You had me with a wine bottle on the cover ;)

Self-discovery. Lots of inner-brewing reflection. And a ton of questions.... to like or not like this book.
Yours to discover. I had an interesting take on this book. Glad I read it but not sure who I'd recommend it to. One of those....

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Ken Dortzbach and Cloister Inn Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this publication which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Callie McGraw is an overachieving lawyer in New York City who just got laid off. Now, Callie is listless, drifting through life when an old friend gives her a job opportunity in San Francisco in six months. Callie makes a last minute decision to spend her six months in Spain thanks to a strange phone call from her favorite deceased author, Ernest Hemmingway. Callie begins in Barcelona where she quickly finds fellow aimless American, Trevor. The two hit it off and enjoy Spain in all of it's excess, always with a glass of wine in hand. Soon, Claudio, a Spaniard also in transition joins their group. The trio journey to Madrid and Pamplona, taking in all the comforts Spain has to offer. Following Hemmingway's advice, they find themselves at the Running of the Bulls where Callie decides to face her fears.

Finding Hemingway is intriguing contemporary fiction with a dash of magical realism. I really loved the plot device of Callie receiving phone calls from Hemingway, I wish one of my favorite authors would call and give me advice! Callie was a difficult character to like. Right from the beginning, Callie came off as boastful, selfish, and judgmental. Though the story was a journey of growth for Callie, she seemed to grow in fits and spurts, often revealing more unflattering parts of herself before working on another. I was more compelled by Callie's travelling companion's Trevor and Claudio. Trevor and Claudio both had an air of mystery about their lives, backstories and why they are aimlessly travelling around Spain. I did enjoy reading about the many different locations that the group explored, especially the museums, restaurants and clubs. I especially liked the in-depth descriptions of the traditions surrounding the Running of the Bulls and the course itself. The ending was satisfying and I'm glad Callie found her Hemingway.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for this ARC that I requested as a personal fan of Hemingway.

However, I didn't love this book mostly because I found the Hemingway character to be a bit unbelievable. It just didn't fit with my profile of Hemingway.

I liked this one because it specifically alludes to "To the Sun Also Rises" and feels like a contemporary version of that book. Callie annoyed me at times, kind of how Nick (Sun Also Rises) annoyed me -- she came across sometimes as a petulant child but the book is very character-driven so you'll see growth from her.

Overall, it was a cool, interesting concept, it just didn't work for me!

Callie LOVES Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises is her jam. She is smitten with the author. So, she decides to head to Spain in search of Hemingway. Yep, Hemingway. Lots of wind and travel abound. And the more time Callie spends in Spain, the more she opens herself up.

What a fun and entertaining story! I really enjoyed reading about Callie's sojourn to Spain - it was an adventure and it was magical. I didn't care for Callie - she was selfish and immature and completely unbearable at times. And yet, I wanted to find out if her trip would change her - make her see that there life is not all about Callie.

Finding Hemingway is a great book that will sweep you away for an interesting and unusual adventure. You will fall in love with Spain and Hemingway.

"Finding Hemingway" describes the journey of Callie and Trevor throughout several locations in Spain. Callie and Trevor are both between jobs and seek entertainment in Spain for six months. They meet and join up with Claudio, a wealthy Spanish businessman who acts as their guide. Unbeknownst to her companions, Callie has had "conversations" with Ernest Hemingway, her favorite author, as he directs her path through her journeys. (Yes, she knows he is dead.)

This book is essentially a retelling of "The Sun Also Rises," as the expatriates wander from town to town, spending most days eating, sightseeing, and getting drunk. The story also focuses on the love relationship between pragmatic Callie and the flamboyant Claudio, with Trevor tagging along as a sort of lost soul. Callie is called upon to face her inner demons and struggles.

The characters seemed shallow and contrived, rudderless drunken wanderers who recreate scenes from Hemingway's novel. The novel plodded along, much longer than was necessary. Callie and Claudio argue over really idiotic issues, such as how many lovers they have had in the past. Although Callie rediscovers her love of art, she does nothing about it when returning to corporate life after her fling. The epilogue seemed pasted on as an anti-climax.

The idea of a male author writing about the feelings and thoughts of a female seemed incongruous; I found myself doubting that a female would actually have some of the thoughts and say some of the things Callie did. There is mild swearing in this novel. I was intrigued by the description since it included Hemingway, but found it to be disappointing overall.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This was a journey of self-discovery for Callie, a New York lawyer who has six months between jobs and a hefty severance check when she is called to Spain by Ernest Hemingway. Literally, she received a call from Ernest Hemingway.

The book had a strong sense of place that I loved. The majority of the action takes place in Barcelona, Madrid, and Pamplona, Spain. I enjoyed taking a virtual tour and vicariously experiencing the sights and tastes of this beautiful country.

Callie, is a difficult person to like. In my opinion, she is selfish and gets mad about things that are non-issues. Callie meets Trevor almost immediately upon landing in Barcelona. Sadly, Trevor was not fully developed and I never really understood why he hung around in Callie’s orbit instead of branching out on his own. The character that I enjoyed reading about the most was Claudio. I feel his character was fully fleshed out and real.

I like that Hemingway and The Sun Also Rises was the reason why Callie wants to travel to Spain. I also liked the explanation later in the book about why Callie loved the book so much. However, the magical realism aspect of the book, the communication with Hemingway, didn’t work for me. It was a unique premise but it wasn’t fully executed.

Overall, this was a fun trip through Spain with a unique connection to a classic novel and a very unlikable main character.

I wanted to like this book so much. The premise appealed to me and I really liked the idea of Callie, the main character, being independent enough to travel to Spain for six months alone. I started off enjoying the book and the writing is good. But then it lost momentum. Callie met Trevor, also drifting, and struck up a very strange relationship where he followed her lead completely while Callie seemed to rate him very low, judging by the number of faults she found with him. The story itself felt as though it was drifting - from bar to bar and cafe to cafe with brief interludes to sleep at the hotel. At this point I was still enjoying the book while I was reading it, but I wasn't feeling any need to get back to it as soon as possible.
Then Callie met Claudio - who quite frankly was too good to be true - and around the 40% mark is where the book lost me. Callie suddenly turned into an unlikeable diva, overreacting to ridiculous things but we were expected to believe that the men around her thought she was wonderful! Once I stopped liking Callie it made it difficult for me to enjoy the book, despite the good writing, because I really need to like or at least relate to or empathise with the main character in some way.

Finding yourself isn’t easy. Neither is finding Hemingway. Three disparate characters meet in Spain and over 6 months form an ever-evolving friendship.
Callie and Trevor meet in Barcelona. For Callie, a laid-off NYC lawyer, Hemingway is her anchor, and The Sun Also Rises her guide book to enduring a difficult family life. Hemingway has also called her-on the phone-and asked her to “find him”. Trevor, lonely and awkward, has dropped his unfinished dissertation in the field of literature, and just wants to see new places. As travel friends, they move on to Madrid and in the first of endless nights of clubbing, drinking, eating, and dancing, meet tall, dark, and handsome Mr. Spain Man, Claudio.
The narrative is a dive into unlikely, highly volatile, enduring relationships, unexpected consequences, the depths of Spanish history, tradition, culture and cuisine. There is also a lot of over the top ranting and raving, often provoked by alcoholic delirium, which becomes tiresome. Not another wild, cursing, sound and fury bar scene.
Hemingway moves in and out, making occasional appearances, and the section on the trio’s visit to Pamplona and the run of the bulls is the most lyrical and character revealing of the book.
Finding Hemingway has an interesting narrative twist and the “what you see as a tourist” passages and stories are informative and evocative of my experiences in Spain. Those are what kept me reading.
It’s all about finding yourself and what finding Hemingway really means.

Both the title and the cover drew me to this book. I haven't read any Hemingway myself but his time in Europe, particularly in Spain always fascinated me. The cover screamed Spain to me, and since that's where I am, I thought it rude to not check it out. 

If I'm honest, the Hemingway "phonecall" didn't intrigue me greatly, though having "The Sun Also Rises" as Callie's favourite book ever worked as a plot device and was an original way to put the main character in Spain.  What fascinated me more was Callie's decision to head to Spain on a whim while she was in-between jobs. Well, who wouldn't if they had six months and a healthy bank account?

As a long-term Hispanophile, I will always hunt down stories set in my adopted homeland. So, I felt a connection to Callie from the outset. It didn't last. While I soaked up the details about Spain, especially the Pamplona chapters, I couldn't muster up any fondness for Callie. To say she grated on me would be an understatement. She came across as selfish, rude, high and mighty, childish, and annoying. I felt sorry for her loyal friend, Trevor, who she teased and mocked incessantly - which, of course, she justified as allowable because she was "Callie McGraw"!!!!!! (There are not enough exclamation marks to express my reaction to her.) Poor Trevor was her plaything, until someone more to her liking came along in the form of Mr Spain Man, Claudio. I have no idea why either of these intelligent men put up with her for as long as they did. 

Callie's quest was supposedly to find Hemingway, and he contributed with additional phonecalls  to steer her in the right direction. However, the story drifted into her doing a lot of nothing. An awful lot of drinking, eating ...especially breakfast ...and only very occasionally remembering why she had come to Spain in the first place. 

It was evident early that the purpose of her trip was to really find herself. I do wonder if she liked what she found. At times, she had to listen to some cold, hard truths ...did she accept her flaws? I'm not convinced she did. Granted, she did overcome her fears but I didn't sense any real change in her come the end. 

Trevor summed this story up when he gave his opinion of Callie's treasured book, and in doing so described Callie perfectly:

"No, they really are losers." His voiced turned cautious. "Listen, I'm not saying this to be mean but ...the characters just drift around Europe, full of nothing but entitlement."

I pumped the air at that point. Go, Trevor!

I did enjoy the setting in Spain, of course: the museums, art galleries, tapas and dances, and my heart went out the Señora Hernandez, of whom too little was seen after Callie discovered the old lady's secret. The setting was vivid and vibrant, and full of pasión. Even the story idea was an original take on the "self-discovery" trope, but Callie rode roughshod over the story, for me anyway. 

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Callie takes a trip to Spain in search of Hemingway, as in the author- Ernest Hemingway and what starts as a quest morphs into her having to face and overcome her fears, in essence finding herself and growing into her own.
Now, here's the most interesting part for me as a reader was that I didn't truly care for Callie, I found her overbearing and demanding to have her way above her need for empathy, understanding, compassion and friendship. I couldn't deny that she's intelligent, but being book smart and literate is miles away from being emotionally intelligent and frankly speaking she lacked this for most of the book. It's rather interesting her friendship with Trevor, for where she's demanding, he takes the back seat, ready to take what comes his way and make of it what he wishes. There's a lot of drinking in this book and Callie does most of it- all in all, the question I asked myself in all this was did she truly find herself in that quest in Spain? And that right there is what made me read this book to the very end.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

I was really intrigued by this synopsis. Callie takes a trip to Spain to find Hemingway, or so she thinks. After I visited Madrid and Barcelona last year (and even going on a hunt to many places that claimed Hemingway had visited), I was immediately flooded with my personal memories.

I loved reliving my experiences with the book. The author goes into great detail and it made me feel as if I was back on my own vacation. The setting was probably my favorite part of the book.

For the characters, I really didn’t care for. Callie is a whiny, insecure woman who acts as if she just graduated high school, not someone who is in her 30s. Trevor, a boy she meets in Barcelona, is a love sick puppy dog who is Callie’s shadow. Claudio, Callie’s lover, I have no idea how he put up with her for so long.

The overall message of the book? Finding yourself. Did I get that message? Sort of. I didn’t feel as if Callie truly “grew” over her six month endeavor in Spain because the last scene in Madrid is her getting mad at Claudio (she did this all book). Those scenes were a tad too much.

If you’re missing Spain, this will provide great imagery.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy in return for an honest review!

Thank you to the author, Cloister Inn Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This will not be a popular opinion... but I really, really hated this book. Callie, the main character, comes across as immature, whiny and self-absorbed. Her mindset and behavior might be credible for a spoiled adolescent, but certainly not for a driven career woman in her early 30s. I did enjoy the setting (in Spain) and the plot device of having her journey of "personal growth" (pardon my eyeroll) follow in the footsteps of a dead author, i.e. Ernest Hemingway, but the story as such was skimpy and there was a lot of alcohol and not much depth to it. Part of the problem may have been that the (male) author was not really able to create a believable female character, another part of the problem may have been that - in my purely personal opinion - Hemingway is one of the last authors on earth that I would seek introspection from.

This the story of Callie McGraw, a young Type A New York City lawyer with a penchant for Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises, who finds herself traveling around Spain for 6 months while she is between job. The magical realism was unexpected, but I loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I came to love and root for the characters of Callie, and her traveling friends, Trevor and Claudio, who are all trying to find themselves and live life on their own terms. I enjoyed so much about this debut novel by Ken Dortzbach- exploring Barcelona, Madrid, and other parts of Spain, the friendship between Callie and Trevor, and the on again off again romance between Callie and Claudio. I look forward to more from this author.