The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
samflowerv6's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic friendship
marioosa517's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, and Medical content
bookswithlauren's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
thatswhatshanread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Don’t get me wrong—this is miles from CLo’s usual romcom. This is like Indiana Jones meets The Goonies, interlaced with their signature flirty banter and heartwarming compassion. It is definitely not your typical romcom. But personally, I loved the genres blurring together.
As a SUPER FAN of Indiana Jones, I ate the adventure of this story entirely up. The Utah terrain setting (um hello The Last Crusade), the promise of long lost treasure, the dangers of the journey. A trip gone terribly… wild. God, this novel was SO much fun to read!! I loved the characters and the ins and outs of their relationships with each other, and I didn’t even mind how convenient Lily and Leo’s love story pieced together. I always melt for a second-chance romance, forced proximity, one bed, a decade of longing, the whole shebang. Throw in some crazy high stakes and I’m beyond sold.
I wish a few of the characters had been there for more than just very specific plot points, but otherwise? LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Car accident
emjen16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Kidnapping
mikki_9's review
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Terminal illness
theespressoedition's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Now, it's a known fact that the books by these authors are seriously hit-or-miss for me. However, I've continued to read them because of that... in the off chance one of them really stands out and I love it (which is what happened with The Soulmate Equation and In a Holidaze)! Sadly, this was a huge miss.
I'm not really sure what I was expecting when it came to Something Wilder, but it definitely wasn't this. Maybe this vibe works for some people, but if I'm picking up a romcom, I don't want or need Indiana Jones vibes with a side of hostages, gun violence, and really awkward sexual tension.
I love puzzles and adventure as much as the next gal, but it just felt horribly out of place in a contemporary romance like this. It didn't help matters that I was reading The Final Gambit at the same time, which has puzzles and adventure that actually makes sense for the genre of the book--and they're done brilliantly. I felt like I was reading a knock-off of that... with sex.
Speaking of that element: ick. Like... the crude language for the characters' previous sexual chemistry right off the bat gave me a queasy tummy. You're seeing someone for the first time in eight years and the first thing you're thinking about was how good they felt inside you or what their legs were like around your face? Yeah... that's not it. I'm all for second-chance romance, but this one was really cringy on so many levels.
As you can see, I did not enjoy this book. It was just weird and didn't feel natural for a romcom. Big pass for me.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
samchase112's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Full RTC!
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Murder and Sexual content
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This story felt like it was trying to do too much. As other reviewers have said, this is a treasure hunt first and foremost with the romance taking a major backseat.
The backdrop of this story is that Leo & Lily spent five blissful months with each other at the age of 20. However, their time together is disrupted when Leo’s mom gets into an accident so Leo leaves the desert to go back to New York to be with his mom. Lily does not try and reach out to him, to see if he’s okay, if his mom is okay. No, it’s Leo’s job to reach out to her. Well Leo’s mom sadly dies from her injuries from the car crash so now Leo is taking care of his younger sister, Cora, all by himself as his dad is no longer in the picture. And for some reason, even though Lily never fought for him and let him go easy peasy, Leo never stopped loving her after long 10 years.
Side note: Even though the book builds up their romance as some love that transcends time, I feel like Leo was the only one that truly loved that way. If Lily loved Leo the way she says she did, she would have tried harder to be with him instead of letting him go so easily. Why did she not follow up with him? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. You had his phone number, WHY DID YOU NOT CALL HIM?
Now, fast forward, 10 years later and Lily is running a treasure hunt retreat for tourists out in the desert. Unbeknownst to Leo and his New York buddies, they’ve just planned a trip with Leo’s old flame. (Mind you, this story takes place over a single week out in the desert). Someone steals Lily’s dad’s journal (which has treasure maps in it from where Butch Cassidy might have buried his stolen bank treasure) and all chaos breaks loose. There is mutiny, hostages being held, gun fights, and oh yeah one of Leo’s friends FALLS TO HIS DEATH IN THE DESERT and literally no one cares. They’re all like “eh, we never liked that guy any way, whatever.” There is some talk of possible lawsuits, (possible prison time for possibly murdering someone!!) but all of that is pushed aside because oh my look at what Leo’s skin looks like in the firelight.
I know in romance books you are supposed to suspend your belief, I know it’s escapism. (I promise I’m not that much of a stick in the mud). But this book just went more and more off the rails as we kept going and as it turned into more John Wayne/60s Wild West movie-esque, it became more and more unbelievable. It was like reading some knock off version of National Treasure or The Goonies, with a little dash of cowboys and horses.
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Misogyny, and Violence
mdsprings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Cursing