two months to figure it out

Dylan was having a bad day when she grabbed her headphones and decided to listen to the radio. And it was that same irritated mood that caused her to grab her phone when they introduced an actual radio contest, where the tenth caller won an epic trip around the world. But when they told their winner that they would be forcing them to go on the trip with a random contact from their phone, they declined the trip. The deejay said they would start over again, and the tenth caller would win. Dylan’s mood lifted when she became that tenth caller.

Dylan writes for a magazine, hoping to one day turn her pop quizzes and short pieces into a column. She can’t help but wonder if writing about a two-month trip to amazing locations could get her social media engagement numbers up enough for her boss to actually come through with that monthly column. So as she travels to the radio station, she’s thinking about how she could turn this into the job of her dreams.

At the station, they download her phone contacts into a program that will choose one at random. The name that pops up is Jack the Posho. They call him and tell him about the trip, offer him a chance t travel with Dylan for two months. As they talk to him, the memories start to come back to Dylan. She had met him on a night out, and they’d had an amazing connection, despite her teasing him about his posh accent. He gave her his number and waited for her to call. But he didn’t know that her life melted down the next day, so their night of drinking and kissing was lost to her drama. But now, he’s on the phone with the radio station, and he’s saying yes to the trip.

After a couple of weeks of preparation, Dylan and Jack are ready to leave London to head to their first destination, Sydney. And almost immediately, Dylan is filled with regrets. Jack is an uptight traveler, rigid about being early, a fastidious packer, incredibly organized. Dylan is full of eye rolls, showing up on time, tossing her clothes into her suitcase (and on the floor of the hotel room, at times, when they arrive), and wanting to take it easy on the airplane. But after she sees Jack battle his fear of heights on Sydney Harbour Bridge, she eases up on him. And when she insists he sit out next time his anxiety is so extreme, he lets his guard down some.

As the days roll by and the cities show them their beauty—Tokyo, Mumbai, Marrakech, Cape Town, and New York City, just to name a few—Dylan and Jack find themselves opening up to each other. They share drunken nights and family issues, meaningful experiences and inside jokes, Dylan’s writing and Jack’s photos, and they find themselves moving closer to each other. But when Dylan lets down her defenses and shares a little too openly about their flirtation, Jack feels betrayed. Can they find a way past that, or will the rest of the trip be as cold as that glacier in Reykjavik?

Wanderlust is the debut rom com from Elle Everhart, and it is quite the trip. It’s smart and sweet, with a slow burn romance that starts them out as opposites, then they become friends, and then they almost lose it all. The travel destinations lend an exciting backdrop to the story of these characters, and it creates some fun scenes for us all to experience with Dylan and Jack.

However, this book is not just travel and romance and fluff. There are some difficult topics in this book also. Dylan had written an article about a very personal decision, and there were those on social media who had bullied and doxxed her for that. There are family struggles for both main characters. There is homophobia and talk about an abortion. Anyone sensitive to those issues may want to skip this one.

Personally, I wasn’t bothered by any of that. My biggest complaint about the book was that I wanted more of the story to take place in these exciting places. For example, there is a vibrant scene set in Tokyo at a restaurant with a Robot Cabaret, but we didn’t hear all that much about some of the other cities. I could have used less airport and hotel scenes, and more excursions. But I still loved this book. I loved these characters and the journeys they went on, both physically and emotionally. And I can’t wait to see where Everhart takes us next.

Egalleys for Wanderlust were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.