After fourteen years of marriage, Amanda ends up on her own and no longer sure of who she is. At forty, she's divorced, childless, and living with a roommate. How did she even get here? And what is she going to do to find herself again?
I have such mixed feelings about this book. Amanda's plight makes her sympathetic, but her actions made me feel more annoyed than sorry for her. She kept trying to fix the problem by being with another guy--usually for the fantastic sex--than dedicate time to focusing on how she got to where she was and where she wanted to be. I'm not saying that's unrealistic, but I think I would have found her more sympathetic if I were twenty years younger and less settled in my own life.
If the entire book had been as strong as the final six chapters, I would have loved it. Instead, I walked along with Amanda as she narrated a story of crazy relationships, sex in cars, and hookups while on vacation that went nowhere. And though the reader is supposed to witness Amanda's transformation, they actually aren't privy to much detail of the year in which the transformation begins to take place. Chapter 17 leaves Amanda back at home after a trip to Grand Cayman where she spent time with a man named John. The next chapter is a mere two and quarter pages long that talks about the year she spends alone focusing on herself and her family rather than finding love. Then it's back to another vacation and another guy.
But again, I have to say, I truly enjoyed how the author concluded the book. That last vacation changes everything for her, even if Amanda didn't know it right away. And the final chapter recaps how those relationships with various men brought her to where she finds herself at the end.
The majority of the reviews for Traveling for Love during this virtual book tour have been great, so perhaps I was just too far away from this character's situation to appreciate all she was going through. I would like to read another book by this author to see how it compares.
Paperback: 178 pages
Publisher: Becky Due an Imprint of Telemachus Press (December 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937698173
ISBN-13: 978-1937698171
I received a free copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
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