I am hearby declaring myself Kerry Rea's biggest fan. I absolutely loved her debut, The Wedding Ringer, and I was worried how her sophomore effort would stack up - however, there was absolutely no need to worry - Lucy on the Wild Side was AMAZING.

Lucy, a zookeeper, who is child free by choice and secure in that decision, is such a breath of fresh air. Enter Kai, a reality TV host who is zoo royalty, guaranteed to turn Lucy's life upside down. Lucy's relationship with her animals was one of the most endearing parts of this book - and there are a lot of amazing moments to choose from.

I will be eagerly awaiting whatever Rea writes next!

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book. It sounded like everything I could possible adore in a book. From the enemies to lovers trope to the setting being in a zoo and even involving animals. I just couldn't connect with the main character, Lucy. She was just a bit too much for me. It's unfortunate but this was a DNF for me. I only was able to get about 6 chapters in. That isn't to say that others may not enjoy this book, I just did not.

A romance about a zoo keeper, a family of gorillas, and a famous documentarian got me. I can't believe it either.

Lucy is a dedicated junior zoo keeper with deep childhood trauma, issues with abandonment, and a laser focus on her career. Insert Kai, the rugged, messy documentarian with millions of Instagram followers to mess up her life in the best way possible.

At times, Lucy's immaturity grated on me, but Kai's steadfast desire to pull her out of her shell absolutely worked for them (and me).

Lucy Rourke would rather spend her time with the gorilla troop at the zoo where she works and reality tv than trying to find a relationship. She's only got one goal in mind: getting promoted to a senior keeper. When a popular wildlife documentary series picks her zoo as their summer filming location, Lucy believes it would be an ideal opportunity to broadcast her love of primates to the entire world. If only the thought of being on camera didn't make her sick to her stomach, or having to work with Kai Bridges didn't make her want to scream. Kai is not only charismatic and engaging, but he's also the son of Lucy's idol and the woman who got her into gorillas. After seeing her freeze in front of the camera, Kai offers to help get Lucy more comfortable, but the pair can't help but bicker over everything. But when trading weird animal facts turn into stealing kisses in gorilla nurseries, Lucy starts to crave more than just a promotion.

I've never read anything by Rea before, but after reading this, I'll pick up anything she comes out with. I had such a fun time with this. Lucy was unlike any main character I've read before. I loved how passionate she was about her career and working with the gorillas at the zoo. It was so special to see the bond she had with them. I also liked how she was more content with having a career over becoming a mom since usually there's always a baby thrown into the storylines. I enjoyed her relationship with Kai and how they would trade the most absurd animal facts. They started rocky but developed a solid, sweet relationship by the end. It was frustrating since Lucy had so many walls and defenses up, but I understand her reasoning. Another highlight of this was the zoo itself. It was cool seeing a glimpse at how zoos work and what it's like being a zookeeper. You could tell Rea did a lot of research into it. Overall, I thought this was super enjoyable.

Who knew I needed a romance with a zoo and a troop of gorillas as the backdrop? Kerry Rea knew exactly what I needed even when I didn’t, I absolutely adored this one!

Lucy was the kind of heroine we’ve all been waiting for, she’s child free by choice, fiercely passionate about her career and hilarious. This was full of witty banter between Lucy and Kai and there were so many funny pop culture references interspersed in their exchanges that made me laugh. While much of this was light and funny with the enemies to lovers trope being executed perfectly there was so much emotional depth as well. Both Kai and Lucy experienced trauma in their childhoods and have to work through their issues and this gave their story such a genuine and mature feel. I adored this one just as much as I loved The Wedding Ringer and highly recommend both books.

Thank you to Berkley for this advanced copy!

I finished this book in a day. It’s a quick romcom that grabbed my attention immediately and kept it. It started off as a cutesy romcom that I thought may be too PG for me, but then it started to change a bit for me and I was sucked in.

I loved the gorilla story line and I even shed a few tears.

Overall, I think this book will be very popular. I really enjoyed it!!!

Lucy on the Wild Side is a fun quick romance with interesting characters and lots of animal facts. The relationships with Lucy the Gorilla keeper and Kai the reality tv star and with Lucy and her family are the meat of the story. Seeing how these relationships changed and grew was entertaining and I really enjoyed this romcom..

This book looked absolutely adorable! From the catchy cover to the blurb - it felt like something I needed to give a try.

Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I really struggled to connect with Lucy. The humor wasn't really my style and I found myself losing patience with the story very quickly. Ultimately it was a DNF at 25% but I really appreciate the opportunity to read and review!

This was such a cute, feel-good romance novel! I was hooked from the very first sentence and will definitely be checking out more Kerry Rea books in the future.

Lucy's life is dedicated to gorillas (and the animal kingdom in general). She works at the zoo caring for her troop, and she doesn't do much else. When Kai Bridges, a famous TV show host and the son of her role model, visits the zoo, he and Lucy...don't start off on the right foot. However, as they (begrudgingly) learn to work together, they realize they might actually need each other after all.

I love a nice, wholesome (with a little spice) romance book, and Lucy on the Wild Side is definitely one of my favorites of the year now! I also appreciate how the author did a lot of research on gorillas - I actually learned a lot of random facts!

To all the romance lovers out there, this is such an amazing read and I definitely recommend!

I wanted to love it but I had a hard time connecting with Lucy.

Lucy Rourke, Junior Zookeeper is following in the footsteps of her mother, or rather the woman Lucy wished was her mother, Dr. Charlotte Kimber.  A woman who roamed the jungles studying and protecting Gorillas in the wild. Dr Kimber's book Majesty On The Mountain is Lucy’s favorite story, as well as the movie it inspired.   As a child, Lucy pretended the woods behind her grandmother’s house was the mighty jungle and that she and her mother (Dr Kimber) were documenting the plight of the gorillas together. Lucy’s real mother dumped Lucy with her Grandmother and a “be back soon” so she could concentrate on her acting career.  

When Lucy meets Kai Bridges, host of The Wild Side and son of Lucy’s hero, they should have hit it off right away as pseudo siblings, right? No!  Kai dared accuse Lucy of not remembering what the native's on the jungle called Kai’s mother.  Lucy couldn’t be wrong since she has all but memorized the book.   If anyone has anything wrong it must be the arrogant, thinks he’s so sexy, know-it-all D-list celebrity host.  

When Kai overhears Lucy’s rant about him,  Lucy thinks that he will tattle to her supervisor and that she is about to lose her beloved job, but what happens next is going to make her lose her lunch.  Wild Side is going to be filming their next season in the Columbus Zoo, and focusing on Lucy's gorillas.   Kai also wants to step back from hosting and let the zookeepers have time in front of the camera.   Lucy would stand in front of a bullet for her gorillas but stand in front of a camera?  Nope, not happening.   After a youth spent with her mother trying to force Lucy to become a mini-me, Lucy  has developed a severe case of stage fright  making even her afternoon Critter Corner talks too much.  

Kai has changed his tune after learning that Lucy is a dedicated zookeeper and he is willing to help her get over her stage fright.  But after their initial animosity, can Lucy trust that Kai's help is real or is he setting her up to fail nationwide once the camera being to role.

As a rule, Lucy’s should stick together but I was a little disappointed with this Lucy's overall attitude. Kai tries to be nice to her and help but she is downright rude and even her friends tell her that being judgmental is her default setting. Worse than her treatment of Kai is her treatment of her 10 year old half-sister.   Lucy’s mother remarried and Lucy is angry because she became the perfect mother to her second child after abandoning Lucy--to her loving and caring grandmother.  Her mother tries to include Lucy in her new life but Lucy doesn’t want to spend time with her mother because she still holds a grudge and she constantly reinforces that Mia is her half-sister, which you can clearly see hurts this little girl’s feelings.  Mia  looks up to her big sister with her exciting job and Lucy's attitude keeps crushing the smile off this kid's face.

There is also the idea of what happens when we build up celebrities in our heads.   They become what we want them to be and so easily they can disappoint us when we learn they are flawed people or simply don't live up to our ideals.

Lucy with her gorillas was where she shined and the funniest moments with Lucy and Kai were where they would throw out odd animals facts to each other.  These moments with Lucy were wonderful and fun.  Focusing on this Lucy, this could have been a favorite story.  But these moments with Lucy were few and overall she was just a bitter woman still lashing out like a child who didn't get what she wanted..

I enjoyed Lucy on the Wild Side which takes place at the Columbus Zoo. Lucy is a junior primate keeper who just wants to take care of her animals. With an Senior position soon opening up, her boss wants Lucy to step out of her comfort zone and be able to handle a more public facing role. When Kai, the star of On the Wild Side, arrives, Lucy must put her preconceptions and fears aside.
The story explores trauma in both Lucy and Kai’s past that are still affecting them and their decisions now. I really like the support they give each other after they have gotten to know each other. The story has some sad moments which felt realistic for those who work in animal conservation environments.

Thank you Netgalley and BerkleyBooks the the eArc

This is an absolute delight and an easy 5 stars for me. The Wedding Ringer was one of my favorite books of 2021 and I was thrilled to read an advanced copy of Lucy on the Wild Side.

Lucy is a zoo keeper, specializing in primates. Kai is a tv personality, hosting wildlife docuseries, On the Wild Side. Kerry writes banter and character development so well and I loved seeing both Lucy and Kai's complicated relationships with their moms evolve. This book has amazing one liners, I was laughing so much throughout, and Lucy is so awkward and so relatable to me! I also loved all the obscure animal facts, learning more about the Gorilla surrogacy program, and the extensive conservation efforts. The Columbus Zoo was a very interesting and cool setting for the book, along with many other fun Columbus spots!


Lucy has a deep fear of public speaking and cameras. Do you have any fears?

Lucy is a camera-phobic zoo keeper who is up for a big promotion that will hinge on her participating in the filming of a television show. This show is hosted by her hero’s son, Kai Bridges (If Jane Goodall had a son like Steve Irwin, his name would be Kai Bridges). Lucy and Kai butt heads from the first minutes they meet and the fun begins. I especially appreciated the banter between all the great characters and the way Kerry Rea weaves a vivid story that evokes a range of emotions.

I loved the author’s debut book and I was so excited to read this one. Lucy on the Wild Side is genuinely funny, filled with millennial references and good character growth. Part of the book gave me Darcy/Lizzie vibes! I loved the unique zoo setting and the way the two characters bantered over animal facts. Out in September.

😍loved || 💋some steam
🤟animal lovers, witty, heartwarming
📚Allison Ashley, Fallon Ballard
🎵Say by John Mayer

a book set in columbus!!! yes please! it referenced Riverfront Drive and Jeni’s Ice Cream!!! and Powell!!!

there were wayyy too many pop culture references in this. it was over the top and distracting. I couldn’t get to know any of the characters because they would just spout off pop culture refs or sarcasm and throw what they were actually saying out the window.
some of the most cringy examples of this:
“I gesture toward Kai in the same royal wave motion that Julie Andrews teaches a young Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries.”
“She looks like the jungle version of Snow White, minus the woman-on-woman hate and Prince Charming bullshit.”

dnf at 25% because the pop culture was too much for me. the plot got drowned out by sarcasm. however, the premise of this is so precious and I’m sure it gets better once you get used to the writing!!

Lucy on the Wild Side was super cute and charming! Lucy is a really passionate primatologist that wants badly to get promoted to head keeper. It just so happens that a wildlife docu-series chooses her zoo to film for the summer, and she has the chance to showcase her skills and try to land her dream job.

Kai and Lucy were really fun together. An enemies-to-lovers type of trope, and it was a great fluff summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I was excited to read this book, I loved The Wedding Ringer and I was hoping I would love this book, sadly this book ended up being one I mostly skimmed to after the 50% just to be done with it. Too many pop culture references, like too many. I wonder if they are getting paid for the advertising of all this stuff because it truly feels like.

Lucy was a character that just made me roll her eyes at her antics, yes she is supposed to be an awkward person who doesn’t have the best people skills yet it was a little too much in here

Cute and fun, but nothing particularly memorable. I would read another book by this author because I liked her first book.

Lucy on the Wild Side gets 4 stars here, which is probably one more than it deserves. The zoo setting was unique and the story provided a pretty painless way to learn about what goes on behind the scenes in a zoo.. Lucy, who was emotionally selfish and remarkable for having almost no sense of self awareness or empathy for other humans, was nonetheless very funny with her descriptions of other people and situations. Those two things allowed me to move past her emotional immaturity and still enjoy the story. Lucy was very engaged with the gorillas under her care and was a very successful zookeeper. Kai was a great love interest, tuned in to others’ feelings yet still dealing with his own emotional baggage. He was able to push back successfully against some of Lucy’s ridiculousness,, seeing something there that really wasn’t visible to this reader. The life lessons regarding human relationships were right on, though very much in your face. This was an enjoyable book carried by the writing, humor and supporting characters..

Bring on the banter!

I fell in love with both Lucy and Kal's characters, they each have their own charms and light the book on fire together. The chemistry and banter between them had me putting the book down and walk around and laugh it all out. I was surprised by this book and about how much I truly enjoyed it. I will be looking for more books by Kerry Rea, the way she does world building and the fun of her characters made this read a five star!