Spring has arrived (well, arrived, then disappeared, then arrived again, etc.). It’s a time when many people start getting the urge for a change of scenery. Travel gives book characters all sorts of opportunities for growth and of course, the potential to get involved in a whirlwind romance.
Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert
Conrad and Alden are both devoted players of a popular tabletop card game called Odyssey. They both frequent Professor Tuttle’s game store and create content for the professor’s blog, “Gamer Grandpa”. Even with all these things in common, Conrad and Alden often find each other at odds with each other’s opinions and views on life.
When Professor Tuttle wins tickets to an Odyssey convention in Las Vegas, circumstances fall so that Conrad and Alden are stuck in a car on a long road trip with just the two of them. The road trip makes for a very enjoyable development of their relationship. They can’t get away from each other and as they travel they end up naturally opening up to each other about their personal struggles, such as Conrad’s feelings of abandonment after his family cut him off when he came out. I look forward to reading the sequel, “Out of Character” soon!
Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinley
Chelsea Martin is a hardworking fundraiser for the American Cancer Coalition, a job she took when her mother died of cancer. When her father announces that he’s getting remarried, she’s forced to recognize that while her father is moving on in his own way, she’s stuck. Chelsea starts thinking about the last time she felt happy, carefree and in love, and she realizes it was when she traveled to Europe and fell in love with three different men in Ireland, France, and Italy, respectively. She decides to go back to Europe, track down her exes and try to recapture some of the magic. She isn’t prepared for her coworker, Jason Knightley, however. While her trip is a vacation, it’s also a working vacation and she needs to keep in contact with Jason and her boss. When Jason ends up joining her in France and comforting her after her former French boyfriend lets her down in a big way, she starts to wonder if maybe Jason is not so annoying after all. The European backdrop provides a fun escape, while at the same time both Jason and Chelsea have tremendous losses in their past which they both discover they need to fully grieve.
Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters
Hairpin Curves is another road trip book, but for this story the characters are driving from Florida to a wedding in Quebec. Megan has always longed to travel the world but she’s reached twenty-five and she still hasn’t even left the state of Florida. Megan, Scarlett, and Juliet were best friends until Juliet left for Quebec. In the absence of Juliet, Megan and Scarlett had a falling out which led them to not talking to each other for several years. When Juliet announces she’s getting married, she invites both Megan and Scarlett to the wedding, not realising that Megan and Scarlett are no longer friends. Scarlett asks if Megan wants to drive to Quebec together despite no longer being close. While a road trip with Scarlett doesn’t sound all that appealing to Megan, she has just lost her job she hates, and she’s tired of just sitting around waiting for life to happen. Little does Megan know, Scarlett has been nursing a huge crush on Megan though she thinks Megan is straight, unaware that Megan had come out after their friendship had ended. Megan and Scarlett’s blossoming relationship is very slow burn but pays off with plenty of steam.
Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy
Elle Kennedy is one of my personal favourite authors as well as the unofficial queen of hockey romance so I was very excited for this new, albeit not-hockey-related romance. Nineteen-year-old Abby Bly’s father is a retired rock star, and as a result is maybe a little too overprotective of Abby. She decides the way to finally gain a little freedom in life is to travel to London for a year to study abroad. When Abby arrived in London, she’s shocked that all her roommates are boys, and what’s more, there’s a strict no-dating policy among the housemates due to a former bad experience with the girl who lived with them before. Before she knows it, Abby is not only crushing hard on Jack, her rugby playing roommate, but also develops feelings for Nate, a musician who already has a girlfriend. Love triangles are not usually my favourite trope, but Kennedy is a funny and gifted writer, so she more than managed to win me over. Abby also gets involved in a school research project that becomes an exciting royalty-related mystery running throughout the story as well.
Safe travels!
For more romance recommendations, check out the Your Next Great Read: Romance info guide!
– Madeleine
Readers' Salon 