ARC Review: Wanderlost by Jen Malone

Wanderlost by Jen Malone
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance
Published May 31st 2016 by HarperTeen
Format: eARC
Length: 352 pages

Not all those who wander are lost, but Aubree Sadler most definitely is on this novel’s whirlwind trip through Europe.

Aubree can’t think of a better place to be than in perfectly boring Ohio, and she’s ready for a relaxing summer. But when her older sister, Elizabeth, gets into real trouble, Aubree is talked into taking over Elizabeth’s summer job, leading a group of senior citizens on a bus tour through Europe.

Aubree doesn’t even make it to the first stop in Amsterdam before their perfect plan unravels, leaving her with no phone, no carefully prepared binder full of helpful facts, and an unexpected guest: the tour company owner’s son, Sam. Considering she’s pretending to be Elizabeth, she absolutely shouldn’t fall for him, but she can’t help it, especially with the most romantic European cities as the backdrop for their love story.

But her relationship with Sam is threatening to ruin her relationship with her sister, and she feels like she’s letting both of them down. Aubree knows this trip may show her who she really is—she just hopes she likes where she ends up.

WANDERLOST was simply a cute and fun summery read. I’ve been on a contemporary romance streak, so it wasn’t a surprise that this book was next on my TBR. Although I had several problems with it, it was ultimately just fun to read.

The characters were not the worst but could have been developed more, in my opinion. Aubree seemed way immature and seemed more like a twelve-year-old than the sixteen/seventeen-year-old this book claimed her to be. The senior citizens were entertaining to read about, and Sam seemed to be perfect in all aspects, but ultimately these characters fell flat for me because I couldn’t really relate to any of them.

Although this book wasn’t the best written, I enjoyed reading it (if that makes sense). I could put aside the implausibility of the plot and the characters just because it was amusing to read about Aubree and her actions to make everyone believe that she was Elizabeth, her older sister. I also liked reading about the places that the tour covered as it truly did give me some wanderlust.

The romance was enjoyable, to say the least. I enjoyed the developing friendship between Sam and Aubree, and I loved reading about their phone conversations before they met; I thought the banter between the characters was just so amusing to read about.

Overall, this book was simply fun. Although this book seems to be geared towards younger readers due to its characters and the whimsical plot, I really enjoyed reading it despite the few issues that I had with it. If you enjoy cute and fun contemporary romances, check this book out!

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