Book Review: Something Wild and Wonderful
I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Anita Kelly
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: March 7, 2023
Format: Paperback
★★★★★
This book is perfect for those that like: Hiking, Bird Watching, Serenades, Slow Burn Love Stories
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Stories dealing with Family Estrangement, Homophobic Language, and/or Religious Trauma
The Book
Alexei Lebedev's journey on the Pacific Crest Trail begins with a single snake. And it is angling for the hot stranger who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Lex is prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he isn't prepared for is Ben Caravalho. But somehow--on a 2,500-mile trail--Alexei keeps running into the outgoing and charismatic hiker with golden-brown eyes, again and again. It might be coincidence. Then again, maybe there's a reason the trail keeps bringing them together . . .
Ben has made his fair share of bad decisions, and almost all of them involved beautiful men. And yet there's something about the gorgeous and quietly nerdy Alexei that Ben can't just walk away from. Surely a bad decision can't be this cute and smart. And there are worse things than falling in love during the biggest adventure of your life. But when their plans for the future are turned upside down, Ben and Alexei begin to wonder if it's possible to hold on to something this wild and wonderful.
my thoughts
The thing is, I knew this book was going to be for me the moment that I saw it was set on the PCT, as being a thru-hiker has been one of my life goals for a very long time, but I wasn’t expecting for it to basically imprint on my heart. These two GO THROUGH IT. Their laughter, pain, love, and journey to understanding not just each other but themselves was beautiful. I wanted to crawl inside these pages and just breathe them in, Alexei especially. There were moments from his POV where I could barely read any words because my eyes were full of tears. It’s so hard to convey how hard it is for some people to be around others. How sometimes too much is TOO MUCH. How there are times when you are trapped in your own brain and are DESPERATE to tell someone something but then you open your mouth and it just doesn’t come out right. How you learn to just not say anything at all so you can save yourself all of the trouble and embarrassment. How you want to grab people and get them to understand that those who say the least are usually feeling the most. And then all of a sudden, there’s a character in a book who does the same things you do and you feel seen and it’s EVERYTHING. I love Alexei so very, very much. His character was everything to me.
So, if you’re ready to fall in love with the PCT and hiking and Wonderwall and birds and unsent letters and protein bars and two lost souls finding one another, then please, please read this book.
more about the Author
Originally from a small town in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Anita Kelly now lives in the Pacific Northwest with their family. A teen librarian by day, they write romance that celebrates queer love in all its infinite possibilities. Whenever not reading or writing, they’re drinking too much tea, taking pictures, and dreaming of their next walk in the woods. They hope you get to pet a dog today.