I came across this book when I was looking for some type of outdoorsy story after ALRH and Simple Wild. The first few chapters hooked me in and I really enjoyed their journey on the trail. I’m not usually a fan of insta-attraction/love but this one was actually interesting. This story has nature, hiking, he falls first, and some spice. I did feel like there was some unnecessary drama, a little bit repetitive, and the ending felt a little quick but overall it was a good read to pass the time.

Jules Martinez has had it with men, she meets them, becomes interested and then they go back to their ex. A backpacking trip along the Pacific Coast Trail is what she needs. Evan Davenport, needs something and is not sure what. He hates his job, just broke up with his fiancée and has never felt connected to his family other than his brother John. He remembers the joy he felt at camp and decides backpacking will clear his head. At this point the reader knows that these two characters will connect, but not how often and not with him naked after surviving the latest disaster. It seems as if Jules is always there to rescue him. She doesn’t want to get involved again nor does he, but they slowly become friends and maybe something more. Can she trust that he is the one who will stay? I enjoyed the interaction between the characters as they tried to move on from their pasts. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Warm story for those left in the cold, and just what we all hope for when exploring while heartbroken.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Wild At Heart
Stacy Gold
Pub date: 5/2/22
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Jules & Evan

Loved the meet cute
Slow burn
Delicious spice
Great setting

Jules is an enigma. She has a very guarded persona due to a past trauma, simply taking what she needs and giving a minimum in return as a means of protecting herself. I appreciated that she was written in such an accepting and truthful way, especially as the culture moves into a place where sex becomes more casual and women become more confident in their own sexuality.

I would have liked a more in depth and conservationist/environmental perspective. I really love books that lean into environmental causes and with the setting of the book being the PNW, it could have done more there, I think. For example, the mention of the “clear-cut city” would have been a great segue to an opportunity to explore and add some depth and complexity to the story, and for deep and meaningful knowledge to be shared about the human impact on the environment. That said, I did also love the personal passion project and direction that Evan found for himself as he navigates into the future.

I enjoyed Evan’s growth and appreciated the upfront honesty about being totally lost and trying to figure his shit out. It was refreshing for a MMC. His relationship with his brother was wonderful to see grow a bit, too. I know there are plans for Bryn and Aly, but can [Big] John get a story too?! (Feel free to use the nickname I coined for him, haha)!

I did feel as though the momentum stalled a bit upon the return to the city, and that the ending was a bit abrupt. I would have liked a more complete vision of the progress made with the NPO but maybe that’s coming in future books?

All in all, I enjoyed it! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review with this ARC!

After adoring Wild and Into the Wild recently I'm constantly on the look out for books with a hiking theme. I really enjoyed the parts on the trail, I wasn't as dedicated to the romance part of the book but this was a good overall read

3 stars!

This makes me sad, because I was so excited to read this one, but it fell short.

I didn’t connect with the writing style and the pacing just was off for me. I love the adventure theme, and that’s the part I loved the most.

Evan was also so adorable. We need more cinnamon roll MMC!

*Review Posted on my instagram @lizzieslibrary_ on the ARC story highlight*

This book intrigued me because of its setting; I love the Pacific Northwest! On that aspect, I definitely wasn’t disappointed, the camping and PNW vibes were incredible.

The chemistry in the romance was definitely there, and it was HOT! I did feel like the “dirty talking” they’d do was a little over the top and cringey. I also read the sentence “my dick twitched” too many times. The ending felt a little forced and unnatural as well.

Overall, I was glad I read it, the romance was very fun and their banter was adorable. The spicy scenes were great.

Thank you for the ARC copy! :)

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

On the edge of my seat! Sweet and exciting.

*I received a free ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

3.5/5 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed this book, it had a lot of good things going for it. Badass, independent woman? Check! Golden-retriever vibes man? Also check! Their chemistry was great, their meet-cute was adorable, and the whole hiking adventure was wonderful. I did feel like Jules's struggle with letting Even into her life was totally believable, especially considering her past. I also appreciated that we didn't dwell too much on the 12 exes, it was the impetus for the story and added some character growth, but it wasn't too much of the actual plot.

However, there were times where the narrative stalled and the book lost momentum. I also found the ending rather abrupt, but not dissatisfying. Overall I think this is a strong 3.5/5 star read, I will be recommending it to my friends, and I had a great time while reading it!

The premise of the book initially drew me in, however I did feel like it took a lot for me to read it. I love a wilderness themed book, and the characters where good - maybe apart from some of the dialogue!

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. I found myself skimming through a lot of it because it was moving too slow. Thank you for sending me the arc, and allowing me to see if I liked it.

As a PNW resident, who is familiar with the PCT, I was really excited to read this story. I love that our hero, Evan, needs frequent saving along the trail from our heroine, Jules. Each has come separately to the famous trail for reflection, but after a pretty unique and refreshing meet-cute, end up finding love. Unfortunately, the premise is better than the execution. The writing and story are underdeveloped. And all charm is lost once they leave the trail. I think with a little reworking, this would be a really fun and unique romcom.

Thanks to NetGalley, and the publisher for this eARC, in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Jules is a fierce, self sufficient woman, with a complicated relationship history, hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. On her solo hike, she meets Evan, a financial analyst and inexperienced hiker, who lost his job and left his fiancé, and is hoping to find himself along the way.

As a Pacific Northwest girl currently living far from home, I was immediately drawn to the setting of this book. The title is solid and the cover art is cute, so I was really excited for this one. While the beautiful detail in describing the setting definitely made me homesick, that’s the extent of how this book made me feel. I couldn’t really connect with the characters and had a hard time staying interested. About 1/3 of the way through, I decided to take a peek at the reviews and was highly discouraged to find that a significant number of readers did not finish. I was determined to reach the end anyways, hoping it would get better. Unfortunately, some of the word choice (“suckage”, “craptacular”, “rando dude”) and stiff dialogue made it a struggle to push through. Nothing really ever clicked for me and at the halfway point, this became a Did Not Finish book. I may revisit at some point, but overall, this was just a book I couldn’t connect with.

The cover and the premise immediately caught my attention and I was really excited when I got approved for it but unfortunately the book wasn‘t for me.

I enjoyed the setting of the book but it was such a slow read and the characters didn’t give me much. I really struggeld to pick the book up again and continue reading. So unfortunately I ended up DNFing the book.

But I‘m sure there‘s people who will enjoy the story!

WILD AT HEART caught my attention with its premise of an outdoorsy romance. I love books set in nature and about long-distance hikes but have only read YA romance books in this category. Sadly, the execution of Wild At Heart felt a little lacklustre.

I loved the outdoorsy portions, the way the author described the scenery of the pacific north west. I also liked what a confident and serene hiker Jules was, and how she had to haul Evan out of the worst situations. But everything else: the characterisation, the insta-attraction and following insta-love, the repetitive way of describing their desire for each other — all of this had me rolling my eyes by the time I hit the 50% mark. I decided to DNF the book at this point. I feel like a slower burning tension between the characters would have helped this book, but as it is, I’m not very interested to continue reading anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had really high hopes for this based off the blurb. I had to put the book down at one point and go back to it a few weeks later. In the end I did decide to DNF.

[Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC]

After the 12th man leaves Jules for his ex girlfriend, Jules decides to go on a sabbatical and go hike the PCT through Washington State solo. On the trail, she runs into Ethan who is hiking for the first time and is running into all kinds of issues.

I loved seeing Jules and Ethan's relationship grow, watching them hike and get to know each other was really cute. The beginning of the book was a little slow but I loved how Stacy Gold made you get to know all of her characters and see why they were so hesitant to fall in love.

Over all the story was good but would have loved to see Jules and Ethan's relationship outside of the trail, it felt a little rushed at the end.

This book is alright! It began out ok, but as it progressed, it became a little tedious. I enjoyed watching them hike and reading about their adventures, but when the hiking was over and they had to return to their normal life, things fell apart. He moved to live with her, and she basically pushed him away after learning about his trust funds? I- I don’t know. Evan was my favorite of the two. It was, however, difficult to make a contact with them. That, I believe, is what has me uncertain about whether I enjoyed it or not.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

For me this was a solid 3.5 stars. I loved the premise of the book, adventure and romance, because what’s not to love? The beginning and middle of the book were incredibly enjoyable, and I was fully engrossed in the story. The chemistry was good, the storyline was unique and funny and you can tell that the author is really knowledgeable about hiking which made the story believable and engrossing.

The middle of this book reminded me of how much I love contemporary romance; however, I found the plot fizzled out once the characters were off trail and out of the ‘adventure’ aspect of the novel. I loved the characters as individuals and together but when we reached the third act breakup, I knew the plot was going to become predictable. I was left rolling my eyes at all of Jules excuses and it caused the story to lose momentum for me. I wish there was another chapter at the end so I could’ve gotten a bigger glimpse into Evan and Jules relationship after all the hurtles since the ending did seem a little abrupt.

Overall, this is a very unique, outdoorsy romance and would make for an excellent summer read.

I was drawn to this book because of the cover and I thoroughly love the nature and hiking aspect of the blurb. Five blissful weeks backpacking solo? COUNT ME IN!

What I enjoyed was that Jules wasn't portrayed as the usual damsel in distress and the meet cute that follows. Also, bonus points for a non-toxic male protagonist! Brilliant banter and the story line flowed well.

What this book has done for me is add Washington to my must visit list!

Thank you, as always, NetGalley and Onyba for the ARC.