Magazine writer Dylan enters a radio contest on a whim and wins a trip around the world
. The only catch is the station gets to randomly pick someone from her phone contacts to travel with her. It turns out to be a guy she met in a bar one night that she considers posh. I liked watching them get to know one another And watch their attraction grow.

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart is the debut of this author and I hope it will not be her last. We start off with meeting Dylan who is a writer, who has won a radio contest for a trip around the world. The catch is that she has to travel with someone from her phone contacts. The lucky winner is Jack the Posho who is a random guy Dylan met at a bar the evening before her life went to crap.

The book follows along on their trip with a lot of tension and then acceptance. Dylan and Jack do grow as characters throughout the book realizing that there is a lot more out there than what they are doing with their lives.

I really liked this book for a debut. It was a cute, quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ellie Everhart, and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

This book just wasn't for me. The romance and chemistry was lacking, the trip felt rushed, and a lot of it felt very political. DNF

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

Wanderlust takes readers on an introspective journey, delving into important themes while offering a promising premise. Although not without its merits, the book falls short of delivering a compelling romance, which ultimately dampened the overall reading experience.

One commendable aspect of the story was its exploration of significant topics. The author tackles issues such as personal growth, self-discovery, and the search for meaning in a refreshingly candid manner. Dylan’s quest to find herself and break free from societal constraints is relatable and thought-provoking. The book encourages its readers to reflect on their own lives and question the paths they have chosen.

The premise of Wanderlust is undeniably captivating. The idea of embarking on a transformative journey, both physically and emotionally holds great promise. Elle Everhart set the stage for an exciting adventure!

However, where this story falls short for me, was the development of its romantic element. Despite the potential for a captivating and chemistry-filled love story, this book fails to ignite the necessary sparks between the characters. The connection between Dylan & Jack felt forced. As a result, the romantic plot felt underdeveloped and failed to keep me emotionally invested.

While this may have not been my favorite read, it’s still a good book. I understand this is Elle’s debut and I’d be interested in seeing what she does in the future because I loved the premise and hard-hitting topics she wrote about.

Overall, a genuinely pleasant contemporary romance centered around social media and travel. These are not passions or interests of mine. The focus on instagram and one's online presence made it difficult to connect to the characters and plot at times. I did appreciate the topic of abortion being featured in a romance novel. as that is a particular topic of interest for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Ever close a book and just sigh because the book was just that good? That was after you could just not put the book down?

Well, I definitely experienced that with this book!

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart is about Dylan who wins a trip around the world on a radio contest. However, she must go with a person randomly chosen from her phone contacts. Jack, a man she has met only once, is chosen from the list. He is her complete opposite and it is a bumpy start!

These two! And this trip! Loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5/5 stars

I went into this book looking for a lighthearted and funny romance across the globe but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. I found the FMC Dylan pretty unlikeable for most of the book. She was pretty harsh to Jack early on in book making lots of assumptions without getting to know him well. I also found her to be pretty careless online (shocking considering what has happened to her in the past). Jack and Dylan didn’t have much chemistry which also made connecting with the story more difficult. This book also features storylines surrounding online harassment and toxic relationships with parents so go into the book knowing that it isn’t all fun romcom energy. I would recommend this book for fans of social media culture and travel.

*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book! I was really intrigued by the title and concept, and it ended up being a cute one!

I like the forced-proximity trope, and Wanderlust takes it on head-first! The main character, Dylan, wins a trip, and Jack, a missed fling from the past, is her travel companion. Their connection really grew gradually throughout the story, and something the book does really well is show how they support each other. Both are going through some upheavals career-wise, and they really are there for each other. Their connection also showcased some good representation.

I was a little disappointed the scenery wasn't better in the story, especially given they were traveling the world together. I expected grand adventures, falling in love in Paris, etc...Maybe that was an unfair expectation, but given the title and the concept (plus reading other reviews of this book), I don't think I was alone in that expectation.

I was really torn between three and four stars for this one, but the ending left me wanting more (and not in a good way), and I just felt like the book was missing something compared to other romances I've read that were four star books...so ultimately, I landed on three stars. I would definitely read more by this author, though! This was a solid romance, and I enjoyed it...it might have just benefited from a better editing/strategy because the author clearly has talent!

Rating: 3⭐️

I loooooved the concept for this book, but it didn't really live up to my expectations once I dove in. There are several topics throughout that probably could've used a bit more nuance (or at least a trigger warning for the reader!), and at times it felt like our MMC was almost cold towards Dylan, but unnecessarily so. I'll definitely pick up Elle's next book, but this one was a miss for me.

The concept for this book seemed like fun! A girl enters a radio contest and wins a trip around the world. The only catch is that her travel partner will be randomly selected from her phone’s contact list! I don’t know about you, but that’s a total danger zone for me - I don’t think I’ve ever cleaned out my contacts.
I wanted to enjoy the traveling and the romance, but it wasn’t there for me. The connection between the characters felt impersonal, this may be because the story was told in Third Person. Even though this one seemed like it could be funny and cute, the tone fit more with a literary fiction novel. This book did not fit as the “light-hearted summer read” I was looking for. Which was surprising, considering it was compared to “People We Meet on Vacation” and “The Unhoneymooners.”

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange with an honest review.

This book was cute, but the fact that it came from a radio call-in contest kind of pulled me out a little bit. I did like the chemistry between Dylan & Jack. I just wish that we could have gotten a few chapters with Jacks POV as well.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Wanderlust was so fun! I loved the the tension between Dylan and Jack, especially once their attempts at getting along turned into sparks flying. It was great getting to go along with them on their journey as they revealed more about themselves to the other and found themselves growing closer.

I will say this felt a little bit rushed like perhaps it would have paced better if they visited less places and for more time but overall I had a great time with this one! I can't wait to see what Elle Everhart has in store in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an ARC of Wanderlust!

Filled with travel & adventures, this book was a delight. I loved the quirky process of putting the MCs together for a ride of a lifetime.

While this book had so many interesting scenes & places that felt light & airy to read about, it did cover many hard-hitting topics such as abortion and the impacts of social media in a very delicate manner.

Dylan & Jack's friendship was solid, but I didn't feel a spark of romance between them. The romance was off for me & I couldn't relate to their love story. But I loved how they supported each other.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dylan Coughlan wins a radio show contest giving her an around the world trip for two. The catch is the second person is chosen randomly from the contacts on her phone. As an online magazine writer she has a lot of contacts and the one selected in listed as Jack the Posho. Jack Hunton amazingly agrees to the adventure. When they meet she realizes he was a guy she talked to one night at a club and never called.

This cute set up brings the fly by your pants Dylan on a crash course with stoic Jack. Of course he is an attorney and likes plans for everything. The two get to know each other during their travels while they share rooms (not a bed). The magazine editor keeps asking for steamier content to gather more clicks but Dylan is truthful but will let assumptions happen. Surprisingly more isn’t made of their locations they visit although they do activities everywhere. The story takes on a much more serious topics regarding social media and abortion. Dylan is bisexual (nice representation) and while not an issue for Jack is impacts her relationship with her parents.

I liked this debut novel and loved the idea behind it. There is humor and Dylan has fun friends she stays in contacts while traveling. The attraction grows steadily and feels natural. This isn’t a short trip. And I was good with the potential HEA. The novel is British and I think Americans prefer a stronger HEA. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Son and NetGalley for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)

I just couldn’t connect with this story. The character wasn’t relatable and seemed too young/immature for some reason. And the chemistry just didn’t click for me. I needed up skimming. I won’t post to Goodreads so as to not bring down the author’s rating, because maybe it was just me :)

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Publishing Group) for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

Wanderlust follows Dylan, a writer who wins a trip around the world in a radio contest. The catch? She must take the trip with random person from her contacts that the radio host has chosen. The lucky winner is Josh, a man she met briefly one night before her life imploded. The two are forced together on the dream trip. Will sparks fly?

This was a cute read with an emotional subplot throughout. I loved the storyline, but wanted a bit more from the romance. I was more invested in Dylan’s personal journey vs. her romance with Josh. Overall, this was a slowburn romance with plenty of emotion and heart.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun different read, but something was just missing for me. I have a feeling I would love this book when I’m cozy in a blanket during fall. So I will deff be doing a reread if this then!

What would you do if you were allowed to travel the world? All expenses paid. The only caveat is that you must go with the person randomly selected on the contacts of your phone.

Dylan is a writer who is feeling stuck in life. She feels like she is constantly having to prove herself to her boss that has unrealistic expectations. Dylan wants to do bigger things but thought that she is missing the mark.
One day, a random opportunity came up and she called the radio show. With that, she won an all-expenses paid around the world. But the thing is, the only requirement is that they have to select a random person on her phone. The person they selected was a man she met at a bar named Jack and hasn’t met since. Awkward. But he agreed to do it anyways.

Elle was able to use that time to write about her experiences in hopes that she would be able to do more at her job. So even though they were at odds with each other, they still traveled and got to know one another.
I wish I got a POV of Jack. Just to understand his life and character. I really wanted to go deeper and felt that I wasn’t getting that from a single POV.

Even though it was about traveling, there wasn’t much description of the places they visited. The appeal of this book is that they got to see a lot of places and I didn’t get much of that.

Even though this was a romance book, there were a lot of heavy topics in this book that I wasn’t prepared for. This wasn’t a light and fluffy read for sure.

Thank you Putnam for this ARC of Wanderlust By Elle Everhart!

I loved parts of this book. It’s the story of Dylan, who wins a radio contest where the prize is a trip around the world. The catch is that the radio station picks a random contact from Dylan’s phone to go with her. They randomly choose Jack (who she once kissed at a bar) & the story takes off from there. At its best, it gave me slight People We Meet on Vacation vibes. Which is great because that’s my fave Emily Henry book! The first 30% or so, I was in. Unfortunately, I wanted more from the travel portions of the book. Once the story got going, it kind of fell apart for me. I had a hard time picturing the locations. I wish there were more vivid descriptions to make the travel destinations really come to life. I totally appreciate what the author was doing with Dylan’s work focused plot. She works as a writer & was targeted & harassed for an article that she wrote about having an abortion in college. It delves into how scary online harassment can truly be. While I appreciated it, I wasn’t expecting such a heavy plot point, and it did throw off the tone a bit. It became much more serious. Less romantic comedy & more drama with a love story folded in. The love story between Dylan and Jack had a slow burn which really worked. I wish we would have had a couple of chapters from his POV just to get a better sense of his character. I felt a bit disconnected from him. Overall, this was a three star read for me. There were parts I enjoyed, but it just didn’t completely work for me. I will still definitely read what she writes next! I really liked her voice & the setup was spot on :)

Dylan wins a radio contest for a trip around the world! The catch? She has to bring with her a random contact from her phone, which ends up being a guy she met at a bar one night and ghosted.

This book was light and fun while still tackling some big issues like abortion, unsupportive families, and the harshness of social media. Both main characters are so unproblematic, nonjudgmental, and supportive of each other, which was so refreshing and heartwarming! The banter between the main characters was wonderful, and the book just flowed so well. Definitely adding Jack the posho to my growing list of book boyfriends. I also loved the bi representation and Dylan’s best friend and brother (will we get a story about one of them? I hope so!). Also, the travel *swoon* was described so vividly and with so much beauty and wonder. The destinations were also depicted so accurately (I’ve been to a few—most recently Australia and Iceland), and I now have the itch to go to the cities I haven’t visited yet. Such a perfect travel/summer/fun romcom! This debut is going to be a hit! Preorder yours or grab it when it hits shelves July 4!

Read if you like:
🧳 forced proximity
🧳 will they/won’t they slow burn
🧳 travel

Thanks to the author, netgalley, and Putnam books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!