I am a homebody. I love to just kick back and relax at home. But I think with COVID and everything I may have overdone it a little. Lately, I’ve been getting that wanderlust itch to travel somewhere. To get inspired, I picked up a few reads to remind myself that the world still exists outside of my house. And if it happens to have a little romance in it, the more the better.

Who doesn’t want to go on a bus tour to fabulous England? Am I right? I’ve been to London and I very much enjoyed it. Gigi, on the other hand is a workaholic who doesn’t want to leave her bookshop. Luckily she has some friends who surprise her with the gift of bus tour across the UK. But not just any bus tour. This one is lead by Zane, the man whose voice soothes her to sleep at night - because he narrated her favorite audio book. However, when she shows up, he’s not there. What’s a girl to do? This one took a couple of turns that I wasn’t expediting. Like our MC, I also chose to listen to the audio book, but NPL has it in print if that’s more your jam. Either way, this one is worth the effort. 

Project Runway meets Roman Holiday? Um…yes please. Fashion designer Violet is in Rome for a one month internship/competition. She’s up against two of her fashion school classmates and the winner gets a dream job working for an Italian designer. Violet is glad to get away from New York for a while because her ex has been trying to reconnect and as safe as that sounds, she really wants something else. Perhaps she can find it in Rome. This one sucked me in from the beginning. From the meet-disaster between Matt and Violet to the friends she makes along the way, I enjoyed all of these characters. Again I chose to listen to the audio, but print is also available for your reading pleasure. Grazie, NPL.

I really enjoyed this one and then I found out that it is the second book in the series, but I haven’t read the first one! What?!?! AHHH! Oh well. I didn’t really feel like I was missing much, but I will have to go back and read Love Chai and Other Four-Letter Words to catch up. So anyway, Payal has a one-night stand with a friend of a friend, Ayaan. It’s hot, but neither are looking for a complicated relationship. Until their parents decide to merge their companies and families by arranging an engagement between the two. Payal and Ayaan live in New York and neither wants to disappoint their parents, who live in London. The merger does boost Payal’s fashion line since Ayaan is a marketing genius. But will it be enough to build a life together? I liked all these characters and think her modern Indian fusion clothing designs sound gorgeous. Check this out for yourself and see what you think. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go catch up on the first part of this story.

Jana Suleiman is a good girl. Which means I related to her right from the start. The only time she decided to color outside of the lines a bit, she found out her lover was not divorced and she ended up pregnant. Ooof. That’s tough. Now, 5 years later, she’s attending the safari wedding of her friends with her daughter…and her ex. This is a recipe for disaster if I’ve ever seen one, but I have to say that I enjoyed this story. Personally, I have zero desire to go on a Tanzanian safari because I am not good at roughing it. But it was interesting to read about. I wish this was a series, because I would have loved to read more about Jana, Anil, and their big South Asian families. I enjoyed the audio version, but NPL also has print, so pick your pleasure and get reading.

I don’t know that I have to travel to a foreign country to scratch my itch, but it was certainly fun to read about them. 

Happy lovely travels…
:) Amanda