Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Book Review: Flying Duo



By Sara Steven

London lawyer Rachel Watson has wound up in an Indian ashram with hippy heartthrob lover, Seb.

A high-achiever, Rachel has always lived life according to her Life List, ticking off goals along the way. But now that she's in India, Rachel is going with the flow, or at least trying to...

Rachel's visa is running out and it's time to decide whether her relationship with Seb is a holiday romance or built to last.

The pair embark on a trip to Nepal for an Everest base camp trek, but will their relationship survive this gruelling expedition or is it time to part ways? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

Oh, the leeches!

Zoe May does an excellent job at providing just the right amount of description and imagery to her stories, and Flying Duo is no exception. The hike Rachel takes through the Everest base camp with Seb, along with the turbulence she experiences with other hikers, and surprising leeches--I had no idea you might find leeches at Everest!--really added to the chaos that Rachel feels. She’s not entirely sure where her relationship with Seb is heading, or where she wants to be in her own life. 

Given I’m more like Rachel, I could really understand her need to find stability. She loves to create goals for herself and cross them off her list, while Seb is the complete opposite of that. He is much more of a “take the days one at a time” kind of guy, and waits to see where he ends up. With two opposing personalities, I could see how it could add tension in the relationship, something that is highlighted even more during the hiking excursion. I wondered if Rachel would be able to help Seb find more of his focus, and if Seb could help Rachel to relax and take joy in the little things, and as the synopsis indicates, whether the relationship will survive, or if it will be best for them to go their own separate ways.

The landscape is another strong character within Flying Duo. I loved the descriptions of the Indian ashram and the trip they went on to Nepal, and the experiences they have while out in nature. I love hiking, and I could clearly picture and see the environment they’re in while trying to prove something to themselves as individuals, and as a couple.

I’ve read quite a few of Zoe May’s books, but realized after reading this one that I haven’t read Flying Solo, the book meant to come before this one, where we learn more about how Rachel and Seb found one another. While I appreciated that Flying Duo can be read as a standalone, I’m interested in gaining more of a backstory, and will be adding Flying Solo to my to-be-read pile.

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK * Amazon US 

Zoe May is an author of romantic comedies. Zoe has dreamt of being a novelist since she was a teenager. She worked in journalism and copywriting in London before writing her debut novel, Perfect Match. Having experienced the London dating scene first hand, Zoe couldn't resist writing a novel about dating since it seems to supply endless amounts of weird and wonderful material!

Perfect Match was one of Apple's top-selling books of 2018. It was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association's Joan Hessayon Award, with judges describing it as 'a laugh out loud look at love and self-discovery - fresh and very funny'.

As well as writing, Zoe enjoys walking her dog, painting and, of course, reading! She adores animals and if she's not taking a photo of a vegan meal, she's probably tweeting about the dairy industry. She is half Greek and half Irish and can make a mean baklava. Zoe has a thing for horror films, India, swimming, hip hop and Radiohead. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of handbags having spent several years working in fashion copywriting and could probably win Mastermind if this was her specialist subject!

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