Synopsis:

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.

Something Wilder is romantic, adventurous fun! The latest book by the prolific writing duo, Christina Lauren, is different than any of their other books I’ve read. The authors state in a note before the book starts that this book was written as an escape from the real world. It’s meant to be fun, and I could tell they had as much fun writing it as I did reading it.

“He wondered if, looking down, the stars ever felt like falling, lovesick, onto the planets.”

Christina Lauren, Something Wilder

As a child who grew up watching Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone films, I love a good treasure hunt story. Especially when it also has romance. So I had no patience when I was approved for an advanced copy, diving into this story set in Canyonlands National Park, Utah as soon as possible. Moab is also at the top of my and my mountain-biking husband’s bucket list, and reading Something Wilder made me even more eager for the trip.

Lily Wilder is the capable daughter of Duke Wilder, a famous treasure hunter, who seems to have loved the hunt more than the treasure, leaving her with nothing but his treasure maps when he passed away. She’s been using those maps to lead groups on fake treasure hunts to make ends meet for years. She’s shocked when her next group of adventure seeking men includes “the one who got away”, Leo Grady.