Really good! But honestly I didn’t get Finn’s whole “growling” thing, I thought that was weird. Honestly, I’ve never gotten it when men in books growl. Also, he went from being mean to really sweet in like a second, so I feel like that was kind of unrealistic. Besides that this was a super fun and quick read, and the plot wasn’t like anything else I’ve read before. Definitely check this out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was drawn to this title because I enjoyed Kaitlyn's last book, and I did a lot of hiking on the AT in college. The vibes were exactly as I expected and satisfied my expectations!

This was a mostly lighthearted and fun adventure, but it also tackled more serious topics; Natalie's greatest enemy is her anxious mind, and Finn is carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders that isn't his hiking pack, but grief. I thought their connection through shared experiences with loss was very touching and delicately handled, and that was the moment I really felt attached to both characters.

"Loss and grief put you in the world's shittiest club, but once you're there, once you know what it's like, you can't un-know." - chapter 12 (ARC edition)

This line really spoke to me because when I joined the club at 19 with the sudden death of a friend, my mom had said something similar to me, as she lost her cousin at 21. It is so comforting to read about characters conquering difficult emotions that had felt so isolating in my own life!

While I really enjoyed the deeper themes of this book, I did find Natalie to be a bit annoying (she constantly bashes on white men with her jokes, like girl, I get it, find a new joke, this one is so old it's more rotten than the s'more still decaying somewhere in the forest (iykyk)...)

That being said, I think this is such a fun rom-com that will be releasing just in time for summer! I'll definitely be recommending this to my audience over on booksta!

i love me a grumpy x sunshine! this was a good one and i liked the concept. a sweet light hearted young adult i recommend you check out. i also liked the anxiety representation. also love a nice reality tv style book!

There is no place my kids and family feel more our authentic selves than the great outdoors. When nineteen year old Natalie joins a reality show hiking the Appalachian trail, she learns a whole new meaning of pushing her own boundaries! As a mom, I am so excited to share this book with my daughters ahead of our summer adventures! Natalie is a strong, independent young lady. I love how she is competitive to earn a scholarship and applies her strengths as an actor to this new challenge. And I absolutely love how this book illustrates and normalizes dealing with anxiety! Wild About You is the perfect book to kick-off summer!

Review is on Goodreads and will be on Instagram in April!

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Natalie Hart has a lot riding on winning this $100,000 scholarship. Of course, competing on the nature reality TV show Wild Adventures in her own backyard gives her the home court advantage-- if only she knew how to play the game. And, while being randomly placed on a team with a grumpy outdoorsman may not be the worst thing when braving the Appalachian Trail, it doesn't exactly make great footage or good trail conversation. However, as the two continue to place in the competition, Natalie begins to find hidden depths to Finn Markham that may have Natalie fighting for a prize besides the scholarship.

It has been a long time since I've loved a YA book. Sure, I've read some good ones in the past few years, but WILD ABOUT YOU reminded me what it was like to be a high schooler reading about love-- the butterflies and silly smiles you get when reading something sweet (rather than spicy). This book was a lot of fun, and sure, it was silly in certain places, but it also dealt with some pretty intense topics such as grandparent and parental death, anxiety, bullying, and difficult family dynamics in a very realistic and healthy way. If you're looking for a sweet, outdoorsy, grumpyxsunshine book to read this summer-- look no further!

I really enjoyed Hill's other novels, "Love From Scratch" and "Not Here to Stay Friends". However, the reality TV setting is getting old. "Wild About You" was essentially a repeat of Hill's debut novel, but in the Appalachian Mountains instead of San Francisco. It didn't provide a new or intriguing facet of the reality TV game in the way her other novels did. Additionally, the jokes were just not hitting this go-around. Hopefully, Hill's next novel is better!

What happens when a genuinely nice but inexperienced would-be outdoors-woman snags a spot on a challenging reality TV adventure series? Friends are made, skills are learned, laughter abounds, and yes, even a satisfying romance develops. Katilyn Hill's Wild About You features an appealingly feisty main character who shows persistence and growth as she navigates the often bewildering natural world and the sometimes treacherous behavior of her fellow contestants as she hikes along the Appalachian Trail. A satisfying read, filled with clever laugh-out-loud asides from the heroine.

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn’t find myself getting invested in the characters or story line, I finished the book, but it was just a slower read for me than I would have liked.

This was a cute, fairly lighthearted romance. I loved the premise and overall enjoyed the game show aspect of this book. The characters were likable. My only hesitation on 5 stars is that the writing felt very simple and cringey at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for eARC to review!!

This book was a sweet lighthearted romance with plenty of humor. Natalie enters a reality show contest called Outdoor Adventures. She’s not the outdoorsy type but needs the scholarship money that is the grand prize. She comes across as loud, funny, pretty and superficial but that is her armor. Inside she is warm, caring and independent. Her randomly assigned partner, Finn, seems quite the opposite. He is quiet, withdrawn and prickly. Is that his armor too? Will this be a disaster or do opposites attract as the saying goes? Read Wild About You to find that out as well as whether or not this team has what it takes to win the race!

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 follows Natalie on a reality TV adventure show to win in order to pay off her student loans. The catch? She has to participate in the competition with a partner she's never met before. Enter Finn... a quiet, outdoorsy grump who maybe a tad handsome.

- ~ -

Natalie and Finn had the sparks flying off in the second half and they were well-suited. I liked how their relationship developed with trust and admiration. I always particularly enjoy hiking/trekking based books and that aspect was well written and enjoyable.

But for some reason, the execution of the story fell flat for me. It had a great plot and a few good puns and a good overall plot development so I really don't understand why but it came off as a little boring.

On another note, the few short cameos from Reese and Benny were cute as well as their reunion :)

- ~ -

3.76 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I enjoyed this book about two people competing in a reality show that takes place on the Appalachian Trail. It did take me a hot minute to get warmed up to the male MC but I loved Natalie instantly. I could feel her anxiety so much. I think it was very accurate. I also loved how she was a little high maintenance but her conclusions at the end of the book were very empowering. This was about college kids but definitely would call it a YA book.

STOP. WHAT. YOU. ARE. DOING. AND. ADD. THIS. TO. YOUR. TBR. Kaitlyn Hill has truly hit home in her latest and greatest novel, "Wild About You". For anyone struggling with generalized anxiety, please read this; Natalie's journey is SO relatable. Kaitlyn's signature of raw honesty and humor captures the constant internal battles, the fear of the unknown, and the way anxiety can color every interaction. She can capture the rollercoaster of anxiety while also offering us hope and laughter along the way. I was rooting for them to conquer everything, especially not erasing the anxiety but learning to manage it. Your anxiety does not define you; you can still chase your dreams (even if they involve facing your fears head-on in the wilderness!). This was simply a masterpiece. Thank you. Please read this, everyone. PLEASE. Also, the sunshine/grumpy trope is done SO WELL. If I could give you all the stars, I would.

Tropes:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Generalized Anxiety Rep

I was provided an ARC by the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

Wild About You was a fun adventure along the Appalachian Trail. Natalie Hart is definitely not your typical nature girl, she loves her makeup, facial care routines, and romance novels… but desperate times call for desperate measures and Natalie is facing not being able to return to college unless she can win this Wild Co-Edventures competition. Natalie is the type of personality that took a little bit to warm up to, but by the end of the story I was her number one fan. She started off loud and a little bit in your space, but as she was finding her way along the Appalachian Trail, she was also finding her way into my heart as a very relatable character. I loved to see how she and Finn learned more about who they were and what they were capable of as they learned to work as a team. The secondary cast of characters were also a lot of fun to get to know along the way. Since I am a middle school librarian, I don’t feel this is a book I could have at my middle school, but I would definitely recommend it to my high school colleagues.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @getunderlined for an early copy of Wild About You by @thekaitlynhill. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: May 21st, 2024

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198688539-wild-about-you?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZzTbQnuBF3&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Wild About You is a grumpy-sunshine romance between Finn and Natalie, who have become partners in the reality adventure/survival show Wild Adventures. They both initially misjudged each other, with Finn thinking Natalie isn’t made for the wild, and Natalie thinking Finn was the outdoorsy know-it-all she was unfortunate to be paired with. The challenges the show handed them gave them a different perspective of each other, and sharing the difficulties of the challenges made them bond and grow to be more than friends during the show.

Natalie’s character was a delight! She’s funny and witty, but deep down, she is struggling with anxiety, as she needs the Wild Adventures’ prize money for her college tuition, she isn’t confident with her lack of camping skills, and she feels like she’s dragging both her and Finn down the leaderboard. But Finn, regardless of his grumpy demeanor, was nothing but supportive of Natalie once he got to know her quite a bit.

This novel has been a fun read; I loved reading about how Natalie and Finn overcame the challenges thrown at them while falling in love with each other. I just wished there were more heartwarming moments between them, and I would have loved it if they got some closure with their issues with their parents.

Wild About You is such a fun, banter-filled romance perfect for enjoying on a warm summer or fall night. I love a good forced proximity romance, and Kaitlyn Hill writes tension like no other. From the first chapters, I was fully invested in Natalie and Finn, and that only grew as they revealed more of their motivations and secret feelings. The banter is so witty and sharp and creates an excellent build up to their big conversations where they're honest with each other. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys romance with some added depth.

I beg you to stop what you're doing and add this book to your TBR for your sake, for my sake, for everyone’s sake so you'll have a free therapy session directly from your bed’s bedroom.

I know I should focus on the grumpy-sunshine trope and all the reasons why it's so well done it can make you rethink your idea of love, but what really stuck with me - aside from that monster of mushroom carbonara - is the portrayal of generalized anxiety.

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do feel like I'm crazy. Need-to-be-hospitalized kinda crazy. I mean, sometimes I feel like I'm the worst person alive and the moment after I'm thinking that I can't do anything about it anyway.
The most difficult part is explaining myself to people who just don't get it because their minds are healthy and don't make them think they are useless and unworthy of love and that they didn't deserve their trauma. I sound crazy just writing it, can you imagine trying to tell that face-to-face?!

Long story short, when you feel represented by a piece of literature, I believe you should scream at the top of your lungs its title.
So, anxious people from around the globe, I don't know how your love life is, how your family situation is, in which bad place you might end up after a sleepless night. What I do know is that Kaitlyn Hill nailed our situation and then she deserves all the love of this world.

Thanks to Random House Children's and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Finn is the BEST!!! Proof is that he ended up loving romance novels by the end of this one. 🎉

Also, even if I hadn’t liked this book (which I did), I would have given it a good rating solely because of the fact that menstruation was openly talked about and even a bit of a plot point. I love that it was not a taboo topic since menstruation happens with half the population.

Another thing I liked was that it was set on the AT. Kaitlyn did a good job writing about it.

Some things that could have been improved: I felt like the growth of their relationship was slow in the beginning, but then it picked up. Also, I would have liked to get more about healing the relationship with her parents.

A heartwarming story of a grump being paired up with a social butterfly for a challenge to win a scholarship that determines their futures. In order to win, Natalie must tackle her anxiety in the rugged wilderness of the Appalachian trail. Kaitlyn Hill writes anxiety as it is showing the difficulty managing the illness alone making it relatable to real life experiences and also showing what a network of support looks like.

“Wild About You” is a heartfelt and fun adventure. Join Natalie and Flynn as they set off on a wild journey navigating The Appalachian Trail in a Reality TV competition. This story encompasses a sweet romance with light-hearted fun and deeper themes.

For those who love:
🌲Only One Tent
🌲Grumpy/Sunshine Romance
🌲Reluctant Allies
🌲Forced Proximity
🌲Adventure
🌲Reality TV Competition
🌲Anxiety Representation

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.