Lily is the daughter of the famous explorer and treasure hunter, Duke Wilder, but she doesn’t share his love of adventure. She is more at home on their ranch with her love, Leo. They have a blissful five months together and then Leo leaves suddenly and they never see each other again…until a decade later when Leo’s friend books him and their group of friends, on to one of Lily’s treasure hunting tours. What happens when throw a reunion with your first love, a massive deception and betrayal and a death defying search for real treasure into the mix? You get “Something Wilder” by Christina Lauren.

This is a book where the fact that you can predict the ending doesn’t spoil your enjoyment of the book at all.It’s a great mix of genres and I liked that it surprised me about a third of the way through with an event that came out of nowhere and made me sit up and pay attention. It’s written in such a way that I could really picture the journey Lily and the group were on and the landscape around them. I kept thinking it would make a really good movie. Though I enjoyed reading it, neither the plot nor the characters got under my skin and filled me with an urge to keep reading as often as I could. That said, it’s definitely a book fans of the mystery and romance genres will enjoy adding to their collection.

Thanks to Christina Lauren, Piatkus and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a bit of a departure for Christina Lauren - or maybe, considering their varied back catalogue, it's better to call it an evolution. Think rollicking adventure, with more than a hint of Indiana Jones/Romancing the Stone, and a second-chance romance underpinning it all. At first I wasn't sure, as it took a while to really get going for me, but once it did, I absolutely devoured it.

I really liked Lily and Nicole, both strong female characters making the best of what they have. Leo was harder to get a read on, although considering his character that probably wasn't surprising, and he developed well as the book progressed. I definitely appreciated that Leo and Lily didn't dance around their past and refuse to talk about it, because prolonged mis-communication gets annoying and there was already enough action to be going on with - so much that I could easily imagine this as a movie. If you're looking for a fast-paced read that requires a little suspension of disbelief but drags you along regardless, with a romance you'll root for and baddies you'll boo at, then give this one a try.

okaaaaay i’ve had so much fun reading this. it gave me ‘the inheritance games’ vibes with the riddles (probably bc that the only book i’ve read with that game). but i liked it. i was highly surprised with the plot and now i’m happy. you can have me with riddles or any mind blowing games because my brain could never solved them. but it’s still a lot of fun.

sometimes i felt like i’m in the middle of a dystopian book, after an apocalypse and the characters only can survive if they solve the riddle. (and i was absolutely thrilled)

i was questioning the story in the beginning, because it was a bit slow. but i think around the tenth chapter my blood pressure was raising because that accident came out of nowhere. and you know what Christina. you’ve got me. got me.

and we all know that she can write a great second chance romance. however i wished there were more attractions between lily and leo. they just keep bringing up the past how they loved each other, but after ten years they clearly were different people and i think they relationship could’ve been more developed.

and i really wished more time with nic and walt, i was sad they were out of the picture so fast. i enjoyed their characters.

overall i really enjoyed it. its a bit different christina lauren book that i thought i’m going to read but i love the positive disappointment. i liked this book!!!

thank you the early arc for netgalley and the author!!!!

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
I give this book 4.5 stars

Lily is the daughter of a notorious treasure hunter,she makes ends meet using her father's coveted hand-drawn maps, guiding tourists on fake treasure hunts through the canyons of Utah.
Leo arrives with a motley crew of friends, ready to hit the trails But when the trip goes wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn't a gimmick after all………

This is my first book by this writing duo and l went into it completely blind.
Wow….. l absolutely loved it!!!!
This was a well written contemporary romance but with so much more going for it! Get ready to be swept along on a wild and fun misadventure with puzzles to solve and treasure to find,throw in a second chance at love and not everything is as it seems and you have a hit on your hands. I fell in love with Leo and Lily and also had a soft spot for Nicole and Walter. I read this in virtually one sitting and didn’t want it to end. The perfect read right now to escape from reality, l highly recommend it to everyone, go grab your copy and enjoy the ride.
With thanks to Netgalley,Christina Lauren and Little, Brown Book Group UK, Piatkus for my chance to read and review this book

Treasure hunting, romance and a little mystery? Count me in! I stayed up well past my bedtime finishing this one, as I couldn't put it down. The second chance romance between Lily and Leo was super sweet and really well done.

The description of the landscape was also beautifully done and so descriptive. Really unique read!

This was a surprise.

This story was not was I was expecting and I mean that in a positive way.

Firstly, let me say that don't go into this thinking this is a pure romance. I almost felt the romance was secondary to the main storyline. But once I got over that, I truly enjoyed this story.

After my initial shock with the first plot twist, I knew this story was not going to go the way I expected. I would have preferred a little more fleshed out scenes of the behaviour of one of the characters because I felt quite blindsided by what had happened. However, this was probably done deliberately which in that case, bravo!

I loved the adventure and the mystery. It felt like was a reading a 2022 rom-com version of Red Dead Redemption and I was not mad about it.

I have read almost everything Christina Lauren has ever written and was THRILLED to be given an early NetGalley copy of Something Wilder. This novel contained almost everything I love about Christina Lauren novels and I was desperate for Lil and Leo to get together from about page 40! I would have loved more of them! The treasure hunt plot was good but admittedly not one of my favourites. However, I still flew through this is one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Thank you Netgalley, Christina Lauren and Simon & Schuster for giving me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was different and original and I was here for it! It isn't your typical romance, Lily isn't your typical girl and the scene isn't the typical scene. This took a wild (get it?) turn about 40% through and I didn't see it coming which just made it all the better! I loved Leo and Lily, I love Nicole and Walter, heck I even loved Duke! This book just kept giving, and I was willing to take. 5 stars.

What a fun ride this was.So different but then again so Christina Lauren.Loved it. Omg Leo...swoon. ps.everyone needs Nicole in their life. She better get a book.Like yesterday.please and thank you!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

I’ve read a few Christina Lauren books now and generally I’ve been a fan as they are easy reads and the plots have all be slightly different, so I didn’t even read the blurb when I requested this one from NetGalley… I just knew I wanted to read it regardless. Wow I’m so glad I did that and actually the plot came as a really pleasant surprise. Set in Wyoming and centring around horse trekking and Butch Cassidy, it was a really clever plot that I devoured in 24 hours. I loved that it was not a conventional romance and there wasn’t a tonne of false hurdles that stopped the characters getting together. The focus was very much on the other element of the plot which I really liked to be honest. Possibly my favourite Christina Lauren book so far or at least tied with The Unhoneymooners!

Apologies for the pun, but that was a wild ride!

I thought I was in for a fun, flirty and hilarious story with a sweet second chance romance out in the wilderness. Something Wilder, however, was a story I could not have predicted.

Lily Wilder grew up in the shade of her treasure hunting father, Duke Wilder, legendary cowboy and master riddle maker. When her father sells the beloved ranch that Lily one day wanted to own and needs care that spends the last of their money, Lily is left running treasure hunting trails through the desert and canyonlands to survive. It’s a hard life, but with the help of her best friend Nicole, maybe she’ll be able to get through it and one day reach her dreams.

Leo Grady is a tech-savvy, code-master nerd from New York, taking off on his annual friends' holiday. One of his friends oversaw the booking this year and decided that the three friends needed an adventure. They were to head out to Utah and participate in a ‘Wilder Adventures’ wild west cowboy adventure. What Leo didn’t expect was to run into his first and only love, Lily Wilder, ten years after the tragic death of his mother and the subsequent break of their relationship.

This book is packed with adventure; there are car chases, hidden treasure, cryptic riddles, and betrayal. What I thought would be a sweet and easy read turned into an adrenaline spiking tale. I did not expect anything that happened in this book. With death and heartache, twists that came out of nowhere and flipping betrayal (yes, I'm repeating it because it was shocking).

It was clear that Lily and Leo still loved each other when they set eyes on each other again. Lily had been living a hard life the past ten years, moving from gig to gig, anything to dull the ache of not being enough to make Leo stay. At the same time, Leo turned off all emotions and moved through the past decade in a fog, trying to give his sister everything she could need.

Miscommunication was the main factor in the breakdown of their relationship. Lily didn’t know that Leo’s mother had died, and he’d been left as the sole guardian of his little sister; she also didn’t know that Leo had called and left messages with her father that he never gave her. Leo didn’t know that Lily hadn’t gotten his messages, just that she’d never reached out to him again. It was heart-breaking to discover what had kept them apart where things that could have so simply been rectified.

Meeting up once again, in the middle of the desert on a trip destined to turn regular city folk into hardened cowboys, there was always going to be tension in a wonderful, forced proximity kind of way. Throw into that a huge plot twist that took the fun and replaced it with danger, anticipation, and heightened emotions; there was no one these two couldn’t fall for each other all over again.

'Something Wilder' has hits all the spots for me - action and adventure with a second chance romance.

Lily Wilder is the daughter of famous treasure hunter Duke Wilder struggling to carve out a living conducting wild west treasure hunting tours for corporate types so she can save to buy the family ranch.

All she wanted to do was run the family ranch with Leo Grady. But ten years previously Leo broke her heart after ghosting her and her dad sold the ranch.

Their paths cross on Lily's final tour, where things do not go to plan and they are forced to start a quest in Duke's footsteps to see if there really is treasure.

The chemistry between Lily and Leo aka 'Lovesick City Boy' was palpable even ten years later. I also loved Nicole and Walt as supporting characters (please give them a book!). Refreshingly we are spared a back and forth of Lily being pissed off with Leo for half the book (like what normally happens in books which drives me nuts), and have them have them address their long-standing issues early.

Writing duo Chrisina Lauren have really hit it out with this one. I know many people gush over these two, but apart from a couple of theirs I've enjoyed, I've mostly found them a miss. I tried but it was like they decide to write a book based on the latest trending trope and jump on that bandwagon. But with 'Something Wilder' I don't get that at all (if anything I think they will be leading the trend), and I really hope they continue with a few more in this vein.

Saddle up and keep your heels down for pure unadulterated fun set in the desert. The real treasure is the smile on your face when you finish reading it.

Thank you to Little, Brown Group UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Wow! This is one of the best books I have read in a while!

This was the top Christina Lauren book that I have read since Love & other words. I love that it is something different to their normal work. It was easy to read, entertaining and made me not want to put it down. This unique book provides a perfect blend of humour, tension, mystery, angst and heartfelt moments. This novel follows the group as they live in the wild whilst following a fake treasure,

Something Wilder follows Lily Wilder and Leo Grady. This is a second chance romance with chemistry and dual POV. Lily is the Daughter of Duke Wilder who is a famous archaeologist/treasure hunter. After losing everything that she once had due to her father selling the ranch that she was brought up in, Lily now runs hunts where they find fake treasure with her best friend Nicole ‘Nic’. Leo ‘Love sick city boy’ is on a yearly trip with his best friends when he sees Lily again after 10 years.

Tropes
- second chance romance
- one bed (well sleeping bag)

Thank you to net galley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

My review will be posted on 3/05/2022 so it is within the 2 weeks of publication as requested.

Tropes: second chance romance, city boy country girl, forced proximity, one bed (sorta), misunderstanding

This is a second chance romance between Leo, a city boy, and Lily - the daughter of a famous treasure hunter. Since they separated, Lily's life has been hard. She relies on running fake treasure hunts based on her (deceased and disliked) dad's maps. When Leo is booked on to one of these hunts, it forces them to discuss what forced them apart, and see if those feelings ever left. Then THE TREASURE HUNT BECOMES REAL!!

I have read a few Christina Lauren books and enjoyed them all, but the ones I haven't read I have zero interest in. It is a really marmite situation. I absolutely LOVED this one. It is definitely a very different book from CL. It focuses primarily on the adventure, with the romance happening alongside it. I found the treasure hunt so interesting and couldn't put it down - I just wanted to know how it would all go. I also loved the secondary characters (especially Walter and Nic).

The romance was definitely there, but it grew alongside the adventure. There was such a deep bond and chemistry between Leo and Lily, but their romance had very sad overtones. It was very... bittersweet?? I really routed for them getting together.

4.5 stars overall. Pick it up when it is published on 17 May!

Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Christina Lauren for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book!

Full of romance, adventure and action - this is a perfect summer read!

This is a second chance romance between Lily and Leo. Lily is essentially a cowgirl with an adventurer for a father, and Leo is the soft city boy who fell in love at first sight.

Things happen, and then POOF its been 10 years since they have seen each other.

Lily now owns an adventure getaway, and Leos friends sign up to partake... Enter awkward reunions! (Also, forget 1 bed trope, how about 1 sleeping bag trope)

This book had plot twists I didn't see coming, so much drama and lots of sweet romance. I haven't read a romance where the love story is just pure hearted and sweet for so long, and I absolutely loved it!

This book was nothing like I’d expected it to be; it was better!Second chance, swoon worthy romance - that I expected and it delivered. But what I wasn’t expecting, and what I adored was the drama and the mystery. By half way through I was absolutely hooked and could not put it down. It was fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book for this ARC.

Something Wilder was very different to the other Christina Lauren books I've read, but it was a lot of fun and definitely delivered on the Indiana Jones vibes. This book had a bit of everything: a second chance romance, codes and puzzles, and lots of high-stakes action. I really liked the strength and independence of Lily (and Nicole, for that matter), and how her relationship with Leo slowly changed over the course of the trip. Leo was so sweet and patient, and it was refreshing to see the miscommunication that had happened in their past resolve itself early on. I also really enjoyed all the codes and puzzles, and I was rooting for them to find the treasure. Much of the action is fast and crazy (and, yes, sometimes over-the-top), but it all somehow tied itself together in a heartwarming ending that gave me fuzzy feelings.

Something Wilder was....definitely something wilder, compared to the usual Christina Lauren books we've had before. They've dabbled a bit in magical realism/time-travel in In a Holidaze, this time we see a romcom mixed with a very dramatic western as the second chance romance couple and their gang of friends look for hidden treasure in the desert.

The writing is fun, easy to read and to follow. The characters felt like they were an archetype though, like "the heroine", "the hero", "the sweet potato friend", "the loud friend", etc. I didn't mind it that much since they were all fun and full of life, but yeah it definitely felt like that.

While I liked both main characters, I wish their romance, past and present had more development. Everything was quite fast paced and I felt like they just ignored some things.

I knew this was going to be like a treasure hunt thing, but I didn't expect it to escalate into a full on melodramatic western. And I'm not sure if I liked those parts. A lot of it was funny but some of it made me raise an eyebrow or two. I don't know, I'm quite on the fence about it. It was certainly a unique thing and not often found in romance books. Perhaps it just wasn't for me.

5⭐️

This was like Holes meets Indiana Jones with a swoony romance to boot! I thought this was really atmospheric and I enjoyed the vibes and mystery a lot. In the end, it was pretty wholesome and an easy read.

Something Wilder is a fabulous read, a romance, mystery, thriller and a rollicking adventure all in one.
Lily and Leo had a deep love affair 10 years previously which abruptly ended but neither has gotten over it.
Fast forward 10 years and Lily is now following in her treasure hunter fathers footsteps, running outdoor adventure tours that takes city slickers into the Canyonlands of Utah to get away from the rat race. This involves horse riding ,camping and treasure hunting.
When Leo turns up with a group of friends from New York for their annual get away from it all trip they are both shocked to see each other. So starts the adventure with twists and turns and a great cast of characters good and bad and events you just don’t see coming.
I loved this book, with its descriptive prose of the Canyonlands and the reconnecting of Leo and Lily is wonderful. A fabulous read.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly