Something Wild and Wonderful (2023) by Anita Kelly is the kind of romance book that makes me love romances!
In his first mile of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in the desert of southern California, Alexei meets Ben, who Alexei stops from stepping on a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. Alexei is hiking to deal with the trauma of being rejected after coming out as gay to his extremely religious parents, and Ben is celebrating finishing nursing school after a string of failed relationships in his twenties.
They keep running into each other, and Ben decides to walk along with Alexei for a while. They suit each other, quiet, awkward Alexei, and Ben who finds wonder wherever he looks. Alexei is an experienced hiker, and he helps Ben through the hardest parts of the trail.
I love Kelly’s writing, and the fact that both main characters are neurodivergent–Alexei is likely on the autism spectrum, and Ben likely has ADHD and/or anxiety, but they become home for each other. Not without misunderstandings and time away from each other, though–I thought it was very realistic how they each had to have time apart to figure themselves out before they were really ready to be with each other.
It’s fat-positive, as well, as they encounter a hiker, Ruby, who is “listening to her body” and another, Jenn, who describes herself as a “happily fat hiker.” I so appreciate that the author included such representation in a book about two fit gay men!
Reading While Fat 