Truth be told, I REALLY struggled with this book. I also question the comparison of People We Meet on Vacation and The Unhoneymooners. Taking into account they are two strangers traveling together that have some hostility between them, that is the extent of the similarities. For this reason, readers may be set up with unrealistic expectations when diving in, setting the foundation for a less than thrilling reading experience - especially with the heavy, trigger topics throughout the book. As the debut novel of Elle Everhart, I wanted to like this book, especially after reading the summary, but it was only a three star experience for me.
All Dylan’s dreamed of was her own column in the illustrious Buxom Magazine. The article she thought would give her the life she wanted almost ruined it. Now, two years since the ill-fated article was released, she finds herself writing quizzes and daydreaming about what could have been. Stuck in the monotony that is her workday, Dylan’s decides to take a chance when a local radio station offers a dream vacation to the tenth caller. The catch, the winner’s travel companion has to be a randomly selected contact in the person’s phone. Shocked beyond belief when her call in answered and she is announced the winner, Dylan can’t help but believe her life is turning around, that is until her randomly selected travel companion is none other than Jack the Posho - a random hookup at a bar that she had completely forgotten about. Going from bad to worse, her boss calls her up with the idea that her reunion with her one night stand (not a one night stand - just made out at a bar!) would make for a great series. Even better, if her content is a hit and garnishes traffic, Dylan will get her own permanent column in print and on the web. Not a problem - she can do this. Yes, Jack was less than excited to be selected and the past couple of messages have shown zero lingering interest but what her boss (and their readers) don’t know won’t hurt them. What’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like her and Jack are going to magically fall in love.
This book will definitely tease the travel bug in you. Elle takes the time and energy to truly draw in the beauty of each location through Dylan’s eyes. The sights, the sounds, the people, the energy - you can feel it flowing through the pages. If you have been to these places, her recollection will trigger moments of nostalgia. If you have not, the envy will blossom with every page turn. The number of places does become overwhelming after awhile but she tries to balance out the deep details of one location with a brief overview of another.
The characters; however, were a different story. Dylan was a tough pill to swallow. I agree with her best friend Gwen, she really did need to pick her battles instead of making each argument the "hill she was willing to die on". For a woman approaching her thirties, she has a very childlike temperament. It may have been aimed more towards Jack but I hated that she made him feel like he couldn’t do anything right. I also thought it was hypocritical that when he treated her with any type of disdain, she took it as an mortal wound to her psyche but he was supposed to willingly accept her constant put downs. As the book progressed, her character becomes more tolerable but not enough to reverse the opinions that may have already formed. I believe this is a case where a dual POV would have helped shape the opinions of the characters a lot more instead of having single POV in third person. Dylan also harbored a lot of anger that takes away or places a dark shadow on any humor in the book.
Speaking of which, I will definitely say this book is not for everyone. There are a lot of heavy, triggering issues that should probably have been mentioned either at the beginning of the book or somewhere in the summary. The topics of doxxing, cyberbulling, sexuality, abortion, and harassment that were discussed were illustrated well and brought a lot of information to light. The problem was the resolve, especially with Dylan's issues with her parents and the amount of repetitive focus that took away from the overall storyline. The book moved away from being about two people jetsetting around the world and became more about Dylan's fall out of an abortion article, her uncertainty of true acceptance when she came out, and the overall rift in her family. While that would have been fine as a backdrop and the reason she bonded with Jack (as he had his own issues with his parents), it became too front and center, moving this away from a Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy and more toward Women's Fiction.
Tried as I might, the book just couldn’t hold my attention. Whether it was the odd end of chapter drop-offs, the unlikeable female protagonist, or just the lackluster overall story - my focus kept wavering. I also think this was the first time I didn’t want an HEA because I honestly didn't believe the chemistry between these two characters. While I believe Wanderlust was a commendable first attempt at a novel, it just wasn't for me.