all characters wanted
  • Book Reviews
    • Reviews by Book Title
    • Reviews by Posting Date >
      • Book Reviews: 2020
      • Book Reviews: 2019
      • Book Reviews: 2018
      • Book Reviews: 2017
    • Rating System
  • Other Musings
    • Monthly Wrap Ups
    • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact

Book Reviews

Something WIlder by Christina Lauren

9/29/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
SYNOPSIS
Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession… or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.

Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. 
Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.
Synopsis from Goodreads

PERSONAL REVIEW
Such is the state of my reading slump that I didn’t realize there was a new Christina Lauren book out! I was really excited to find out because they always do a great job at creating very cute and entertaining rom coms, so of course I was thrilled to have a story to jump into. Something Wilder takes us on a different adventure where readers are along for the ride as Lily Wilder and friends try to solve the mystery of where her dad may have hidden his treasure. Very random? Yes. Entertaining? Still yes!

Love the Reunited Ex-Lovers Trope
This is such a great trope and one that I’m a fan of, because we get to see the characters usually have a younger stage in their life and then the time jumps where they are now. Whether or not they’re doing well in the present, I love that we get to see them at more than one point in their life and that they now have to figure out how to be around each other and be with each other based on who they are now. I love that Christina Lauren went for this trope - it’s one that I really enjoyed reading, and I think it’s very believable, especially in the fact that this is a novel about treasure hunters.

The Twist is Too Silly
The biggest drawback for me in this novel was that the surprise, or the twist, reveal didn’t really seem believable. It really came out of nowhere and I just didn’t buy the characters motivation. I was also really confused by the character in general and how they seem to think that everything would just work out the way they wanted I think that the way Lily solves the clues is really cool and I had a fun time reading about code breaking, but the twist itself was fairly lackluster in the scheme of things.

Good Secondary Characters
I hope I've said this before about Christina Lauren books, but these authors do a great job with secondary characters. Although the novel itself only ever takes place from the point of view of the main romantic leads, the authors have always done a really good job at creating interesting secondary characters that you equally are interested in reading about it. In this case, I really loved Nic and Walter and the little flirtation that was happening and their own character growth. I thought it was a fun way to offset the tension and romance of Leo and Lily and still keep the story moving.
​
Overall, this was a fun read and exactly what I expect from a Christina Lauren novel. Something Wilder was fast, it was easy, and it was entertaining, which are the three things I look for in a romcom novel. I’m so surprised that none of their books have turned into movies yet! Who can we talk to about making this happen? Because Christina Lauren do a great job of creating these really cute romcoms and I’d love to see them on screen at some point.

FINAL RATING: 4/5
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About Me

    Hi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. 

    I absolutely love to travel, but home will always be in Toronto. Books come with me everywhere and I can't wait to hear if you agree or disagree with my reviews. 


    Follow Me on Instagram

    @AllCharactersWanted

    Categories

    • ​​Reviews by Posting Date
    • Reviews by Book Title ​​

    2020 Reading Challenge

    2020 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has read 20 books toward her goal of 85 books.
    hide
    20 of 85 (23%)
    view books

    2019 Reading Challenge

    2019 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has read 5 books toward her goal of 90 books.
    hide
    5 of 90 (5%)
    view books

    2018 Reading Challenge

    2018 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has completed her goal of reading 80 books in 2018!
    hide
    88 of 80 (100%)
    view books

Posts

Latest Book Review

Other Musings

Reviews

Reviews by Posting Date

Reviews by Title

Author

About Me
Contact Me
© COPYRIGHT All Characters Wanted 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Book Reviews
    • Reviews by Book Title
    • Reviews by Posting Date >
      • Book Reviews: 2020
      • Book Reviews: 2019
      • Book Reviews: 2018
      • Book Reviews: 2017
    • Rating System
  • Other Musings
    • Monthly Wrap Ups
    • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact