I went into this book expecting a fun story about travel and self-discovery but this one had some heavier topics woven in. I liked the premise of the story and it was a cute book, but I felt like there was just something that I didn’t quite connect with.

I did enjoy Dylan and Jack’s characters - she was a quirky, sunshine FMC and he was a reserved, quiet MMC which made for a fun dynamic with some great banter. The forced proximity trope in this kept it interesting too! I loved the descriptions of where they were visiting on their travels and Ella’s writing style was smooth and easy to read.

Overall, if you don’t mind some heavier topics wound into your rom com, this one could be a good option to pick up!

Not my favorite romance but still very cute! Was expecting more of a travel, Unhoneymooners vibe. I didn’t expect the heavy topics. While I enjoyed it still, I wish it was more lighthearted

This book is the ideal arm-chair travel, escape. I loved the premise of traveling with a stranger to various countries. The audio is excellent, More people should pick up this book.

Gosh, what a lovely story, despite the serious subject matter covered. It was so well-written and I felt just like I was traveling with them on their trip. I think we can all appreciate having to work our 'grown-up" job while longing to follow our dreams and strike out on our own. Having a crappy boss that takes advantage of those dreams for their own benefit. Dylan has been through a LOT and having the trip of a lifetime fall into her lap, as long as she drags a rando from her contacts list seems like an easy enough clause to accept. Of course, it happens to be someone she never called back, valid reasoning or not. Jack starts out a bit grumpy with her, understandably so, but they eventually find more common ground than they could've imagined! I really enjoyed all of the support he gave her once she finally explained herself, but I especially loved that she was able to find her strength by herself, not just bc of a man.

TW: Abortion, harassment

Went into this thinking it would be light and fun romance.

This was not it.

It’s a book about traveling but you didn’t get a lot of descriptions of the places they visited.

Will definitely try other books by this author but this one wasn’t a favorite.

Picture this: You’re stuck in the office for the summer, plotting your next move up the corporate ladder. On a whim, you call in to the local radio station when they’re running a once-in-a-lifetime travel sweepstake. And you win. The trouble is that you’re sent packing with someone else, and he happens to be a guy you met at a bar just once. That’s how Dylan and her almost-fling, Jack, travel together through Marrakech, Tokyo, Sydney and more. Elle Everhart’s July 2023 debut novel, Wanderlust, is a perfect summer read—plenty of sexy enemies-to-lovers tension and enough immersive travel descriptions to feel like you got a whirlwind vacation too.

The title immediately grabbed me - I mean, I have a wanderlust tattoo 🤷‍♀️ The romance is definitely a big part of this story, but I would have read this book just to learn about all the places they traveled! They got to see so many cool places and I'm so, SO jealous!

Ok, so on to the romance. I could not imagine winning a trip that's going to last 6 weeks and my travel buddy is a random guy I made out with drunkenly one night. 🤣 They both are so frustrating to one another and honestly just complete opposites that I was cracking up during some of their first interactions together. But then, when they start opening up together, it got all swoony.

This was a cute book but was a bit on the longer side for how long I prefer my romances. There were also a few places that didn't seem to flow very well, but it could have been the lay out of the book since this was an arc rather than final ebook. Overall, it's still a cute ready and I'd def recommend it - especially for romance readers who love travel and their books to deal with a few heavy topics throughout.

Millennial writer Dylan works at a Buzzfeed-esque website, where she's stuck writing listicles and quizzes instead of the meaningful work she knows she's capable of. One day she spontaneously calls into a radio contest and wins a trip around the world. The catch? Her plus one will be a someone in her phone contacts chosen at random by the radio host.

It's a great plot for a romantic comedy. It's also not a bad idea for an ACTUAL radio contest, although it would be pretty easy to quickly scrub anyone with the last name "from Hinge/Tinder/Bumble/etc." But Dylan is more honest than me; she takes her chances and winds up partnered with a casual in-the-club makeout buddy named Jack.

While the premise had-me-in-the-first-half-not-gonna-lie, I found it hard to root for the individual characters. At first I was totally Team Dylan, unlike other rom com protagonists she didn't feel like a Mary Sue or a "pick me" girl. But Jack was being a major creep (and not in the hot way). He's butthurt that Dylan never followed up with him about a date. It pissed me off: anyone born after 1960 understands that if you make out with someone in a club, they owe you NOTHING. In fact, if you're macking on a stranger in the club you should do so with the assumption that you will never see that person again in your life. Jack was angry at Dylan, which was completely unfair and his entitlement made him made him totally unattractive.

However, by the end my loyalties did a 180, because Jack suddenly becomes charming (the excuses for his earlier bad behavior boil down to "I was joking") and Dylan is the one in the wrong. It was a somewhat jarring switch for me.

I also think the story could have benefited from focusing on the trip Dylan's personal journey (one that is separate from all things Jack) throughout; I think that would have made the eventual HEA more impactful.

There is a good deal of internet-speak in this novel and WhatsApp back-and-forths. While it kind of took me out of the emotional aspect of the story, it's definitely a personal preference and I can see that it could appeal to other younger, more hip readers than I. Overall it's a fun light read, the characters just weren't my favorite.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Elle Everhart for the honor of reading this book! 
Wanderlust was a book full of travel and adventure. I enjoyed how the book was able to make you feel like you are traveling around the world with our main characters. This book is a blend of People We Meet On Vacation with the Honeymooners. This book held my attention through all the adventure and drama that went on during the book. What romance story would we have without some drama. This book also had some fun tropes such as enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, forced proximity, and miscommunication. This book does a good job at bring awareness to hard topics that aren't commonly talked about. Some examples are women in media and the stuggles they face, mental health awareness, abortion rights for women and biphobia. Overall I enjoy reading Elle Everhart's Debut novel Wanderlust. I gave it 4 star review and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the years to come.

A cute story, I like the premise and the travel and discovery aspects!
I always enjoy learning about new places and different cultural practices, etc.

Wanderlust was a contemporary romance that was just ok for me. I had trouble connecting to the story and had trouble finishing it.
Thanks Penguin Group Putnam via NetGalley.

I was gifted an Earc of this novel. All thoughts are my own.

A romance with self-discovery, travel, forced proximity, slow burn, with enemies to lovers vibe, but with LOTS of miscommunication. I am currently in a love-hate relationship with this novel. On the one hand, it's cute, quirky, and fun; on the other, it talks about hard-hitting topics. However, it has one of my most minor types of trope: the miscommunication trope. Most of these two MC problems would have been fixed if both just spoke their mind and got it over with. I know we wouldn't have had a story without it, but I feel like it's been overplayed and this novel gave such a unique world-traveling vibe that it could have been better without it. I gave it three stars because I felt I enjoyed it, but I probably won't reread it.

I adored this book. I didn't want to put it down and I had to some times due to life getting in the way. Dylan works for a magazine and while writing her article she listens to the local radio station. They are running a chance to win a trip around the world, but there is a catch they have to do russian roulette for the person to go with you. The chance to go on an adventure of hitting 9 large cities in two months and playing russian roulette with your phone not knowing whom your travel companion may be. Is it someone you know really well? Is it someone you loathe? Or is it someone you barely know?

I really enjoyed the book and would definitely want to read more from this author!

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

This book was really cute and very aptly named. As someone who would love to be traveling the world right now, this book left me sated.

The main character wins a holiday vacation giveaway on the radio with the stipulation that the radio will choose someone from her phone contacts to be her travel companion.

Of course they pick her almost one-night stand that she didn't even remember almost going home with sooo yeah...

Nevertheless she is determined to go on vacation and use this to leverage her career no matter how impossible her post travel companion is.

Soon things from her past surface and she gets a little more insight into the life of her travel companion.

This was a very delicate and beautiful book. It felt similar to Lease on Love by Fallon Ballard. The details pertaining to travel were also very vivid and it was very appreciated by my enneagram 7 wanderlust brain.

Highly recommend!

TW: abortion, anti-abortion, gaslighting.

Rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5.

When Dylan wins a radio contest for a six week trip around the world. The catch? The radio is randomly picking her travel partner out of her phone contacts, and they choose “Jack the Posho,” a guy Dylan met at a club one night & never called. She had a good reason.

This book is so sweet - it gave me wanderlust indeed! A delightful romance while making you want to pack up & go have an adventure.

Not quite the story I expected, but it wasn't bad! I went in thinking it would be more of a romcom with a second chance romance trope, but I didn't find that to be the case. I would describe this more as a journey of self discovery with elements of romance, but not a pure romance story. The pacing was a little slow at times, but overall it was a solid read. I'd recommend this book to readers who love to travel or may be facing issues with family due to a lack of support.

Such a good and quick read. Def already want to read it again. This book had me in my feelings, laughing, crying and starry eyed

I loved the idea of this book but found the execution lacking. I would die to go on an all expenses paid trip around the world even if I had to go with a random phone contact. What did not work at all for me was the lack of descriptions of anywhere they travel.ed. They literally could have been doing a tour around England for how little the actual locations were a factor in the story. If you don't want to write about places, don't write a travel book. To top it off, it ends in a British potential HEA rather than a full blown HEA.

I wanted to love this one so badly, and while I enjoyed the first 1/3 or so, I quickly became annoyed by the constant influencer speak and conversations around being successful on Instagram (this stuff also tends to age really poorly, which doesn't bode well for the longevity of a novel). The chemistry, the banter, and the getting to feel like you visited all the places with them were all things I loved in this story. But the thing that didn't work was how Jack's ghosting of Dylan felt like just a silly miscommunication, or at least it wasn't explained enough to feel like something the reader could believe. I'd still read Everhart's next book, knowing this was a debut and some of these things could be improved.

Wanderlust - your story has so much potential!! The concept is novel and fun, but the book itself is a mess. Jumps of weeks at a time in the storyline when it's only a six week timeline in which two strangers are supposed to fall in love. The romance itself is a snooze. Yet, I have hope that with lots of editing this story can be told so much better.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.