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.
Title : Something Wilder
Author : Christina Lauren
Format : Physical
Page Count : 366
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Piatkus Books
Release Date : May 17, 2022
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★.5
Micky’s 3.5 star review
Headlines:
Romancing the stone vibe
Second chances in the desert
Riddles and challenges
This book was so utterly different to any Christina Lauren book I’ve read and I’ve read almost all of them and yet it had similarities in style. The author notes at the end explain these differences well. If you are aware of the 1980s/1990s films in the Romancing the Stone series or even Raiders of the Lost Ark, this book captures some of that kind of feel. There were some twists, unexpected happenings, chases, near-death experiences and of course romance. It made for an utterly fun read.
At the heart of this story was a bitter split between young lovers 10 years ago and their meeting again in the now. Lily and Leo were an interesting pair but I could totally see why they had originally fit together and also why they separated. I did cheer for them.
The side characters in this story were crucial, they were on a trail through the desert, guided by Lily (for fun…) but there was some nastiness plotting in the background. I did not expect a lot of where this story went. The romance was there but on the backburner and I guess I didn’t get the feels quite as much for this particular story, but I did enjoy the read overall.
Thank you to Piatkus books for the finished copy for review.
A Take from Two Cities 