Something wilder by Christina Lauren released may 2022. Ranch girl falls in love with nerdy city boy Boy breaks her heart. Ten years later broke lost ranch woman meets rich city guy again. This book gave me the vibe of an old Danielle stelle harlequin book. I never became immersed in this book. I stayed on the edge of the campsite ring., watching

Something Wilder indeed -- this is a wilder ride from Christina Lauren then I'm used to. I've read and loved every one of their books -- this being no exception but I was surprised by the "thriller" aspects of this novel. THere's all the delicious love story I wanted, but the twists and turns and landscape were so unexpected. Well done, ladies. I couldn't stop reading. You had my heart beating on this one for very different reasons than usual.

If you are looking for a wild west action packed romance then this is for you! I loved the setting. The authors did a wonderful job portraying the beauty of the west. There was so much description and detailing of the mystery portion of the book that I think the romance was overlooked. Overall, the book was entertaining and enjoyable.

Classic CLo with an action/adventure twist! Second chance romance, diverse characters, a laugh out loud funny best friend, and few steamy scenes along the way. These ladies have written some of my favorite romcoms so I felt like I knew what was in store for me when I opened Something Wilder. & was I ever wrong!!
Lily and Leo once shared a summer of young love, but life and loss broke them apart. With a second chance at love and the possibility of a hidden treasure within their grasp nothing seems impossible. That is until we get about 30% into the book. I gasped, I shook my head in disbelief, and had to comprehend what I'd just read. Just when I was all geared up for a possible tent action, I was instead blindsided with some Wild West action!! Although this book has classic CLo elements and moments of romcom vibes, I'd definitely categorize this as a full on action adventure!! This book will keep you cheering them on as they go on an adventure of a lifetime, and the letter at the end will leave you with ALL the emotions. A must read for Christina Lauren fans and anyone looking for a feel good, original, action packed shot at second love and redemption. Thank you so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Four stars.

Lily Wilder once thought she was going to have it all, the family ranch and the man she loved but that was a decade ago. Now she is running wilderness tours and trying to make ends meet. All she has left of her father is his adventure journal full of clues and maps from his treasure hunting. her world is upended when Leo, The man she loves, turns up in a group for her tour. His friend planned the vacation and Leo had no idea Lily was running the tour. When the trip goes off the rails will Lily and Leo be able to trust each other to survive? Does the journal actually have clues to find Butch Cassidy's treasure?

This was a fun read, a bit of different scenery for this author. Great love story that takes place in the wild west, while treasure hunting. Sounds goofy, right? It was great!

I will always read everything that Christina Lauren writes, and this was no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

DId I read the synopsis before starting Something WIlder? No, but I am a Christina Lauren fan and know without a doubt that i would not be disappointed. Something Wilder is wild to say the least. If you take Indiana Jones and mix in some Wild WIld West then you get the adventure tha Lily, Leo and the gang go through.

I went in thinking I was going to read a typical CL book but it was not. It had more adventure and a little less romance than I expected but it did not disappoint.

❤️  for starters, this is my 7th Christina Lauren book, and I found it to be so different than anything I’ve read by the duo! while the writing style that we know and love remained true, this book was more action-packed & suspenseful. I love how much versatility CLo brings to romance novels & I find their plots to be unpredictable and fresh.

❤️  the setting of this book was vivid and reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, holes. I thought the puzzles and plot were clever and I felt like I was right next to the characters throughout the adventure.

💔  I wish we had gotten a little more backstory to the emotional connection that Leo and Lily had as teenagers. we got to reminisce on their passion for each other, but I wanted more history on what bonded them so deeply at a young age. because of this, I wasn’t as invested in the romance as I typically am during a CLo read. however, I still really enjoyed seeing their love rekindle.

4.5/5

The authors mention up front that they had a request to include horses in a book — and that they did! It’s a romance, it’s a western, it’s a treasure hunt, it’s a thriller, and it’s even a bit of fantasy (finding Butch Cassidy’s long hidden bank robbery stash)! Plus, it all works together in a terrific adventure.

Lily Wilder is the daughter of the late Duke Wilder, a known treasure hunter. Since his death, she’s had to leave her beloved Colorado ranch, where she had fallen in love ten years ago with Lovesick City Boy. Now she takes tourists in Utah on weeklong dude ranch adventures that include orienteering to pre-destined “treasures.” Leo Grady is Lovesick City Boy who inadvertently broke Lily’s heart when he had to leave abruptly and take care of a little sister. Of course, their messages to each other a decade were lost and each of them have been nursing broken hearts since then.

Leo, back in New York, with now nearly independent sibling, does an annual boys’ trip, with two friends, Bradley and Walt. They take turns choosing where each year and Bradley’s choice is none other than Lily’s trail ride. Bradley has also invited another hanger-on, a sort of creepy common acquaintance, dripping in arrogant masculine toxicity and a complete know-it-all. Of course, there’s tension as Lily and Leo meet up again, but there’s more tension when the expected bad guy lives up to expectations.

5 stars! I just loved the story (and being from Utah myself, I was still engrossed in the mystery of the Outlaw Trail). Christina Lauren mixes genres in a great original story.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster/Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES But not one of the girls — “sweet potato” Walt has the enormous green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO I’m from Utah and even though the authors’ admit right away they made up stuff about the geography, I would have been particularly irritated if there was a saguaro cactus (grows 700 miles south) in this desert (and there isn’t).

I am really blown away. I had no idea this writing duo could produce an adventure romance and it was exactly what I didn't know I needed.

My 1st from Christina Lauren is what I consider one of my biggest wastes of time: Dating You/Hating You. After returning this to my local library, I was determined to not pick up one of their books again.

Fast forward to a world with CV-19. My library finally, blessedly re-opens. I need something to read. Their recommended reads shelf features Unhoneymooners, which is now being put through to moviedom. I pick it up and was hooked almost immediately with laugh-out-loud moments. A real book highlight for me in 2021.

Realizing their books are probably hit or miss for my taste, I am floored that Something Wilder gallops away into what I think will be another hit for C & L. I totally see this getting the cinematic treatment (and hopefully movie makers will take this nugget and polish it into a treasure worthy of the big/streaming screen; the downside I foresee to that expedition is movie makers will not be casting a 1/2 Japanese hunk. Fingers crossed that they will include some positive on-screen diversity!).

Really appreciate they took a creative chance in bringing this book to life. It also brings back my visit to Canyonlands and other parks in Utah.

I really enjoyed this new title from Christina Lauren, who are two of my favorite romance authors!

I'm not normally one for adventure, but I found it to be so fun in this book. Lily and Leo are having their second chance romance while working through the mazes of treasure hunts in the Canyonlands. I thought they had really good chemistry and a believable background making their romance feel realistic to me. Only Christina Lauren could take such an outlandish plot and make it feel real!

Highly recommend for all romance fans.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Something Wilder is a second chance at love while looking for treasure story. I wanted to like I and have really enjoyed other titles by these authors. I just couldn’t get into the one. I almost did a DNF but decided to stick it out to the end. It was just ok and the treasure hunt was too drawn out and unrealistic. It was a make it or break it plot point for making this a stand out read and it just fell flat for me.

ALWAYS so excited to read a new Christina Lauren book!! She's the master of fun, adorable, lovable characters and great storylines! Something Wilder definitely does not disappoint. Loved it from the first page to the last. Highly recommend!

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a cute book! I love Christina Lauren and will read anything by them. It felt like contemporary Western Romance with themes of long lost first love plus enemies to lovers!

This book was a fantastic surprise. Meshing mystery, suspense, puzzles, romance, intrigue, historical fiction and a western, this book has something for everyone.

Reunited after years apart, horse lover and adventure team leader Lily is once again reunited with her first love Leo, who abandoned her and her farm for big city life 10 years ago. With a treasure hunting adventure-based business, it's Lily's job to make the guests feel welcome and comfortable, but can she manage that with Leo?

This book was great. I loved the puzzle and treasure hunt aspect, and I liked the gorgeously-described Western theme. Christiana Lauren, the pen name of two authors, always offers fun and engaging books with more than just romance, although that part is usually sizzling.

A fun find to add to your TBR list.

Lily grew up with Duke, a well known treasure hunter, yet his games and puzzles are not her favorite. When he passed, he left her with pretty much nothing, and had recently sold the ranch right out from under her. Now she is working on taking tourists on fake treasure hunts, and the latest group has a terrible surprise. Leo and his friends are on their annual boys trip, but Leo didn’t know they would be touring with Lily, the woman he loved but ghosted when his mom had an accident. Not only that, but this group of boys came with several other surprises.

Not me dropping everything else I am reading when the new Christina Lauren hits my kindle. Just kidding….definitely me! When I started reading this one, my first thought was, treasure hunt in the desert? Not really my style, but as always I decided to trust these amazing authors and keep reading. As expected, they proved me wrong. I feel like in the last few books Christina and Lauren have really branched out with their writing, and I am so here for it, I love an atypical rom com! There were so many moments reading this one that I did not expect at all, which made me love it all the more. If you love this author duo as much as I do, you will not be disappointed.

I am a huge Christina Lauren fan, and this book did not disappoint. In fact, it exceeded all my expectations - the love story was just what I was hoping for as second chance romance. It was steamy, and I found myself rooting for Lily and Leo the entire story to just hurry up and admit they still loved each other when it was so clear!! There were also so many plot twists that I could not put the book down - I had to know what happened next. This book had everything & I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of second chances, I wish that could be me romances, twists and turns, as well as sarcastic banter between all the characters. I laughed, I smiled throughout the whole thing, and I just couldn’t get enough. Christina Lauren did it again - can’t wait to own a copy of this for my shelves.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Go read this book people!

Wow! I was blown away by this book. I’m so thankful Netgalley gave me an arc of this book. Another reviewer described this as National Treasure meets City Slickers and I couldn’t find a more suitable description. This is a second chance love story mixed with action packed adventure and a smartly drafted mystery. The riddles, codes and cyphers that have to be solved are done so well that I can’t wrap my head around the fact that “mere romance authors” were able to come up with those. Insert Sarcasm because this duo is no "mere" anything! They have written sharp detailed books before, but this is definitely one of my new favorites by them. The scenery is done so well I feel like I can feel the desert heat, hear the rushing rivers, smell the hard packed clay, touch the canyon walls, and taste that lukewarm camp coffee. This book reads like an adventure novel turned movie. I could see it play out in my head exactly as it would on the big screen. Predictable bad guys but that last clue at the end more than makes up for it. Mentally I’m ready to start casting the screenplay. I could see Vanessa Marano and Ross Butler. Who would you choose to play these roles?

4 stars

I love Christina Lauren, and while this is not my standout favorite of their ever-expanding collection, it's a fun and sweet read.

Lily and Leo were in love 10 years ago, and then, through a series of events that are explained in detail, they broke each other's hearts. That's why it's particularly jarring for both of them when they end up meeting again through unusual circumstances. Their relationship is obviously complicated with all of this baggage in tow, but it's also pretty sweet.

The backdrop for this romance is what I both liked and disliked the most about this book. Lily runs a _City Slickers_ style adventure, so almost every second of the novel is set in the dessert, in canyons, in dust, and with a constant array of environmental tasks to tackle. At times, these aspects felt distracting from the love story. When the adventure components worked, I cared about that piece MORE than the love story. It was a pretty hot and cold experience for me in that department.

Though I felt at times like the quest plot and romance were competing more than complementing, I did enjoy both overall. That noted, this is Christina Lauren we're talking about here, so I'm really looking at a 4-star instead of 5-star affair versus something catastrophic. I do recommend this one for CL lovers and romance fans alike (though they should expect a lighter-on-the-romance-than-usual event).

I think this may be my new favorite Christina Lauren novel. A bit different from their other romances, this novel has plenty of adventure, danger, and swoon-worthiness.

Lily Wilder is the daughter of the Duke Wilder, adventurer, treasure hunter, and quasi celebrity. She is taking over her family's ranch, with her first love, Leo Grady, at her side. Fast forward ten years later, and Lily's life has fallen apart. She's lost the ranch and Leo, and is now trying to get by offering tours of the dangerous lands her father once searched for treasure. When Leo shows up on one of her tours, she is thrown for a loop. Things begin to go haywire fast, and soon Lily and Leo's tour devolves into a real life treasure hunt, with deadly stakes.

I love a good second-chance romance, and throwing in cowboys and hidden treasure made this story all the more better. I loved Lily and Nicole (Lily's best friend and fellow adventure guide). They are tough, hardened by their lives, but not beaten. And Leo... Leo was sweet and respectful of Lily's need to stand on her own.

The mystery of the treasure was full of twists and turns. I never knew what to expect. It made the book impossible to put down. Hands down one of my favorite books thus far this year.