Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Blurb
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 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.
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.
My Review
What was it all about
Something Wilder is all about the love growing wild the second time around when the clues of the treasure hunt left by her father became the challenge for this motley of a group.
As Lily rode the group into the wilderness, a few twists down the way led to the group facing immense perils, a drop from height, a dead body, betrayal, friendship, and the deep blush of love.
All done in the blazing heat in the steep fall of the canyons.
How it made me feel
Whoa! This was one heck of an action packed ride into the canyons on a treasure hunt with attraction sizzling and second chance love palpating in the pages of the book.
Lily and Leo were gentle and nerdy, but extremely tough, proving their fortitude in each lap of their journey to hidden treasure. They made me believe in second chance love.
There was something tender about them even when they were shrouded in misunderstandings. I loved the deep empathy and understanding that Leo showed this time around.
The Good
Though a romance, the prose concentrated more on maps, clues, ciphers, codes, riddles, and bits of puzzles, that called out to my sense of adventure.
The dynamic duo of authors made a giddying leap into the action genre where the good were followed by a rogue of cowboys.
Treasure hunt was well weaved into the main plot line where good research had been done to sound authentic. Western mystery was the ambiance I was left with.
The Bad
More zing in the dialogues could have been added.
The Conclusion
A mind-boggling treasure hunt in the Wild Wild West complete with action and danger and guns. Absolute fun. Giddy-up!
Book Links
Book Details
Publication Date: May 2022
I downloaded the digital version of the book from an online retail, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.
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8 Responses
I will be reading this in next two weeks
I hope you like it. But go with no expectations. or minimal expectations. you would enjoy it more.
Noted. Did you read Adult Assembly Required? I’m almost done with it
Is it good? Should I pick up both books by the author? I have the amazon tab opened up.
I really like her writing. I think she’s clever and funny and I’ve read everything she’s written so far. I like her characters, even if some of the sidekicks are cliched. Start with Bookish Life of Nina Hill… then read Adult assembly Required if you like Nina
Done. Getting it now. thanks LA
Looking forward to the review
Sounds fun! (and I like the location–rode through there more than once on my motorcycle).