Saturday 1 May 2021

Review | A Year of Chasing Love by Rosie Chambers

Published by HQ Digital on January 6, 2020


I couldn’t resist buying a copy of A Year of Chasing Love, Rosie Chambers’ debut novel. With the summery cover and the enticing blurb, this book looked like it would provide a perfect bit of escapism at a time when travelling outside the UK is not possible. As the author whisks us away to Malta and Hawaii, amongst other destinations, this story definitely did not disappoint. Fresh and feel-good, I did not want to put this book down.

Olivia Hamilton’s life comes crashing down when she receives her divorce papers. Aware that things had not been great between her and Nathan, but evidently not fully aware of just how distant they had become, Olivia is in shock and at a loss. Not only is her relationship over but now she can’t even keep herself busy with her career as a top divorce lawyer, as she is forced to take a long sabbatical from work too. At a loss of what to do with herself, Olivia reluctantly agrees to her best friend’s request for help – Olivia is to travel to a series of destinations across the world to find out what makes a relationship work – to discover the ultimate guide to love.

I was invested in Olivia’s story right from the start of this book and found myself rooting for her all the way through. Even though at times she could be a bit down on herself, to be honest it was refreshing to have a protagonist who could acknowledge her own flaws instead of being completely naïve to her own mistakes. Throughout her trips, Olivia can’t help but think about her own love life and the reasons why her marriage to Nathan didn’t work out and she has a whole world of self-discovery to come. I loved going on this journey with Olivia, even if I did want to shake her a bit…

My favourite part of the book was all the travel trips Olivia went on. Each destination offered something different, both to Olivia and to the reader. I loved how well researched each place came across from the food to the culture and the traditions in each. Even though each trip was fairly short, the author’s writing was atmospheric and evocative enough to bring each destination to life. Each country Olivia visited had their own statistics on love, marriage and divorce, and each destination brought Olivia closer to understanding just what makes a marriage work and where things had gone wrong for her and Nathan.

Nathan was the enigma in this book for me. I was eager to see if things could be worked out between him and Olivia, despite not really knowing anything about him apart from the memories Olivia shares. Strangely I was rooting for their happy ending even though we never really heard much from him, and had this book been longer, I would have liked to have seen more of Nathan so we could truly see what all the fuss was about!

At a time when holidaying abroad isn’t an option, A Year of Chasing Love takes you on a mini tour of some tempting destinations. Rosie Chambers brings the sunshine, delivering a heartfelt and romantic read that left me with a smile on my face come the end.

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