Author: Karen King
Narrator: Rachel Louise Miller
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: February 2019
Genre: Chick-Lit / Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | Audible
Description: What if – to find yourself – you had to run away?
Last year was meant to be when Holly got her happy-ever-after. But stuck in a job that’s going nowhere, and a relationship that feels more like it’s going backwards… this year Holly has decided it’s time to change her life. She just has to:
– End the relationship with the commitment-phobic boyfriend
– Go on a proper adventure
– Learn to be herself again
– Definitely, categorically not fall in love.
Cramming her belongings into her little yellow Mini, Holly drives on to a ferry bound to Spain, to stay at a remote farmhouse near a beautiful village in the Andalusian hills.
But the day she arrives she nearly crashes her car into a gorgeous guy on a motorbike. He’s called Matias and their paths keep crossing, much to Holly’s irritation. Because as she learns to speak Spanish from the locals, finally starts laying out plans for her own design business, and sips sangria in the sunlit village square, Holly is beginning to remember who she is and what she wants.
So she won’t allow herself be distracted by Matias. Because this year – for Holly – there are more important things in life than love. And she won’t let yet another bad relationship ruin everything… will she?
A moving and uplifting romantic comedy about living each moment and learning to trust yourself again, for fans of Jenny Hale, Debbie Macomber, and Sophie Kinsella.
My Thoughts: Sometimes I honestly don’t know why the publishers provide a description of a book, especially when the story really doesn’t align with said description. This story did not convey that Holly was supposed to get her big happy ending the year prior or that her job is going nowhere. It glosses over exactly why her relationship with commitment phobic boyfriend is a dead end street and especially doesn’t touch on why she chooses Spain for her identity rediscovery. She’s definitely not sitting around sipping sangria. I’m beginning to think that I should go in blind when starting a book so I don’t build up any expectations.
I enjoyed the story and paired the reading with an audio format. By the end of the book, the narrator’s voice for Holly started to grate on me and pull me out of the story. Though the narrator did well with the Spanish accents of Matias and the locals of the village, I do not recommend the audio format for this book.
I liked Holly and thought she was very brave to go on this journey of self-discovery and figuring out what she wants in life even though she comes across as very wishy washy about whether or not she likes Matias or if he likes her. Initially, Matias seems very hostile but once I got to know him and the reasons behind his demeanor, it made sense. I also liked that the author gives the reader some backstory about Matias and his family. In addition, I loved the adorable Shih Tzu, Luna, who turns out to be a wonderful character throughout the story.
My Final Verdict: Though this story did not knock my socks off, I enjoyed it. Readers who enjoy stories set in interesting locales will enjoy the attention to detail the author gives of Spain. I recommend this story to fans of contemporary romances, chick-lit and cute and feisty dogs.
Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
No comments:
Post a Comment