One of the great challenges in my life as a lover of romance novels - I have little to no patience for the major conflict that seems to need to precede a happily ever after. In my opinion, these usually feel forced and could easily be resolved by the characters just acting like normal people and having a simple conversation, and it’s the number one thing that can put me off a good romance.

In Something Wild & Wonderful, Anita Kelly’s follow up to 2022’s Love & Other Disasters, I knew that was the direction we were headed. From early on, I could sense that there would need to be some sort of conflict thrown into the mix, and I was filled with dread. This time, however, that dread stemmed from how much affection I felt for the main characters; I wanted to skip the conflict not for my own benefit but to spare them the heartache.

Something Wild & Wonderful centers on Ben and Alexei, two men who meet while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Though both had planned to hike solo, they end up making a pact to hike together at least through the end of the desert after Alexei saves Ben from stepping on a rattlesnake crossing the trail. Both men came to the PCT to take time to reflect on their lives and find themselves, and instead they end up finding each other. 

Maybe it’s the setting - hiking on the trail is an inherently solitary and introspective process, so the chemistry between the two really gets a chance to blossom. It feels so natural from the reader’s perspective, and I was really rooting for these two to make it work. Alexei comes out to Ben early on and shares that he’s on the PCT to try to figure out his next steps, after his religious parents disowned him after he told them he was gay. Ben decides not to share that he’s also gay at that time in order to avoid overshadowing Alexei’s story, but then struggles to find the right time to confess - until a night off-trail, with a hotel bed and a few margaritas, provides the opportunity for the two to act on the chemistry between them. 

I don’t want to say much more for fear of spoiling the novel, because it was truly a joy to watch this romance unfold. I felt so affectionate toward both men, and for once in my life, I understood how the conflict happened and why they couldn’t just talk it out. In trying to protect each other while also figure out their own goals and priorities, they end up almost risking it all. In the subsequent time apart, Kelly switches to an epistolary format to show their attempts to bridge the gap following their separation, and it’s a powerful literary device to illustrate the growth and the heartache that both men experience. 

I cannot recommend Something Wild & Wonderful highly enough. It will be released on March 7, 2023, and is available for preorder now.

I received an electronic ARC from the publisher. Forever, in exchange for my honest review.