I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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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 nothing if not 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 adventure of a lifetime.

When I saw the cover of ‘Something Wilder’ a little  while ago, I was immediately interested in finding out more about this read. I read two books in the Beautiful Bastard series a few years back, so I knew this was an author I’d like to read more books from. So when I got the opportunity I requested a copy of ‘Something Wilder’, and was super excited when it arrived on my kindle shortly after.

In ‘Something Wilder’ we meet Lily and Leo. Years ago they fell madly in love after only knowing each other a short while. Lily was about to take over her dad’s ranch, and Leo decided to stay with her. Even though his life was previously in New York. Everything seemed perfect between them. But then one night, Leo receives a phone call and leaves Lily suddenly behind. Lily never heard from Leo again, and now ten years later, life couldn’t have been more different.

Lily never got to own the ranch. And now she is hosting fake treasure hunts with her best friend to make sure she is able to pay her bills. After ten years she didn’t expect to meet Leo again when he is one of the tourists she is supposed to guide. She is definitely troubled by seeing him again after all these years. But she will never let him know, how much he hurt her.

I definitely loved the idea of ‘Something Wilder’. Even now when I’m writing this review, I still love the sound of this book. But unfortunately it just didn’t really work for me and I found myself struggling to keep on reading.

The supposed romance between Lily and Leo, was something I just didn’t really feel. They where supposedly madly in love once, but I just couldn’t really feel their chemistry. And when life pushed them apart, I had trouble believing the fact that they just let each other go. Now they meet again, and I would have loved to have felt more excitement and passion. But they where just.. It just didn’t work for me.

What I definitely enjoyed was the suspense part in this book. Sure, it felt a bit sudden, but I enjoyed the change and I found myself interested in learning more about what happened.

Overall, this read just wasn’t really for me.

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About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced seventeen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

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Maureen Bakker

Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always!  Facebook | Instagram