Fun story, but there was too much 'lecturing' on string theory, and physics, and chess. ( )

A SUMMER IN EUROPE Marilyn Brant
Starts out with Gwen who's a teacher and off for the summer, is celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend of 2years. She's thinking he's going to propose to her but he only gives her some other jewelry. The aunt that raised her, and her S&M (not what you are thinking) board game playing friends give her a treat as one of them can't go. a trip to see Europe 5 weeks.
I find the tour guide is super. He knows where to take them, off the beaten path but also the major touristy sites. He gives them time to wander on their own if they wish or to stay as a group. Gwen does a bit of both. She describes the market place in detail that makes me want to
go just to experience the smells and colors. Her aunt tries to push her into going out more after dinner so she will forget her dull boyfriend and maybe have some fun.
Cool how one of the group is heavily into numbers and knows exactly how many steps a certain museum has, sometimes over 400. The views, gardens, parks and gondola rides sound like something I would want to do.
At a friends house yesterday and she showed me set of earrings made from
blown glass on the island of Murano=very fascinating design. In the book that is one of their stops=to see the glass blowers.
Love how knowledgeable the guide is. Would make this trip in their footsteps if I had him for a guide.
This book describes what a lot of places are like seeing them for the first time, very detailed.
You can tell the appreciation for the buildings, architecture, sounds, colors, traditions, and the story that goes along with the group on this adventure.
Between the guide and the England part of the group there is a wealth of knowledge as to what facts they know, astonishing!
Tragedy strikes on their way to play in the world wide tournament.
Gwen gets a shock when they arrive in England.
Love the ending and also the explanation of how to play the board game, thanks for adding that.
What I would have liked to have seen was the map of their journey.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review ( )

Disappointing. The premise sounded really interesting (sheltered woman opens up and finds new things about herself while on an unexpected holiday in Europe). But, apart from the protagonist, the characters felt flat and 'by the numbers', the prose leaden and the dialogue deadly dull. Most unforgiveable, for a novel centred around a trip through Europe, there was almost no sense of place; instead the places visited felt as if they were being treated in the same way the heroine herself had started out, as locations to be crossed off her unimaginative checklist. ( )

This was a wonderful book, and took you on a mini tour through Europe. The story was delightfully told, and transported me to another time and place. It certainly made me wish I was on tour too. I really enjoyed this, and this would be a perfect story to turn into a movie. I couldn't help but cast characters as I was reading along. ( )

*WARNING* This review may cause spontaneous growth to your wish list thanks to the fan girl-ish reading adventure about to be revealed. Proceed with caution. You have been warned.*

Now I've read this author's work before (okay, one title to be exact, but I aim to add the other one to my "to read" and then "read" lists very soon), so I've had a little experience with her writing style, character building and tone...but as many of you know, each written work is a unique creation and so its merit or lack thereof can truly only be judged against itself. Deep, huh? I blame Emerson and Thoreau's influence....not the actual writers but the characters in the book that bare their names. ^_^ Let's not get a head of ourselves...

When first we meet Gwendolyn Reese, it's like a mirror being held to your face...or rather my face. Let's just say that I identify with her in many ways and with that humanity Gwen endeared herself to me as a character to be heard, to be watched, and to grow with. Her life is not exactly where she intended it to be and when a birthday surprise (or lack thereof) falls through. things hit a pretty big bump in the road. Lucky for her, Aunt Bea is on the case....

Who is Aunt Bea? She's no detective is that's what you were thinking, rather she's the female strength and influence in one's life that has the best of intentions even if the methods don't always meet expectations. (She reminds me in some ways of my own Mom...but that's a story for another post...) She adds that spark to life that is often lost over time giving those she loves the needed push to reach further than the happy maybe after placed neatly before them. She's spunky (impromptu trip to Europe anyone?), eccentric (member of an "S and M club"...though it's not at all what you are thinking), a force so full of life that it spills over onto those in her general vicinity, creating almost magical results. Truly another memorable character and one whose ulterior motives for the trip with Gwen are clear from the start....she wants her to be HAPPY and what's so wrong with that? Anywho, back to the story....

Their trip takes them as well as the rest of the U.S. S and M group (stop giggling...it's not what you think!) overseas to explore the vast wonderful-ness that is Europe (needless to say a place that's on my dream vaca list) and get in a little gaming. Little did they know the life experience gained wouldn't merely be the stamps on their passports....or rather, little did Gwen know. In her methodical planning for this spur of the moment trip (there's an oxymoron), she has her luggage packed, her itinerary perfectly laid out, and her checklist of famous sites to see all written out. Yep...the perfect trip from A to Z...too bad life doesn't always go according to plan (something she should already know) but sometimes those deviations are what make it truly worth living...and whew so THESE certainly qualify. ^_^

The deviations in this story as in life bare many names and share a myriad of faces and spaces. From the "Britsicles" who eventually thaw to a point of understanding to Zenia and her unending zest for life, they are a group of characters in both senses of the word. Then there's the brothers.... ~swoon~.... Emerson and Thoreau. Both connoisseurs of their chosen areas and both playing a game in which Gwen unwittingly is a key player. Their charm goes far...their egos farther, but underneath the bravado and devil-may-care air beat the hearts of two fellows you'd love to know (and if you wouldn't, I would...so move over! ^_^). They quote their namesakes often and battle each other's wits constantly. In short, they are quite the duo to tango with and Gwen's heart may be their intended partner. What of her boyfriend-but-should-be fiancee-if-he-wasn't-chicken back in the states? What about him indeed! Gwen's sensibilities keep her in check...for now. Absence makes the heart grow fonder...but only if it's been tended to in the first place.

Ah yes....I enjoyed the story whole-heartedly. When Gwen really connected with the trip and the beauty surrounding her in both physical and mental presence....that's when her story really came to life. Everything was that much richer, every detail that much brighter. She was seeing things for the first time but REALLY seeing them and that realization radiated from the page through the author's words. The time spent in verbal banter and mental chess moves (lots of math references) are amusing and you can't help but laugh out loud at their antics. Just whose, I won't reveal...but trust me, it's a good match.

In summary, take one part Tuscan sun with a life built from the ruins....shake violently and let the pieces fall where they may. The end results may not be perfect, but they are perfectly enjoyable leaving a story that will resonate with both women achieving their dreams now as well as those barely able to glimpse it for the forest standing before them. It's about life. It's about love. It's about taking the chances we are presented and making the most of the experience we gain. It's about every one of us at one time or another and therefore allows us to see just what can happen when the other show drops without someone in place to catch it; sometimes it ends in a clatter....other times, it nets us a prince.

Recommended read for older teens through adult readers....it does get senseous a time or two but in a purely classy way. A book I know I'll be recommending time and again...and hopefully, you will be too. ( )