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Something Wilder
Something Wilder
Something Wilder
Ebook348 pages5 hours

Something Wilder

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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The “reigning romance queens” (PopSugar) and New York Times bestselling authors of The Soulmate Equation and The Unhoneymooners present a charming and laugh-out-loud funny novel filled with adventure, treasure, and, of course, love.

Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession…or much money in the bank. But Lily is resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness and leave him there.

Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the treasure hunt of a lifetime.

This page-turning adventure full of second chances, complicated relationships, and the breathtaking beauty of the American Southwest will take you on one wild ride.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGallery Books
Release dateMay 17, 2022
ISBN9781982173425
Author

Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, and The True Love Experiment. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.

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Reviews for Something Wilder

Rating: 3.8506944583333333 out of 5 stars
4/5

144 ratings8 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was a fun read. I liked the adventures and relationships.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    As I am a fan of Christina Lauren writing duo,I was disappointed in this book. I did not think it was possible for them to write a novel which I did not enjoy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    2022 pandemic read. Maybe my least favorite of this team's works, but had fun moments, and tidbits about Butch Cassidy and some beautiful country. Good reading for staying inside in a heat wave.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I generally like Christina Lauren's books, and they seem like cool people I want to hang with. The way they write women friends makes me think they are like my women friends, whom I value (to paraphrase the Proverbs and use it entirely out of context) beyond rubies. They stretched themselves with this one, really moved away from their typical fare, and I commend them for that. I totally get why they wanted to write a swashbuckling romance. In the end though, it did not move me. I like second chance romances, but I did not feel the chemistry between Lily and Leo, though I liked both characters. An additional issue, when you put people out into the wilderness with no showers or clothes to change into for this reader certain sexual activity becomes off-putting. I like the soapy smell of a clean body, what can I say? As for the caper part, it simply was not compelling for me. Our group is looking for hidden treasure in the Utah dessert and this is very grueling off-grid stuff. Sadly, I could not have cared less about the outcome (well the outcome was not in question, this is a romance, but I did not care about how they got there.) The ending was too pat and the ultimate villain was very Scooby Doo level. Those darn kids! This one was a bust for me, but I am sure i will read the next Christina Lauren, and I am guessing I will like it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Leo Grady and Lily Wilder thought they had something special between them until a series of events tore them apart ten years ago. Leo has been living in the city and Lily has tried to make ends meet running a hiking business in Utah based on fake treasure hunts, but when Leo's friend Bradley schedules this year's summer trip in Utah, Leo and Lily are blindsided as they are thrown back together. What starts out as a trip down memory lane, turns into a nightmare as one of Leo's group decides that Lily's famous father may have found a real treasure, and now they are on a hunt for their lives.Something Wilder has an amazing premise with a hint of interesting characters, however, it falls short of its promise, leaving just a feeling of dissatisfaction. None of the characters are well developed and feel very one dimensional. The pacing of the story is way off with suspects, codes, and clues as well as the romance injected into the story at awkward moments. Also, what is advertised as a fun romantic adventure is actually a heavy romantic suspense without humor that is filled with betrayal and death. By the time I got to the end of the story, I was beyond caring about whether they found the treasure or not. Overall, Something Wilder is such a disappointment because the idea for the book is right up my alley, but the execution makes it difficult to enjoy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really fun for anyone who loves contemporary romances but wish they had a bit more City Slickers and horses in them and loved Goonies growing up.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Something Wilder by Christina LaurenMy rating: 5 of 5 starsWhat a delight this book was. I loved that it was not the run of the mill romance. It had grit and adventure and a story that was a bit sexy. I loved that there was more to this story than met the eye. A super fun book any reader will wish they could hop right into and experience it for themselves!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Leo and Lily had known and fallen in love 10 years earlier when Leo worked on the ranch Lily's dad owned. Leo had to leave suddenly when his mother was in an accident and never returned, until now, when he and his friends take their annual fantasy trip to Lily's Wilder Ranch where she runs outdoor trips with her friend Nicole. However, a few of the participants on the trip have another motive in mind. There is a rumor that Lily's dad had found and hidden Butch Cassidy's treasure and they are determined to find it. Working together, Leo and Lily need to untangle the riddles her dad left her to find the treasure - both in love and in the world. I like puzzles, so I liked that aspect. I also liked the letter from her dad, great advice.

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Something Wilder - Christina Lauren

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