The premise behind wanderlust is my dream come true. Winning a trip to travel far and wide across the globe and explore new destinations? Absolute dream come true. I was very excited for this book when I received an ARC but the description and focus was on the couple traveling rather than the destinations. I love a good contemporary romance. In fact it’s mainly what I read but I was really looking for the travel to play a bigger part and considering the title is “wanderlust” I really thought the book should have done a better job at truly making you feel these wonderful destinations but instead it felt very unfulfilling in the travel romance category. A wonderful story for the romance that went beyond basic tropes and held deep meaningful conversations, but would have loved to have felt immersed in the travel aspect. A huge part of the joy is feeling the overwhelming need to visit the destination but I didn’t feel that at all in this book.

I received this book as an advanced review copy and offer my honest opinion voluntarily.

Chapter 1: Dylan Coughlan was having an absolutely shit day.

Sold., I want to know everything! Synopsis: "Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho, an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted."

This travel filled, finding your voice, slow burn book was a beautiful read and I am so grateful to have found it.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review!

Pitch me a book with travel in it and I'm sold, plus the title is something I feel everyday. I absolutely loved the premise as well, a trip around the world, but with a random contact in your phone. I'd do it in a heartbeat. Dylan's random contact however, was Jack a guy she met at a bar one night and ghosted.

Their trip starts out rocky with conversation lacking, but Dylan not only needed this trip to recharge herself, but also her career. As the trip progresses, their relationship changes as they get to know each other better. I like the progression this took and the pacing as well.

My biggest criticism is the lack of depth and description when it came to all the places they visited. If you're going to call the book Wanderlust, it should leave the reader feeling that and the setting descriptions just weren't there.

I loved the premise of this story. The traveling in the book gave me actual wanderlust, although sometimes i felt like we just barely got anything from the city, and then we were moving on to the next place. I liked Dylan as a main character, but I felt like I didn't know Jack very well. They had some chemistry, but overall I didn't feel much tension and angst between them, and that is what I really want out of romance novels I read. The author did a great job writing about mental health, online bullying, boundaries with family members, and those topics made the romance feel real, like it isn't just always sunshine and rainbows in a relationship. I would read more from this author.

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

3.5 stars, if I could.

This has happened to me before. I finish a book I'm ambivalent about and when it comes time to rate it, I round up. And again, it's because parts of Dylan's story need to be told. The anonymous hate she experiences on the internet, to the point of doxxing and death threats, is a very real thing people deal with. And no one deserves that.

"Abortion is healthcare" is the other reason I rounded up. It is. That aspect of Dylan's tale was messy and could've been done better so it worked with the rest of the story instead of against it but it's no less important. It needs to be talked about.

But in talking about those very important topics, this story ends up feeling like it's at war with itself. It's two stories -- harsh reality and soft travel-romance -- that haven't quite melded together into a cohesive whole. I definitely skimmed parts just to keep moving.

The level of detail that went into some of the cities they visit was *chef's kiss* It truly did reignite my wanderlust and for places that weren't high on my list. You feel like you're there and it's beautiful. Those were the parts that I slowed down and enjoyed most, that let me sink into the story.

There are several reasons I'd give this fractionally less stars if I could. Dylan was very annoying in the first chunk of the book. So much so that I considered walking away! I'm ultimately glad I didn't but her immaturity and hostility weren't easy to overcome. I felt so bad for Jack in the beginning.

Also, while I love that Dylan's story is out there, I don't love the backdrop of the influencer life. I would have preferred a grittier story that was more grounded in everyday reality.

I honestly don't know if I'd recommend this book or not.

Thanks to my friends at @putnambooks for the gifted copy. This book is available now!

In this cute romcom, Dylan wins a trip around the world from a radio station contest. The only catch is they get to choose someone randomly from her contacts to go with her. They choose Jack, who she barely remembered from a kiss on a night out.

I was really hoping for a light and funny romcom, but there were quite a few heavier topics that I wasn’t really expecting so much emphasis on. There were definitely some funny moments but I would’ve liked more of their adventures on the trip and less of the emotional bits and seriousness.

Wanderlust is a solid debut, and I’m looking forward to what this author writes next!

Wonderful premise, excellent chemistry, and loved the representation. Would prefer less miscommunication and more immersive descriptions of the locations

To win a radio getaway (weeks of travel around the world) - the host gets to choose ANY random contact from your phone on the spot. Would you do it? Me, if it's a terrible contact. I would hangup and block the radio's number.

Our heroine, Dylan, follows through on the trip and call even though she has no clue who the contact "Jack" is. Apparently, they met months before a club ...hmm a little rekindling then? I loved the premise, who doesn't love self-discovery, travel, and a little will-they-won't they? Though I didn't vibe with Dylan, I related to Jack and he had me swooning. This is a perfect summer read!

This was far too slow and not well paced for me, i needed the story to move a bit quicker

thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart

You know that feeling when you feel stuck where you are? Work is blah, your city is blah—you know you need a vacation. While feeling this way, our protagonist, Dylan, impulsively calls into a radio station and wins a trip around the world. There’s a catch though. The station must randomly invite one of Dylan’s contacts in her phone to join her. Enter Jack, the posh, polar opposite of Dylan who she met during a drunken make-out on a night out and never called again. While planning time away from her work as a writer, her boss is dangling the carrot Dylan’s been racing towards: her own column. The catch? She’s supposed to frame her writing of the trip as a second-chance romance.

This one has some solid grumpy x sunshine and enemies to lovers vibes. It was entertaining to watch the relationship unfold, and Dylan is a pretty dynamic character. I found myself appreciating her charm and sense of humor at times, but really irritated by her carelessness at other times.

I was surprised, given the title, how the travel itself seemed to take a secondary role. I would have loved more details of the places they were staying and their experiences overall, but it’s typically described only in relation to their situation. The characters and plot definitely take center-stage. And obviously there is still plenty of cool experiences and travel details—I just wanted more.

The central conflict is a bit predictable, but what I really enjoyed was how the resolution brought in so much more than I expected in a way that was really refreshing and human. I loved seeing characters who were just so happy with each other without some sort of artificial thing between them.

Overall, this was a lovely debut novel. A solid rom-com with a side of travel. I do recommend this one—it’s pretty cute and had a surprising bit of spice too.

Many thanks to @putnambooks and @netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

A great debut novel! Following Dylan who wins a competition and most travel with who ever is randomly chosen in her contact list. She is thrown into a journey with Jack who she only met one random night and labeled him in her contacts as Jack the Posho. Dylan who is currently employed at an online lifestyle magazine is supposed to use this trip around the world to earn her own column. Meanwhile Jack has secretly quit his job at a law firm he could no longer stand to be at. With no real instant connection you follow them on a journey that’s deeper than will they or won’t they and more like self discovery. A novel that makes you truly realize we only have one life that should truly be lived.

If you're someone who enjoys reading about traveling around the world, then "Wanderlust" is the book for you. Elle Everhart takes the reader to several countries and sprinkles in little tidbits about culture and places to sightsee (Iceland, Mexico City & NYC, to name a few).

In this story, the main character Dylan wins a radio contest which grants her a free trip around the world, but as it turns out there's a catch to her win. She can go on the trip as long as she goes with a randomly selected contact in her cell phone. A person she has listed in her contacts, as "Jack the Posho", an almost one night stand is selected.

However, much of Dylan and her companion Jack's journey is awkward and wrought with uncomfortable tension, and not in a 'cute enemies to lovers' way.
More like two people that once had a previous encounter gone wrong and they don't know how to co-exist with each other, so much so that at times it seems like each is on a solo adventure.
Also, it's important to note for reader's that appreciate trigger warnings that there is a plot line regarding abortion.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an early release copy of this book.

Wanderlust is being released July 4th 2023.

**Posted to Goodreads on 6/19/2023
**Posted to Amazon on 7/29/2023

This book was so cute!

The forced proximity was adorable, and I really liked the overall trope. I really liked the history that the two main characters had together, and the background as to why they didn’t get together at first. The radio show was so funny when they chose the person to go with the winner.

This book had a little bit of a heaviness to it that I overall really enjoyed, but I do know that some people wouldn’t like that as they did in the book anyway. It dealt with a heavy topic, abortion, and I thought that it was handled really well.

The ending was very cute though a little bit sporadic, and I thought that it was unachievable for a real person. But, that is why I read fiction.

Thank you for the arc. It was amazing!

I liked the concept of travel in this book. I also thought Dylan and Jack had good chemistry. I enjoyed Dylan's articles and loved all the destinations mentioned. I liked how the opposites attract trope. I also enjoyed how they helped each other grow and I enjoyed reading about Jack and his photography. I enjoyed all the countries they traveled to. The miscommunication in the book kind of annoyed me. Overall this book was just okay to me.

Wanderlust is a romantic travel read. I had mixed feelings on this one. I liked the slow burn romance, the travel concept, and even how the book touched on some pretty heavy topics. I liked the characters Dylan and Jack. Even the concept was pretty fun. Dylan wins an all expense paid touring trip. The catch? She has to take a random person chosen from her phone contacts. Enter Jack, that random person from her contacts, with whom she had a short encounter. When they are brought together, their attraction to each other resurfaces. What starts out as a simple traveling adventure turns into much more. Slowly their relationship develops until the feelings for each other come to light.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The second chance romance coupled with a slow burn made for a wonderful summer read. I think that Everhart missed an opportunity to focus just a bit more on the travelling adventures. I would have loved to see more description about the places they visited; and furthermore, had those places intertwined with the development of Dylan and Jack's relationship. Despite my desire, I did enjoy the story, the characters, and following them on their journey.

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
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Dylan wins a radio contest for a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? She has to share the trip with a guy she met once and is essentially a stranger.
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What I liked:
-Forced proximity is one of my fave tropes.
-I love books where the characters get to travel!
-There was some fun banter in the books between Dylan and Jack. Their interactions made me laugh a lot.
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What I didn’t like:
-There was a lot of emphasis on a spat that Dylan was having with her parents, I felt like that part was a separate storyline and didn’t really connect with the Jack storyline.
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3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Review posted to instagram handle @staciathebookworm on 7/31/23

This story was cute, but the pacing is 100% off. It starts slow and ends quickly with this weird perfect period in the middle.

Dylan and Jack are adorable together. The perfect quirky/sunshine and quiet/private mix. The characters are spot in and I love the journey they take both literally and metaphorically.

But be warned, the pacing threw it off enough to take away from the story for me. This is why I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I’m so disappointed that this book wasn’t for me. I loved the premise, the plot, the queer representation, and the pro-choice story arc. However, I did not love the main characters, Dylan and Jack, at all. I found them whiny and immature, each with parental problems that they had let simmer for years and years without addressing. Their interactions with each other were stiff, awkward, and high-school-ish for most of the book. The romantic plot just tried way too hard. The conflict was portrayed as a huge obstacle when it really wasn’t and could have been resolved with a bit more communication along the way. However, what I absolutely loved was the plot line of a trip around the world, with stops in some of the world’s most amazing cities. Yay! Sign me up! I loved the scenes focused on one adventure or another and wished there were even more descriptions of the places they experienced. Great premise, and I’m sure many readers will love it, but the romance just fell flat.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @putnambooks for an early copy of Wanderlust by @elleeverhart. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Wanderlust is a heartwarming story about Dylan and Jack who both won a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The two couldn’t be more different as the two started their trip being aloof of each other, but this trip meant a lot to Dylan as it could be her chance to have her own column at the lifestyle magazine she works at; and her chance to get past the abortion article she wrote the year before. As her articles about the trip get more popular, so does her bond with Jack.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

This novel for me is more of self-discovery for Jack and Dylan than a romantic one; I enjoyed that despite their differences and how they started off their trip, they learned how to be each other’s moral and emotional support as they bonded and got to know each other better. I didn’t particularly enjoy Jack’s lack of emotional response and him being so closed off especially when they started out their trip, but it was enlightening to know him and his layers as the book progressed.

Although I didn’t expect it as the blurb suggested, Wanderlust also touched on issues like access to healthcare and abortion, and online bullying. While a lot of people have different perspectives on abortion, I would agree with both Dylan's and Jack’s stances about the issue.

Rating Wanderlust ⭐⭐⭐.5/5. Released last July 4th, 2023, and available to purchase from book retailers.

A very cute story! Dylan wins a radio contest for a two month trip around the world. The catch? Her traveling companion will be someone they pick randomly out of her phone - and she doesn't recognize the man they choose! The story proceeds as Dylan and Jack travel all over, having new and different experiences and learning about each other along the way. The book is well written and you can't help but fall in love with Dylan and Jack's characters (I also loved Dylan's roommate). It's deeper than it originally appears - both are fighting some serious demons and dealing with a lot of family and social drama. The thing that fell flat for me in the book was the descriptions of travel. We got very few windows into things that Dylan and Jack were doing and only a few cities really got highlights. I wanted far more! I think a journal format might have worked for this book - or at least interspersed Instagram posts? Something more to highlight the travel that should have been such a part of the story.