This was a very cute romance book, especially for the summer! But in my opinion I had moments while reading where I constantly compared it to every other highly rated romance novel. That doesn’t mean something is inherently bad, I do think that it had its grey moments, but to be something that stands out it must avoid the popular tropes other authors have already excelled in or simply exceed those expectations. I wish as a summer travel novel there had been more time dedicated to what places they were in! It was a missed opportunity to expand the world as we know it!

Thank you Netgalley for the eArc of this book.

A Fun travel romance adventure, Dylan wins a travel around the world trip but the person she travels with is a random contact in her phone. Meet Jack, they met at a club and never saw eachother again. They will be traveling the world together for 2 months.

Jack and Dylan soon learn more about themselves and eachother as their trip takes them around the world. This story was fun with slow burn romance. 4 stars!

Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Grumpy/Sunshine

CW:
Abortion
Bullying/Cyberbullying
Panic Attacks
Tense Family relations

DNF at 25%. I wanted to love this book but it wasn’t for me. Thank you to Putnam for the opportunity to read it. All thoughts are my own.

Dylan just won a fabulous trip to nine countries with free luxury hotel accommodation. The only catch is that she will have to travel with a randomly selected person listed as a contact in her phone (and take pictures and post about her travels). Luckily or unluckily, her travel partner ends up being Jack, a very handsome and posh man Dylan snogged on a night out a few months ago. They initially clash when they reunite at the airport but as they journey together around the world, they begin to realize they have more in common than they initially thought. However, Jack cherishes privacy as much as Dylan longs for her writing to reach a wide audience - will they be able to make it work?

Well, this was a delight and I recommend it to romance readers. At first, I was not sure I really felt the chemistry between Dylan and Jack, but that soon changed, as their connection grew slowly and organically. I appreciated the steady character growth and blossoming relationship between Dylan and Jack. The pacing was unusual at times with not every travel destination receiving an equal amount of coverage, though this did not detract from the overall story. While Wanderlust tackles some tough topics like parental neglect and online bullying and harassment, the author manages to make the story feel tender and lighthearted.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book

I did not care for this book, and DNF'd it early on. I did not buy into the characters or plot. I felt the comparisons to People We Meet on Vacation and The Unhoneymooner's set this book up to be disappointing.

Thoroughly enjoyable! Are travel romances a novel thing these days? No, but this one manages to keep it fresh.

Many thanks to the Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc!

This book was definitely heavier than I thought it would be. I was expecting more beach vibes and beautiful scenes and didn't really get that (which is weird because they literally travel the whole book). The miscommunication trope was in full swing (which definitely irked me) but ultimately I enjoyed how Dylan and Jack's banter but they weren't the most believable "we're-in-love-now" characters.

Loved this book! Great story with excellent character development and pacing. It had fun, it had sexy, it had serious.

I was hoping this book would have the same vibes as Love actually or the holiday, but unfortunately, the story fell slightly flat for me. I feel like this might be one of those books that I would have to give a second chance to, and hopefully have a better opinion...I also must add that in no way was it a BAD book, I just didn't match with it for whatever reason! I will definitely give it a second read in the future and hope for a more positive experience. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book was…fine, I guess. The travel elements were my favorite, and while I liked the romance, the plotting was just…off. I did like how Everhart dug into some hard-hitting topics, but there was too much telling and not enough showing for me. So it was okay, but I did almost DNF it a few times.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

I was excited for Wanderlust due to its fun premise. Dylan wins a radio show contest where she’ll be traveling the world, but there’s a catch. She has to travel with a random person they pick from her phone. Just so happens to be Jack, a guy she made out with at a bar and then ghosted. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it. There was a complete lack of chemistry between Dylan and Jack, especially because he was so cold and dramatic. I didn’t really understand where the love even blossomed from. Although this wasn’t for me, I did appreciate the focus on pro choice, as well as the focus on following your dreams!

With a comparison of People We Meet on Vacation and Unhooneymooners I has high expectations and Wanderlust didn't come anywhere near that.
The premise sounded fun with winning a 6 week around he world vacation but the radio station would randomly pick from your phone contacts who you were traveling with and it was a guy who you met in a club but never saw again.

Unfortunately the characters were dull and I didn't feel any connection between them or felt like I was in a fun travel adventure reading this.

3 1/2 stars

I was drawn to this book by the colorful and creative cover and the blurb. I had high hopes for it and I really wanted to like it so much. The premise is clever - - being sent on a trip with a guy she hasn't seen since a fateful night when they kissed and then her world fell apart (totally unrelated to the kiss). Needless to say, he's not a fan of hers since she never reached back out to him after that night. Their trip is one fraught with underlying tension from the beginning. I liked getting the backstory of how Dylan and Jack initially met and how their lives led them to where they landed. They each had lives that had taken hits from different personal events and they influenced their decisions and affected what they chose to do.

As I said earlier, I really wanted to like this book but at times it was a struggle. It moved slowly for me during a good portion of the story. I found that at times there was simply too much detail about things that I didn't care about. And at other times, it just didn't feel like it flowed. It may just be me, but it fell a little short.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I loved the premise of a book with self-discovery and travel, but I didn’t expect the heavy hitting topics. While I appreciate them, I think I craved more of the travel and adventure story that the cover and synopsis promised.

I listened to the audio and loved the narration.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Putnam and PRH Audio for the gifted copy.

If you're looking for a romantic comedy novel that gives off How to Lose A Guy in 10 Day vibes but with social media madness and world travel, then this is the book for you!

Dylan writes for an online magazine, working on the fun little quizzes and articles, but she desperately wants to have her own exclusive column. On a whim, she enters a radio show contest and ends up being the lucky winner! She wins a radio contents for a 6-week paid for vacation around the world but - plot twist - the catch is she has to agree to travel with someone the radio show selects randomly from her phone contacts.

When they select Jack, a guy she randomly made out with at a club but then ghosted, Dylan's boss seizes on the opportunity to write a series of articles about their travels with a focus on a lust-filled second chance romance. Her boss then dangles the opportunity by offering her a full column if the series are successful and bring in enough clicks and likes. Dylan isn't interested in the romance, but is desperate for her own column, so she agrees.

Their travels get off to a rocky start. Jack is closed off and curt with Dylan. But as their travels extend they grow more comfortable with one another. The tension is high, the sparks fly, and they slowly develop from strangers to friends to maybe lovers.

While I was expecting a light and fluffy romcom novel, we got so much more than that. There are a lot of topics woven into the story that can be seen as controversial, but it brought a more serious layer to the story that I think only elevated it. There are topics discussed such as abortion, bi-sexuality, cyber bullying and overall societal and familial pressures and anxiety of disappointing the people you love. The characters had very real conversations and experiences that are relevant in today's day and age, and even though I personally have not experiences any of these things myself, it felt relatable and honest. I especially loved how the book shows how social media can be both a positive tool for self-expression, as well as a negative place that can lead to self-doubt and destruction. With the social media presence came some very good conversations about setting boundaries for yourself, as well as others.

Overall I enjoyed the book! I would have loved a POV from Jack, and I think it was a tad bit too long. I also would have loved an epilogue to follow up on Dylan and Jack's characters to find out where they've landed in the future after the events of the book ended. But I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a book that's both fun and poignant!

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and Elle Everhart for an advance copy!

3.5 stars

Tags: strangers to lovers, opposites attract, forced proximity, slow burn
Spice: 2 peppers
Third person/single POV

What a fun summer romance full of adventure and travel!

Overall, I enjoyed this. Let’s talk about what worked for me:
- I absolutely adored the premise: these two end up on an around-the-world adventure via a radio contest
- the romance did click, and I was rooting for Dylan & Jack
- the personal growth for both characters was also strong

What I didn’t love as much:
- the enemies-to-lovers felt forced here— I feel like it was a little unnecessary
- the big blow up was also a little weird— I don’t know, I just didn’t buy into the controversy

I did find myself getting a little bored from time to time, but this was a perfect book to read while I was out jet setting myself and didn’t have a ton of time to sit down and devour a book. I’d recommend it if you love books centered around travel, or if any of the above-mentioned topics have piqued your interest.

Bonus points for LGBTQ+ rep and the exploration of deeper issues like abortion, career happiness, and family pressure.

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down, it was such a cute read. I really loved the storyline and it was adorable, Dylan and Jack were great and Elle really had me hooked the entire story, I just kept waiting to see what would happen next between them. I loved the ending and am very grateful for being able to have gotten an earc of this book! Highly recommend this book if you're looking for a cute romance!

A fun read. Dylan and Jack met on a night out but then she never called. Now, after a radio competition lea as them together for 6 asks on a round the world trip will it be a second chance for them? A great, fast paced book.

The premise of this book is fun. I liked how the characters had been attracted to each other in the past. They both grew during the book and landed in happier places in the end.

Imagine winning a radio contest for a trip around the world but your companion is a random contact in your phone. Would you do it?

Dylan is a burnt out magazine writer and finds herself calling a radio station to win this 6 week trip of a lifetime. The lucky companion is Jack “the Posho,” someone she met at a bar and hasn’t seen in months. Jack also seems to be burnt out and commits on air to going on the trip with her. Things are a bit awkward at first until they start to warm up to each other.

There is a slow burn chemistry between the two as they stop in different cities around the world. I would have loved to read more about the different cities as some were just mentioned in passing. I loved the stark conversations that Dylan had about her being bi and her “Article” that showed how the internet can be a savage place.

Read this if you like:
✈️ Slow burn
✈️ Forced proximity
✈️ Travel romances

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. Wanderlust is out now.