"Alexei was being super gay, but this was fine, too; he would analyze this surprising level of gayness later in his journal, where he had planned to process all of his gay feelings anyway."

In Something Wild and Wonderful, Alexei and Ben meet while hiking the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail), which is a whole culture I knew nothing about before picking up this book. Along their journey, you can expect to hear about natural wonders, challenges to be conquered, and the camaraderie among those on the trail. Alexei, a birder, keeps a keen ear out for the sounds of avian denizens of the natural world, a trait Ben finds adorable from the get-go, and Ben can't help but pause to take pictures of each awe-inspiring little quirk of nature that he sees. The two don't start the hike together, though they run into each other early on in Alexei's journey. Craving his silence and easy competence, Ben leaves his first hiking group to travel with Alexei for a while, something that surprisingly ends up suiting both of them despite opposing personalities. Where Ben is gregarious, Alexei is self-sufficient, where Ben is comfortable in his queerness, Alexei is newly out as gay, and where Ben has boisterous familial support, Alexei has been cut off from his parents and the church that was so integral to his childhood. Also, if you're catching neurodivergent vibes from Alexei as you read, know that it's addressed explicitly by the end of the book (spoiler: he is).

I honestly just love a romance where people are kind to each other, as low a bar as that sounds, and this book delivers. They have a slew of cute moments on the trail, from Alexei reading aloud to Ben from his favorite childhood book in camp to Ben introducing Alexei to the joy and consequences of a night of margaritas in town. To balance out the gooey sweetness, there's also some important conversation between them... when Alexei isn't literally running for the hills, anyway. I especially enjoyed a part where Alexei advocates for himself. He doesn't want to be treated like a poor, ignorant kid because he's new to gay culture and being out. He also asks for direct, clear communication so he doesn't have to read between the lines, something he struggles with (see: neurodivergence). Ben takes this feedback to heart, making it a moment of successful growth for the two. I also think the final act breakup is reasonable, timewise, but packs a lot of big feelings into the space. There are many complicated emotions to contend with in the book, especially for Alexei as a person who's been so recently ostracized for bravely embracing his queerness. Ben also has a journey to make with himself, especially how harsh he is on his own successes and how he's blamed his open heart for past abuse, especially from romantic partners. It's just that Alexei's story hits at a wound that can't fully heal even if it can be addressed to make room for something new and healthy. The author makes clear it's no one's choice but Alexei's how he wants to proceed with his family, something that's important for everyone to hear, even in the queer community. It also strips away the cute packaging that found family sometimes gets as a trope by considering a situation where a person didn't want to leave his bio family behind, but that choice was taken from him by their lack of support. I appreciate the author's content warning for readers who may not be in a good headspace for the topic.

Alexei's family situation is made yet more complex because of how it ties him to religion. He'll need to discover what it means to him away from a community that no longer accepts him. I have to admit that the topic's a bit of a quagmire for me, though I think it's worthy of empathy and discussion. Alexei's in the process of distancing himself from values he no longer feels, doing his own research and deciding what he wants going forward.

Beyond the conversation around religion that I found difficult to process as a purely personal reaction, I had a couple of other things that bothered me. I noticed what comes across as tokenism in a couple of side characters. I admire the author's aim to include a variety of people as hikers, especially those who might face more (social) risk-- it's something they address in their acknowledgments. It just feels like a Black man and fat woman our hikers meet on their journey are particularly there to teach Alexei a lesson about his white, male privilege. There's also a scene, included in the content warnings, where Ben and Alexei experience homophobia on the trail. We see a bystander jump in as an ally but also wrestle with whether she overstepped or escalated the situation. I think those kinds of conversations are important for everyone to have, considering situations where they have the power to support someone under public attack and how that ought to look. I'm just not sure that the woman in question stands out as a positive example even if she's meant to occupy a gray area that encourages reflection. Alexei is particularly grateful to her, and I think that muddies the water of the message, perhaps. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either if that makes sense.

Readers who want to read about two queer people, out in nature and grappling with big questions of self, family, and religion should pick this one up. The icing on top is that it's a heartfelt romance about queer joy and showing up for yourself. Thanks to Forever for my copy to read and review!

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly, I liked the two main characters and will be reading more from this author in the future.

This was my first Anita Kelly but it certainly won't be my last. A beautiful queer romance, this book is a definite must read for romance aficionados! I really liked how contemplative this book was because it made me reflect on my own life. The author does a great job in bringing these two characters together and giving them their happy ending.

I loved both our main characters, and really enjoyed the setting of the PCT. This was such a sweet romance, and it was very emotional too. Alexei’s journey of rediscovering himself was beautiful. I enjoyed the growth of both characters and was rooting for them to be together. I also loved Ben’s friend group, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Wild but make it gay! Loved it and read it for a book club. The letters were the best part of this one.

I really enjoy Anita Kelly's work, including We Could Be So Good, and this one hit the mark as well! It's a sparkling grumpy-meets-sunshine romance and I really liked the hiking plotline.

While this is a well written book and quite moving in parts, I found it the pacing too slow. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mode for it since it was a lot of angst and internal monologue. The majority of the book is spent in internal dialogue, which makes sense since this book is about two people exploring themselves and who they want to be. It just dragged for me. I really wanted to love this book, maybe I just had too high expectations for it.

This book had me in my feels the entire time and made me cry in the absolute best possible way. Could not recommend it enough.

Such a beautiful journey full of emotions. I love Alex & Ben characters. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed the setting of the book.

My coworker recommended this book to me, and I loved it! I loved the growth of the characters and the journey they went on!

I loved this book from the first page. Alexei and Ben had chemistry from their first meeting, their personal struggles rang true, the third act breakup (never my favourite part of a romance) made sense but so did how and why they came back together, and the steam was aplenty! I was very interested in Lex's struggles with finding his place in his faith after coming out, and Ben's difficulty in trusting his own instincts and abilities because he had been hurt before. It was fun to see the characters from Love & Other Disasters again and to see how they fit into this story; you could absolutely read it as a stand alone as the connections were well explained.

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.

This was one of the most heartfelt romances I have ever read. Full of beautifully raw emotion and swoon worthy connection - Something Wild & Wonderful is truly an amazing read.

🥾 Hiking
🗺️ Adventure
♥️ Romance
🫶 Community
🌤️ Grumpy/Sunshine
❤️‍🩹 Healing
🧠 Reset
🌲 Nature

Anita Kelly perfectly balances humor with sensitive topics while taking the reader on a journey through the mountains and into a gorgeous love story. 10/10 recommend!

Thank you Forever for the gifted copy!

Books that take place on backpacking trips just do it for me every time. This one, Happiness For Beginners, Breathless, and Something Wilder? I just love the setting.

In Something Wild and Wonderful, Ben (friend of London from Love & Other Disasters) and Alexei meet while hiking the PCT. They eventually decide to continue their hike together.

I loved that both men were on the trail to learn more about themselves, and ended up finding solace in each other. There's so much character growth from both of them over the course of the story. I adored both of these sweet characters and couldn't wait to see where their love story would take them.

The ending made me bawl - you'll know when you get to the part.

Anita Kelly is a leading voice in gorgeous, modern, queer romance and romance in generally! This book is a real treasure!

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the characters were so sweet in their ability to accept each other with all their quirks. The pacing was great, and it felt like a natural evolution of their relationship to got from strangers to friends to lovers. There was also a lot of great handling of family trauma around sexuality. I appreciated the characters actually taking the tie they needed apart to be the best versions of themselves, rather than forcing one to give in to the needs of the other.

5 shining stars to this truly wonderful romance.

Something Wild & Wonderful is a beautiful slow burn romance set along the Pacific Crest Trail. Alexei is hiking alone to find himself and grow into the person he wants to become after being disowned by his religious family for coming out as gay. Ben is hiking to meet new people and have an adventure before starting to work as a nurse, something he feels doubts about his ability to do successfully. They meet and form a partnership, each having strengths and weaknesses that balance each other.

The romance is so gentle and sweet, both men having respect and care for each other. Anita Kelly masterfully weaves together an airy and loving romance with heavier topics of grief over the loss of family, religious trauma, homophobia, fear or failure, and (unspecified) lasting trauma from past relationships.

The letters section pushed this book to even further to a 5++ star read for me.

Absolutely adored this book! The characters were so interesting and fully fleshed out people, and the romance was sweet and had me aching at times. I also thought the backdrop of the Pacific Crest Trail was really good. The observations on life and hiking were thought provoking and nicely interwoven with the romance, and the descriptions of the scenery were exquisite. I also really appreciate how the author tackles a gay character who comes from a religious background and struggles with the loss of that community and that part of who he was and still is. Also lots of great found family vibes on the trail as well as all the things that home provides in its various forms. I could go on and on, everything in this book was perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC I received.

Love this story. This was really different due to the setting and overall premise. The relationships were believable and the characters likable. I really enjoy the slow burn as these character grow into one another over the hiking journey. I really enjoyed the personal struggles of the main character and combing to terms with who he is.

Absolutely one of my favorite books that I've read in 2023!! I loved reading about the characters and seeing their love story unfold.

I’m a sucker for a good romcom, but through queer into it and its an automatic banger for me. Anita Kelly became an auto-buy/read for me after this book. Absolutely amazing.