DNF at 30%
I think Elle has the potential to really write a vibrant and fun romance that I will love. There were so many good things about this one that I will definitely try her writing again: loved the premise, the LI is very appealing, and I can't get enough of road/travel trips that force proximity between the MCs. However, I absolutely did not like her main character's abrasiveness and multiple references to harming others (I get that it was in jest, but it was too much). It fields some heavier topics that were a little triggering as well.
Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

What a wonderful love story! It took me away from my day to day and satisfied my desire to travel. Planning a trip immediately!

I loved the concept of this novel - a trip around the world that reunites two opposites who shared a romantic moment once. At first, I enjoyed the forced proximity and undercurrent of tension between these two characters as they traveled across the globe. I'm a fan of grumpy-sunshine and opposites attract tropes so that was right up my alley.

But I wasn't a fan of how slow the romance moved. I became less invested in their relationship over time. This might just be a me thing, but I didn't love the huge focus on social media. And while I absolutely agree with the author's messages about online bullying and abortion rights, it felt preachy at times. The romance took a backseat to exploring these issues, which would be fine if they had set that expectation going in. The comps of People We Meet on Vacation and Unhoneymooners had me expecting something different.

I thought this book would have it all: romance, travel, friends/enemies to lovers. However, too much of it fell flat for me to really fall in love. I have two BIG issues with the book overall, the first being the whole drama between the two main characters relies on a lack of communication (which is so frustrating as a reader and way overused in the romance genre as a whole), the second problem lies in the fact that Dylan and Jack are pretty incompatible as people and their chemistry fell flat.

Dylan is fun and free, she thrives on spontaneity and feels restricted by her position as a staff writer for Buxom-- she very much flies by the seat of her pants and enjoys doing so. Jack, on the other hand, is a straight laced guy who seems to thrive within a plan-- something Dylan teases him for pretty relentlessly throughout the book. In the end, it felt like it was Jack who changed to make the relationship work, with Dylan dragging him along behind her.

And the communication. It felt like the majority of the conflicts could have been resolved with open and honest communication. For goodness sake, it felt like Jack genuinely hated Dylan for a good majority of the book and it was never explained why-- was it because she ghosted him? Was it because of family or job issues? Or does he always just act like he has a stick up his butt until he has a chance to warm up to someone?

Additionally, while Jack's staunch hatred of social media seems a little heavy handed for anyone living in the 21st century (I'm not doubting that some people do hold his beliefs, but I also doubt the same people would give their initial consent to be written about for a popular magazine), it was definitely not professional or honestly even kind of Dylan to publish an article about Jack without allowing him to read it first?

While the locations of the book sounded beautiful (but only briefly explored), the settings weren't enough to make me fall in love with WANDERLUST.

This adorable opposites attract romance was sweet and simple. The progression of the romance was realistic and the chemistry between the characters felt natural. The addition of more serious topics added a nice depth to the story. The use of bisexuality added dimension to the character of Dylan without making it only a plot device.

This is a second chance at love/missed connections story taking place over a 6 week international vacation! We see how social media can be both a tool for self-expression as well as a means of destruction. I loved the two main characters slow burn romance and their genuine connection.

After winning a 6 week trip around the world on a radio show (that still happens?), a magazine writer must take someone along that is randomly selected from her contacts. The mystery man is someone she met on one drunken night and never spoke to again, yet he agrees to go on this vacation with her…

A rough start, but this book really grew on me. I didn’t love the premise, but I love travel stories, and enemies to lovers. I felt that a lot of the voicing and especially dialogues between the characters was inconsistent. Jack seemed overly antagonistic from the start but never acted that way again. There was a heavy plot point on a past abortion and doxxing, and it was handled okay. I just never really felt the stakes were quite high enough.
I did love the short chapters and I wish there had been more details on travel adventures, rather than skipping over entire weeks in certain cities. A lot of the story is told to you rather than letting us bear witness. The romance is super slow burn but I didn’t mind it, other than it just felt like <spoiler> they both woke up one day and decided to let bygones be bygones and be together. </spoiler>

Overall an enjoyable, lighthearted summer romance with a smidgeon of spice.

This book has the cutest premise, and it really delivers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Each character is interesting and pretty well rounded. The locations are exciting and make for a great backdrop to the story. If you like traveling, forced proximity, and just the right amount of awkwardness - this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This was so fun!!! I can't believe it's a debut novel. I initially requested this on Netgalley because the synopsis was so interesting and sounded like it would be a fun ride. And the book definitely delivered! I loved traveling to all the countries with the main characters Dylan and Jack, and I have definitely noted down all the amazing spots/ activities they did in the various cities so that I can add them to my travel bucket list!

I loved the bi rep in this book, as well as the other topics and discussions that were talked about throughout the book, including abortion and internet hate, etc. I also really enjoyed reading about the two characters and their lives, as well as the fantastic witty banter they had between them (and also Dylan and Gwen's banter too!!!) I loved Dylan and Gwen's friendship SO MUCH! Eagerly waiting for news about a sequel with Gwen as the main character please and thank you :) Their friendship was just so good and like I can't stop thinking about the line "...but it was Gwen, and Gwen was the exception to every rule Dylan had ever made." PEOPLE DIED. The fact that this was about a friendship and not a relationship had me so in my feels and at the same time made me want to combust. Where do I sign up to get a friendship like what they have? That one line has just put me in a brain rot.

Anyway, I also loved Dylan and Jack together and loved their character growth together and how mature and adult they were about each situation like the fight but also how they got together and stuff (side-eyeing some other adult romances I've read). I also loved that there was no unnecessary third act breakup.

I finished this in two sittings and honestly had such a fun time traveling with these two that I would highly recommend checking it out if you're itching to travel but are unable to, or if you're traveling and need a summer read!

This was a fun book that made me wish I could go on a trip around the world.

I enjoyed seeing Dylan and Jack move from reluctant travel companions, to friends, to more. I liked seeing them open up to each other about their lives - their professional plans, and their personal lives.

This book touches on sensitive topics, including abortion, cyber bullying, doxing, and social media posts made without consent.

Overall a very enjoyable book and will be a great summer read.

I really enjoyed the concept of this story, but overall ended up wanting a little more.

Dylan is a writer for a lifestyle magazine curating quizzes. She was tired of it and wanted a change. One day she took a chance in a radio contest to win a trip around the world for six weeks, which sounds amazing.

She won! The only catch, the radio station gets to choose someone at random from Dylan’s phone contacts to go with her.

“Jack the Posho” was chosen from her list. He was someone that she had met for only one night and then ghosted him, which he brought up immediately on the radio.

The banter that Dylan and Jack have is great. I laughed many times at the responses that Dylan had given him. It reminded me alot of The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren in that sense.

I would have given this four stars but I was expecting to get more descriptions on their travels. I had a bit of a hard time imagining where they were at times. The book also touches on some heavy topics which were a bit unexpected, however, they were done well.

I also kind of wished we got to hear from Jack and his thoughts throughout the story. I would have enjoyed this more as a dual POV.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed traveling around the world with these fun main characters. It made me want to get out and travel ASAP. A great summer read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to my friends! Great characters and great story line! I look forward to reading more books by Elle Everhart!

I was not too fond of the author's voice and didn't connect with the main character. I disliked Dylan so much that I had to skim over the most chapters. I probably skipped half of the book.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for an ARC!

Although I had high hopes for this book and tried hard to get into it, unfortunately, it just didn't resonate with me. Even though I eventually managed to finish the book, it took me quite a while to do so. I believe the main issue was the writing style, as the story felt disjointed and lacked a clear flow.

It's disappointing because I was eager to enjoy this book, especially with the promising premise.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.

I am sadly DNFing this one. I had really high hopes for it but ended up skimming to get a gist of the way it wrapped up.

I really wanted to enjoy this as I've been following Elle's writing journey for quite some time, but sadly this one did not hit for me. It started off strong in that British rom-com way but quickly devolved for me. I found Dylan truly unlikeable, and while Jack was also tough, any time he attempted to extend an olive branch, Dylan cut him to the quick. I recognized her trauma, but because of that it also made her pushing Instagram and refusing to respect his wishes re: sharing his private life in her articles an atrocity, in my opinion.

One of my biggest complaints was that the writing did an incredible amount of telling me things instead of showing. At one point it was explained that Dylan was "ready to fall asleep on her feet" and then had 2 more sentences explaining what that meant. (Looking back, I think this was where I started to get turned off as a reader. I felt condescended to in that moment and I think from there I was unable to enjoy the book further.)

I will not post my review publicly because I do believe plenty of people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't for me!

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I just couldn’t get into this. The story dragged quite a bit and just didn’t pull me in. I also felt very little connection to the characters and found them overly angry and just an overall struggle to like.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Penguin Group-PUTNAM. All opinions are my own.

Format - E ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- second chance romance, opposites attract, only one room, traveling with a stranger, He fell first

CW- Doxing, online harassment, abortion shaming

This Debut Novel from Ellie Everhart surprised the hell out of me! In all of the best possible ways!

Ellie has taken a very interesting concept of, what if you were forced to take a once in lifetime trip around the world with a random contact from your phone and somehow turned into the story about what Are you willing to do to get what you think you want out of life? For our MFC Dylan it’s a coveted magazine column after almost a year of online abuse for a very personal article written for said magazine who then sidelined her for the negative attention. Needless to say I had some very strong feeling about the crap that went down with Dylan’s job…

But as she globe trouts from one amazing city to the next, with a human who is the anthesis of her opposite, Dylan discovers so much more about herself and what actually matters to her in life.
Jack from the beginning was giving me Joshua Vibes from the Hating Games so I was instantly smitten. The banter with these two was sizzling and the Spice was surprising spice for a debut novel! Ellie I’m impressed!

Ellie does a wonderful job of telling a story that takes on so many of the complexities of our modern online, very connected society while telling a good old fashion love story. I love her Voice! Her writing style is refined and easy to read as she describes these iconic cities in enough detail to make you feel like your walking next to Dylan and Jack without boring you to tears. Plot and Pacing are on point and wrapped up in a very satisfying ending that leaves you wanting more.

I am certainly looking forward to more from this Fabulous new Author!

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to Ellie Everhart, Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam.

If you've got a travel bug, then this book is definitely one that you should add to your TBR! This book is perfect for the traveler at heart. The descriptions of the locations and the food were all so good it made me want to take a trip to Tokyo and Morocco ASAP.

WANDERLUST by Elle Everhart
3 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 women's fiction, romance
🔥 open door, explicit scenes

The premise of this book is what originally drew me in: you win a trip around the world but the catch is you have to go with whomever the radio station chooses out of your phone's contact list. However, you can't tell me that your first thought would not IMMEDIATELY be to clean out old contacts so you didn't end up going with a one-night stand...exactly what happens here.

Things I Liked:
✨ The banter between Josh and Dylan was really cute.
✨ The one night stand to forced proximity vibes.
✨ I really loved Josh's personal journey. I liked that he really loosened up and found his own joy through the novel.
✨ I wanted more of Dylan and her brother, Sean. You could see in their speech and humor that they really saw each other and supported one another.

Things I Didn't Care For:
✨ Dylan was actually really rude to Josh for most of the novel. She made a lot of assumptions about him based on his background and because hiss communication style was different from hers.
✨ The spice was a lot. A 2.5 chapter hook-up scene? Mmmm, no.
✨ This book was written for a British audience or someone familiar with British culture. There were a lot of jokes and references that I did not get and weren't explained and that took me out of the story I think.

This one wasn't my favorite, but you might love it!

I don’t think it’s overreacting to say that this book needs a trigger warning regarding abortion. That said, while this was a romance with some steam, it, in many ways, became more about a woman having (and sometimes taking) control over all of the aspects of her life. I appreciated that Dylan wrangled with herself, her female boss, and her male love interest. The balance of power was heavily shifted into her hands & I welcome that kind of strength in a character.