Anita Kelly is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance writers. What a fun concept, strangers meeting while walking a months long hike. Both characters were great but Alexei has my entire heart.

Thanks to netgalley for arc.

I don't think that I'm properly capable of articulating how much I loved this book. It was deeply emotional, yet funny at the same time. Anita Kelly is truly a fabulous author. Their character writing was stellar; I loved both Alexei and Ben so much, and their relationship was adorable right off the bat. The pacing of the story was perfect, and the writing was incredible; this is truly a new favourite.

There was really something special about this book which follows Ben and Alexei on their hiking journey but also a journey to healing and self-discovery. I fell in love with the characters and how they encouraged growth and supported each other. Alexei was an absolute gem, dealing with his coming out, his distance from his family and how to move forward in his life as a gay man. Ben and his family were the beautiful counter to that with their warmth and acceptance.

What threw me off a little was the pacing of this book- it is not your typical pacing for a romance story, but then again this is not your typical romance so I can understand that. There was also a lot of hiking and talk about hiking, for those who are less-hiking inclined. Overall though, the feeling that I took away when finishing this book was a butterscotch warmth in the middle of my chest and the beautiful way that this author maneuvered a very difficult- and real- subject and for that reason I would recommend.

This book is a perfect example of how I like romance books. It is soft and swoony and so sweet but not saccharine. There's real baggage for each of the characters and struggles that they have to get through in order to be together. The writing is very atmospheric and as someone who would stay indoors all day if possible, the descriptors of the PCT were at the same time terrifying and beautiful. I could never but it made for a great setting.

I listened to this whole book trying to pinpoint exactly what it was about Alexei that I just resonated with and then we find out that he's autistic and yeah that tracks 😂

My favorite part of this whole book though was the last third and the letters. If you know you know. This felt so, I don't even know what the right descriptor is, but the entire premise of it plus the execution of the letters was just absolutely top tier. I loved it so much.

With the release of Something Wild & Wonderful, Anita Kelly has truly cemented themself as an auto-buy author.

It's only March but this is hands down my favorite read of 2023 so far. I could not put it down. Anita Kelly' writing is so cozy and sucks you right into the lives of the main characters. The plot was fantastic and the love story was incredibly heartwarming. Anita Kelly is an auto-buy author for me now!

Something Wild & Wonderful is not only a sweet, strangers-to-lovers queer romance, it’s a journey in self love and acceptance.

Alexei and Ben are both hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, trying to process their own traumas and figure out who they are. As they are on different internal journeys, I thought how they got to know each other and explore their histories was well done. The meet cute was unique and adorable, and I feel foreshadowed the types of people they are and how they compliment each other.

The setting was amazing, and felt like another character that I was glad to have in this story. I thought it was a fun and fresh way to “force proximity”. Not to mention the metaphor of creating your own paths, which was discussed towards the end.

While I liked the ideas of the letters in the latter part of the story, I did miss the detail and immersion into trail life that the first part of the book brought.

Thank you Forever for the digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I adored Anita Kelly's last book, Love & Other Disasters, but this one completely blew me away.

Alexei Lebedev is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to plan his new life as Alexei 2.0. He came out to his family and his parents disowned him. He has a lot to figure out about himself as well as what he wants his future to look like, and months of solitude seems like the way to do it.

Ben Caravalho has always felt restless, and decides to hike the PCT as a last-ditch effort to get that feeling out and have a big adventure before he 'grows up', starts making smart decisions, and focuses on his career. He's sworn off men, because he never seems to make good decisions when it comes to love or lust.

The two of them spent months preparing for this trip—they trained, packed supplies, researched—but neither of them could have prepared for meeting each other, and the growth and love that they'd find along the way.

Both characters are so infinitely loveable, and the way they care for each other just melted my heart. They're funny and tender, and ultimately help each other work through some pretty heavy feelings of not being enough. I wish I could read this book for the first time, all over again. It gave me all the heart eyes.

grumpy x sunshine, friends to lovers with a hint of forced proximity?! oh my goodness, this was such an enjoyable book. alexei & ben had the best chemistry! it was a fantastic queer romance read. i loved it so much. 💕

Simply put, I am obsessed with this book.

Okay I’ll elaborate- I am obsessed with Ben and Alexei and Ben’s family and the Pacific Crest Trail and Ruby and Ben taking pictures of everything and their one word observations to each other. It was giving Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper and I LOVE THEM.

So Alexei has recently come out to his family and was essentially disowned by his conservative Russian parents. He decides to process this by hiking the PCT by himself, reflecting and journaling and absorbing the silence- until he sees a rattler and saves Ben from it. They run into each other again a few days later, at which point Ben is INTRIGUED and Alexei is convinced to walk together, at least through the desert.

Obviously it’s a romance, but their story is more than that. It’s a self-confidence journey, it’s a self-discovery journey; the end isn’t the end of the trail or discovering their true selves. The journey continues, and it made me hopeful, gave me butterflies, and gave me so much joy. Please do yourself a favor and pick up Anita Kelly’s Something Wild and Wonderful- you will not regret it! And thank you so much to NetGalley, Forever, and Anita for the eARC and physical ARC to squeal about wherever and whenever I was reading!

Anita Kelly is officially a must-buy after this!! Their characters are so human, they breathe such life into their settings, and their romances are so sweet yet so spicy! I adored Ben and Lex's journey to themselves and each other on the PCT. I devoured it in a day! Would 100% recommend. Time to go hiking!

5 stars

Ahhhh I loved this!! Everything about it was perfection. Ben and Alexei stole my heart and they can keep it! I wasn't expecting all the emotions to come out of me in this one!

I love Anita Kelly's writing so so much. It was fun to see cameos by characters from Love and Other Disasters! I thought Alex and Ben were so brave for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I am not an outdoorsy person and this book did not change my mind on that. It's such a great place to set a romance novel though. But Something Wild and Wonderful is more than a romance. It's also about self-acceptance and found family and rejection and so much more. I really just wanted to hug Alex for a lot of the book. For two such opposite people, I think Alex and Ben complimented each other in all the best ways and it made their relationship that much better. Something Wild and Wonderful will make you swoon, smile and cry. It's a definite need to read.

Many thanks to Forever Publishing for an early copy of this book. It is out now wherever you buy books and this one is one you should for sure grab ASAP.

Fantastic read! The novel was a little slow at first, but I stuck with it. Something Wild & Wonderful ended up being a really beautiful story.

thank you to netgalley and forever for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)

where do i begin?? sw&w is the kind of romance that i want more of... a romance that tackles such heavy topics (tw: familial estrangement due to queer identity) while weaving in a genuine love story and healing from pain and grief. both of these elements share the stage so well that it's a seamless transition from each.

alexei is so so strong and works through so much grief on his pct journey. his journey with his faith throughout was one i have struggled with a lot and it was handled with such compassion and care. i love him! there needs to be so many other stories like his in every genre.

ben was also a character that i found myself hurting for, his reasons separate and different than those of alexei. he is like a a warm blanket on a cold night, comforting in all the best ways.

anita kelly wrote such a beautiful story!!!

Something Wild & Wonderful, is well, something wonderful! and in the wild! Alexei and Ben are both so lovely, and independently hurting, it warmed my heart to watch them find themselves alongside each other, while also learning so much more about trail hiking than I ever thought I would. I was not prepared to be facing my own religious trauma through a romcom, but it was so raw, and honest, it made my heart ache for Alexei, and for all of us who’ve gone through it.

Anita Kelly has this innate ability to write queer romances that wreck you and then build you back up into something better. From the rugged setting of the Pacific Crest Trail to Lex and Ben's blooming relationship, you get to watch everything develop in what feels like real time. While there's plenty of steam, this is more than a romance novel. It's more a coming of age story as Lex learns to accept himself as he is and Ben realizes what he truly wants in life. They subvert common tropes like the third act break-up in an excellent manner and also include some of the best epistolary romance I've read in awhile. It's a grueling tale much like the trail, but it's worth every tear.

*Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Something Wild & Wonderful is a quietly tremendous work of queer joy and resistance in the face of inhospitable landscapes (both terrain-wise and family-wise). It’s a book you have to listen closely to so you can heart it’s heart whispering its truths to you. It’s beautiful. Just so beautiful.

Once I started reading I couldn’t stop! I Kissed the rest of my tbr goodbye as I trekked hundreds of miles up the PCT with Alexei and Ben.

First, let’s formally declare that Alexei and Ben are now in the running for my favorite book couple! Their differences, their distinct personalities, their quirks?! Ugh. I melted. Truly.

Second, we have to discuss the wondrous setting and completely immersive details Kelly included in this one! I’ve only been to Seattle (East coast kid over here) so the attention to detail as the terrains shifted was truly remarkable a experience for me; I felt like I was trudging alongside these characters!

Not all coming of age stories are about teenagers. Sometimes a coming of age story is about a queer man finally having the chance to discover himself at the age of 29.

There is a harsh dichotomy in the queer community, comprised of two sides: those who have faced harassment for being queer, and those who haven’t. Kelly’s novel depicts this divide in a hauntingly beautiful way.

I didn’t expect to love this book. I honestly picked it up solely due to the setting alone. I wasn’t sure it was going to be my genre, or my writing style, or my anything at all. But between the pages of 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 is exactly what it says on the tin. I can’t imagine having passed this book up.

Media doesn’t make me cry, but part three of this book had me constantly at the verge of tears. I despise a third act break up and to do it right an impossible feat. But Kelly has just made the impossible, possible. Alexei’s story is gut wrenching. And despite having friends and family who love him, Ben yearns for acceptance. These are some of the most thoughtful and real characters I’ve ever read.

This book? Read it. Read it now. You won’t regret a single moment of it.

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 :
✔️ queer self discovery
✔️ PCT hiking
✔️ internalized homophobia
✔️ queer bashing
✔️ cultural appreciation
✔️ disowned for being queer
✔️ religious themes
✔️ family can be one person

Thanks Forever and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is such a great romance! An excellent follow up to Love and other Disasters. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail felt like such a fresh and unique romance novel setting. I was so invested in both of the main characters, and I felt like their voices were distinguishable from each other, which I find is tricky to do in a dual perspective romance!

One of my favourite romances of the year so far, and I'm very excited to read whatever Anita Kelly writes next!