I’m a huge fan of Christina Lauren so they are autobuy for me. I was so excited to see what they had in store with Something Wilder.

Lily Wilder is the daughter of the great treasure hunter Duke Wilder. In order to pay the bills she uses his hand drawn maps to lead tourists on fake treasure hunts. When a motley crew of friends shows up for a treasure hunt it brings up painful memories Lily would rather forget, her first love Leo Grady.

If you are looking for a new a drag take on the Christina Lauren romances you love this is it! It reads like a movie and will have you cracking up with one liners. What’s not love about second chance romance and treasure hunting?!?!

Highly recommend this one if you are looking for a little adventure!

If you were the kid who could quote City Slickers and dreamed of going after Curly's gold, but thought that Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Jon Lovitz were not your ideal travel companions - this is your story. Lily Wilder's father, the famous treasure hunter Duke Wilder, sold the beloved family ranch, had a stroke days later, and left Lily to pick up the pieces while caring for him in the small cabin he kept. Lily was barely eighteen and now, after her father's passing, she's using her inherited skillset to lead tourists on fake treasure hunts in that no man's land of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico where Butch Cassidy used to ride.
Lily can fend for herself, but when a new group of New York area tourists arrives for a week on the trail, this is more than she bargained for - especially since one of the guys is her first love, Leo, is part of the group. But Lily, who needs the money, is all business as usual until things turn ugly when one of the guys Leo is traveling with goes rogue. And now, maybe, just maybe, her father wasn't as crazy as he seems - maybe there is outlaw treasure hidden in the twisty Utah canyons. And the hunt is on as danger comes from every turn.
Yes, there is the swoon you expect from Christina Lauren books, but there is also the heart-pounding adventure and possibility of treasure that makes this one of their best.

It’s no secret that Christina Lauren’s books turn heads. This cover is gorgeous, but the story behind it is incredibly fun and heart-felt.

Calling my bucket list! Something Wilder focuses on an adventure romance between Lily and Leo, who once had a deep love but were torn apart. A decade later, the two meet up again as Leo and his friends arrive at Lily’s treasure hunt business in the middle of the Utah terrain.

Let me start by saying this story contains romance that sizzles but the best part was the entire adventure. The characters go on such a fun romp in the middle of the Utah the desert looking for treasure that is highly sought after. What more could you want? There was humor and emotion and I truly enjoyed this story. This novel is nothing like anything this author duo has put out there with us too far. I love how they are revolutionizing their writing.

Just kind of meh for me. Christina Lauren books are always super readable, but I feel like it boils down to another of their second chance romance with puzzles and slightly different characters and settings. Nothing super special. No real sizzle between Leo and Lily.

This was such a fun, different and unexpected offering from Christina Lauren. I loved the romance, the adventure, and the puzzles to solve.

I breezed through this one and genuinely enjoyed it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I generally really enjoy Christina Lauren books, but this one was just okay for me. I liked the two main characters quite a bit, but the whole premise of the treasure hunt was just so farfetched. A little too National Treasure-y for my personal taste.

I loved this book! Christina Lauren does it again! It made me happy and gave me the feel-goods. Loved the second chance scenario between Leo and Lily. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Adventure stories in romance novels are very fun. It's the two types of stories I cut my teeth on as a kid. Something Wilder is a rollicking ride through outlaw country canyons and buttes. Christina Lauren give the reader a group of main characters that are all searching for actual treasure together. Some plot points were predictable, others very unexpected. Nicole, the ranch hand, is the best character, IMO. For some reason the hero and heroine felt a bit lackluster. I think Leo's softness (he was so noble, it ended up feeling kinda boring) or maybe the ease with which they got over their weirdness with each other after having one conversation... I don't know, I guess I would have liked to have seen a bit more tension drawn out. Not my favorite Christina Lauren book, but will I keep reading their books as they release them? Most likely yes.

I think 3.5 stars final rating on this one? It was definitely a departure from what we are used to from Christina Lauren. I just didn't connect with the story quite as much as I have with some of their other books. The characters were good. I didn't think it was very predictable, but I did think it was at times cheesy or very outlandish. The romance story line was very sweet. I think they've done a good job here - just not my very favorite from them.

I am quickly becoming a huge fan of this writing duo. This one was different from their normal genre. It is still a romance novel (the chemistry between Lily and Leo is HOT!), but there is also a mystery and some action and a LOT of drama. It was awesome. I loved the puzzles and the codes, I loved the Western aspects and the amazing desert where the story took place. The authors did an incredible job with the setting. I loved the characters and thought the ending and the resolution to the mystery was perfect. Fantastic read!

I've loved every one of this duo's books, however, this ended the streak for me. I was a bit skeptical about the setting-I don't love Westerns and in the end, that did negatively impact my feelings about this book. I also felt like the plot was thin and the romance was lacking compared to previous books. I know the authors said they wanted something fun given Covid, but this just didn't feel fun to me. Usually I'm laughing within the first few pages, this just felt tired-like the scene in the beginning set in a bar-it felt like every stereotype about a small hick town was thrown in to see what would stick.

This book was quite different from anything else this author duo has published before but the romance itself was as wonderful as ever and the adventure-packed story kept me on my toes and quickly turning the pages to see what happened next. I absolutely loved both Lily and Leo. I'm definitely not used to so many legitimate "villains" in a romance, but Something Wilder was so much fun! Sexy, unpredictable, romantic, and humorous at times, I highly recommend adding this one to your Christina Lauren collection!

This book was a big letdown for me. While I was skeptical of the setting going in, I love Christina Lauren’s books so much that I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. The writing is as fun and witty as always, but the story was really lacking for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing the ARC.

Woah, this book was something completely unexpected and I am absolutely here for it.

I am a huge fan of Christina Lauren, and I was so excited when I saw that I had received an ARC for this book. But unlike the rest of their books, which are very firmly in the romcom or contemporary romance category, this book is very much an action adventure with romance as kind of the secondary plot.

Overall, I actually found myself enjoying the survival aspect of it more than the romance, although the romance of it is still excellent in the way that only Christina Lauren can write. But the clues, the treasure hunt, all the secret hidden meanings on Lily's journey turned this book from a delightful romcom to a fast paced race through the canyons to be the first to find the hidden treasure of Butch Cassidy.

Loved loved loved this book. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Sometimes you feel like a book is written specifically for you. A few months ago I attended the Tucson Festival of Books and was lucky enough to sit in on a panel with Christina Lauren. They spoke about their newest book that was being published in May about a woman who leads trail rides, treasure hunts, and also has a second chance love. I immediately knew I had to read it!

A little background on me, I grew up riding horses and traveling all over the western US competing in rodeo. I spent my summers as a kid working on my aunts ranch in Moab, Utah and my summers in college as a wrangler leading trail rides in the Rocky Mountains. So when I say this book was pretty much written for me, I mean it. It brought me back to a time where I spent my days on the back of a horse chasing cattle then leading tourists into the mountains. It brought me back to days of being covered in dirt, horse sweat and sunburns. Early mornings, long days and some of my favorite memories.

I'm always a bit apprehensive to read books about anything pertaining to horses, ranching, rodeo, trail rides, etc, because if an author does not do their research it can come across hokey and stereotypical. This was not the case for Something Wilder. The language used, the descriptions of the land, even the way Lily feels while on horseback is so accurate and well written I felt as if I was there. You can tell they spent a lot of time researching and making sure they got it right and that is so appreciated.

Aside from the descriptions and obvious hard work that went into researching this book the story was wonderful. Full of adventure, romance, an a bit of betrayal! I was hooked from the start and read it straight through. If you enjoy western settings, horses, the outdoors, adventure and romance this book is definitely for you! Its the perfect book to start the summer and motivate you to strap on the hiking boots and go on an adventure!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

Something Wilder is certainly something different from Christina Lauren; however, it contained many of my favorite elements from their previous works. I particularly enjoyed the romance between the two main characters. I also loved that we could read the main male character’s perspective from the very beginning. It moved at a good pace, and the descriptions of the Wyoming and Utah landscapes were particularly poignant.

The new component of this novel, which involved a chase/mystery/thriller adventure, was not what I typically look for in a romance novel. It left me anxious at many times, and while that kept me reading, I didn’t always enjoy that feeling. The side characters were either difficult to like or to get to know, which is understandable given the storyline, but is also disappointing when compared to their other books.

It’s not my favorite of their works, but it was a fun and exciting read overall!

This was cute, and while it wasn’t my favorite from this pair, I thought it entertaining and fun! I just needed a bit more from the romance, and I think this one would have really swept me off my feet.

DNF. I'm usually a fan of Christina Lauren books. This one starts off well, but there is a character death that occurs late enough in the plot that it, to me, throws the entire tone and feel of the book off. I kept reading a few chapters beyond that point, but the imbalance of the reality that had been established previously and the characters' next choices and actions was way out of whack. Perhaps if readers go into it looking for more of a "Romancing the Stone" vibe (and can ignore that it doesn't turn into that until more than 30% of the way through) they'll have a better time of it.

When I was approved for this book I was so excited. It wasn't until I was reading it that I realized this is something truly different from Christina and Lauren. As a major fan of these two fantastic authors I was delighted to learn not only were us readers being given romance but also an action adventure story! The romance was a second chance romance (which I personally don't think gets enough trope love) with Lily and Leo as 10 years have passed between their first falling in love to the present story. The pivot to action adventure had me BLOWING through chapters at the end of the book trying to solve the mystery of the treasure hunt that Lily's father was taking them on. I will say we needed more steam from the two MC. It just was not enough. However, the emotional level we were taken to with these characters I would argue is some of the best we have seen from Christina and Lauren. The overlying layer of Lily grappling with her father's death is the grief we all feel daily in our lives and can relate to human to human. Do not hesitate to pick this one up. Something Wilder is different for the fans of rom-com AND for fans of Christina and Lauren.

Look, I’m a big CL fan. I admit it. I think this book is great fun. The authors warn you not to take it so seriously, so for those who had a hard time suspending their disbelief, guess whose problem that was (insert side eye here). So sit back and just enjoy another fun and easy read with solid characters and beautiful (albeit generously modified) landscape with romance and adventure. Great summer read. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc in exchange for an honest review.