“Book Review: The Wanderlust Diaries”

Reviewed by Felicia Nicole Hall

A wild, beautiful, and raunchy-in-the-best-way kind of ride.

The story begins with our main character, Charlie, sitting on a plane eager to begin the biggest adventure of her life. Charlie is a 23-year-old nurse from Michigan with a firecracker personality and an undeniable thirst for adventure—a thirst that lands her with a solo ticket around the world, hungry for the experience of a lifetime in exotic South Pacific destinations and ready to escape the dark past behind her. As a reader, I loved Charlie from the very beginning and enjoyed living vicariously through her even more.

The supporting characters are just as dynamic and fulfilling as Charlie is. With gossiping old ladies, a manipulative ex-boyfriend, and a strong and spiritual love interest, every character makes you feel for them in a different way. These characters are quite possibly the best part of the story, offering something unique and really shaping our main character into who she will become at novel’s end.

The first bit of the book focuses a lot on Charlie’s wild adventures and page-turning one-night-stands. But when the story shifts into a beautiful love story, I’m equally shocked and excited. Flipping through its pages, I feel all the swoon-worthy feelings of falling in love along with Charlie.

“Then he smiled at me and he was transformed into something better than a God; a loyal, humble, hardworking man who wanted to fly side by side with me instead of clipping my wings.”

While there are so many wonderful things packed into this story, the genuine romance has to be one of the strongest parts. It’s unexpected and a little jarring coming off of Charlie’s crazy adventures, but it somehow feels so perfect, fitting in like a puzzle piece that brings the whole story together. The romance Charlie discovers isn’t cookie-cutter and most definitely comes with challenges, but through the passion and desire of the two finding a way to stay together, readers are kept in the adventure but with a heaping of love alongside it. 

However, there are still plenty of adventures for Charlie outside of her touching romance story. Keeping readers on the edge of their seats, a few twists of fate land Charlie back at the home she vows never to return to in order to deal with the past she’s running from.

The Wanderlust Diaries is a fun and easy-going read filled with deeper themes of loss, survival, and independence. It is truly a novel that keeps you laughing, gasping, and crying all while rooting for the main character to have her happy ending. Martinico perfectly captures what it feels like to be a young girl in search of adventure and love while withstanding a whole lot of struggle. Whether you make this your first read of 2020 or your last, be sure to make time for it because it is more than worth it.

ISBN: 978-0578577449

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