Rating: 2/5⭐️

Publication Date: May 23rd 2023

Author: Laura Kay

Review: This book could of been so good but it honestly just feel a little flat for me, I have been trying to branch out and really a different type of rom com but they really aren’t doing it for me, It was a little too YA for me. I really did like the diversity of this book that was one of the reasons what drawn me in along with the cover it was cute. I did have some moments of actually laughing out loud.

I would suggest this book to others but I can’t ever see myself reading it again.

“Wild Things” follows a bisexual woman named El as she navigates her feelings for her best friend Ray and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. In spite of its promise, the execution was slow paced and underdeveloped.

The slow-burn sapphic romance appealed to me at first, but the romance itself took a while to develop. There was more focus on El and her friends moving into their new house in the country, making the romance seem like a subplot. Three quarters into the book, the romance finally took center stage, and El and Ray's confession of feelings was just what the book needed.

It was a slow burn gone too far, which made for a dull and repetitive read. Neither El nor Ray had chemistry, and their connection paled in comparison to other characters like Rachel or Sabine. The character descriptions and personalities were underdeveloped, so it was hard to connect with them.

Certain elements of the plot, like the monthly "wild things" challenges, weren't explored enough. Despite the title's suggestion, these challenges were overshadowed by El's personal growth and the slow-paced romance. A lot of unnecessary side characters were also introduced, like Rozalia and Lisa. Also, Rob and Polly's story didn't live up to its initial promise.

Although I enjoyed the light-hearted themes of growth and self-discovery, "Wild Things" wasn't for me. There were some characters I didn't like, and the slow pace left me disinterested. Although the book had potential, the engaging elements weren't fully explored. "Wild Things" falls short of its promise, offering a slow-paced narrative and underdeveloped characters. The book failed to capture my attention, leaving me wanting more depth and excitement.

A group of friends ditch their London apartments and buy a house together in the countryside to create a queer commune, called the lavender house. The chosen family/friend dynamic here is SO good, and the thing that carried this book for me. This house turns into a massive DIY project that gains an incredible instagram following. The book is from El’s POV, who is in her early 30’s has been a dead end job for 5+ years, and has feelings for her best friend…who she’s now moving in with.

Where I felt the story lacking, was between the developed history and chemistry between El and Ray. We just know that El has had feelings for Ray for five years, but we get no historical details as to why, and almost no banter/chemistry in the present that shows how they are as best friends, never mind how they could work as romantic partners. The beginning also felt slow— and I’m not sure where the year of wild things really even played into the book? It felt unnecessary. I also felt like El didn’t actual have a journey of self discovery, which I think was supposed to be important. I was a bit shocked that she was 30+ when she came across more as 20+.

Overall this book had SO MUCH potential, but I wanted more character development, more growth, and more romance. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was really sweet. I love romcoms and I feel it really hit the spot. I loved the sense of community in the book, and how everyone brought something to the table.

I wasn’t sure which way the book would go. If El and Ray would end up together or not, but I did end up liking how they finally came together.

This would definitely make a super cute movie too!

I’d love to see a follow up and see where the other characters are down the line. I really got to enjoy seeing their story lines too!

I really enjoyed this cute little found family book. I have really been in the mood for slow burn lately and this is absolutely that. I didn’t mind that most of it didn’t really focus on the romance or the love interest aspect, but on the people and their little commune.

It’s a really cozy little book, is it going to leave any lasting world shaking affect on you or your view of the world? No. But if you want to lose yourself in a little LGBTQ+ story of found family and eventually found love, this will fill that mood perfectly!

Our MC is sort of looking how to break out of her she’ll, and watching her grow into herself is both inspiring and gratifying. I will absolutely look out for more books by this author!

Thank you to Natgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To start off, I loved the diverse representation, which was what drew me to this book in the first place! It was very character driven, and the characters and community were well written. The plot was cute and lighthearted, but didn’t have enough conflict/tension for my personal taste. And it was maybe tooo slow of a burn at some points. This was by first read by the author, but I would definitely read her work again in the future!

Tropes: Friends to lovers, slow burn, YA romance

Thank you to Netgalley and Vintage Anchor for allowing me to read an ARC of Wild Things.

Okay, this book was FUN. Definitely on the light and fluffy side and I say that with all the love in the world because I am someone who neeeeeds a regular dose of that bright, easy, sunshine joy and this easily hit the nail on the head.

The book centers around El and her 3 friends, who are tired of life in London and ready to shake up their lives in their late 20's decide to buy a house together and move to the countryside, a gay commune if you will (well gay plus their token straight friend, Will who is everything you'd ever want in your token, straight cis male friend). Halfway through her year of challenging herself to do "wild" things, El jumps right in at the chance to add this big life change to her monthly challenge, even if she has to do it while living with Ray, the girl she has been secretly (but maybe not so secretly) pining over for years, nothing could ever go wrong with that right?

This book has a heavy dose of found family and romantic tension, plus a few chickens running around. Would definitely recommend!

Eleanor Evans was not a wild woman. Or so she and all of her friends thought. Until along with them El decides to leave the city in favor of the countryside, buying a fixer upper together. The only problem is that El has been harboring an all consuming crush on Ray for years, and living together might just destroy her and their friendship forever.

This book is sweetness, light and laughter. El embarking on her Wild Year leading up to moving to the countryside is totally relatable for anyone who has ever felt their life needs a bit of shaking up. El really grows into herself over the course of her Wild Year and living at the commune with Ray, Jamie and Will and it’s a joy to behold.

You should add this to your tbr if you love: 🩷🩷 sapphic romance 🏡 found family 🤭laugh out loud shenanigans 🐓an exclusive queer commune with its own viral instagram🐥rescue chickens 🌲 first person single pov with lots of pining 💋 “hot weird” kisses 🏊‍♀️ the joy of jumping in

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a cute romcom novella about a group of friends who decide to live on the “wild side” in order to get out of a slump they are all facing.

Even though it’s a novella the author does a great job at connecting you with all the characters. Which made the book even funnier when picturing the different comical scenarios this group of friends face. Trust me you will want to live with this group of friends or at least on the same street! Great read.

What if, in a year of trying to be cool and ‘wild’, you did the truly wild thing of buying a house and moving into the countryside with your closest friends? And what if it just so happens that the person you’ve been in love with for years, who is effortlessly cool and wild, just so *happens* to be one of those friends? That’s the setup for Wild Things! Commune shenanigans and so much pining ensues.

I adored this book!

I’ve seen some negative reviews that described the main character, El, as being whiny and while I could definitely see that complaint at first, I felt it dissipate after the initial chapters. We have to get a sense of where El is at (stuck, and not willing to do very much about it) so that she has the chance to grow and change.

At first it seemed like El never tries at anything, but as I learned more about her it became clear that she has tried in the past, she just gave up. Wild Things is really the story of her trying again - and it’s so lovely!

I will say that for me Wild Things hit more as commercial fiction with a romance storyline rather than as a *romance novel*, because there’s such a strong focus on El’s personal growth and the love story is so slow burn/unclear if it’s one sided for so long. That didn’t bother me (I think the book would have been just as good without an HEA), but I can see how that would be disappointing if you were looking for a swoony romcom (there is rom, and com, but it’s not really a romcom in its construction)!

In the romance vein— Would have loved for this to be a series with all the house mates’ love stories! Still, we get a nice little window into everyone’s HEAs just the same.

This title wasn't something I could get into, so I won't be finishing it. I really hope that others enjoy it.

Wild Things is a light LGBTQ+ romance that is focused a lot on character growth and change, not just romance. I personally found the secondary characters, particularly Jamie, to be really strong in this book and tended to like their story/characterization a little more than I liked the MC. This is a fun quick read, honestly just right for a weekend trip or a road trip kind of weekend (probably a fun audiobook!) and a welcome escape that honors identity and inclusion and also has a nice emphasis on friendship, which really is a theme I can always get behind.
I also loved the idea of community space for underrepresented identities, all too often these ideas are not taken seriously but it seems how very much needed these themes are as we consider the mental health and feelings of exclusion and isolation many LGBTQ+ youth and adults navigate. The book is lighthearted but the themes are really worth reflecting on and I appreciated them.

This was a really quick read for me. It was a cute story and I really like the friendship view it has to it. The found family gets me every time, I think something I really enjoy in books.

3.5 stars - Jamie is the real main character in my opinion. I would 100% read a book about his hijinks with the twilight chickens and Sally.

I overall enjoyed this book for the concept but I think certain aspects were executed much better than others. For examples, I loved the overall group dynamic and how easily they fell into a routine at Lavender house. I too would love to buy a farm with my friends and make it a home and chicken sanctuary with a giant garden in a small town where you know and love all of your neighbors:)

I loved the side characters and their own individual stories. Personally I think they were more likable than our main character...And speaking of things I did not particularly enjoy, Eleanor...Ray... besties. El and Ray's friendship was extremely unbelievable. They did not feel like best friends whatsoever and ***spoiler*** I really didn't agree with the choice to make Elanor repeatedly apologize for Ray not seeing how she felt. She can feel sorry for not saying something and it is perfectly reasonable in my opinion to be upset about someone that regularly flirts with you kissing someone else. It also felt like Ray constantly picked on El and managed to hit genuine insecurities. El placed Ray's feelings (and everyone's really) above her own. I just would have liked to see a little bit of character growth before starting a romantic relationship.

How feelings were portrayed aside, the slow-burn did in fact slowly-burn. While I prefer this to insta-love, I would have liked to see more of their relationship. I usually love a good sapphic friends to lovers but this just felt off but I'll give it a pass bc wlw representation <3

Again, I overall really enjoyed this queer story. I also LOVE the cover!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Wild Things.

This book had a lot of potential that went unfulfilled. It's not really a romance novel, as until 90% in we only have one character's desire for the other and don't know if her love is reciprocated. This would have worked SO MUCH better as a dual perspective novel. If we had know Rey's feelings throughout the book, it definitely would have been more of a typical romance novel.

I didn't find our heroine El very likable and I never felt emotional attachment to her or her feelings for Rey. El comes off as weak and desperate a lot of the time, in her job, and her relationships.

I liked that the story focuses on a friend group and their adventures in the country were fun to follow. That was my favorite part of the book.

I don't think the author was clear on what she wanted to write- a romance novel or an LGBTQ+ story, so she tried to do both and it didn't work.

A quick lgtbq rom com. I would say it’s not super heavy on the romantic aseptic though which wasn’t an issue for me I really enjoyed Els journey. The characters are all really enjoyable especially Jamie he had me laughing out loud a few times. The only down fall for me was the “conflict” (I was just really annoyed at El to be frank) and how everything happens, resolves, and ends in the last very few chapters. But even with that I still enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick rom com read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

It's not my usual genre. I got it from #NetGalley. It took me a little bit to get into the story. Once, I got into it, I had to find out how it ended. It turned into a really good story of friendship and love too.

I found this book to be humorous and entertaining. The author brought a lively ensemble to the story and the plot was fresh. I could feel the protagonist's angst throughout and rooted for her. The final outcome was never taken for granted and was nicely done. It celebrates the queer community coming together as real family. The kind of family you choose, not are born with. Definitely recommend it.

I'm irrationally angry with this book. Despite knowing that it was women's fiction going into it, I thought that we might see some kind of lasting change in character throughout. El's "wild year" was an awesome concept, but she spends so much of it struggling to get out of her shell. I would've loved more of a focus on the commune in the country and less of El pining for Ray. Their relationship never really felt real to me, more just Ray using El for comfort. But hey, the chickens were cool.

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

I thought I was going to love this book. I really wanted to. But the story-telling was painfully bland and the slow burn was slower than a Mariana Zapata book.

And are we really considering getting drunk on a weekday or getting a tattoo "wild"? Out of her comfort zone, sure. But wild? No. That should have been my first clue that this was not going to be a book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review