choice but to read it, and it did not disappoint! 🩷
Honestly, this sounds like the coolest idea and I would love to win a contest to travel around the world for 2 months! I did take a deeper look at who was still in my phone contacts and deleted a few people in case this ever happens to me. 😂
I loved the chemistry between Dylan and Jack, but was a little annoyed by some of the miscommunications. I also feel like there was something lacking with their travels. I would have loved more descriptions and recommendations in the book if anyone wanted to try and recreate this trip.
For that reason, I’m giving it 4 stars.
Tropes:
Forced proximity
Grumpy X Sunshine
a touch of enemies to lovers
CW:
Abortion
Bullying
Panic Attacks
Thanks so much to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, and Biphobia
vel629vet's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
After winning a 6 week trip around the world on a radio show (that still happens?), a magazine writer must take someone along that is randomly selected from her contacts. The mystery man is someone she met on one drunken night and never spoke to again, yet he agrees to go on this vacation with her…
A rough start, but this book really grew on me. I didn’t love the premise, but I love travel stories, and enemies to lovers. I felt that a lot of the voicing and especially dialogues between the characters was inconsistent. Jack seemed overly antagonistic from the start but never acted that way again. There was a heavy plot point on a past abortion and doxxing, and it was handled okay. I just never really felt the stakes were quite high enough.
I did love the short chapters and I wish there had been more details on travel adventures, rather than skipping over entire weeks in certain cities. A lot of the story is told to you rather than letting us bear witness. The romance is super slow burn but I didn’t mind it, other than it just felt like they both woke up one day and decided to let bygones be bygones and be together.
Overall an enjoyable, lighthearted summer romance with a smidgeon of spice.
A rough start, but this book really grew on me. I didn’t love the premise, but I love travel stories, and enemies to lovers. I felt that a lot of the voicing and especially dialogues between the characters was inconsistent. Jack seemed overly antagonistic from the start but never acted that way again. There was a heavy plot point on a past abortion and doxxing, and it was handled okay. I just never really felt the stakes were quite high enough.
I did love the short chapters and I wish there had been more details on travel adventures, rather than skipping over entire weeks in certain cities. A lot of the story is told to you rather than letting us bear witness. The romance is super slow burn but I didn’t mind it, other than it just felt like
Overall an enjoyable, lighthearted summer romance with a smidgeon of spice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Homophobia
thesweetreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Abortion, Religious bigotry, and Biphobia
sdupont's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I went into this book looking for a lighthearted and funny romance across the globe but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. I found the FMC Dylan pretty unlikeable for most of the book. She was pretty harsh to Jack early on in book making lots of assumptions without getting to know him well. I also found her to be pretty careless online (shocking considering what has happened to her in the past). Jack and Dylan didn’t have much chemistry which also made connecting with the story more difficult. This book also features storylines surrounding online harassment and toxic relationships with parents so go into the book knowing that it isn’t all fun romcom energy. I would recommend this book for fans of social media culture and travel.
*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Bullying
Moderate: Abortion and Biphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
jillwedemeier's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“Wanderlust” is the story of two near strangers who win a radio contest for a trip around the world. “The Unhoneymooners” meets “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” in this debut romantic comedy.
Feeling stuck in her job as a magazine writer, Dylan calls in to the local radio station on a whim for a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, and, to her surprise, she is the lucky tenth caller. The catch? The radio station gets to randomly select her travel partner from her phone contacts. When her partner is chosen, it is none other than Jack, a guy she met on a night out and ghosted. Although Jack agrees to go on the trip, he doesn’t seem excited about it at all and barely speaks to Dylan in the weeks leading up to their departure. Will the two hit it off on their trip of a lifetime? But more is riding on this trip for Dylan than just her relationship with Jack. Her boss has given her the opportunity to write about the trip for the magazine. If the travel series is successful, Dylan will get a permanent column. As the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack.
I loved the premise of this book, but sadly it missed the mark. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, which was disappointing in a book about traveling the world. I would have loved to have read more about each place they visited. The biggest challenges for me were the heavy topics discussed in this book. If you are sensitive to the topics of abortion and doxxing, I would skip this one.
On a positive note, I did enjoy seeing Dylan and Jack’s relationship blossom. If you like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and second chance romance tropes, then you will enjoy this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
battyaboutbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
🦇 Book Review 🦇
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
❝ "It's hard to believe in yourself when no one else does." ❞
❓ #QOTD If you could get an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go? ❓
🦇 On a whim, Dylan Coughlan calls a radio station and receives a once-in-a-lifetime, all-expenses-paid trip around the world. The catch: the station gets to randomly select a contact on Dylan's phone as her travel companion. She's paired with "Jack the Posho," an uptight almost-one-night-stand she unintentionally ghosted. They immediately butt heads, which doesn't make Dylan's work assignment easier: to write about the trip as a second-chance romance series. If the series succeeds, she'll finally get her own column. Is it worth the backlash when her past comes back to haunt her?
💜 Elle Everhart's debut romcom isn't just a case of the warm and fuzzy feelings we often associate with the genre; it gives far more than that. What looks like a forced proximity, grumpy versus sunshine match-up is really a well-balanced, polar opposites pairing. Both Dylan and Jack are familiar with the soul-sucking existence derived from living a life that fits their parents' standards. Dylan refused to walk that line and has been forced to pay the consequences—in her social life and professionally. Jack plays the role his parents wrote for him, only for it to make him miserable. Dylan is unabashedly confident in her decisions and whom she's become because of them (rightfully so), and that bravado eventually inspires Jack to do the same. Though it takes them an excruciatingly long time to reach an understanding, their both better off for it by the end. The character growth between them is as beautiful as some of the landscapes they encounter on their travels.
🦇 The miscommunication trope plays a big part in this story, and if you've read my previous reviews, you know that's a pet peeve. Dylan makes assumptions about Jack based on his reaction to the radio call and a few texts, but never makes an effort to learn more about him in person. Jack seems to mean well but Dylan's abrasiveness sets him off, making the first act a little tiresome to read. Fair warning: there is a bit of smut 🌶️, but the moment is ruined by the mention of Edward Cullen and sparkly skin (I definitely put my Kindle down with a groan after that).
💜 A great read that goes beyond the cute and fuzzies of typical travel romcoms. Recommended to anyone who has that itch to travel deep in their bones. That's one of the best things about being an avid reader; you have a thousand little adventures at your disposal without having to worry about the airfare. Happy reading!
❝ "The more she wrote, other things started to unravel, too. She'd been scared of her parents' rejection for the vast majority of her life, a symptom of eldest daughter syndrome and being queer as hell, but she deserved more than tolerance or a lack of outright rejection. They should have loved her no matter what, been proud of her no matter what." ❞
✨ Tropes ✨
✈️ Travel Romance
🏔️ Forced Proximity
🚂 Frenemies to Lovers
⛱️ Opposites Attract
🗽 Slow Burn
🦇 Major thanks to the author @elleeverhart and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
❝ "It's hard to believe in yourself when no one else does." ❞
❓ #QOTD If you could get an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go? ❓
🦇 On a whim, Dylan Coughlan calls a radio station and receives a once-in-a-lifetime, all-expenses-paid trip around the world. The catch: the station gets to randomly select a contact on Dylan's phone as her travel companion. She's paired with "Jack the Posho," an uptight almost-one-night-stand she unintentionally ghosted. They immediately butt heads, which doesn't make Dylan's work assignment easier: to write about the trip as a second-chance romance series. If the series succeeds, she'll finally get her own column. Is it worth the backlash when her past comes back to haunt her?
💜 Elle Everhart's debut romcom isn't just a case of the warm and fuzzy feelings we often associate with the genre; it gives far more than that. What looks like a forced proximity, grumpy versus sunshine match-up is really a well-balanced, polar opposites pairing. Both Dylan and Jack are familiar with the soul-sucking existence derived from living a life that fits their parents' standards. Dylan refused to walk that line and has been forced to pay the consequences—in her social life and professionally. Jack plays the role his parents wrote for him, only for it to make him miserable. Dylan is unabashedly confident in her decisions and whom she's become because of them (rightfully so), and that bravado eventually inspires Jack to do the same. Though it takes them an excruciatingly long time to reach an understanding, their both better off for it by the end. The character growth between them is as beautiful as some of the landscapes they encounter on their travels.
🦇 The miscommunication trope plays a big part in this story, and if you've read my previous reviews, you know that's a pet peeve. Dylan makes assumptions about Jack based on his reaction to the radio call and a few texts, but never makes an effort to learn more about him in person. Jack seems to mean well but Dylan's abrasiveness sets him off, making the first act a little tiresome to read. Fair warning: there is a bit of smut 🌶️, but the moment is ruined by the mention of Edward Cullen and sparkly skin (I definitely put my Kindle down with a groan after that).
💜 A great read that goes beyond the cute and fuzzies of typical travel romcoms. Recommended to anyone who has that itch to travel deep in their bones. That's one of the best things about being an avid reader; you have a thousand little adventures at your disposal without having to worry about the airfare. Happy reading!
❝ "The more she wrote, other things started to unravel, too. She'd been scared of her parents' rejection for the vast majority of her life, a symptom of eldest daughter syndrome and being queer as hell, but she deserved more than tolerance or a lack of outright rejection. They should have loved her no matter what, been proud of her no matter what." ❞
✨ Tropes ✨
✈️ Travel Romance
🏔️ Forced Proximity
🚂 Frenemies to Lovers
⛱️ Opposites Attract
🗽 Slow Burn
🦇 Major thanks to the author @elleeverhart and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, and Biphobia
ksbielenberg's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Abortion
rachelshubin's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book was pitched to me to be for fans of Just My Type by Falon Ballard. Well JMT was much better, but Wanderlust does have a journalism aspect that I appreciated as a journalist.
However, I found the story to be a little unbelievable, very so-so and not super super memorable. The only aspects that I felt like I enjoyed and agreed with the 2023 topics of importance were Dylan’s article on her abortion, and her pride about being bisexual.
Otherwise, the rest of the book was fine but no great shakes. I liked how many travel destinations that they went to, but felt like the lack of great descriptions about the destinations was a bit of a let down.
I hated Chantel (Dylan’s boss) with every core of my being. Yes I know sucky bosses exist but really felt like she was a bit overkill. Maybe a bit Miranda Priestly vibes really.
Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Dylan should have known better to write about Jack after he explicitly said not to! Like I was ready to yeet my kindle when she did that. A bit unrealistic that Jack could afford to quit his job. And really Dylan too because freelance journalism is HARD.
However, I found the story to be a little unbelievable, very so-so and not super super memorable. The only aspects that I felt like I enjoyed and agreed with the 2023 topics of importance were Dylan’s article on her abortion, and her pride about being bisexual.
Otherwise, the rest of the book was fine but no great shakes. I liked how many travel destinations that they went to, but felt like the lack of great descriptions about the destinations was a bit of a let down.
I hated Chantel (Dylan’s boss) with every core of my being. Yes I know sucky bosses exist but really felt like she was a bit overkill. Maybe a bit Miranda Priestly vibes really.
Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
someenchantederin's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
ARC review
First off thank you to NetGalley, the author, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a delightful slow burn. I thought the characters had great chemistry that continued to grow as the story went on. I appreciated many of the more left leaning angles in the book. Dylan could have easily fallen into a more stereotypical FMC if not for her railing against her conservative parents and standing up for her rights and choices. I flew through this ebook because I couldn’t wait for the moment when she and Jack finally took the plunge!
First off thank you to NetGalley, the author, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a delightful slow burn. I thought the characters had great chemistry that continued to grow as the story went on. I appreciated many of the more left leaning angles in the book. Dylan could have easily fallen into a more stereotypical FMC if not for her railing against her conservative parents and standing up for her rights and choices. I flew through this ebook because I couldn’t wait for the moment when she and Jack finally took the plunge!
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion
jjohnston_05's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I feel like I need more time to digest, so I may come back and edit this, but my overall feeling is just...this book is important.
This book is important for bi individuals who get shamed/told "its ok because you can still be in a relationship that LOOKS straight". Because its who Dylan is! She is a wonderful person and she doesn't fit in this box that her parents feel like she should be in. This book is important for people who are speaking their truth and telling stories about abortion that they got because they have that CHOICE. Dylan's life was really screwed up when she told her story. And when she tells Jack, thats the first glimpse that the reader, and Dylan, get that says "he's a good guy". Jack is so different on the inside then his box that HE was forced into.
I just can't love this book enough. And the fact that the cliche third act breakup doesn't happen, because it happens in the middle and then they COMMUNICATE and Dylan gets to apologize? It's amazing to me.
*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and my reviews are completely my own*
This book is important for bi individuals who get shamed/told "its ok because you can still be in a relationship that LOOKS straight". Because its who Dylan is! She is a wonderful person and she doesn't fit in this box that her parents feel like she should be in. This book is important for people who are speaking their truth and telling stories about abortion that they got because they have that CHOICE. Dylan's life was really screwed up when she told her story. And when she tells Jack, thats the first glimpse that the reader, and Dylan, get that says "he's a good guy". Jack is so different on the inside then his box that HE was forced into.
I just can't love this book enough. And the fact that the cliche third act breakup doesn't happen, because it happens in the middle and then they COMMUNICATE and Dylan gets to apologize? It's amazing to me.
*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and my reviews are completely my own*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Abortion, Biphobia, and Toxic relationship