I was so invested in Dylan and Jack's story that I read this book at any chance I got-- walking to the bus, on the bus, during lunch break, waiting for the bus home, etc. When I finally got to the end I went looking for more books to read by Elle Everhart but saw that this is her only book so far, feeling mildly disappointed but also doing a google alert so I can hear when she writes more books. I WILL be reading all of them from now on!


I love traveling and romance books, so when I saw that this book throws two practical strangers together on a whirlwind trip around the world I just knew that I would love it. The way Elle described the romance between grumpy Jack and sunshine-y Dylan made me swoon but also laugh out loud numerous times. I also really enjoyed that this book touched on so many hard hitting topics such as queer identities, abortions, family estrangement, and so on. What a great debut novel!

Thanks NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP for the ARC. It was a pleasure to read and review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Slow Burn
- Enemies to Lovers
- LGBTQIA+ Rep
- International Travel

While Wanderlust is a fun and quick read, it does deal with some heavy topics including bullying, homophobia and abortion. These are heavily focused in the book so if you become triggered by any of these, I would advise against reading.

Dylan and Jack had excellent tension and the banter between them was pretty entertaining! That is about where my love of Dylan stopped. I wasn't a fan of how she treated Jack at all. I was actively rolling my eyes at her actions more than once.

I was expecting more focus on the traveling aspect but most of the time locations were just mentioned in passing and some locations completely skipped over. This left me pretty disappointed.

Overall, I binged Wanderlust in a day and while I enjoyed reading it at the moment, it was ultimately not very memorable and I won't be revisiting it.

Wanderlust is the endearing story of Dylan and Jack. When Dylan wins a trip around the world, Jack is randomly chosen to accompany her—and what a journey they have! They seem ill-suited as travel partners, but as they share experiences in faraway places their differences start bringing them together instead of tearing them apart. This is a very slow-build, but it’s worth the wait. This isn’t just a love story, this is also a story of self-discovery for each of them, as their personal and professional lives are impacted by their adventures and the challenges of their global expedition. Aside from their story, I was transported to all of the places they visited, from Australia to Mexico and many places in-between! I could picture these fantastic sites as Jack and Dylan explored them; I shared their exhilaration and awe. Congratulations to the author on a wonderful debut and I look forward to more books in the future!

Wanderlust by Elle Evehart was such a unique read!

When writer Dylan spontaneously calls in for a radio contest, she never expects to actually win. But it’s a multi-week free trip around the world, what could go wrong? That’s where the catch comes in - Dylan only gets the trip if she agrees to go with a random contact the radio station pulls from her phone. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but that’s when they pull “Jack the Posho’s” contact and everything goes awry.

Dylan and Jack spent one night in a club together months ago but Dylan never followed up. Can they survive this trip with out killing log each other?

I absolutely adored the premise of this book. I haven’t read anything like it and Dylan and Jack were so fun together. I think the only thing I would have liked is if they went more in detail about some of the cities they’d traveled to, but no book is perfect!

For anyone wanting a fun, jet setting read, this is a good book for you. It does delve into some heavier stuff surrounding social media and anxiety, so be sure to check the warnings if you’re sensitive to either. Overall I enjoyed my time with this one and will be in the look out for Evehart’s next one!

Dylan and Jack are so adorable! Jack is an irresistible cinnamon roll love interest and Dylan is a fiercely feminist badass. This was such a sweet and romantic slow-burn romance set all across the world. I really enjoyed watching both characters fall in love while also figuring out what they wanted to do with their lives and coming into their own with respect to their parental issues. There is no third act breakup either, for those who don't like them.

What I liked about this book? The fact that there was an actual foundation to the romance. Emotions, conversation, a friendship. Things that actually make a relationship work. (Because unlike most romance books want you to believe, amazing sex is not that only thing a relationship needs). But I digress.

This was a cute story and I loved the "clarity from travelling" storyline because it is so relatable. There is no life problem you can't solve by hoping on a plane.
I wish there had been more descriptions and time spent in cities. Those seemed to be glossed over but overall a cute read.

Also. Agreed. Abortions are healthcare.

Wanderlust made me want to pack my bags and travel the world! Dylan has been having a hard year, and on a whim enters her name into a radio contest that would send her around the world—the only catch is the station gets to pick a random contact from her phone and they select Jack, a guy she met on a girls’ night out and never called. This book felt fresh and fun and real. It takes on a lot of identity issues, as Dylan struggles with her parents lack of support in her bisexuality and her life decisions, and it takes on some heavy topics too that really shape Dylan. She’s brave and bold and trying every day, and I just loved seeing her grow and find her footing and seeing her succeed. Plus her best friend Gwen is an absolute gem. And Jack was so sweet and kind and gentle. I loved seeing him finding his confidence. And I love the friendship these two built and seeing the chemistry grow between them. It’s genuine and heartwarming and just a really strong debut!

Thank you NetGallery for this amazing ARC! I loved this book. A contest to go traveling around the world with a twist, you go with someone from your contacts? I loved Dylan and Jack’s story and how they overcame their own individual challenges while getting closer. You should definitely read this once it is out!

Dylan is in a rut… her job is going no where and she’s one step away from quitting. When she randomly calls in to a radio contest she wins a trip around the world with the catch that it has to be with a random person off her contact list. When Jack’s name is chosen and man Dylan meant only once agrees to go on the trip with her she has no clue what to expect. What ensues is a typical enemy to lover romance with exotic locations and some messed up family dynamics mixed in.
Overall the story was good and I liked the different locations. I, personally didn’t feel connected to either main characters which made it hard to get into the book. It was definitely a story I didn’t dislike reading but not one that I couldn’t put down. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I really wanted to like this book? But just wasn’t for me. The book description sounded great, but I found the characters to be bland and just couldn’t get into the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

A grumpy/sunshine romance filled with traveling the world? Sign me up! Dylan and Jack were charming together. I'm a sucker for forced proximity and what's more fun than winning a radio contest trip and having to take a guy you met at a club and forgot about? I would have a loved a little more context about each place they were in, but overall really loved the book. The issues they face and the disagreements they have are all founded and valid and they communicate better as you go through the book. It really felt like they evolved as people and found their way to each other through the book. Beautiful writing and wonderful characters! Bravo Elle Everhart!

What a fun and charming summer romance (though its set in winter). Dylan is a writer for a magazine and has been fighting for her own column, but her editor has been putting her off. On a whim, she calls into a radio station and wins a trip around the world - there's a catch - they randomly select someone from her phone contacts to go with her.

Unlucky to her, she ends up with Mr. Grump, Jack. A man she met at a bar months before and never called after.

This is an exciting story of two strangers coming together and dealing with their own personal issues while traveling the world together for two months. Anything can happen and so much does.

I read this book in a single setting so it would be the perfect beach read for anyone this summer.

This book follows Dylan, an aspiring writer employed by a women’s magazine (similar to Cosmo in my mind), stuck writing about astrology. She randomly decides to enter, then wins a radio contest that will send her on a two month trip around the world but only if the radio station gets to pick a random person from her contacts to go with her. That one person is Jack, a posh man Dylan randomly made out with in a bar one night. Jack decides to go for it with the trip and these two practical strangers are send on a whirlwind trip that winds up changing their lives not only romantically, but also with their family relationships and their careers. This book had so much promise - I loved the banter and all of the British slang used throughout. I was just hoping a book called Wanderlust would have detailed some of the locations traveled to in more exciting, descriptive ways. You barely heard about several of the locations they went to, and that was really disappointing to me. I also felt there were some issues that weren’t as resolved as I would have liked. I enjoyed the relationship between Jack and Dylan though, so I’m giving this 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam's Sons for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am an avid traveler, and I was pulled into this book by the interesting premise. Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to the expectations, and honestly, didn't even make me itch to book a flight anywhere.

The book follows Dylan who works at a magazine and in the spur-of-the-moment, ends up calling into a radio station and winning a trip around the world. The only catch is that the radio station gets to pick a random person from your contact. The radio station ends up picking Jack who Dylan met at a bar and ghosted.

Jack agrees to go with her and the story goes from there. While things seem tense from the start, these two slowly but surely open up to each other. This is all set against the backdrop of their trip which starts in England but takes them to Australia, Asia, and even, the United States. All in all, their travels and the things they do are so fun to read about.

The main high point for Wanderlust is Jack and Dylan’s growth throughout the story. Dylan is dealing with burnout at her current job, being doxxed after sharing her abortion publicly and her parents disapproving of her. Coupled with Jack’s parents being too hard on him, these two have a lot of baggage between them.

Regardless, they’re able to work through things albeit not the healthiest way to start but it’s all about the journey, right? In a way, I feel like that’s the constant theme throughout the entirety of Wanderlust. Yes, getting there is great but the journey of working, changing, and growing is what makes the story worth reading in a sense.

While I did enjoy this book, it did feel a bit low-stakes and even, a bit meandering in the middle as I just wanted these two to talk. However, it ended up being a solid one and I’m excited to see what Elle Everhart does next. Plus you can’t deny how cute that cover is.

In particular, Wanderlust will hit that sweet spot for those who are craving something fun with some deeper moments and a slow-burn romance that will have you wanting until the very last page.

I loved this book! The author's development and depth of character in Dylan and Jack were excellent, and it was refreshing to read a rom-com-style book that had characters dealing with real, complex, and difficult problems. This made Jack and Dylan seem so much more real and relatable to me, and the characters' vulnerability created an even greater sense of intimacy. The only thing I would change is that I'd love even more description and action in each of the destinations they visited; some of the cities and countries on the trip were more fleshed out than others, and that left me craving more!

This book reminded me a lot of Emily Henry's style of writing, which I find to be very engaging. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys rom-coms and travel. This will be such a fun beach or vacation read this summer, or alternatively, a fun way to travel without leaving your house!

Cute and special, I got wanderlust reading this! As an international educator, I loved the conversations this book can bring up about travel and culture. It will be a great addition to my collection of novels that feature more worldly views. The romance was also quite tender and I loved the anxiety and bi rep!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Wanderlust is a debut novel and I think it was a very solid first book! For one, the characters are British, and anyone who knows me knows I love a good British rom-com! This had the wit and humor I appreciate along with travel which is fun. I loved how Dylan was a strong female character, and she felt very real in the way she was written. I enjoyed her journey throughout the book. Jack at first is seen as uptight and throughout the book, he becomes less what he is expected to be and more of who is wants to be and I really like how that was done as well. This did touch upon some heavier issues-abortion- but overall this is a light, fun read. Great for a beach/poolside read!

I was invited by the publisher to read this book through NetGalley and was immediately smitten by both the premise and the comp to Sophie Cousens, a favorite new author and one that is an auto-buy for me.

This is NOT like a Sophie Cousens book.

I've made it almost 25% through and I'm calling this a DNF, because, as they say, life is too short and there are far too many books that are better for me.

Which is a shame, because when I first opened the book, the writing sparkled and I thought that this would be a light, breezy, easy rom com.

But so far it's just angry, awful people. I'm not a prude, but sailor-mouthed main characters is subjectively off putting to me, as is Dylan's oh-my-god-why-is-life-and-my-job-so-haaard attitude (for reference, she makes makes quizzes for a sex toy magazine, has just won a free trip around the world, and her boss had the "audacity" to ask her to turn in some pictures of it. Doctor in a warzone she is not). When we got to her angsty "men are taught to be nice to women--oh only white cis women so they can weaponize niceness against everyone else," nope, I'm out. And the absolute zero chemistry between the supposed love interest makes me have no desire to read on. This isn't "enemies to lovers," this is just horrible people.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I liked the story and the characters, but I felt like parts of the story just needed to be developed more. It seemed like the author either developed the relationship or the travel story but not both at the same time. I wish she talked more about the things they did in each place because some locations were just mentioned and then said something about how Dylan and Jack didn’t talk all week.

Overall cute story and fast read so it’s a “maybe recommend” from me.