Trip of a Lifetime by J.P. Bowie
Trip of a Lifetime was not only very romantic, but it also reminded me a lot of those Mills&Boon romances I eagerly read when I was a teenager, and for me this is a huge compliment. Usually in those novels there was always a darkly handsome English/Scottish man who swept away the innocent pale like a tea-rose secretary/teacher/nurse. The Old Europe flavour of those books made them even more special, since, even if the main characters were in danger, or passionately in love, or having trouble, it always seemed everything was softer, dreaming-like, simple to resolve. And as often in those romances, the setting moves from rainy England to sunny Italy, to allow the heroes to fall in love in a more romantic setting.
Coming back to the story, there is actually one main difference, one of the heroes is not English but American. Aside from that, Alex preserves all his tea-roses characteristic: a bit naïve, mostly innocent (not sexually speaking but more as attitude), fair and pale in color, and a very sweet attitude. He is not someone who likes to impose himself, he is often day-dreaming, and he is totally unaware of his charm. Still slightly suffering from a bad break-up, Alex decides for an impromptu vacation in Tuscany, against the best advice of his best friend and mother, who in the end accept Alex’s decision.
As soon as he arrives in Florence, Alex meets Gavin, a very handsome Scottish business man, with an overwhelming persona, who passionately courts Alex; they are inseparable from the very first night, and even if they have to overcome some dangerously situations, as I said they are no really life-treating, but more annoying; actually everything resolves for the better without nor Alex or Gavin have to do much, since more or less they are too committed to love each other to pay attention to anything else.
I really love the characterization J.P. Bowie did of Gavin, a perfect son of Scotland. True, he has an advantage being originally from Scotland, and indeed, both in attitude than in language, Gavin felt original and very, very charming. I also liked Alex, he was not an imposing man, but he is the type of man you notice in a room, since his allure is subtle but strong, and his strength is given by his sweetness; and as in those old fashioned romances, Alex has “hidden” weapons, unexpected resourcefulness he is able to bring out at the right moment. And btw, I’m pretty sure J.P. Bowie had in mind those romances while writing this one, and I think the secretary reference he did in the end was an homage to the genre.
P.S. Thank you to J.P. Bowie, I think that “Hotel Elisa” was a little gift for me ;-) And even if he probably doesn’t know, I love those old fashioned hotels as well.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1304
Amazon: Trip of a Lifetime
Amazon Kindle: Trip of a Lifetime
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (July 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0857154354
ISBN-13: 978-0857154354
Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle