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Love & Other Disasters #2
Something Wild & Wonderful
From the author of Love & Other Disasters comes a sparkling grumpy-meets-sunshine romance featuring two men's sweeping journey across the Western wilderness.
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.
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.
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2023
About the author
Anita Kelly
10 books1,265 followersHi there! I'm a lover of romance of all stripes, and a writer of queer contemporary HEAs, including a forthcoming three-book series published by Forever. I live in the Pacific Northwest with my wife, our kiddo, a cat who loves me a little too much sometimes, and a three-legged dog who's a real dummy with a heart of gold. I love tea and frequently eat too much ice cream and hate myself a little afterwards.
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July 14, 2022Hello, this is my second full-length novel! It deals with processing trauma by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail—Wild, But Make It Gay—and falling in love along the way. I am very very proud of it and very very nervous about it going out into the world. It’s a quiet, tender story (while also including rattlesnakes and coyotes and dinosaurs), and I hope it resonates with some of y’all (but it’s okay if it doesn’t).
January 3, 2024
A million stars for this pure and gorgeous love story!
‘A new queer voice conquering the world’ is what I called Anita Kelly when I read their first full novel Love & Other Disasters. But oh boy, they’re far more than that. They’re definitely one of the best romance authors in the world right now.
I fell in love with Alexei and Ben the moment I met them. And I fell hard. They squeezed their way into my body and aimed straight at my heart. It’s so difficult to describe what this story did to me. I sat in the garden under our cherry tree and listened to the birds and looked at the plants and the sky, and imagined I was there on that trail and watched those two men falling for each other. The fuzzy feeling I got in my chest when Alexei and Ben met. The smile tugging at my lips when Alexei was listening to birds and Ben was watching him. The ache settling in my belly when Alexei talked about his parents. The tears running down my cheeks when I read those letters. And still so many moments lifting the corners of my mouth up into a huge smile.
I loved the insta love turned into slow burn, I adored the descriptive writing, and I was in awe of the conversations Alexei and Ben had even while having sex. This is how a romance should be written, authors out there! And readers, this is the perfect romance to read. It’s got Charm Offensive vibes while it’s far more quiet than Charm. One of the best romances I read this year, maybe even the best! And that beautiful cover fits the story so well!
I received an ARC from Forever Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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‘A new queer voice conquering the world’ is what I called Anita Kelly when I read their first full novel Love & Other Disasters. But oh boy, they’re far more than that. They’re definitely one of the best romance authors in the world right now.
I fell in love with Alexei and Ben the moment I met them. And I fell hard. They squeezed their way into my body and aimed straight at my heart. It’s so difficult to describe what this story did to me. I sat in the garden under our cherry tree and listened to the birds and looked at the plants and the sky, and imagined I was there on that trail and watched those two men falling for each other. The fuzzy feeling I got in my chest when Alexei and Ben met. The smile tugging at my lips when Alexei was listening to birds and Ben was watching him. The ache settling in my belly when Alexei talked about his parents. The tears running down my cheeks when I read those letters. And still so many moments lifting the corners of my mouth up into a huge smile.
I loved the insta love turned into slow burn, I adored the descriptive writing, and I was in awe of the conversations Alexei and Ben had even while having sex. This is how a romance should be written, authors out there! And readers, this is the perfect romance to read. It’s got Charm Offensive vibes while it’s far more quiet than Charm. One of the best romances I read this year, maybe even the best! And that beautiful cover fits the story so well!
I received an ARC from Forever Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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February 13, 2024
reread 02/2024
Still love it. Alexei is one of a kind. Ben is lovely, too, but Alexei stole my heart. I loved everything about this story, my last review said it all.
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read 03/2023
5 stars.
I needed this story.
From the first pages on it felt special. It's going directly on my all times favorites list.
It has so much heart... I loved all of the characters, every single one was awesome, main characters and side characters, too.
Alexei and Ben's journey was beautiful. Their character development, their doubts and struggles, the feelings... the author wrote something special and precious.
The storyline was fantastic... the letters unbelievably sweet, honest, but hart to read at the same time.
I loved everything about this book!
Still love it. Alexei is one of a kind. Ben is lovely, too, but Alexei stole my heart. I loved everything about this story, my last review said it all.
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read 03/2023
5 stars.
I needed this story.
From the first pages on it felt special. It's going directly on my all times favorites list.
It has so much heart... I loved all of the characters, every single one was awesome, main characters and side characters, too.
Alexei and Ben's journey was beautiful. Their character development, their doubts and struggles, the feelings... the author wrote something special and precious.
The storyline was fantastic... the letters unbelievably sweet, honest, but hart to read at the same time.
I loved everything about this book!
September 18, 2022
I LOVED this. What a beautiful, emotional journey.
May 4, 2024
Two men take an ill-advised walk and whoops fall in love. There is stress-induced narcolepsy. There are birds. There are supportive friends and family. This book could have been 1,000 pages and I would have been thrilled. I don’t know. It’s just 350 pages of two dudes being really, really kind to each other and not especially kind to themselves, sort of. Religious trauma? Check. Emotionally abusive relationship trauma? Check. Puzzle-and-showtunes trauma? Check. I cried, you cried, Alexei definitely cried, we all cried. Also there’s a dog. And margaritas.
April 4, 2023
Yup I understand why I’ve literally never heard a bad word about this book but you will catch me running the absolute fuck away if anyone asks me to go on a hike through the desert lmao I’m so happy they found hotels
July 10, 2023
TW//
Something Wild & Wonderful follows a passionate romance that sparks between two men as they are walking the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s filled with cute romantic moments, deep discussions of family estrangement, and lots of steamy scenes.
I really enjoyed my time with Something Wild & Wonderful. I loved Ben and Alexei as a couple. Ben was so patient and understanding with Alexei. It was really sweet to see. Alexei was a little more quiet on their adventures, but seeing him opening up about his family was really rewarding and I loved how he was there for Ben whenever Ben got scared. I also really connected with Alexei. I’m a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I’m religious. The way that Alexei’s sexuality intersected with his religion was extremely relatable for me. This was the first book that has ever made me feel like it’s okay for me to both be queer and religious.
The pacing in this story was wonderful. It flowed really smoothly and each chapter left me eager to find out where the story would venture next.
The ending of this book was one of my favorite romance novel endings of all time. The characters were able to resolve their problems smoothly and the actions that they took to show each other that they truly love each other were amazing.
I only had one issue with this book. There is a section of this book that contains letters written by Alexei and Ben. I wasn’t a huge fan of that section. The shift from normal prose to the letters was a little jarring. Most of the letters didn’t even hold my attention. Only the two letters to Alexei’s parents felt really meaningful and impactful to me personally.
Overall I really liked this book despite my issue with the letters section. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique queer romance that involves lots of nature.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Something Wild & Wonderful follows a passionate romance that sparks between two men as they are walking the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s filled with cute romantic moments, deep discussions of family estrangement, and lots of steamy scenes.
I really enjoyed my time with Something Wild & Wonderful. I loved Ben and Alexei as a couple. Ben was so patient and understanding with Alexei. It was really sweet to see. Alexei was a little more quiet on their adventures, but seeing him opening up about his family was really rewarding and I loved how he was there for Ben whenever Ben got scared. I also really connected with Alexei. I’m a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I’m religious. The way that Alexei’s sexuality intersected with his religion was extremely relatable for me. This was the first book that has ever made me feel like it’s okay for me to both be queer and religious.
The pacing in this story was wonderful. It flowed really smoothly and each chapter left me eager to find out where the story would venture next.
The ending of this book was one of my favorite romance novel endings of all time. The characters were able to resolve their problems smoothly and the actions that they took to show each other that they truly love each other were amazing.
I only had one issue with this book. There is a section of this book that contains letters written by Alexei and Ben. I wasn’t a huge fan of that section. The shift from normal prose to the letters was a little jarring. Most of the letters didn’t even hold my attention. Only the two letters to Alexei’s parents felt really meaningful and impactful to me personally.
Overall I really liked this book despite my issue with the letters section. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique queer romance that involves lots of nature.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 12, 2023
This book shocked me in such a good way. From the moment we met Alexei and Ben on page, I was obsessed with them and so in love with their characters. I just wanted to wrap them up in hugs and protect them from the world. Ben and Alexei meet hiking the PCT for different reasons and slowly open up to each other as they start hiking together. Alexei recently came out to his extremely religious family and was completely cut off from them. Ben has had a string of relationships that really hurt him. They both need to find themselves and find each other on the trail instead. Their relationship is so cute and tender but also full of so much hurt from their pasts that they're trying to confront and overcome. Which takes so much out of them while they physically pushing themselves to the limit on the PCT. The setting of this book was so cathartic and perfect. I loved all of the people they met along their hike and the physical and mental journey they both went on. They were both hurting so much and I just wanted them to be okay and be happy with each other. I was so emotionally invested in them that I definitely shed a few tears near the end when they were at their lowest points of the book. But the ending was so incredibly sweet and I honestly wouldn't change a thing about this book. I devoured their story in one day and immediately started missing them when I closed the book. Please pick this up if you haven't yet because you're missing out on such a special story!!
May 16, 2023
ETA: Re-read in May, 2023 and wrote a blog post, which can be found here.
Original review:
I actually finished reading this book a while ago, but I've been holding off on writing a review because I was living in that kind of book-haze where you just have FEELINGS that seem far too important for things like "words" that "other people" can read. However, this is a really wonderful piece of writing - both quiet and surprisingly angsty- that I hope lots of other people will pick up as well, so here goes.
The main characters of Something Wild and Wonderful, Ben and Alexei, meet as they are thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which is a really important element of the book. I would describe my feelings towards nature as "appreciative in theory, skeptical in practice," so I did not expect the setting to be one of my favorite parts of the book, but it absolutely was. To the point where I set the book down at about the 15% mark, thought to myself "I simply cannot finish this inside the four walls of my city apartment" and... booked a trip into Nature? There's something about the way Anita Kelly writes this setting that's just enormously inviting. The book doesn't beat readers over the head with a demand to think nature is great or poetic or awe-inspiring. There's just a quiet, persistent heartbeat of love for the expansiveness the outdoors that sneaks up on you without realizing it. Claiming the setting as a "character" in a book feels almost over-used to me at times, but it finds its truest and best expression here.
The character-characters are pretty great themselves, though. This felt, fundamentally, like Alexei's book: he's on the trail to try to figure out his place in the world after a traumatic estrangement from his family. This plotline was treated, I thought, with exquisite care, despite its heavy emotional nature. While the book is very candid about Alexei's sadness and confusion - over his own situation of estrangement, but also more broadly over the ways in which the world hasn't been welcoming or accommodating to him - he never wavers in his knowledge of who he is. Nor does the book ever suggest he should. There's an extent to which his story is about loving yourself when the world doesn't seem to love you - and while Alexei's love interest Ben provides some of that support, a lot of it is internal, and it's really well-done.
I won't give too much away, but I do have to talk somewhere about how this book has maybe one of my top-three low moments of all time. I'm putting it under a spoiler tag, because everyone should get to have the delicious experience of being simultaneously ambushed by "jesus fucking christ my feelings" and "oh my god this is masterful writing" the way I did. I know it's not for everyone, but if you like to wallow a bit on the way to the safety of your HEA, this is the book for you.
Anyway, maybe I'll write more eventually, but for the moment, I'm clutching this book to my heart, a bit protective of my feelings. What a lovey, caring, accomplished piece of writing it is.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I am mutuals and friendly with the author on Twitter
Original review:
I actually finished reading this book a while ago, but I've been holding off on writing a review because I was living in that kind of book-haze where you just have FEELINGS that seem far too important for things like "words" that "other people" can read. However, this is a really wonderful piece of writing - both quiet and surprisingly angsty- that I hope lots of other people will pick up as well, so here goes.
The main characters of Something Wild and Wonderful, Ben and Alexei, meet as they are thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which is a really important element of the book. I would describe my feelings towards nature as "appreciative in theory, skeptical in practice," so I did not expect the setting to be one of my favorite parts of the book, but it absolutely was. To the point where I set the book down at about the 15% mark, thought to myself "I simply cannot finish this inside the four walls of my city apartment" and... booked a trip into Nature? There's something about the way Anita Kelly writes this setting that's just enormously inviting. The book doesn't beat readers over the head with a demand to think nature is great or poetic or awe-inspiring. There's just a quiet, persistent heartbeat of love for the expansiveness the outdoors that sneaks up on you without realizing it. Claiming the setting as a "character" in a book feels almost over-used to me at times, but it finds its truest and best expression here.
The character-characters are pretty great themselves, though. This felt, fundamentally, like Alexei's book: he's on the trail to try to figure out his place in the world after a traumatic estrangement from his family. This plotline was treated, I thought, with exquisite care, despite its heavy emotional nature. While the book is very candid about Alexei's sadness and confusion - over his own situation of estrangement, but also more broadly over the ways in which the world hasn't been welcoming or accommodating to him - he never wavers in his knowledge of who he is. Nor does the book ever suggest he should. There's an extent to which his story is about loving yourself when the world doesn't seem to love you - and while Alexei's love interest Ben provides some of that support, a lot of it is internal, and it's really well-done.
I won't give too much away, but I do have to talk somewhere about how this book has maybe one of my top-three low moments of all time. I'm putting it under a spoiler tag, because everyone should get to have the delicious experience of being simultaneously ambushed by "jesus fucking christ my feelings" and "oh my god this is masterful writing" the way I did. I know it's not for everyone, but if you like to wallow a bit on the way to the safety of your HEA, this is the book for you.
Anyway, maybe I'll write more eventually, but for the moment, I'm clutching this book to my heart, a bit protective of my feelings. What a lovey, caring, accomplished piece of writing it is.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I am mutuals and friendly with the author on Twitter
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November 9, 2023I was loving this but for now I'm stalled at 74%. [ETA: I'm calling it. Maybe I'll go back at some point, but for me this tanked as soon as Alexei and Ben went to Nashville, and I was already having doubts before then.]
The first wince came a while back when an Educational African American appeared: "Ryan had illuminating stories about being Black in the hiking community, stories that made Alexei reflect on his privilege, think more carefully about his own choices." I swear it causes me physical pain when a well-intentioned white writer wants to have a white character learn from a Black person but the Black person appears in the story only for the purpose of teaching the white person. It's like, Anita! I know you don't want to turn human beings into object lessons, and how did it happen that no one who beta read/edited/proofread this book picked up the problem here?
Then Alexei and Ben visited Ben's Perfect Loving Family and I went into a sugar coma, besides which I was getting secondhand overload from all the noise and people.
I'm going to finish this book -- I have heard a bajillion things about how touching the upcoming letters are -- but I need a break.
The first wince came a while back when an Educational African American appeared: "Ryan had illuminating stories about being Black in the hiking community, stories that made Alexei reflect on his privilege, think more carefully about his own choices." I swear it causes me physical pain when a well-intentioned white writer wants to have a white character learn from a Black person but the Black person appears in the story only for the purpose of teaching the white person. It's like, Anita! I know you don't want to turn human beings into object lessons, and how did it happen that no one who beta read/edited/proofread this book picked up the problem here?
Then Alexei and Ben visited Ben's Perfect Loving Family and I went into a sugar coma, besides which I was getting secondhand overload from all the noise and people.
I'm going to finish this book -- I have heard a bajillion things about how touching the upcoming letters are -- but I need a break.
April 28, 2023
This. Was. Perfection. I'm a complete and total mess. I'll write a coherent review eventually, but for now I need to get my emotions in check by listening to "Butterfly Net" by Caroline Polachek on repeat and sobbing into a bowl of cereal. Seriously, this was one of the best love stories I've ever read. Absolutely gorgeous.
July 3, 2023
I kept debating how to rate this book because it made me feel so many things ..Unfortunately they weren’t all positive and there will be ranting with heavy spoilers. The first 30% were a 5 stars read for me , at 60% it dropped at 4 stars and by 70% I was sure it was a 3 stars read. It went up a bit towards the end again because I was very satisfied with that particular ending.
First of all, the writing is excellent,very engaging ;the story flows and the pages fly. I loved Alexei from the first moment. I loved his uniqueness, his solitude and I hurt for him. I loved being in his head much more than in Ben’s. Ben was ok too , I guess but he wasn’t flashed out as well as Alexei, he was rather bland and cheesy. And what bothered me the most was that he was also a big fat liar the entire book. He kept his sexuality hidden,and I understand that you’re not obligated to out yourself when you don’t feel like it but I think keeping it a secret for almost 40% of the book was kind of an asshole move. A vulnerable gay guy , rejected by his family for being gay has the guts to come out to you , to trust you with it and you keep your mouth shut like a weasel and watch him struggle with the guilt for feeling attracted to a straight guy. Asshole move as I said . (No, I don’t care about his reasons). Not only that but he was also quite insensitive.He thrusted Alexei into his family , into his life and he was so ecstatic to be home that he didn’t even stop to ask him if he was ok. Also he hadn’t told him anything about his ex boyfriends , he just took Alexei to see his friends where he had to stay there and listen to said friends calling Ben a slut. Then you leave him alone to go wipe your sister’s tears because she was dumped. He was so weird like ..wtf? You were only gone 2 freaking months,dude , chill the fuck out ! I know you’re mama’s boy but come on, you’re 30, how about you cut that umbilical cord ,eh?
The total lack of communication was what ruined the book for me. Ben received that work offer and he didn’t say a word to Alexei and of course what made up his mind to not go back with Alexei wasn’t even his work nor Alexei , it was again the need to hold his sister’s hand while she went to college. 🙄 Carolina this and Carolina that.. Maybe the author didn’t get the memo but we really don’t give a fuck about Carolina! He sprung the news that he won’t go back with Alexei just like that , with barely an explanation. Wait, no, he did propose a pity date if Alexei was willing. I would have done exactly what Alexei did.
And after all that , when he finally decided to communicate he wrote letters that he didn’t even send. Everything that he should have talked with Alexei he said it in unsend letters. I know that Alexei had his fault too but he needed somebody to love him, to fight for him while Ben put his family, his sister, his plumber and the town’s priest before Alexei. And then he was shocked that Alexei left 🙄 This is where the book became a 3 stars. Also Ben’s friends were OTT and kind of rude .
The ending, the fact that Ben chose to cut the above-mentioned umbilical cord and came to live with Alexei was nice and right (I felt vindicated lol) . So, even though the end was good and satisfying I still can’t make myself to give more than 3 stars to this book. There were a lot of beautiful moments and it is quite a good book but despite the sweetness and the sappiness I found the romance to be …lacking. After the first wonderful 30% I expected mature characters , I expected that Alexei’s inexperience and his inability to communicate to be compensated by Ben’s experience, patience and love . Well, what I I got was a mamma’s boy who was even more incapable than Alexei.
First of all, the writing is excellent,very engaging ;the story flows and the pages fly. I loved Alexei from the first moment. I loved his uniqueness, his solitude and I hurt for him. I loved being in his head much more than in Ben’s. Ben was ok too , I guess but he wasn’t flashed out as well as Alexei, he was rather bland and cheesy. And what bothered me the most was that he was also a big fat liar the entire book. He kept his sexuality hidden,and I understand that you’re not obligated to out yourself when you don’t feel like it but I think keeping it a secret for almost 40% of the book was kind of an asshole move. A vulnerable gay guy , rejected by his family for being gay has the guts to come out to you , to trust you with it and you keep your mouth shut like a weasel and watch him struggle with the guilt for feeling attracted to a straight guy. Asshole move as I said . (No, I don’t care about his reasons). Not only that but he was also quite insensitive.He thrusted Alexei into his family , into his life and he was so ecstatic to be home that he didn’t even stop to ask him if he was ok. Also he hadn’t told him anything about his ex boyfriends , he just took Alexei to see his friends where he had to stay there and listen to said friends calling Ben a slut. Then you leave him alone to go wipe your sister’s tears because she was dumped. He was so weird like ..wtf? You were only gone 2 freaking months,dude , chill the fuck out ! I know you’re mama’s boy but come on, you’re 30, how about you cut that umbilical cord ,eh?
The total lack of communication was what ruined the book for me. Ben received that work offer and he didn’t say a word to Alexei and of course what made up his mind to not go back with Alexei wasn’t even his work nor Alexei , it was again the need to hold his sister’s hand while she went to college. 🙄 Carolina this and Carolina that.. Maybe the author didn’t get the memo but we really don’t give a fuck about Carolina! He sprung the news that he won’t go back with Alexei just like that , with barely an explanation. Wait, no, he did propose a pity date if Alexei was willing. I would have done exactly what Alexei did.
And after all that , when he finally decided to communicate he wrote letters that he didn’t even send. Everything that he should have talked with Alexei he said it in unsend letters. I know that Alexei had his fault too but he needed somebody to love him, to fight for him while Ben put his family, his sister, his plumber and the town’s priest before Alexei. And then he was shocked that Alexei left 🙄 This is where the book became a 3 stars. Also Ben’s friends were OTT and kind of rude .
The ending, the fact that Ben chose to cut the above-mentioned umbilical cord and came to live with Alexei was nice and right (I felt vindicated lol) . So, even though the end was good and satisfying I still can’t make myself to give more than 3 stars to this book. There were a lot of beautiful moments and it is quite a good book but despite the sweetness and the sappiness I found the romance to be …lacking. After the first wonderful 30% I expected mature characters , I expected that Alexei’s inexperience and his inability to communicate to be compensated by Ben’s experience, patience and love . Well, what I I got was a mamma’s boy who was even more incapable than Alexei.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2023
I'm so in love with this book I could cry!!
Something Wild & Wonderful is such a beautiful book! Following Ben and Alexei on their journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail made me fall so fiercely back in love with reading 🧡
I had high expectations going in because so many of my friends love this book and I wasn't sure it could live up to that but it absolutely did!
Something Wild & Wonderful is filled with things that should be contradictions but instead work to create a beautiful exploration of the human experience 🧡
It's emotional, but also full of hope and joy. It's wide open spaces, and two men sharing a tiny tent. It's slowing down and breathing in deep, and it's a new adventure. It's healing and trying to understand yourself better while also grappling with self worth and acceptance. It's solitude and it's finding deep human connection in unexpected places. It's letting go and it's forming lifelong memories. It's love, and loss, and family, and religion, and choices.
It's truly such a gorgeous book, and I think reading it differently to how I usually read helped me take it all in. It took me two months to finish reading it, not because I wasn't enjoying it but I didn't feel in any kind of rush. I kept coming back to it between other reads and it felt comfortable and good, like seeing an old friend you've missed.
An instant favourite!
Something Wild & Wonderful is such a beautiful book! Following Ben and Alexei on their journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail made me fall so fiercely back in love with reading 🧡
I had high expectations going in because so many of my friends love this book and I wasn't sure it could live up to that but it absolutely did!
Something Wild & Wonderful is filled with things that should be contradictions but instead work to create a beautiful exploration of the human experience 🧡
It's emotional, but also full of hope and joy. It's wide open spaces, and two men sharing a tiny tent. It's slowing down and breathing in deep, and it's a new adventure. It's healing and trying to understand yourself better while also grappling with self worth and acceptance. It's solitude and it's finding deep human connection in unexpected places. It's letting go and it's forming lifelong memories. It's love, and loss, and family, and religion, and choices.
It's truly such a gorgeous book, and I think reading it differently to how I usually read helped me take it all in. It took me two months to finish reading it, not because I wasn't enjoying it but I didn't feel in any kind of rush. I kept coming back to it between other reads and it felt comfortable and good, like seeing an old friend you've missed.
An instant favourite!
June 22, 2023
A wonderfully written love story. I fell in love with Ben and Alexei. Both characters seem so real and authentic. Deserves all the stars. Go and read it! ❤️🥰
April 6, 2023
I’m about to make this book my personality. This means I’m incapable of writing a thoughtful, coherent review. It’s too tender and close to my heart. At the same time, the amount of love I have for Alexei and Ben means I want to at least mention why this hit home so hard.
In no particular order, I loved: the setting (hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and then time in my beloved Nashville!), the angst (so many feeeeelings!!!! it made me cry so much, the best), the letters (incredibly moving to see both what was written, as well as which letters weren’t sent), and the exploration of faith (Alexei making sense of what he believes after coming out and losing his faith community and parents.) Also: massive points for letting Alexei stay estranged from his parents. Some fences are not meant to be mended.
Anita Kelly keeps getting better and better. I’m so grateful for their work.
Characters: Alexei is a 29 year old autistic gay white Russian American data analyst and birder. Ben is a 29 year old gay Portuguese American nurse. He has a Rottweiler named Delilah. This is set on the Pacific Crest Trail and in Nashville.
Content notes: homophobia and homophobic slur (countered), family rejection and religious homophobia (Alexei came out 6 months ago), social anxiety, autism diagnosis (epilogue), laceration (secondary character), snake, past emotional abuse (Ben’s ex), past death of aunt (Alzheimer’s), HIPAA violations (Ben includes patient’s names and details in letters to Alexei but he ultimately does not send them), on page sex, alcohol, inebriation, underage drinking (teen secondary character), shrooms (reference), gendered pejorative, ableist language, mention of patient who died, mention of fatphobia (secondary character), mention of racism (secondary character)
Disclosure: I’m friendly with the author.
In no particular order, I loved: the setting (hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and then time in my beloved Nashville!), the angst (so many feeeeelings!!!! it made me cry so much, the best), the letters (incredibly moving to see both what was written, as well as which letters weren’t sent), and the exploration of faith (Alexei making sense of what he believes after coming out and losing his faith community and parents.) Also: massive points for letting Alexei stay estranged from his parents. Some fences are not meant to be mended.
Anita Kelly keeps getting better and better. I’m so grateful for their work.
Characters: Alexei is a 29 year old autistic gay white Russian American data analyst and birder. Ben is a 29 year old gay Portuguese American nurse. He has a Rottweiler named Delilah. This is set on the Pacific Crest Trail and in Nashville.
Content notes: homophobia and homophobic slur (countered), family rejection and religious homophobia (Alexei came out 6 months ago), social anxiety, autism diagnosis (epilogue), laceration (secondary character), snake, past emotional abuse (Ben’s ex), past death of aunt (Alzheimer’s), HIPAA violations (Ben includes patient’s names and details in letters to Alexei but he ultimately does not send them), on page sex, alcohol, inebriation, underage drinking (teen secondary character), shrooms (reference), gendered pejorative, ableist language, mention of patient who died, mention of fatphobia (secondary character), mention of racism (secondary character)
Disclosure: I’m friendly with the author.
April 13, 2023
4.5 stars, may change to 5 because I already want to reread. Written deftly and with so much tender love and care, Something Wild & Wonderful is an ambling, emotional journey of a romance that I loved every second of.
December 4, 2023
A moving meditation on grief, healing, listening, looking, connection, and love. This book is infused with so much kindness, compassion, vulnerability, and patience. It feels like a gift.
I loved Alexei and Ben's journey. And even when things got rocky, I trusted that Anita Kelly was taking care of them and us. There was no unnecessary conflict or drama, just two grown men trying their best. Not always succeeding; but not giving up, either.
"Oh no. Oh , my dumb little heart is melting. Please, continue." Has a better encapsulation of the romance reader's mentality ever been written?
Even though this is (understandably) focused on Alexei and Ben, all the supporting characters were excellent. I especially loved Ruby, Julie, Alina, and Leslie. Just so many cool people to spend time with.
This ended in a very believable, earned HEA, but one that is also a work-in-progress. It felt fitting to the characters that being in love doesn't mean being done: that they continue to grow and change, separately and together, although crucially in-step and united. That they left the PCT but are still traveling the same path, together.
This is just the nurturing, giving read I needed right now, and one I know I will go back to. Five shining stars.
I loved Alexei and Ben's journey. And even when things got rocky, I trusted that Anita Kelly was taking care of them and us. There was no unnecessary conflict or drama, just two grown men trying their best. Not always succeeding; but not giving up, either.
"Oh no. Oh , my dumb little heart is melting. Please, continue." Has a better encapsulation of the romance reader's mentality ever been written?
Even though this is (understandably) focused on Alexei and Ben, all the supporting characters were excellent. I especially loved Ruby, Julie, Alina, and Leslie. Just so many cool people to spend time with.
This ended in a very believable, earned HEA, but one that is also a work-in-progress. It felt fitting to the characters that being in love doesn't mean being done: that they continue to grow and change, separately and together, although crucially in-step and united. That they left the PCT but are still traveling the same path, together.
This is just the nurturing, giving read I needed right now, and one I know I will go back to. Five shining stars.
May 16, 2023
A moving meditation on grief, healing, listening, looking, connection, and love. This book is infused with so much kindness, compassion, vulnerability, and patience. It feels like a gift.
I loved Alexei and Ben's journey. And even when things got rocky, I trusted that Anita Kelly was taking care of them and us. There was no unnecessary conflict and drama, just two grown men trying their best. Not always succeeding; but not giving up, either.
"Oh no. Oh, my dumb little heart is melting. Please, continue." Has a better encapsulation of the romance reader's mentality ever been written?
Even though this is (understandably) focused on Alexei and Ben, all the supporting characters were excellent. I especially loved Ruby, Julie, Alina, and Leslie. Just so many cool people to spend time with.
This ended in a very believable, earned HEA, but one that is also a work-in-progress. It felt fitting to the characters that being in love doesn't mean being done: that they continue to grow and change, separately and together, although crucially in-step and united. That they left the PCT but are still traveling the same path, together.
This is just the nurturing, giving read I needed right now, and one I know I will go back to. Five shining stars.
ETA: The brilliant Charlotte has written a wonderful post about the epistolary element of SW&W that I highly recommend. NB: mild spoilers!
I loved Alexei and Ben's journey. And even when things got rocky, I trusted that Anita Kelly was taking care of them and us. There was no unnecessary conflict and drama, just two grown men trying their best. Not always succeeding; but not giving up, either.
"Oh no. Oh, my dumb little heart is melting. Please, continue." Has a better encapsulation of the romance reader's mentality ever been written?
Even though this is (understandably) focused on Alexei and Ben, all the supporting characters were excellent. I especially loved Ruby, Julie, Alina, and Leslie. Just so many cool people to spend time with.
This ended in a very believable, earned HEA, but one that is also a work-in-progress. It felt fitting to the characters that being in love doesn't mean being done: that they continue to grow and change, separately and together, although crucially in-step and united. That they left the PCT but are still traveling the same path, together.
This is just the nurturing, giving read I needed right now, and one I know I will go back to. Five shining stars.
ETA: The brilliant Charlotte has written a wonderful post about the epistolary element of SW&W that I highly recommend. NB: mild spoilers!
June 19, 2023
4.5 stars
LOVED what the author did with the last part of the book even though I was crying. RTC
LOVED what the author did with the last part of the book even though I was crying. RTC
March 12, 2023
If I could somehow give this more than five stars, I would without a single ounce of hesitation. I went into this with no expectations, just expecting a cute story set in the good old wilderness but what I actually received was something far more magical than just that. The imagery alone is beautiful and I’ve personally never spent much time on the west coast but I could see it all as if it was right there in front of me. The vividness of the desert, the trees, the birds — it was like a painting being displayed.
Ben and Alexei are two very different people with different paths for their future but the connections feels seamless, soulmate like. They’re easily two of the most likable characters I’ve ever read. They thrive just as much apart, in their own povs, as they do together. I was endeared to them instantly and their love story had me shouting constantly with giddiness. There’s passion, anger, and a tenderness that pulls your heart in and doesn’t let go. I had to set my book down several times to just relish in how gorgeous it was. Watching them grow together and apart was so far beyond just a simple romance. They overcame miles, months, insecurities, and became new people by the end.
My own mother witnessed me crying while reading the last fourth of this book and said, “that’s how you know it’s good.” I connected to Alexei and Ben because they felt not only like people I would know but they felt like me. I’m the same age as Ben and have been through a very similar situation that it actually made my chest ache to read it all put down in words. While Alexei and I have struggled the same mentally. It was so genuine and I know there was care put into every word.
I truly can’t put into words how much I adore this story. There’s no singular way to describe it. I want to start it all over again. The way that Anita Kelly writes is a gift and it should be cherished and experienced by everyone.
Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ben and Alexei are two very different people with different paths for their future but the connections feels seamless, soulmate like. They’re easily two of the most likable characters I’ve ever read. They thrive just as much apart, in their own povs, as they do together. I was endeared to them instantly and their love story had me shouting constantly with giddiness. There’s passion, anger, and a tenderness that pulls your heart in and doesn’t let go. I had to set my book down several times to just relish in how gorgeous it was. Watching them grow together and apart was so far beyond just a simple romance. They overcame miles, months, insecurities, and became new people by the end.
My own mother witnessed me crying while reading the last fourth of this book and said, “that’s how you know it’s good.” I connected to Alexei and Ben because they felt not only like people I would know but they felt like me. I’m the same age as Ben and have been through a very similar situation that it actually made my chest ache to read it all put down in words. While Alexei and I have struggled the same mentally. It was so genuine and I know there was care put into every word.
I truly can’t put into words how much I adore this story. There’s no singular way to describe it. I want to start it all over again. The way that Anita Kelly writes is a gift and it should be cherished and experienced by everyone.
Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 14, 2023
This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/
I thought that this was really good! This is the first time I have read any of Anita Kelly’s work and I was impressed. Alexei and Ben were fantastic characters and I really enjoyed watching them open up to one another. They seemed perfect together even if they each had a few issues they needed to work through independently. I had a great time watching them find a future together.
Alexei and Ben were wonderful together. They meet on the Pacific Coast Trail and eventually decide to walk together. Alexei is a bit of a loner so this is a big deal for him to agree to walk with Ben. I liked watching these two get to know each other and I thought it was interesting that they were both at a crossroads in their lives. I felt that the descriptions of life on the Pacific Coast Trail were wonderful and almost made me want to pack up and take the journey myself (but then I remembered how much I like sleeping in beds and air-conditioning).
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mark Sanderlin did an excellent job with the narration. I liked the way that he was able to bring each of the characters to life and added just the right amount of emotion to his reading. I found his voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to the book for hours at a time. I am certain that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring two characters that were easy to root for. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
I thought that this was really good! This is the first time I have read any of Anita Kelly’s work and I was impressed. Alexei and Ben were fantastic characters and I really enjoyed watching them open up to one another. They seemed perfect together even if they each had a few issues they needed to work through independently. I had a great time watching them find a future together.
Alexei and Ben were wonderful together. They meet on the Pacific Coast Trail and eventually decide to walk together. Alexei is a bit of a loner so this is a big deal for him to agree to walk with Ben. I liked watching these two get to know each other and I thought it was interesting that they were both at a crossroads in their lives. I felt that the descriptions of life on the Pacific Coast Trail were wonderful and almost made me want to pack up and take the journey myself (but then I remembered how much I like sleeping in beds and air-conditioning).
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mark Sanderlin did an excellent job with the narration. I liked the way that he was able to bring each of the characters to life and added just the right amount of emotion to his reading. I found his voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to the book for hours at a time. I am certain that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful romance featuring two characters that were easy to root for. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
May 20, 2023
EDIT: 3.50 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (finally decided 😆)
********
I’m so conflicted about what to rate this. On the one hand it’s a quietly beautiful story about love and self acceptance, but on the other hand it was slow with a capital S.
I had actually started this a month ago, paused at 25%, and then picked it back up a few days ago. This is not a book full of shocking moments or huge turns keeping you on edge. It’s a very quiet, tepid romance. If you’re looking for a steamy book well…keep looking because you won’t find that here either 😆 (think fade to black, outsiders perspective). These are not negatives by the way, just facts to showcase this story is more character than plot driven. What you will find here is a slow buildup of love and affection, finding yourself, and immersion into all things Pacific Coast Trail.
Alexei and Ben are hikers who meet while on the PCT, and after a couple of run ins they decide to start hiking together. Both are on the trail as a gateway to the next phase of their lives, but those journeys are quite different. I loved Lex and Ben, and in some ways they felt fully fleshed out, but in others I felt like I didn’t know them the way I thought I should. In some ways the story felt perfectly paced, and in others it felt too rushed. Like I said at the beginning - conflicted.
I’ll come back to this review later, but if you enjoy quiet, low steam romances with lots of emotions then this will be a good pick for you.
********
I’m so conflicted about what to rate this. On the one hand it’s a quietly beautiful story about love and self acceptance, but on the other hand it was slow with a capital S.
I had actually started this a month ago, paused at 25%, and then picked it back up a few days ago. This is not a book full of shocking moments or huge turns keeping you on edge. It’s a very quiet, tepid romance. If you’re looking for a steamy book well…keep looking because you won’t find that here either 😆 (think fade to black, outsiders perspective). These are not negatives by the way, just facts to showcase this story is more character than plot driven. What you will find here is a slow buildup of love and affection, finding yourself, and immersion into all things Pacific Coast Trail.
Alexei and Ben are hikers who meet while on the PCT, and after a couple of run ins they decide to start hiking together. Both are on the trail as a gateway to the next phase of their lives, but those journeys are quite different. I loved Lex and Ben, and in some ways they felt fully fleshed out, but in others I felt like I didn’t know them the way I thought I should. In some ways the story felt perfectly paced, and in others it felt too rushed. Like I said at the beginning - conflicted.
I’ll come back to this review later, but if you enjoy quiet, low steam romances with lots of emotions then this will be a good pick for you.
March 26, 2023
I received an ARC and I’m leaving an honest review.
I admit I was a little taken back at the beginning because I wasn’t expecting the book to start with them meeting a few sentences into the first chapter but OH MY GOD... It was the perfect balance between hurt and comfort. I spent most of the book tearing up because they were just SO SWEET, and then I spent the entire last part bawling my eyes out because of the angst.
And Alexei was so relatable to me personally, which only made me cry harder.
I need a physical copy to highlight and annotate and re-read over and over again.
I admit I was a little taken back at the beginning because I wasn’t expecting the book to start with them meeting a few sentences into the first chapter but OH MY GOD... It was the perfect balance between hurt and comfort. I spent most of the book tearing up because they were just SO SWEET, and then I spent the entire last part bawling my eyes out because of the angst.
And Alexei was so relatable to me personally, which only made me cry harder.
I need a physical copy to highlight and annotate and re-read over and over again.
April 27, 2023
Two guys meet while hiking in the West Coast wilderness. Lots of folks hike the Pacific Crest Trail every year, and they each have their own personal reasons. Alexei Lebedev has already resigned himself to his journey being a mostly solitary affair, leaving room for the occasional meetings and small talk shared with his fellow travelers...but...that all changes when he meets Ben Caravalho, a handsome stranger with gloriously unruly hair and a dazzling personality. What could have been merely a passing encounter turns into more...much more. Alexei keeps running into Ben. This happens over and over until the two men decides to just hike together. Neither can deny the attraction between them, but of course...there are complications. Wouldn't be an M/M romance without those pesky complications. Alexei is still coming to grips not only with being gay, but from also being out. Ben's history is different. He has a vastly supportive family that accepts him totally. The longer they walk, the more Alexei finds himself willing to try on opening up and embracing the sides of himself he's been afraid to acknowledge. Simply try being honest about what he's feeling not just for Ben's sake but for his own as well. Ben is coming off of a string of bad relationship decisions, but even he can't deny the fact that Alexei has carved out a unique place in his heart. Kelly has written a beautiful, sweet, curative read about the new identities people create by giving themselves permission to heal from the pain of the past and what can be discovered about who and what they are while giving themselves permission to "Be". The older kids that I volunteer with called it a story you could spend hours getting lost in, and they were 100% right.
June 28, 2023
So so beautiful!
Full of warmth and incredibly comforting.
Literally sobbed for the last 50 pages.
A new favourite that gave me all the feels!!
Full of warmth and incredibly comforting.
Literally sobbed for the last 50 pages.
A new favourite that gave me all the feels!!
September 11, 2022
One thing about me is that you could not pay me to go on long hikes and become one with nature. I will take my hot showers and my fancy mattress, thank you. You really, genuinely, won't even be able to get me to go camping.
But luckily this book isn't about me, and this hiking trail is one of the most interesting settings I've read about. I truly felt like I was there from the very first sentence. But, like, without the pain and the bugs and the sleeping outside in a tent. That makes this book an excellent example of what I love about reading.
I've been a fan of Anita Kelly's since I read their first Moonlighters novella, but this is definitely my favourite book of theirs so far. It just made me feel SO invested, right from the start. It was very clear from the story how hiking this trail heightens your emotions so much, which was clear to see from Alexei and Ben's immediate bond.
As an autistic person, I especially related to Alexei. It's not mentioned in the book if he's neurodivergent, but it was briefly mentioned in the acknowledgments, and he just gave me many autistic vibes. I love how earnest he is and how genuine of a person.
But luckily this book isn't about me, and this hiking trail is one of the most interesting settings I've read about. I truly felt like I was there from the very first sentence. But, like, without the pain and the bugs and the sleeping outside in a tent. That makes this book an excellent example of what I love about reading.
I've been a fan of Anita Kelly's since I read their first Moonlighters novella, but this is definitely my favourite book of theirs so far. It just made me feel SO invested, right from the start. It was very clear from the story how hiking this trail heightens your emotions so much, which was clear to see from Alexei and Ben's immediate bond.
As an autistic person, I especially related to Alexei. It's not mentioned in the book if he's neurodivergent, but it was briefly mentioned in the acknowledgments, and he just gave me many autistic vibes. I love how earnest he is and how genuine of a person.
May 1, 2023
I can’t even put into proper words how much I loved this book! So simple and yet so perfect!
So beautiful, human, adorable, Lovin, tender, sweet and amazingly hot!
There’s so much visual elements in this book, the landscape, the birds… I’m dumbstruck honestly!
Beautiful love story and so incredibly well written my heart is full of Lex’s gummy bears and Ben’s Raisin Nut Brans ❤️
Totally recommend this book to everyone who is a sucker for a sappy love stories but full of hurtful baggage and emotional growth!
Alexei and Ben are just another couple who will live rent free in my heart forever 🫶
So beautiful, human, adorable, Lovin, tender, sweet and amazingly hot!
There’s so much visual elements in this book, the landscape, the birds… I’m dumbstruck honestly!
Beautiful love story and so incredibly well written my heart is full of Lex’s gummy bears and Ben’s Raisin Nut Brans ❤️
Totally recommend this book to everyone who is a sucker for a sappy love stories but full of hurtful baggage and emotional growth!
Alexei and Ben are just another couple who will live rent free in my heart forever 🫶
February 22, 2023
This is the best love story I’ve read so far this year! After finishing this book, I had to do an emotional inventory - the ups, downs, tenderness, heartbreak, and love they experience was throughly felt!
Out March 7th, 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 & 𝙒𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 by Anita Kelly (2023) ★★★★★
Signed Preorders available at @therippedbodice & @meetcutebookshop
Signed Bookplate Preorders at @eastcitybookshop
I know a lot of you are waiting to read this, so I’ll keep the summary simple:
Alexei and Ben (both 29) meet while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail - each for their own reasons. Alexei to bury his old life, after being disowned by his religious parents, before embarking on his new life (Alexei 2.0). Ben to start his new, no bad-decision adult life. A rattlesnake meet-cute starts this slow burn strangers-to-friends-to-lovers. Seriously, the story/relationship arch is so perfectly executed! And there’s a bit of spice 😉
“𝐷𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑒?
𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑒?”
Congrats and thank you to Anita Kelly for creating this beautiful ode to nature and queer love for us. Each character felt so real and genuine.
I wholeheartedly recommend this amazing queer love story!
Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for a chance to early review this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review.
Out March 7th, 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 & 𝙒𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 by Anita Kelly (2023) ★★★★★
Signed Preorders available at @therippedbodice & @meetcutebookshop
Signed Bookplate Preorders at @eastcitybookshop
I know a lot of you are waiting to read this, so I’ll keep the summary simple:
Alexei and Ben (both 29) meet while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail - each for their own reasons. Alexei to bury his old life, after being disowned by his religious parents, before embarking on his new life (Alexei 2.0). Ben to start his new, no bad-decision adult life. A rattlesnake meet-cute starts this slow burn strangers-to-friends-to-lovers. Seriously, the story/relationship arch is so perfectly executed! And there’s a bit of spice 😉
“𝐷𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑒?
𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑒?”
Congrats and thank you to Anita Kelly for creating this beautiful ode to nature and queer love for us. Each character felt so real and genuine.
I wholeheartedly recommend this amazing queer love story!
Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for a chance to early review this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2023
Swoooooooooooon 🥹🥹🥹🥹
April 11, 2023
I've given this a B+ at AAR, 4.5 stars
Anita Kelly’s Something Wild and Wonderful is a charming character-driven romance that, while quiet and somewhat understated, nonetheless packs quite the emotional punch. It’s set mostly on the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the most unusual settings I’ve ever come across in a romance novel, and boasts two complex, likeable leads who each has his own reason for undertaking the punishing two-and-a-half-thousand-plus-mile hike.
Six months before the story begins, Alexei Lebedev came out as gay to his deeply religious parents, who very promptly and quietly disowned him for his “choice”. He’s still in contact with his sister, Alina, but feels the loss of his parents and ostracism from the community in which he grew up very keenly. He’s been planning his hike along the PCT for months, and he still feels a pinch in his chest when he remembers that he owes his love of nature, birding and hiking to his father – but he hopes that by the end of the trail, maybe he’ll have become used to that feeling, maybe so used to it that he won’t even notice it any more.
He meets Ben Caravalho on his very first day, literally saving Ben’s life when he stops him walking into the path of a rattlesnake. Alexei can’t help noticing the deep brown of his eyes and the warmth of his smile, but when Ben invites Alexei to walk with him and his party, Alexei declines. He’s been looking forward to the solitude, wanting the chance to say goodbye to his old life and find a bit of peace before starting over.
Ben’s reasons for hiking the PCT are similar to Alexei’s in that he, too, is looking forward to starting afresh. After a string of bad decisions, messy relationships, dead-end jobs and missed obligations throughout his twenties, he’s finally got his act together. After qualifiying as a nurse, he’s ready to start his career –
and is taking a few months to excise his restlessness and prepare himself for his new, responsible life. One thing he’s determined to do is to break his habit of falling in love so easily – usually with the wrong guy – so he absolutely isn’t going to fall for the next gorgeous man he sees. Even if that man did save his life…
This is very much a character-driven novel, so there’s not a great deal of plot to speak of. Rather, it’s a lovely, gently moving story about two very different people forging a strong, emotional connection as they walk, talk and think their way through desert and mountains, snow and sunshine, trees and birds and other wildlife. The PCT – which is described so vividly that it’s like another, integral, character in the story – provides an excellent backdrop for quiet reflection and internal processing, and much of the book is taken up with Ben and Alexei hiking the trail, getting to know each other, supporting each other and encouraging each other; the pacing is leisurely but never feels too slow or draggy, and the story itself is never dull.
Alexei is quiet and nerdy, he likes plans and routine, he struggles in regular social situations and has a strong awareness of never having quite fit in anywhere. (He reads as neurodivergent, although is never labelled as such until near the end when he receives an official autism diagnosis). By contrast, Ben is upbeat and outgoing, possessing the kind of exuberant opennness that makes people take to him instantly – and he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. Alexei is clearly going through the stages of grief for the loss of his parents and the life he’d known, and parts of his story are very sad and his intense loneliness comes through strongly – yet he’s hopeful, too, determined to make a future for himself in which he does fit, to work out what he wants from life and what his safe place looks like.
I enjoyed meeting the various characters Ben and Alexei encounter along the trail, and there’s a lovely found-family aspect in Ben’s friendship group (which I realised later was also part of Ms. Kelly’s previous novel, Love and Other Disasters, in which Ben appears briefly). I loved watching Ben helping Alexei become more comfortable with his sexuality and Alexei helping Ben to realise that he’s so much more than he thinks he is – that he’s enough, just as he is.
I usually try not to talk too specifically about things that happen late on in the books I reivew, but I can’t end this without mentioning the way that the third-act crisis is handled, because it’s unusual and really well done. While they’re apart, Ben and Alexei pen several letters, some of which they send, some, usually the ones containing the biggest emotional revelations, they don’t. Their loneliness and yearning for one another leaps off the page, and the epistolary format – letters written sometimes weeks apart – allows them both time to heal and to demonstrate their individual growth. Reading the unsent letters, especially, brought a lump to my throat – but it’s clear that they needed to write them as part of that process, even if the other never gets to read them.
My main criticism of the book is to do with something that so clearly telegraphed ‘disaster-in-waiting that I couldn’t help but wonder why the author went there:
That aside, Something Wild and Wonderful is a gorgeous story featuring two engaging, well-rounded characters falling in love and figuring things out about themselves and each other. The messages – about being brave enough to live an authentic life and the importance of allowing yourself to be loved for who you are – are crystal clear and the chemistry and soul-deep connection between Alexei and Ben is superbly drawn. Highly recommended.
Anita Kelly’s Something Wild and Wonderful is a charming character-driven romance that, while quiet and somewhat understated, nonetheless packs quite the emotional punch. It’s set mostly on the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the most unusual settings I’ve ever come across in a romance novel, and boasts two complex, likeable leads who each has his own reason for undertaking the punishing two-and-a-half-thousand-plus-mile hike.
Six months before the story begins, Alexei Lebedev came out as gay to his deeply religious parents, who very promptly and quietly disowned him for his “choice”. He’s still in contact with his sister, Alina, but feels the loss of his parents and ostracism from the community in which he grew up very keenly. He’s been planning his hike along the PCT for months, and he still feels a pinch in his chest when he remembers that he owes his love of nature, birding and hiking to his father – but he hopes that by the end of the trail, maybe he’ll have become used to that feeling, maybe so used to it that he won’t even notice it any more.
It was hard to imagine, truthfully. But he was hopeful anyway. Hope was why he was here.
He meets Ben Caravalho on his very first day, literally saving Ben’s life when he stops him walking into the path of a rattlesnake. Alexei can’t help noticing the deep brown of his eyes and the warmth of his smile, but when Ben invites Alexei to walk with him and his party, Alexei declines. He’s been looking forward to the solitude, wanting the chance to say goodbye to his old life and find a bit of peace before starting over.
Ben’s reasons for hiking the PCT are similar to Alexei’s in that he, too, is looking forward to starting afresh. After a string of bad decisions, messy relationships, dead-end jobs and missed obligations throughout his twenties, he’s finally got his act together. After qualifiying as a nurse, he’s ready to start his career –
and is taking a few months to excise his restlessness and prepare himself for his new, responsible life. One thing he’s determined to do is to break his habit of falling in love so easily – usually with the wrong guy – so he absolutely isn’t going to fall for the next gorgeous man he sees. Even if that man did save his life…
This is very much a character-driven novel, so there’s not a great deal of plot to speak of. Rather, it’s a lovely, gently moving story about two very different people forging a strong, emotional connection as they walk, talk and think their way through desert and mountains, snow and sunshine, trees and birds and other wildlife. The PCT – which is described so vividly that it’s like another, integral, character in the story – provides an excellent backdrop for quiet reflection and internal processing, and much of the book is taken up with Ben and Alexei hiking the trail, getting to know each other, supporting each other and encouraging each other; the pacing is leisurely but never feels too slow or draggy, and the story itself is never dull.
Alexei is quiet and nerdy, he likes plans and routine, he struggles in regular social situations and has a strong awareness of never having quite fit in anywhere. (He reads as neurodivergent, although is never labelled as such until near the end when he receives an official autism diagnosis). By contrast, Ben is upbeat and outgoing, possessing the kind of exuberant opennness that makes people take to him instantly – and he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. Alexei is clearly going through the stages of grief for the loss of his parents and the life he’d known, and parts of his story are very sad and his intense loneliness comes through strongly – yet he’s hopeful, too, determined to make a future for himself in which he does fit, to work out what he wants from life and what his safe place looks like.
I enjoyed meeting the various characters Ben and Alexei encounter along the trail, and there’s a lovely found-family aspect in Ben’s friendship group (which I realised later was also part of Ms. Kelly’s previous novel, Love and Other Disasters, in which Ben appears briefly). I loved watching Ben helping Alexei become more comfortable with his sexuality and Alexei helping Ben to realise that he’s so much more than he thinks he is – that he’s enough, just as he is.
I usually try not to talk too specifically about things that happen late on in the books I reivew, but I can’t end this without mentioning the way that the third-act crisis is handled, because it’s unusual and really well done. While they’re apart, Ben and Alexei pen several letters, some of which they send, some, usually the ones containing the biggest emotional revelations, they don’t. Their loneliness and yearning for one another leaps off the page, and the epistolary format – letters written sometimes weeks apart – allows them both time to heal and to demonstrate their individual growth. Reading the unsent letters, especially, brought a lump to my throat – but it’s clear that they needed to write them as part of that process, even if the other never gets to read them.
My main criticism of the book is to do with something that so clearly telegraphed ‘disaster-in-waiting that I couldn’t help but wonder why the author went there:
That aside, Something Wild and Wonderful is a gorgeous story featuring two engaging, well-rounded characters falling in love and figuring things out about themselves and each other. The messages – about being brave enough to live an authentic life and the importance of allowing yourself to be loved for who you are – are crystal clear and the chemistry and soul-deep connection between Alexei and Ben is superbly drawn. Highly recommended.
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