I LOVED this book! A mix of mystery, romance, western, and adventure it was a great summer read.

Lily is a rancher who is giving tours based on her father's wild treasure hunting adventures. When her and her old flame cross paths on one of her adventure-tours you'd never see what's coming next - including hostages, a wild treasure hunt and betrayals!

I could not put down this book between wondering how the romance might end and wondering who would make it out alive this was a one-sitting book for me!

I have so many thoughts on this book, I went in blindly and I was surprised to learn that this is NOT a romance book. This is the story as if Indiana Jones had a daughter and left her a treasure hunt after his passing.

This is being marketed as a romance novel, maybe second chances trope, but this was heavily on the treasure hunt of their lives. Solving the great mystery of Lily’s father, Duke, a treasure hunter. The journey and mystery of the treasure hunt is the primary storyline for this book, romance if any, was on the back burner.

Now that I’m here ranting, who hikes in jeans?

If you almost fall to your death and think you have a broken arm and are scrapped and such, you’re not thinking of getting kinky in the Utah desert.

Somehow, even condoms were packed for this trip.🙄

✋🏼 I live in the state where every dating bio states “I love to hike” and let me tell you, most people are regretting their life choices during these hikes. No one is thinking of getting it on while their clothes are stuck to their skin due to sweat.

I am sorry, I truly wanted to love this book, but there were a lot things in the story that prevented me from being sucked in.

Big ole meh for me. I didn't really buy the romance and the plot was a bit too convenient. Felt like a silly romcom action movie thing Sandra Bullock would star in, and that I'd love to watch on the plane, but I feel like the book itself was all over the place.

I am a huge fan of Christina Lauren and even more so after reading Something Wilder! This book had it all, action, adventure, romance, suspense, cowboys and a treasure hunt! It was a second chance romance told in dual POV. I loved both of the main characters Leo and Lily. They reconnect 10 years after their young romance when Leo goes on a cowboy themed trip across the wild Wild West and Lily is his tour guide.

Another great Christina Lauren book! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. I highly recommend this book for someone looking for a quick read with a great plot. Thank you netgalley for the advanced read. I give this book 4/5 stars.

Lily Wilder runs a tourist camp for those seeking adventure in the great outdoors. There is even a treasure hunt to make it more exciting. She is trying to get by and pay the bills after she was left heartbroken and broke ten years ago. Then Leo Grady her first love and the man who broke her heart is back in her life. He is there with his friends to go on a treasure hunt adventure. Leo has no idea the camp is run by Lily but he does know that he still loves her. This book was enjoyable with the sparks between Leo and Lilly in a fun Romancing the Stone kind of adventure setting.

Not my favorite Christina Lauren novel, but still satisfying. They just never miss the mark. A great summer read.

Christina Lauren books are always fabulous, but I have to admit that this one didn’t hook me as much as their previous books. The setting wasn’t as luscious or riveting. The romance was completely there, but it was lost a bit on me because of the scenery.

Honestly, if this had not been a Christina Lauren book, I would have stopped reading it. It was not a story that interested me at all and just seemed very implausible. But I love Christina Lauren books and have read all of theirs so far, so I kept going. In the end it was happy, but I predicted what was going to happen early on. It wasn't awful, but I hope they go back to writing stories like all of their previous books.

I loved this book! Such a 'Wild' ride - long lost loves reconnect and go on a treasure hunt - what's not to love?! The characters were easy to connect to and the landscape description just filled you with wonder. Love the story and all the intricate details. Some of the secondary story lines were a little off, and others were spot on, overall this a fun read!

This Christina Lauren book is a little bit different from some of the others I have read due to the second chance romance storyline. The storyline is also different from the typical, as it's less focused on the romance and chemistry than some others. For me, this meant that I wasn't drawn in as quickly, whereas I'm usually a "read in one sitting" CL fan. I do think readers should be aware that the story is a bit darker than they may expect from a CL read.

First of all, the setting of this book was *chef's kiss* I just loved imagining this treasure hunt in the Canyons.

I loved Lily, her unique background and plucky, independent attitude was refreshing. Leo seemed so charming and clever. Their second chance romance was fun to watch rekindle.

The mystery aspect of this was just plain FUN.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this one to sweet, contemporary romance fans.

I was skeptical about this one as it was a bit outside of Christina Lauren's usual wheel house, but it won me over again. Definitely had "National Treasure but make it romance vibes" and it worked!

3.5 stars. This story has adventure, mystery, murder, mayhem, treasure hunting, chance at second romance, and more. Not the typical Christina Lauren I’m used to and it felt somewhat predictable as to what would happen between Lily and Leo. A good twist of an ending so don’t read ahead.

4.5🌟

Thank you @gallerybooks for the #gifted finished copy of Something Wilder!

This was a wild ride!! So different from all of their other books, but I loved it!

This had such a strong plot separate from the romance in the book. As always, they have sharp writing and interesting well developed characters. There is a huge twist in the middle, which I loved and it really changed the dynamic of the story in a fun way!

I have realized that I really love a second chance romance, and I loved Leo and Lily’s story!

This is a must read for CLo fans and for anyone that wishes they could go on a treasure hunt 🏜

This was a fun read! Like a good episode of a favorite television show. I won't say it broke any new ground or I've never read anything like it before but while recovering from COVID it gave me the escape and sweet romance with a side of adventure that I was looking for. The twist was pretty obvious to me but all in all it was a quick escapist read that I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy of Something Wilder in exchange my personal opinion of the book.

I have been been a CLo fan and read all their books as they come out since 2013. Something Wilder is very different and unique from their previous releases. It is not nearly as heavy on the romance and the steam level is a lot lower than their early work. But I did really enjoy the story. The treasure hunt part really drew me in. It was written very cleverly... I felt like I was going on a little adventure with the characters! I was not crazy about the 'miscommunication' between Lily and Leo from the past that kept them apart for many years. I did like the ending with Lily and her closure with her father. Overall the romance was a little flat, but the story was good.

How I imagine Christina Lauren brainstorming for Something Wilder... (sorta spoilery, proceed with caution)
"Man, I am in the mood for some adventure - let's binge the Indiana Jones trilogy!"
"Okay now that's over, you know what we haven't done in a long time? Read Dan Brown. Let's read all the Dan Brown!"
"Wow, codes and adventure are fun. Let's put that all into our new book. Who cares about character chemistry if we have codes to break and treasure to find?!"
"But wait, we write rom-coms, so let's make sure we put in a few tropes like second chance lovers and other random things that don't really fit. Let's also make the MC super angsty and mad! It will be SO FUN if she is just mad!"
"Also, we need murder...."
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Oh my gawwwwwd. I absolutely cannot with this book. It took sheer will to finish it and I honestly have no clue why I did because the best part of the book was when I got to close it and know I never had to read a single word from it again.
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I know I am being super harsh, but this was honestly all over the place and just - bad. I've read quite a few Christina Lauren books and I generally really enjoy their sweet stories - Love and Other Words is one of my favorite books! I don't even know where this book came from. Maybe my own personal fiction hell?
Here are my main complaints:
- No chemistry between Lily and Leo. When I read a "rom-com" (this isn't a rom-com btw, I am not sure what genre it is) it is really important to feel some semblance of chemistry from the main couple. There is nada here. The steamy scenes were annoying, I didn't care whether the couple ended up together or not, and their "second chance" wasn't compelling in any way, shape, or form. If you like someone as much as these two apparently do, you don't just stay away for a decade with no communication.
- Lily is not fun. I can't find one likable thing about this character.
- Leo is one dimensional. I get it, he is older now and has great abs and wow he really grew into is body. And LOOK he can break codes and alas, he can do it all in his head! What else do we really know about him? Blah.
- MAJOR THINGS HAPPEN and the character reactions we get are completely unrealistic.
- I dunno about you, but if my parents leave me a very large inheritance, I prefer they just give it to me rather than sending me on a treasure hunt that could kill and deplete me.
- If I have any near-death experiences, the last thing on my mind is how I am going to make shacking up with my boyfriend work.
- Too much going on. Is this an adventure? A romance? A wild west story? Okay so maybe all three but none were executed well enough and it just felt messy.
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I can't rec this read. I honestly feel like I have to take a long break from CL for a while, too. I appreciate the attempt to write something a little "wilder" but it just didn't work.

While I found parts of this enjoyable it was overall not up to the quality that I have come to expect from Christina Lauren.
There were little to no swoony moments and the couple felt too generic for me to feel like they were meant to be.
The adventure part was done decently well though.

I really enjoyed this book and it was not what I expected it to be based on past Christina Lauren books I've read, but in a good way!
I loved that it had a little bit of everything: romance, adventure, mystery.
My only negative is that I wish there had been slightly more backstory to when Lily and Leo got together originally beyond it just seeming like "young summer love."
All in all, one the better Christina Lauren books and I look forward to more being like this in the future.