Wanderlust is a fun concept. Girl meets boy. Girl doesn't return boy's calls. Girl wins trip around the world from a radio station and they randomly select her travel mate from her phone contacts. Of course, it ends up being the boy she didn't call back. Dylan is less than thrilled when Jck'sname is chosen. She knows she should have called him back a couple months ago fter they met, but she didn't. And now she has to go on a trip around the world with Jack, a stick in a mud. He's so serious and Dylan is spontanous. He gets irritated at her for throwing her stuff down in the hotel room, gawks at her wanting to go off schedule, and is way too straight laced for her. But of course, there is an attraction there that grows as the time goes on.

Both characters are likeable and they work well together. They get to go to some fabulous locations together: Australia, Mumbai, Iceland, New York City, and Mexico City. Dylan is a writer for a magazine and is hoping to get her own column after her stories about the trip are published. The only problem is, romance is what her audience is looking for. She has nothing to write about in that department, except for the growing attraction between them. Jack has specifically asked Dylan to keep him off the internet. One night, Dylan sends an article about her feelings for him to her boss without thinking. There is fallout from that article and she doesn't tell Jack about it right away because she doesn't want to ruin what they have so far.

It is a fun story and the banter between the characters is cute and builds the relationship. Spoiler alert...


They get together! But there were a couple of things I didn't love about the book. 1. Dylan is bi, which is fine, but it is only mentioned twice and really has nothing to do with the story. 2. SO many F-bombs!! 3. There is only 1 kiss in the whole book until you get close to the end. Then, a 2 chapter long sex scene. There's way too much detail and it's thrown in at the end like a space filler.

Overall, it was a good book and a fun concept. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

"Wanderlust" is an adorable and heartwarming book that takes you on a whirlwind adventure around the world! The story follows magazine writer Dylan Coughlan, who impulsively enters a radio contest. The prize is a once-in-a-lifetime trip with her travel partner being randomly selected from her phone contacts. Enter Jack, an uptight guy she ghosted. Eeks!

I loved this opposites attract romance, which ended up tackling much deeper topics than typical contemporary romance novels (ie. abortion, sexuality, career turmoil). I also really enjoyed the travel destinations they explored. Wanderlust, for sure!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a really slow start for me. I put it down and read a couple of other books before I finished it. I am glad that I picked it back up. I did grow to like the characters and the second half of the book.

dnf at 60% again i really thought this was a book that i would like but i did not vibe with the characters. i really wish i liked this more but did not

This was such a fun, flirty rom-com. I loved it way more than I was expecting to. If you love contemporary romance you’ll love this one.

This one was okay but just not really for me. In hindsight I should have known better, it’s compared to two other popular novels that I just didn’t jive with. I would still probably try this author again in the future.

(Actual: 3.25⭐) I was so excited for this book - I love traveling and thought the premise sounded fun - but found it to be a bit disappointing. For a long time it felt like not much happened, and while that can work in a book's favor sometimes (think: atmospheric reads), here I found myself really noticing the overall drag. As someone who absolutely LOVED novels such as People We Meet on Vacation and The UnHoneymooners (which this book was marketed as being similar to), Wanderlust unfortunately just didn't feel up to par with them in my opinion, That said, I did like how this book tackled certain issues such as doxing and [cyber-] bullying, and I appreciate the fact there was no 3rd-act breakup. Ultimately, while this one wasn't a full win for me, I'm still open to reading more from this author in the future!

Thank you #Netgalley

This was a cute read. When Dylan wins a radio contest for a trip around the world, there was a catch. The radio station would randomly choose her traveling companion by calling a random number in her phone. When they call Jack, Dylan is unsure of who he really even is. He is a bit short with her in their trip preparations so she was weary of how this trip was going to go. This started out rough as you could imagine, traveling with basically a stranger. It takes time for the two of them to get comfortable with each other and how much of their past they actually want to share. As time passes, little connections begin...and in typical rom com fashion....you can imagine the outcome ;)

The tension was really good between the MCs, made the slow burn worth it. The premise of the book is very unique, winning a trip from radio contest with a random person from her phone contacts. Made for a really good time. The enemies to lovers, mostly one sided because he ghosted her, gave really good banter.

Finally getting around to my backlist of ARC reviews.

It’s always tough giving…not good reviews. This one had a lot of promise, and I’m a huge fan of when two people have to be in close proximity to each other when they don’t want to. I feel like it just makes for a perfect romcom set up. However, this book? So messy, and not in a good, funny, wholesome romcom way. This was messy and the FMC sadly was the reason for it. I think not liking the narrator of the story makes it almost impossible to enjoy the story. I couldn’t for the life of me enjoy the book when I found the narrator to be herself? I feel guilty just typing it out. I was just so confused as to why she was so angry at the MMC when it didn’t feel like there was a reason for it? The amnosity felt so one sided and unnecessary. It ended up feeling mean and not at all in a cute, witty, angry banter kind of a way. I didn’t like her tone or way of thinking at all and I ended up feeling bad for most of the book Jack and very annoyed with Dylan. Therefore, I couldn’t root for them or even want them to work out in the end.

So this was a definite miss for me.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the chance to give my honest feedback. I’m so sorry this one didn’t work out for me!

2.5 rounded up to 3.

I adored the premise of this book; but it ultimately fell flat for me. I was SO excited with the idea of the radio contest and one night stands reconnecting over a fabulous world trip… but the book never truly took off.

There were some sweet moments between Jack and Violent but I never truly felt the connection or the romance.

There are some heavy topics in this book and I give the author credit for addressing them in such a poignant way.

This book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of Wanderlust by Elle Everhart. This was a fun read because I love a travel story. This was a slow burn that felt like it ended too quickly. The pacing was a little off for me. Still good though.

WANDERLUST by Elle Everhart is a delightful debut about a woman who wins a radio contest for a trip around the world - the only catch is that she'll be traveling with a randomly chosen contact off her phone. In Dylan's case, this contact is Jack, a one-time hookup.

I loved this sort of enemies to lovers, sort of second chance love story. Dylan and Jack had great chemistry, and I loved their character development and the development of their bond. I really enjoyed Everhart's writing, the believable characters and witty dialogue - and it was so fun to travel vicariously through Dylan and Jack!

I will watch out for Everhart's future work and will read anything she writes with excitement!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Wanderlust is the story of Dylan, who calls into a radio station contest and wins a 2 month trip around the globe! The only contingency- she must let them pick her traveling partner from someone in her phone contacts! The station picks “Jack the Posho” from her phone- a date she met out one night and ghosted on their first date. The contest comes at a time that Dylan is trying to get a column at the magazine she works for and her boss says she can write about her trip.

Jack says yes, but he’s cold towards her as they head out on their 9 city tour around the world. The first city is Sydney, Australia and they bond when they are doing the harbor bridge walk… because Jack has a debilitating fear of heights. They are friendlier and Jack even understands after Dylan tells him the reason that she stood him up on their date.

The book was really fun and I loved the concept. But the pacing was a little off- we spent a long time in a few cities and then blew through some so quickly. I like that Jack and Dylan bonded over disappointing their parents; but living their own lives according to themselves. I felt horrible for Dylan for her online trolling and even taking it offline. Hiding behind a screen makes people bold and they forget real people put themselves out there each day. I enjoyed this debut novel and I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you @putnambooks and @elleeverhart for my gifted ebook. Wanderlust is out now and perfect for anyone who dreams of traveling the world on someone else’s dollar.

I loved this book. I was hooked right from the start and knew I was going to enjoy going along for the ride. I highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I do often enjoy forced proximity and this book delivers! A fun read.

I so enjoyed reading Wanderlust by Elle Everhart - this was my first book by this author and I am looking forward to reading more! Happy reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

Good book for a summer read, the premise of traveling and banter is compelling but I couldn't connect with the FMC. I don't enjoy when characters want to avenge other people specially for something so minimal like ghosting, fell like that's a bit immature. Needed more chemistry between MCs and more descriptions of the places they visited just to connect with the traveling aspect.

Overall it was an okay read, not memorable.

This was a really interesting concept that I found really entertaining and amusing. I loved these characters and loved seeing their relationship evolve over time. I wish we got a little more about the places they were traveling, but it really made me want to go on a trip like theirs.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.