A beautiful read about the healing powers of hiking, and learning to let yourself be loved.

Alexei and Ben are wonderful characters. They’ve both been through so much, yet they’re both still so kind and capable of so much love. I’m really glad they found each other and got their happy endings.

Their journey isn’t all a walk in the park, though; they’re both working through trauma, and they have their fair share of misunderstandings that make for heart-clenching moments—but I loved how they learned to communicate, set boundaries, and build a true partnership as well as a relationship with each other.

One thing I absolutely loved was Alexei’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the birds they encountered on the trail, and how appreciative Ben was to share in that knowledge—and most of all, that Ben (and none of his friends) ever teased Alexei about it. They’re both so supportive and encouraging of each other and it’s just amazing.

The descriptions of the landscape are wonderful too. I wasn’t familiar with the PCT before reading this book, but I could picture the trail and the scenic views so easily.

This book is an absolute joy to read and now I want to dig out my hiking boots and lose myself in the hills.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

i dont want to be hyperbolic but i think this book fundamentally changed something within my brain

i usually pick up romance as a ‘palate cleanser’ after a heavy fantasy book. i did just that with this book today, sat down to start reading and didn’t get up again until 5 hours later, when i had finished the book. when i tell you i did NOT want to walk away from alexei and ben the whole time… being in their world and reading their story was so magical, so healing, and so full of love.

“something wild & wonderful” follows alexei lebedev, a young russian man who recently came out to his very orthodox religious parents and found himself disowned. he decided to walk the pacific crest trail whilst in between jobs to figure out who he was without his family - or, as is termed in the book, ‘alexei 2.0’. during his time hiking, he meets ben caravalho, a young portuguese man who is hiking the pct following his completion of nursing school. over the course of their hike, we watch as alexei & ben slowly fall in love both with each other, and with the world around them.

whilst this is a romance at heart, i want to focus on what i found most profound in the book and that is the concept of ‘home’. i think anita kelly is so good at showing that home doesn’t need to be a place - it can be a person, or a group of people; your family, be they by blood or by choice; it can be a little slice of life that brings you joy. alexei and ben both define what ‘home’ means to them throughout the book and it was really wonderful to watch them on their journeys to find their place in the world.

i was also really affected by the portrayal of religious trauma, and being queer as part of that community. heavy though that conversation is, i think anita kelly does a great job at handling it sensitively through alexei’s experience of his family, church and his relationship to his religion. throughout the course of the book, alexei gradually lets go of the grief - because it IS grief - that has accompanied his disowning, and learns how to love himself & his religion in a new way. it was incredibly healing to accompany alexei on this journey to self-fulfilment.

anyway. all that to say i absolutely loved this and will recommend it to anyone i know who enjoys a romance novel. like alexei, this book healed something within me.

This was such a tender and beautiful story that dove deep into the two main characters. Their journey was long and tough, not just because they were hiking the PCT, but because of the emotional journey they were on.
Watching their relationship blossom in the desert was heartwarming.
Both Alexei and Ben were treated with the utmost care throughout the story. These characters were complete and whole; I felt their pain bleeding throughout the book and rejoiced when they did.
I fell head over heels for the two of them, both as individuals and then as a couple. I'm so excited to see what Anita Kelly brings next with the continuation of this world, and into London and Dahlia's story.