I won’t lie — this book started off a bit rocky with me, because it felt like I’d been dumped into the mind of a crazy person! But I’m glad I stuck it out, because I wound up enjoying it quite a lot.

*Disclaimer: as part of a book club, I chose this one out of hundreds of books because I was in the mood for something funny, for a change! And it did not disappoint.*

The Premise

Never-been-anywhere-or-done-anything-of-significance Lucy decides to do a complete 180-degree turn from her usual character and drop everything to hop on board the “backup” honeymoon in London because her sister forgot to cancel it. The hotel has strict rules that it must be for honeymooners only, so Lucy tells a “little white lie” that soon develops into a messy situation when an old friend from school, Cary, swoops in to play along as her husband in a marriage of convenience so he can escape the horrors of hostel life. But hotel concierge Oliver is on their trail, aware that something just doesn’t add up…

The Pros

This was light-hearted and genuinely funny, and had a distinct tinge of the kind of brain-dump silliness that I’ve always enjoyed with the Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” series. It’s an easy comparison, because Lucy is in her head and quirkily stumbling along with every move. I enjoyed the London and Paris scenes, especially as I’ve been to both places, and the humour kept me reading the book which I flipped through in a couple of hours. It’s a nice, jaunty read with no lulls, and the characters are lively. The side relationships and her budding friendships with both male leads felt genuine, and there were many moments of levity despite the seriousness at the peak of the action.

The Cons

While I enjoyed the story, the writing did seem all over the place at times! There were also some parts that seemed tossed in with side characters having their own thing going on, and it took away from some of the pacing. For example, all the messages from her family were distracting me from the plot, and I could have done with a lot less of that to keep me in the thick of things! But these are minor issues that did not negate the wonderful ride of the story overall.

Conclusion

All in all, this was a good, fun and easy read. Despite some hiccups, I did not stop reading it at all, and I relished the end where everything wrapped up nicely and it all fell into place. It was a little disorienting to be in the character’s head along with all the meandering thoughts, but it was a fun escape and nice travel story. I look forward to more from this author.

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