Welcome to my tour stop! I'm thrilled to share an exclusive interview with the author today. It's well worth the read and just makes me want to read all three of this author's books. Read that below...
Wild About You
By Kaitlyn Hill
YA Contemporary, Romantic Comedy
Paperback, Audiobook & eBook, 384 Pages
May 21, 2024 by Delacorte Romance
Summary
Two total opposites. One race through the Great Outdoors. In this grumpy-sunshine teen romance from the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends, the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.
Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.
Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?
Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital- O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all…
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Exclusive Author Interview
Welcome to my blog today to tell us more about WILD ABOUT YOU!
How would you describe the main characters of your story?
Finn and Natalie are definitely a grumpy-sunshine pairing, in that order! Finn is a guy of few words, and the ones he does say don’t come out the most gently. He’s an experienced hiker and camper and didn’t come onto this reality competition show just to mess around and have fun. Natalie, on the other hand, seems to be all about fun. She’s bubbly and personable, not especially prepared for life in the wilderness but excited to take it on anyway, and also there to win, because she needs the prize money to pay for school. But they both have some hard things they’re dealing with beneath the surface and just hide it in different ways, which they’ll come to learn as they get to know each other on the trail.
What inspired the idea of using a reality show as the plot?
I’ve been a big reality TV watcher for almost as long as I can remember! Both of my first two books have a reality TV-related premise (a cooking show and a dating show), and I think it’s such a funny, dramatic, chaotic environment in which to have two people fall in love. I knew I wanted book three to be the last of my reality showmances, and it was fun to try a new part of that realm in the form of an outdoorsy, adventurous competition show.
What do you like about the opposites attract trope that made you want to use it, and what are a few ways the trope comes to play in this story?
I’ve found it more fun to write opposites falling in love than it is to write two people with a lot in common, I think because I love to make characters surprise themselves. They never would’ve thought they’d be interested in a person with [whatever qualities they didn’t find attractive before], but here they are getting feelings anyway? What is happening?? It becomes this journey of self-discovery right along with the journey into love, and I adore that. With Natalie and Finn, you have several forms of opposites—indoorsy vs. outdoorsy, happy extrovert vs. grumbly introvert, southerner vs. northerner, etc—but I think that makes it all the more delightful when they find their commonalities and grow to appreciate the differences.
What are you hoping readers will get out of WILD ABOUT YOU?
I hope readers get, first and foremost, a fun escape of a romance that makes them laugh and smile and maybe want to go on a hike. But I also hope it makes them think a little about looking past first impressions or surface level ways others seem different from you, and showing some more empathy because you never really know what most people you encounter are struggling with. I’d also love if it made anyone who’s struggled with their mental health feel less alone in that struggle.
What are you most looking forward to reading in 2024?
Gosh, so many great books out this year! A couple romances I’m really excited about are Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum and Whenever You’re Ready by Rachel Runya Katz—both authors write such witty, refreshing stories and I think everyone should read them! I’m also excited for the first contemporary romance from one of my favorite historical authors, Martha Waters, called Christmas is All Around!
What are you working on next?
I’m working on my next YA romance with Delacorte! It’s my first departure from the reality TV world, but still a fun adventure with all the kissing and bad jokes readers have come to expect from me. 😊 Excited to share more soon!
Other Books in the Series
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About the Author
Kaitlyn has a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and German Studies, which means that she can tell you way too much about the Communist Manifesto in Karl Marx’s mother tongue. Before landing on writing, she worked in roles from city government intern in a small German town to Haunted Mansion Maid at Walt Disney World, and most recently, at her hometown public library.
Aside from books, Kaitlyn’s favorite things are giraffes, ABBA, and excessively long naps. She lives with her real life romance hero in Lexington, Kentucky.
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