Novel set in LONDON (mainly)

• Book: Girls Who Travel
• Location: London
• Author: Nicole Trilivas

Review Author: tripfiction

What do you do when your year of backpacking comes to an end? Do you settle down to a regular job, or do you find ways to finance more travelling in the future? From Europe, through India and more destinations, Kika’s adventures were crowned by a passionate love affair with the charismatic Irishman Lochlon which ended to all intents and purposes in Southern India. Lochlon continued with his backpacking adventures. Kika returns to the States and is hunkering down to do a rather mundane job, ironically part of it involves planning travel for others. Probably, a means to an end, but her future is unclear.

Her work comes to a rather juddering end because she doesn’t really have her eye on the ball, and is summarily bowled into touch by Bae Yoon, a competitive colleague; but, hey, she is soon offered an au pair job for a family in London, and off she goes. It’s a good life amongst the rich jet set, where she finds her real skills of caring and enabling the two little girls in her charge. It’s a pretty ok life. Roll in Aston Hyde Bettencourt from next door, a rich businessman (only you possibly wouldn’t guess it) and she finds a bit more colour added to her life palette.

Accompanying her family to a ‘do’ at the Wolseley she comes across Bae Yoon once more, but things between them are soon settled with the help of Aston, the knight in shining armour, and life moves on. But what hold does Lochlon still have over her heart? Will Aston get a look in, hovering in the background, forlornly strumming his instrument in the garden? A few twists and turns and a ride in a private jet, and a few days off the coast of Amalfi, soon give Kika the clarity she needs to find her way to her own future.

I found the cover eye catching because it just shouts travel and backpacking! I was slightly taken aback because the setting, to all intents and purpose is not multiple locations (as I felt the title and cover implied) but London (and there is only really one girl – rather than plural girls – who is intent on travelling; you could, sort of, include Elsbeth, in whose house Kika lives, but she is more of a swish travelling gal). However, London really comes to life in the capable hands of this author, whether it is a quick bottle of wine at Gordon’s Wine Bar (in fact, London’s oldest wine bar) just off the Embankment or the Zetland Arms in Kensington, where Aston plays music. The writing is extremely competent and the storyline bowls along at a good pace. Interestingly the novel feels as though it is written in part, in the form of a memoir, which works quite well. I think the one issue I might have is the chemistry between Kika and Aston and for me, it just wasn’t there – they have two differing outlooks on what travel means to them, and at times he was a little gauche for the more experienced and seemingly worldly Kika. But it is after all a story about finding who you are and where you can truly be happy in life, whether that is stationed in one place or permanently on the move.

This review first appeared on our blog, where we also chat to the author about travel and writing

Back to book