Off the Map by Trish Doller
2023 Frenzied Bibliophile Challenge Category: Romance
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 3; A few descriptive scenes
Sexy Times: 3; When Carla and Eamon have their first kiss there were fireworks
Will you like this book? You might if you like:
Lust at first sight
Family dramas
Adventure travel
A good pint of Guinness at an Irish pub
Bulls
This was a fun read from Trish Doller, an author new to me. I love a good rom-com with an Irish lad that includes adventurous travel. I wasn’t disappointed. Carla arrives in Dublin so she can travel to Tralee to act as maid of honor to her best friend, Anna. Her ride to the wedding is Eamon, the brother of the groom, Keane. Eamon is the responsible older brother who doesn’t put a foot wrong. Carla travels the world in her Jeep, Valencia. Her beloved father, Biggie, inspired her love of adventure and he taught her to travel with everything she needs in her backpack.
Carla and Eamon have a very meet-cute and from their first kiss on, the chemistry was palatable. But that of course is not the problem for these two. You can have great chemistry but what happens when one person has spent her whole life on the go and the other has been following all the rules his whole life, taking care of other people. How do the get their HEA?
This book pulled you right in. I loved the story and I had such a soft spot for Carla’s dad, Biggie. In Doller’s development of Carla and her father, you could feel the bond between them and how hard Biggie worked to give Carla a great life. And Stella, I loved Stella. On the flip side, the one thing I struggled with was Eamon’s character. I think sometimes when you read a book as part of a series and if you haven’t read the previous ones, you miss the backstory. I am guessing that the reader was introduced to Easmon in the previous book and maybe there was more insight into Eamon’s character..
So I definitely recommend this book, but I feel like reading at least Anna and Keane’s story (which went right on my TBR) first would add to this book. I also feel like if I rented a Land Rover and drove all over Ireland, I would connect even more!
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