Tuesday 31 May 2016

Book Review - Destination India by Katy Collins

Amazon UK
Title: Destination India (The Lonely Hearts Travel Club, Book 2)
Author: Katy Colins
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Carina
Publication Date: 2nd June
Rating: 5 Stars


Let yourself go…
Starting the Lonely hearts Travel Club was supposed to be the second chance that gave Georgia Green back her life. She thought it would be just like travelling, but the reality is far from rosy as she realises that starting a new business is definitely not a beach!

So when Georgia finds herself on an impromptu work trip to India she knows something’s got to give! Where has the girl gone who fought so hard to rebuild her life?

The land of Bollywood, gorgeous beaches and the Taj Mahal might just hold the key to Georgia finding her stride again… Only she is about to find out that when in India the country calls the shots – not you. But Georgia’s not going down that easy!

Join Georgia Green for her next big adventure in Bollywood!

Having spent months and months longing for Destination India to come out, needing another fix from the Lonely Hearts Travel Club, there was a tiny part of me that was nervous, incase either I had hyped the next book up in my mind too much, or that the first was a one book wonder. Well I definitely need not have worried, as Destination India is every bit as good as the first, if not even better. 

Before I start waxing lyrical as that is all I want to do, I should assure people that are new to Katy Colins and her Lonely Hearts Travel Club series that this second book can be read as a standalone very easily, although for full enjoyment I would still recommend starting from the first book, especially if you love virtual travel. 

Destination India starts with a pretty quick pace, that while Georgia was working and trying to keep control over every aspect of her business, she is quickly becoming a workaholic and unrecognisable to her friends and family. When some awful reviews of their India tour start coming through, in a drunken moment with a friend they decide to go on the tour themselves to sort it out once and for all. 

Georgia ends up in India without her friend, but doesn't let it stop her. The descriptions from the second she lands in India, the initial meetings with her tour guide, to the sights and sounds of the places they go to, took me completely away from real life and I felt as though I was alongside Georgia experiencing it all for myself. 

The destination and travel writing in the book doesn't overpower you with facts, although the "tour guide-off" at the Taj Mahal was fascinating and hilarious, with hidden messages being passed between the two guides in question, while their groups watched on bemused. The 15 hour train trip across India sums up a lot about this vibrant and misunderstood country and the section in Goa was colourful and felt like everything I imaginated the island to be. 

I loved getting to know not only Georgia but also all the characters on the tour with her, where she is undercover, and seeing how she tried to help out her guide and understand the reasoning behind the reviews, just showed what a great person she really is. 

Before I started this, I think I had been suffering a bit of a book hangover for a few days and had been struggling to read anything for longer than half an hour at a time. This has fixed me again thankfully and I devoured this in a matter of hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. My only suggestion would be to make sure you order some Indian to go alongside this book, as you may find yourself craving a curry!

My only fault with this story was, that it had to end, and that I now have to wait months again for the next book, which I am as I suspect goes without saying really looking forward to. This is a series and author that is hitting all the elements I love in a book and putting them together in a fantastic way, creating unputdownable stories. 

Thank you to much to Netgalley and Carina for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

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