I’ve been a fan of CL for years ans even though I liked this book, it’s not my favorite ans I didn’t love it. Leo and Lily were cute and fun together and their chemistry was amazing but I don’t know why I like the romance didn’t have the main focus of the story and sadly, that didn’t work for me. Also, there’s something about third person POV that I don’t feel like it fits well with CL’s style. But that’s just my opinion. I will definitely keep reading their books becuase their writing is flawless and their storytelling is magical.

Filled with adventure, mystery, romance, and good ol’ treasure hunting, Something Wilder takes readers on an unforgettable ride straight into the heart of the untamed Utah wilderness.

To buy back her family ranch, Lily Wilder made a business of guiding tourists on a treasure hunting experience through the same dirt trails as the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy. When an unexpected group of guests arrives (including her ex-flame, who she hasn’t seen in a decade), everything goes up in smoke, and they decide to seek out the lost riches Cassidy hid in the land for themselves.

With the adrenaline rush of Indiana Jones, the complex family ties and relationships of Outer Banks, and the treasure hunting aspects from Fool’s Gold, this book was a thrill of an adventure straight from the beginning. The entire rustic cowboy setting and backstory of Lily’s notorious treasure hunting father, his legendary maps, riddles, and ciphers, plus her simmering romance with her lost love, all hooked me in instantly.

The tone of the novel does shift from a fun, lighthearted read into one that focuses more on the action, drama, and adventure. While I always adore Christina Lauren’s writing and take on romance, I was slightly disappointed the love story wasn’t the focus and the treasure hunting journey was. I would of loved for the romantic parts to have been expanded on, especially their backstory and connection, which I wish we saw more of and been more deeply explored.

Overall, this story was a fun, wild, unexpected adventure that is the perfect bingeable read. (Plus, I think it would be a GREAT film or tv series.)

3.25/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A sweet second chance romance with fun characters and an unforgettable setting. I loved the treasure hunting premise and the western adventure aspect. Lily and Leo both had internal and external conflicts that played out well in tandem. The mystery and intrigue related to the clues for the treasure hunt kept things suspenseful and unique. A truly wonderful read!

I absolutely loved this book. I was obsessed from page 1 and never stopped being obsessed. I found myself thinking desert thoughts and thinking about these characters when I wasn't reading which hardly ever happens. I couldn't wait to have time to pick it back up again.
I characters were fantastic. Lily and Leo the main characters had such chemistry. We get a "10 years ago" for the prologue and in those few short pages, it is so obvious that Lily and Leo are meant for each other. Then we get the "10 years later" and Lily and Leo are thousands of miles apart and we don't know why. Their reunion is so anticipated and I was cheering for them the whole way through. The side characters were also fantastic. Nicole was Lily's best friend and she was fierce and loyal. Leo is on this trip with his friends Walter, Bradley and Terry. Walter was by far my favorite. He was the cinnamon roll. Bradley was so excited for the trip and his excitement was contagious to me. Terry was a jerk but that was his character.
The plot was great. I was never bored, never wanted to put the book down, the slower parts still kept me totally engaged. I loved the thought that this fake treasure hunt turned into a real treasure hunt. With this being a romance, you wouldn't think there would be so many twists, but right from the start there were twists I didn't see coming and they made my excitement so much more.
Out of the few Christina Lauren books I've read, this is my favorite!

This is my 3rd book by Christina Lauren ( the first being Love and Other Words, which is a favorite of all time.) I was worried that my standards were going to be to high for any of their subsequent works. Wellllllll They didn't let me down with this one! Lilly is an independent and strong willed, while Leo balances her out. But lets talk about Leo a Bit more😍! LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM. I was worried in the beginning because I wasn't feeling the chemistry between Lilly and Leo but THE DUO HAS MASTERED SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE!!! Also the one bed troupe (or rather one sleeping bag😜) will never let me down. I was pleasantly surprised by the puzzles throughout the book. They were just difficult enough where I would have never figured them out but they didn't make me feel dumb😂. I will say that a death toward the beginning, while necessary I guess, seemed pretty rushed in my opinion. The plot twist toward the end was also pretty unexpected. Overall I'd say this is something I didn't expect from the Duo, but throughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

AHDGHAGAJ when i got this arc i SCREAMED!!! i love christina lauren and once again they did NOT dissapoint!!! love love love

what can i say, christina & lauren you’ve done it again. as with their other books this was a fun fast paced easy read that kept you hooked. i didn’t read the description before reading so i did NOT know what direction this book was going in but i don’t think a treasure hunt could ever be a bad thing.

brb, adding cowboy to the list of potential careers for my future husband

If there are two things I love, it's a treasure hunt and romance (courtesy of watching the 1999 masterpiece The Mummy during my formative years). I generally love this author duo (although I wish their books had something in the front to tell us if they are spicy or just steamy) but their last couple of books have been meh for me. I really enjoyed this one! I loved that the treasure hunt aspect was so dominant, because I was expecting the romance to be the main part. Second chance romance is one of my lesser favorite tropes and I didn't really feel WHY these two characters were still so in to each other, but over all I didn't really care because I was more interested in the treasure. This is going to be a great summer beach read!

🥾I’m not normally a romance girl but Christina Lauren books are an exception for me. This might be my favorite from the duo. It’s light on the romance and heavy on adventure. While I was reading I just kept thinking about Romancing the Stone, The Goonies, City Slickers and Indiana Jones. If you haven’t seen any of these…my old 80’s heart is sad for you. I went into this one completely blind other than a friend recommending it. I don’t want to give away too much so read this if you like⬇️

💰Treasure Hunts
⛺️Adventure
👯‍♀️Strong female characters & friendships
🧩Puzzles, Riddles & Codes
🔥Very Mild Heat
💞Second Chance Romance

⛺️Thank you to the publisher, authors and @netgalley for my eARC. This one is out on May 17th and I can’t wait to see what everything thinks of it!

There is nothing I love more than a second chance romance story! Something Wilder was so so good! I loved how kick butt Lily is and her and Leo's journey back to one another was so sweet. Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC and Christina Lauren for this opportunity!

The Wild West treasure hunt I didn’t know I needed, “Something Wilder” by Christina Lauren follows Chloe Wilder after her father’s death. Chloe’s father was a well known treasure hunter, often choosing to follow adventure rather than stay with his daughter. Now Chloe, desperate for cash, begins giving adventure tours along famous outlaw trails despite her hate for it. This tour group though is different. The man she thought she would love forever is there after years of no contact. And on top of that, the treasure might be real.

This book was absolute fun. Okay, besides the murder. But what is a Wild West story without some gun slinging, nature fearing intensity? I think everyone has had that moment where they wish they could find treasure, this book captures that feeling in the most satisfying way… And throwing in a little romance never hurt.

This book was absolutely 5 stars for me. It was fun and quick and kept me on my toes. I loved the little riddles and clues, but mostly I loved the character development throughout the book. Definitely a fun summer read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book hits the shelves May 17th!

"Something Wilder' by the writing duo Christina Lauren came as a bit of a surprise as I was reading it. I've read every single one of their books from when they began and wow have their books evolved. This one was lower on romance and higher on adventure and mystery.

First, Lily. I think they have written their strongest female protagonist yet. She rode her way into my heart. They did a great job on Lily's character development. Lily will stay with me even after I have read so many strong women-driven stories. There is a part that Christina Lauren wrote towards the end that even made me tear up. I can't quote it in the review but wow this story can sink into your bones the writing is that good. Lily has in her whole life had no one she could really depend on and she almost basically raised herself. She's a horsewoman and her horses are her bond. She meets this guy at nineteen and for the first time feels enough trust to open up even giving her virginity to him. The connection they have is strong and for the first time, it's the only person in her life she can really depend on. And he is smitten body and soul. but then life happens and they get disconnected. Their heartbreak over it is deep for both of them. The scene that Christina Lauren wrote when they see each other unexpectedly again is one of the best writing of a scene I've read from them.

The book dragged a bit in the first half where the foundation is set but I got it early on. I usually read one of their books fast and this one took a few days because the first half just was a bit long and the other characters just didn't appeal except for Nicole. Nicole is of course the humor for Lily is a bit of the very serious type. But then the second half wow it got going. Her first love is now showing he has never fallen out of love with Lily and Leo is all in as far as he is concerned but Lily isn't having it. She has her heart locked up as tight as finding the lost treasure they all embark on. I think one of the gifts of this riding duo is there can be a million things mentioned but at the heart of every story, they write the love story hits you right in the heart. Leo seems kind of boring, good looking of course with a good set of gym muscles and now, of course, he's a mature man not like when they saw each other ten years before but a good man but what do he and Lily have in common now. Well, Leo more than proves himself that he is worthy of this amazing woman. And Lily everything comes back home to her worthiness will anyone love her enough to not leave her when in her world nobody has. All Leo wants is to be with Lily to spend the rest of his life just being by her side and doing whatever he can to give her the life she has only dreamt about. If only he can break through that vault and what he does to prove himself worthy made me cry. Lily made me cry more. This story hit the heart of my background also an untrusting skeptic but instead of the Central Coast, it is set in the canyons and landscape of Southern Utah with horses, adventure, mystery, and deep respect for the land of the west.

I say this book plays out a bit like a movie. Even though I'm not a big fan of mysteries Christina Lauren explored what can we give a male protagonist who is basically just a guy next door kind of guy next to this amazing woman we give him he intellect that might even surpass hers. Both their gifts they bring to the table and then it opens up the life that brings pure bliss for the two of them. This is such a good feel story even though I had to get through the draggy part. I'll always read everything this writing duo writes. They even creatively figure out how we bring something new to a genre, something unexpected and possibly even not done before quite like this, and pull it off. Well, they did. Lily and Leo earned every bit of their hard-earned happiness.

The authors set out to give us a wild ride with this love story with a woman who is brave, smart, and industrious. Well, they achieved it. But they did, even more, they gave us a read that isn't just good escapism but gets to the heart of what it takes to overcome but not in a fairytale way more of a deep in the bones understanding that we're not going to overcome everything that brought us pain but it won't take away our chance to be and do all we want and need to. Now that's a good love story.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review 'Something Wilder'.

This book felt so different from their others but in a really great way! It was a page turner, propelling the reader forward to learn about the treasure and Lily’s story even more than the romance (though the romance was wonderful and engaging as well). I’ve never read a romance quite like this. Between the setting, the conflict, and the cast of characters, this book was a breath of fresh air - or rather, of dry desert air - for this avid reader.

I didn’t expect to fear for the lives of Lily and Leo, but I actually was. Leo’s friends leave a lot to be desired but what in the world! Not to give too much away, The romance was there in this book, but so also was the danger. It shows people cannot be trusted when it comes to money. The second chance of Lily and Leo almost didn’t happen. This book left me at the edge of my seat most of the time. I have to re read now that i know what happened. Ha ha ha… The danger and mystery aspect of this make it a five star read for me. Ha ha ha…

Ehhhh this was a bit of a let down for me! I love their writing, but this one left a bit to be desired. I wanted more romance, but I did enjoy the treasure hunting element.

Love love love! Christina Lauren is another dynamic duo that will always be an auto-buy for me. I adored this book. I loved following Lily and Leo and their journey, past and present, to love. I laughed, I felt all the feels, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. I will be buying a hard copy of this for my shelf!

Oh, man. I don't even know where to start with this one. CL has become one of my favorite author duos in this genre but I was worried that after so many books, there wasn't anything that could be considered "new" or surprised me. I was very very wrong. This book is so unique in this genre. It's such a fun combination of adventure, romance, western, and second chance. I had so much fun reading this! There were so many unexpected elements and plot twists that I genuinely was surprised at things when they happened. Leo and Lily, of course, were swoon-worthy, and their arc makes complete sense. I loved everything about this book.

I've enjoyed all of Christina Lauren's previous books and this one was no exception, even though it's a little different - a romance combined with an adventure story. It's fun and evokes the southwest landscape well, and just like you hope, everything turns out okay in the end.

This book was not what I was expecting. I love romance books and I love Christina Lauren books, I was not expecting to get this amazing Wild West adventure accompanied with romance. This book made me fall in love with the West more than I already love it. I mean the treasure hunting and the scheming and the romance... swoon. I already preordered a hardcover because this is hands down my favorite Christina Lauren book. I keep recommending it to everyone. Can't wait to see what the duo comes up with next!

What a wild ride! Pun intended!

One of the many things I love about Christina Lauren is that their stand-alone books are not formulaic or predictable. The settings are diverse, the characters multi-dimensional. This one was such a treat! Lily Wilder leads tourists on treasure hunting expeditions in Utah using her late dad's maps. .Lily's convinced the maps are all a dead end, but hey, if tourists want to pay her to follow them, then she's in. it's not her dream gig, but it *almost* pays her bills. Then, a group of four guys from New York sign-up and yikes! One of them is her long-lost love, Leo. Ends up that that's the *least* of her worries! Not only Lily and Leo they have to navigate their long-buried feelings, but there's treachery and back-stabbing and double-crossing galore, all set in a brutal, unforgiving landscape. Could not put this down!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review!