CANR
WORK TITLE: Hot Summer
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://elleeverhart.com/
CITY: East London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Children: a son.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. English as a second language instructor.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Elle Everhart is a writer based in East London. When not teaching English as a second language, she writes romantic comedies that rely on heavy sarcasm, feature the Internet as critical to the plot, and are populated with queer characters. Everhart published her debut novel, Wanderlust, in 2023 and then Hot Summer the following year.
Wanderlust
In Wanderlust, bisexual writer Dylan Coughlan finds herself in a stagnant job at London’s Buxom magazine. An article she wrote about having an abortion created family drama when her conservative parents took offense to her actions. By chance Dylan wins a round-the-world vacation from a local radio station. However, the conditions of travel require the station to choose her travel companion from her contacts list on her phone. The station randomly chooses Jack Hunton, someone Dylan doesn’t even remember. Jack is a rigid lawyer who was upset that Dylan never called him after they met at a club event. He agrees to go on the trip with her, hoping that this will give him the chance to get to know her better. While Jack is a planner, Dylan lives life on the cuff, which initially created some friction between them. But as their trip progressed, the two found that their opposite quirks nicely complimented each other.
A contributor to the All the Books I Can Read blog commented: “I liked the dynamic between Dylan and Jack. She’s kind of an agent of chaos and he’s more of an uptight, live by the rules and die by the schedule type, so it leads to some interesting moments when she wants to wing it and he definitely does not. There’s a nice attraction between them that builds over the course of the trip and it’s kind of a slow burn.” The same reviewer concluded: “I thought this was a great way to pass an afternoon…. I would’ve liked a little more about the individual cities, because after Tokyo they kind of became like nothing until New York or Mexico, which was a bit of a shame. But everything else I quite enjoyed.”
An Opinions of a Wolf website contributor admitted that “overall, the idea for the set-up for this romcom is stellar. Jack is a great leading man. But he’s set up with a leading lady who’s not particularly likeable, and the romcom is dragged down by some heavy topics.” In a review in Library Journal, Migdalia Jimenez suggested that “this slow-burn rom-com will appeal to fans of travel and social media story lines.” A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked that “far-flung backdrops–including Marrakech, Reykjavik, and Tokyo–add to the fun. Everhart is a writer to watch.”
Hot Summer
With Hot Summer, Cas Morgan works for a dating app and ironically ends up as a contestant on a reality television dating show. The beautiful beach setting and attractive contestants prove too much for Cas, who ends up falling for Ada. While Ada is hoping to find love and a long-term relationship, Cas usually avoids commitment. The two find their relationship slowly developing among the reality-TV drama that takes place.
A Kirkus Reviews contributor claimed: “With reality TV theatrics and a heartfelt queer romance, this is a can’t-miss book.” In a review in Library Journal, Jenny Kobiela-Mondor took note of the “cute secondary romance.” Kobiela-Mondor concluded that “reality TV fans will swoon over this well-crafted, entertaining contemporary romance.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2024, review of Hot Summer.
Library Journal, May 2, 2023, Migdalia Jimenez, review of Wanderlust; May 1, 2024, Jenny Kobiela-Mondor, review of Hot Summer, p. 85.
Publishers Weekly, May 1, 2023, review of Wanderlust, p. 58.
ONLINE
All the Books I Can Read, https://1girl2manybooks.wordpress.com/ (December 20, 2023), review of Wanderlust.
Elle Everhart website, https://elleeverhart.com (June 14, 2024).
Opinions of a Wolf, https://opinionsofawolf.com/ (September 12, 2023), review of Wanderlust.
My name is Elle Everhart (she/her) and I write romantic comedies featuring the internet, sarcasm, and lots of queer characters.
I live in East London and work as a secondary English teacher. When I’m not writing, you’ll catch me watching a whole lot of YouTube, obsessing over the worst shows Netflix has to offer, and hanging around with my son. Wanderlust is my debut novel, and my second novel, Hot Summer, will be out 25 June 2024.
I’m represented by Jill Marr at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. I am represented for film and tv by Debbie Deuble Hill at APA.
Wanderlust
Elle Everhart. Putnam, $17 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-593-54508-9
Everhart's sparkling debut pairs a feisty heroine with a straitlaced hero on a whirlwind adventure. Bisexual writer Dylan Coughlan is at a crossroads: her career at London's Buxom magazine is going nowhere, and her decision to wrire about her abortion has put her at odds with her conservative parents--and at the center of a social media firestorm. So when she wins a trip around the world from a London radio station, she jumps at the chance. The only caveat is that the station gets to choose her traveling companion at random from her phone contacts, and it lands on someone she can't remember meeting: "Jack the Posho." Buttoned-up lawyer Jack Hunton felt a real spark when he met Dylan at a club and was disappointed that she never called, so he throws caution to the wind and agrees to join her. At first, freewheeling Dylan worries that planner Jack will be a killjoy. As their trip progresses, however, opposites attract, with Dylan opening up about her past and Jack admitting to his artistic ambitions. Everhart's layered characters leap off the page, and the no-nonsense approach to both Dylan's abortion and her sexuality is refreshing. Far-flung backdrops--including Marrakech, Reykjavik, and Tokyo--add to the fun. Everhart is a writer to watch. Agent:Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (July)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Wanderlust." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 18, 1 May 2023, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A749619635/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d3191a70. Accessed 24 May 2024.
Everhart, Elle. Hot Summer. Putnam. Jun. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9780593545126. pap. $19. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
A guilty-pleasure dating show becomes the site of a sweet and hot queer love story in Everhart's (Wanderlust) latest. Dating-app employee Cas Morgan ends up on a Love Island--esque show, Hot Summer, ostensibly to find romance; in actuality, Cas is on the show to give a boost to her employer and her career. This plan gets upended, though, when Cas meets fellow contestant Ada. Ada actually is on the show to find a meaningful relationship, which scares the commitment-averse Cas, but as she finds herself falling for Ada and becoming friends with fellow contestants, Cas's motivations for staying on the show begin to change. The majority of the book takes place in the confines of the show, so while Cas and Ada's slow-burn romance is an ever-present plotline, other over-the-top reality TV shenanigans take center stage at points, including increasingly ridiculous challenges, fighting between contestants, and one particularly awful guy. A cute secondary romance between two other contestants brings the warm fuzzies when things get serious, ensuring that the book never strays too far from its beach-read vibe. VERDICT Reality TV fans will swoon over this well-crafted, entertaining contemporary romance.--Jenny Kobiela-Mondor
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Hot Summer." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 5, May 2024, p. 85. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A793818856/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5939999a. Accessed 24 May 2024.
Everhart, Elle HOT SUMMER Putnam (Fiction None) $19.00 6, 25 ISBN: 9780593545126
All's fair in love and reality TV when Cas Morgan lands a role on a popular dating competition show.
For Cas, dating is a full-time job. She works for a popular dating app called Friday, where she hosts singles mixers and club events for those seeking a relationship. But after five years, all Cas really wants is something, well, boring for a change--a stable 9-to-5 with an actual desk and no more drunken work nights. But when Cas is called into her boss' office with the promise of a promotion, she's surprised to learn that her professional life is about to get even wilder. Cas must compete on the popular dating program Hot Summer and gain the audience's trust without letting the rest of the cast reveal Friday's ultimate goal--to create a lucrative brand partnership with the show. All Cas has to do is lounge around in a bikini and maintain a surface-level amount of charm to get her to the finale, and then she'll become the head of Friday's newest marketing integration team. But once Cas arrives at the beautiful Cyprus villa she'll call home for the next two months, she meets Ada Hall and her plans of avoiding any romantic connections crumble. Gorgeous redhead Ada is an instant fan favorite while Cas finds herself teetering on the verge of elimination each week. And yet, the only time Cas can truly be herself on the show is with Ada, a fact that makes her more and more likable to both the audience and Ada herself. Will Cas be able to win the hearts of Ada and Hot Summer fans, or will her secret leave her burned? Everhart's romance is made of reality TV dreams: juicy gossip, hot hookups, and drama, drama, drama. Cas and Ada are the fan-made stars of Hot Summer's very own Hot Gay Summer, and their chemistry is both refreshing and steaming off the pages. With reality TV theatrics and a heartfelt queer romance, this is a can't-miss book.
Love Islandmeets its match in this steamy summer romance.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Everhart, Elle: HOT SUMMER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A793537195/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ae276cdc. Accessed 24 May 2024.
‘Wanderlust’ by Elle Everhart | Romance Debut of the Month
by Migdalia Jimenez
May 02, 2023 | Filed in Reviews+
0
★Everhart, Elle. Wanderlust. Putnam. Jul. 2023. 368p. ISBN 9780593545089. pap. $17. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
DEBUT Magazine writer Dylan wants more out of her job and is vying for her own column. On a whim, she enters a BBC radio contest and wins a trip around the world for two, all expenses paid. But there’s one huge catch—her travel companion will be chosen at random from her phone contacts. Just her luck, it’s Jack—the guy she recently met and made out with at a club and then promptly ghosted. Starting off awkwardly, they gradually rediscover their chemistry from that first night. But just as they begin bonding, Dylan, hoping to get the column, jeopardizes it all by posting an article with personal details about Jack, against his wishes. Now Dylan must find a way to gain back Jack’s trust and try to salvage their budding relationship. Debut writer Everhart crafts complex characters with well-developed backgrounds and plenty of entertaining banter. VERDICT Set against the backdrop of gorgeous international locales, this slow-burn rom-com will appeal to fans of travel and social media story lines as well as the forced proximity trope. Pair with Love and Other Flight Delays by Denise Williams.
Book Review: Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
September 12, 2023opinionsofawolfLeave a commentGo to comments
Image of a book cover. The lower halves of the bodies of a white woman and a white man stand in travel clothes holding suitcases. The title of the book Wanderlust is written at the bottom. The tagline is Love's about to take flight.
In this romcom that tackles hard topics, Dylan wins a trip around the world, the only catch is she has to go with a man she ghosted months ago.
Summary:
Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho, an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted.
The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is hinging on this trip than the chance to see the world. For the past two years, Dylan’s been relegated to writing quizzes (and only quizzes) at her lifestyle magazine after an article about her past abortion went viral—and not in the good way. If she’s able to make a series about their trip successful, her overbearing boss will give her a chance at a permanent column. Dylan’s willing to do anything to make the series a hit, even if it means embellishing her and Jack’s relationship to satisfy readers. But as the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack, and Dylan is forced to consider if the one thing she thought she always wanted is worth the price she’ll have to pay to get there.
Review:
I picked this up off the library’s new book shelf because the romcom set-up sounded great. I was pleasantly surprised in chapter one to find that Dylan identifies as both queer and bisexual. Yay for more representation! But I actually ended up not liking Dylan particularly much by the end of the book.
Let’s start with the good. I found the romance sweet. It’s a classic grumpy/sunshine and organized/disorganized (Oscar and Felix for us olds out there). I liked how Dylan teased Jack for being posh and how he clearly didn’t mind the teasing. I was intrigued by why Jack was willing to drop everything to go on a trip around the world with someone who ghosted him who he also seemed to not like very much. And I was rooting for Dylan to find success blogging about her trip. The first destination was Australia, and it was definitely written the best. I could really visualize Australia, and I felt like we saw the characters spend an appropriate amount of time there.
In contrast, for a book about a trip around the world, a lot of the locations really breezed by. For example, India was less than a chapter. In South Africa we saw them at a dock. In New York we hear Jack excited about the Empire State Building but then don’t see the characters go there. It was a little bizarre for a book ostensibly about a trip around the world with a magazine writer. It was a let-down after the Australia chapters, especially.
The book deals with a couple of tough topics that might be a turn-off to some readers. Dylan wrote about her own abortion around the time Ireland was looking at its abortion policies. Her piece went viral, and she ended up being cyberbullied and doxxed. These topics aren’t mentioned in passing. They come up repeatedly in the book. Kind of heavy for a romcom. While the blurb I gave you talks about it, the blurb on the back of the print book I got from the library doesn’t mention it at all. It’s clear from looking at reviews that readers would have preferred knowing in advance, and I am glad the blurb was updated accordingly.
To me, Dylan started out likeable enough but became less likeable as the book progressed. The first glimmer I got of this was early on in Australia when Jack is nervous doing an activity, and she’s irritated at him because him looking and seeming anxious (while still doing the activity!) is impinging on her own enjoyment of the activity. This would be like saying your flight is ruined because a person in the seat next to you seems a little nervous during the flight but doesn’t talk about it and causes no issues. She has basically no empathy for Jack and is clearly self-centered. Which was jarring. As the book continues, it becomes increasingly clear that she acts without thinking. Ok sometimes people do that. But when it’s a recurring character trait that impacts other people (and hers does), that’s an issue. Especially for a character who’s almost 30. I also found how she spoke to her mother to be really terrible. She wasn’t trying to have a conversation with her mother (even though her mother was clearly trying to do so). She was giving her a speech without any interest in reconciliation. I don’t personally think her mother messed up enough to warrant that. And I didn’t like seeing it played up as some big empowering scene for Dylan. I thought it was quite sad, actually.
For readers wondering about the spice, this was an odd mix. The vast majority of the book is low spice/slow burn. Then there is one very spicy scene that takes up two chapters. (This scene also managed to make me like Dylan even less, and the score was already pretty low at that point). I found it jarring to go from all of the heat being from like a hand on the low of your back to a detailed spicy scene. I would have preferred a fade out and maybe some post-activities snuggling and pillow talk. It just fits the vibe of the rest of the book better.
Overall, the idea for the set-up for this romcom is stellar. Jack is a great leading man. But he’s set up with a leading lady who’s not particularly likeable, and the romcom is dragged down by some heavy topics.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 368 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Library
Buy It (Amazon or Bookshop.org)
DEC
20
Review: Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
BY 1GIRL2MANYBOOKS ON DECEMBER 20, 2023
Wanderlust
Elle Everhart
G.S. Putnam’s Sons
2023, 368p
Read via my local library/Borrow Box
Blurb {from the publisher/Goodreads.com}: Love’s about to take flight.
Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho , an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted.
The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is hinging on this trip than the chance to see the world. For the past two years, Dylan’s been relegated to writing quizzes (and only quizzes) at her lifestyle magazine after an article about her past abortion went viral—and not in the good way. If she’s able to make a series about their trip successful, her overbearing boss will give her a chance at a permanent column. Dylan’s willing to do anything to make the series a hit, even if it means embellishing her and Jack’s relationship to satisfy readers. But as the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack, and Dylan is forced to consider if the one thing she thought she always wanted is worth the price she’ll have to pay to get there.
I borrowed this on a whim because it looked fun and like the sort of romance I enjoy.
And it was and I did. It wasn’t perfect but it was enjoyable and I liked the dynamic.
Dylan is a writer, working for Buxom magazine. She keeps being promised a column and never getting it by her boss and is instead relegated to writing more quizzes. Bored one day she calls into a radio station who are advertising a round the world trip for one lucky winner – with the catch being that the radio station picks the person who accompanies the winner at random from the contacts in their phone. When Dylan wins, the person the radio station picks is “Jack the Posho” a guy that Dylan doesn’t even remember. They met in a bar months ago and nothing ever happened. Jack clearly remembers Dylan though and he reluctantly agrees to accompany her. From there it’s Sydney, Tokyo, Bangkok, Mumbai, Cape Town, Iceland, New York, Mexico City and….I don’t know, maybe a couple others that I’ve forgotten. At first, things are icy between Dylan and Jack. It’s obviously a bit awkward she didn’t even know who he was and clearly he remembered her and Dylan’s boss has dangled the carrot of a column in front of her if her pieces for the magazine website about her trip do certain numbers. As things warm up with Jack, it’s clear what her boss wants her to write about but Dylan knows that Jack won’t want that. What does Dylan want more….the numbers that will get her a column? Or what could happen with Jack?
I wanted a bit more about the travel – I understand that would’ve made the book a lot longer as they went to like 9 cities but…..as someone who hasn’t left their home country, if a book where travel is the hook, I kind of want to read about it? There was a bit about Sydney and Tokyo as they were the two first stops. And as someone who is from Sydney, the idea of them just getting into a hire car and “driving around the CBD to have a look” was hilarious. Have you ever seen Sydney traffic? I did love the Bridge Climb and the drive to the Three Sisters was fun. But there was very little about some of the other cities and the flights and just the general travel. It’s a lot of timezones and things and a lot of different places and honestly you don’t really get that.
The fun of the ‘going around the world with someone that is a virtual stranger who you are also becoming kinda hot for’ is balanced out by the serious issue that Dylan has faced since penning an article for her magazine about a political issue, some months ago, in which she discloses a personal decision she herself made. It led to a lot of backlash for her personally from people on the internet who harassed her, doxxed her so badly that she and her flatmate had to move house and received multiple death threats. As she writes the articles about her travel experience, some of those old trolls return, threatening her again. It’s an interesting exploration of what cna happen when you put yourself out there on the internet and how that somehow makes people think that they can say anything they like to you or about you, such as releasing your home address, threatening to kill you or hurt you in other ways and all manner of other disgusting things. And yet, most of those people do so anonymously and if you were to reveal their identity for saying such things, they’d see that as incredibly unacceptable and an invasion of their privacy. I’ve seen this play out in multiple ways in real life – guys who send dick pics to women unsolicited and then get upset when she forwards them onto their girlfriends/wives/mothers/etc. Or women who send the death threats they receive from men onto their employers. The issue Dylan speaks on is a divisive one and even puts her at odds with her own parents, who are also unable to accept the choices she has made for herself as a grown adult. In some ways, this felt a little out of odds at time, with the rest of the book but it also somehow made sense because of Dylan’s profession and the fact that she was writing in the public space.
I liked the dynamic between Dylan and Jack. She’s kind of an agent of chaos and he’s more of an uptight, live by the rules and die by the schedule type, so it leads to some interesting moments when she wants to wing it and he definitely does not. There’s a nice attraction between them that builds over the course of the trip and it’s kind of a slow burn. I thought it was pretty hot when it boiled over but then there’s the conflict that you can see coming from a mile away. That was pretty well done too, I thought it was good in the way that Dylan owned her mistake. She definitely messed up in not telling Jack and thinking that he wouldn’t find out but her apology was good – the sort of apology that people should give when they have done something wrong.
I thought this was a great way to pass an afternoon. As mentioned, I would’ve liked a little more about the individual cities, because after Tokyo they kind of became like nothing until New York or Mexico, which was a bit of a shame. But everything else I quite enjoyed.
7/10
Book #251 of 2023