Wild Things

Product Information

First of all, I want to thank the author, Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Wild Things by Laura Kay will be coming out on May 25th, 2023.

Feels like the book is about Eleanor and her three best friends moving into a new house on the countryside and how they settle in, —whilst romance is just a subplot. Kay has a sharp eye for Millennial culture, and her humorous dialogue and fully fleshed-out characters make for a satisfying novel. A queer coming-of-adulthood tale with enough cheekiness to make growing up seem not so bad.” But living in close proximity to the love of your life without letting on isn’t as easy as El might think. . .Wild Things feels fresh and exciting - a touching and realistic read with wonderful characters. I love Laura's writing * KATIE FFORDE, author of ONE ENCHANTED EVENING * Wild Things is one of my favourite books of 2023. It captures the pleasure/pain of a huge, heartfelt crush, and it also beautifully evokes the warmth of a loving community. I would love to stop by 'the commune' for a cup of tea with them all. A totally gorgeous read * Beth O'Leary, author of THE NO-SHOW * Wild Things filled my heart all the way up. El is the disaster bisexual of my dreams, and I fell in love with Ray, Jamie, Will, and Lavender House just like she did. I want to have a glass of wine (or three) with all of them. A hilarious story of queer friendship, queer longing, and queer triumph." - T J Alexander Laura Kay has taken it to the next level - real Emily Henry vibes but gay . Joyous, funny, sexy and romantic - a triumph! ― Kate Sawyer, award-winning author of THE STRANDING was such a lush book, it made me feel safe and warm and I just love that about laura kay’s writing!! 🥺❣️

Heady, giddy, and outrageously flirty, Wild Things is the perfect escapist queer romcom for anyone longing to move to the country with their best friends * Lily Lindon, author of DOUBLE BOOKED * Wild Things really has everything I love in contemporary fiction. A beautiful story of yearning, bravery, different kinds of family . . . my heart was with El the whole time * Lizzie Huxley-Jones, author of MAKE YOU MINE THIS CHRISTMAS * But living in close proximity to the love of your life without letting on isn't as easy as El might think... Overall, I liked this a lot. It has me interested in Kay’s previous work and I will most definitely be reading whatever she puts out next. Laura Kay has taken it to the next level—real Emily Henry vibes but gay. Joyous, funny, sexy, and romantic—a triumph!”Acute queer rom-com that feels like a warm hug. . . . Both compulsively readable and tremendously enjoyable.” Funny, moving, and inspirational. A gorgeous love story with a lot of wild and wonderful life lessons swimming in there too. A hoot and a half. As a fellow nervous soul, I was cheering Eleanor on the whole way. A love letter to friendship, fresh starts, and the joy of taking chances.”

I completely and utterly adored Wild Things . It's perfectly observed, brilliantly funny , full of queer joy and such a timely exploration of what adult life could and should look like now ― Emma Hughes, author of NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT The Split has everything I love in a novel. It's hilariously funny, it's so uplifting, and its characters are irresistibly loveable' - Beth O'Leary

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The Split has everything I love in a novel. It’s hilariously funny, it’s so uplifting, and its characters are irresistibly loveable’ Beth O’Leary Wild Things is another great book by Laura Kay and I'm already looking forward to reading her fourth. A spirited whirl through the agony and the ecstasy of a queer crush, and the vital friendships that keep us sane * Justin Myers, author of THE FAKE-UP *

Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this book: At first I was very into it because, you know, it’s queer! —but it was actually bland… Like the romance doesn’t even start until chapter 12 (74%) out of 18 —literally nothing happens between them…. If you, like me, came to this book for the romance, then I have to warn you: it's not like a lot of the romance books that sit on the romance shelves that we've come to know and love. While this one certainly fulfills some tropes—friends to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn—the focus of the novel is not the romance between Ray and El. Rather, the focus of the book is on El's self-growth—her ability to participate in "wild" activities outside of her comfort zone, her learning how to navigate the world around her, her interacting with her new world and who she wants to be inside of it. The romance does play a part, and I will say that I love the "crush" narrative, because I love the normalize having crushes outside of high school/adolescence! Even so, this book is not a romance novel. Deeply felt and wonderfully whimsical, Laura Kay’s ode to getting wild is full of will-they-won’t-they spark and the resonance of life-changing questions. El and Ray’s is the perfect story of leaving everything you know and finding your meant-to-be.” Laura Kay has taken it to the next level - real Emily Henry vibes but gay. Joyous, funny, sexy, and romantic - a triumph!" - Kate SawyerWill a year of wild things make these friends into lovers? The perfect will-they-won’t-they romance from the author of The Split and Tell Me Everything Fresh, fun, thoughtful and hopeful, a joyfully messy story of contemporary queer life." - Bethany Rutter