bookshelvesandtealeaves 's review for:

Wild Things by Laura Kay

3.5

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Thank you Quercus and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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!