LoveReading Says
Think idyllic cottagecore, and then make it gay. If you spend your time fantasising about doing up a dilapidated country manor with your crush and getting chickens named after Twilight characters, prepare to have your dreams come true.
Cautious El is painfully relatable, having to plan her attempts at spontaneity (‘I decided I could only really afford to be wild on the weekends’) and still finding them underwhelming. Her year of trying new things (threesomes, drugs, karaoke, and maybe, just maybe, telling her crush how she feels) will surely inspire you to be more wild too. You’re rooting for her every step of the way, and delighted when she finally throws caution to the wind and jumps into life at the deep end.
Readers are going to feel like they are one of the best friends in El’s adorable group. First, in their office boredom, skiving on fake ‘admin audit’ meetings together; then, rejoicing in their glorious decision to move to the countryside, we’re setting up our new homely commune together. And of course, readers also share El’s overwhelming crush on her inscrutable best friend Ray.
Reading Wild Things reminded me of the need for more uplifting novels like this, where queer characters are allowed to just, you know, have a nice time. Yes, of course, there’s drama and mess and slip-ups, but for the most part, it’s pure escapist joy. Importantly, queerness is not a source of torment for anyone, it’s just a fun, bonding part of these rounded characters’ identities.
Laura’s voice is effortlessly funny, reading it feels like your favourite friend pulling you into the smoking area and telling you all her best gossip. If you’re already a fan of hers, you’re in for a treat, because this is absolutely what you’d expect from a Laura Kay novel – it’s my absolute favourite of her books so far, and I think it might become yours too.
Lily Lindon
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Wild Things Synopsis
When the opportunity of a lifetime arrives, will El be ready to make the leap and embrace her wild side?
Stuck in a dead-end job and hopelessly in unrequited love with her best friend, El needs a major life change. One New Year's resolution to 'Be More Wild' later, and she's committed to doing one wild thing every month for a year. Admittedly, so far it's amounted to one small tattoo, one bad hangover and one very disappointing threesome, but she's trying and surely it can only get better...
So when a plan is hatched for El, Ray and their two closest friends - newly heartbroken Will and Instagram darling Jamie - to ditch the big city and move out to a ramshackle house in the middle of the English countryside, El can hardly say no. This is her big chance for a fresh start, the perfect wild thing.
But living in close proximity to the love of your life without letting on isn't as easy as El might think...
Can best friends ever really become lovers or could the truth ruin life at 'the commune' for ever?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781529424621 |
| Publication date: |
29th February 2024 |
| Author: |
Laura Kay |
| Publisher: |
Quercus Publishing |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
339 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Romance / Relationship Stories
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Laura Kay Press Reviews
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 - TJ Alexander, author of CHEF'S KISS
Brimming with both hilarity and heartfelt relationships, Wild Things is a delightful romance, complete with DIY home repair, a beautiful queer found family, and backyard hens. I adored El's journey to realizing that only by taking risks can she really get what she wants, in both life... and love - Ashley Herring Blake, USA TODAY bestselling author of ASTRID PARKER DOESN'T FAIL
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 - Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of DO I KNOW YOU?
Fresh, fun, thoughtful and hopeful, a joyfully messy story of contemporary queer life - Bethany Rutter, author of WELCOME TO YOUR LIFE
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
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
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
Joyful, uplifting, heartfelt and properly laugh-out loud funny. A big-hearted story about the messiness of queer friendships and love. Laura Kay always writes the characters I want to be friends with! - Harry Nicholas, author of A TRANS MAN WALKS INTO A GAY BAR
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
