4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

I read this in a day. When I read the blurb on NetGalley, I thought this sounded like something I would enjoy, but I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. It's also inspired me for my upcoming holiday to celebrate my own 50th birthday, and I'm planning on making the most out of it.

I got off to a bit of a slow start with Eva's story, I also found the random diary entries from her teens through to her 40s took me out of the story a bit, but as I read on I got caught up in Eva's plight and her susequent journey and found the diary entries actually added something, even if it was just to remind Eva (and perhaps myself) that she once had dreams and that even though she'd gotten a bit lost on her way, perhaps it wasn't too late to make some changes.

When Eva discovers her husband is cheating on her, it takes her a moment to decide what to do next. Finding out her parents have gone AWOL in India gives her the push she needs to take action and embark on a journey, which, through many twists and turns and wild goose chases (or wild parent chases), allows her to take stock of her life and how she has arrived at 50 years of age stuck in a life and a marriage she isn't terribly happy with.

Eva's mother Debbie, is a riot, and while I can see as a teen she might have found her embarrassing, as an adult, I felt Eva should have been celebrating her quirkiness and fun; instead, she chases after her to bring her home like a misbehaving child (I do get she was concerned, especially about her dad's deteriorating health, but still...). Luckily, along the way, Eva does come to appreciate her mother and her quirks. I did find Debbie a bit blunt and mean at times, especially when it came to Eva's looks and weight (parents don't realise the effect they have on their kids). I hope I can take away some of Debbie's 'just go with it, fun-loving' ways and start living my life more fully.

Having been to India myself, I could relate to a lot of the culture shock and situations Eva found herself in, and I did enjoy her journey and sexy Utkarsh (where can I find me one of him?). Eva gets herself into some humorous situations and learns a lot about herself along the way.

I really enjoyed this read, as someone who, like Eva, is turning 50, whose life hasn't turned out quite like I imagined at various stages in my life, it reminded me that I have still got plenty of time to make changes and make things happen. Now, to convince some friends to join me for the ride.

EXCERPT: I navigate to her most recent video and read the title. 'Debbie Does Delhi'. A part of me dies inside. I hit play trying to reign in my growing panic. There is my mother, wearing a sari and breaking out some Bollywood dance moves amid the chaos of a busy commercial district. A street sign tells me she is in Connaught Place. I grab some paper and jot down the address while watching her swivel enthusiastically between cars and shoppers. Ner neck moves from side to side in time with her hands and hips. Even as I am horrified, I can't help but be impressed. My mother is extraordinarily limber for a woman well into her seventies.
Then I catch a glimpse of her bare midriff. Dear Lord. The woman is rocking a naval piercing. Could my mother be any more embarrassing?
The clip ends with a short advertisement for a Bollywood dance class in Delhi. It seems her TikTok video has a sponsor.
The woman is a geriatric Kardashian.

ABOUT 'EVA REDDY'S TRIP OF A LIFETIME': How hard can it be to find a pair of Bollywood-dancing septuagenarians?

The new funny and uplifting read for book clubs in 2025 about adventure, aging and rediscovery.

When Eva Moore wakes up on her fiftieth birthday, her drab middle-class life immediately starts to unravel. First, she receives an anonymous Facebook message claiming her husband is having an affair. Next, she is restructured out of her job by her obnoxiously young boss. Then, just when she thinks her life can't get any worse, her elderly parents willfully go missing from their group tour of India. The only clues they've left behind is an increasingly bizarre series of TikTok videos.

Eager to put some distance between herself and her failing marriage, Eva undertakes a rescue mission, determined to save her parents from certain disaster. She wants to find them. But what Eva really needs is to find herself. If she can do that, she might get a second chance at life and love - and, along the way, become an inspiration to anyone who fears their best days are behind them ...

MY THOUGHTS: Much of what happens in this novel is based on the author's personal experience. I would be really interested to know which bits in particular . . .

Debbie is a woman with no common sense and a low-level alcohol dependency. Doug is in the early stages of dementia. They have been cut loose in India by their tour guides for constantly failing to obey the tour rules. Debbie has never been known to follow the rules.

Daughter Eva, whose life is imploding, sets off to India to 'rescue' her parents from danger but, of course, that's not quite what happens.

I had a very mixed reading experience with Eva Reddy's Adventure of a Lifetime. I really dislike the beginning and was at the same time bored and frustrated by Eva. I wanted her to stop whining, stop drinking, stop feeling sorry for herself and get her act together.

Just I was about to throw in the towel and move on to my next read, something clicked, and I began to enjoy the read. Enjoy it so much that I read 50% of the book in one sitting.

I loved the character of Eva's mother, Debbie. She's eccentric, off-the-wall, batty and so much fun! She also has Eva's best interests at heart. What ensues during Eva's pursuit of her parents is best described as slap-stick comedy, not my favorite type, but even I found some of the situations amusing, especially the one that occurs in the temple where the interior is decorated with illustrations from the Karma Sutra. Personally, I like my comedy a little more subtle.

The one strong message that emerges from this read is that it is never too late to change your life.

I wasn't entirely happy with the ending. On the plus side Eva retains her independence, but I felt the way her future opened out before her was a bit to glib and 'Hollywood'. But talking of Hollywood, I think this would make a wonderful movie.

There is a rather handy glossary of Pop Culture references, especially handy for those who didn't grow up in Australia in the 1980s, at the end of the book which might have been better placed at the beginning.

⭐⭐⭐.4

#EvaReddysTripofaLifetime #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: FINA MCKENZIE KEKIC is a recovering television professional with credits ranging from ‘60 Minutes’ to ‘Married at First Sight’. Her face even featured on the ‘Sale of the Century’ fame game board back in the day. This remains an unlikely and slightly absurd career highlight.

Television has always been cutthroat, but it was an especially tough road for a woman back in the eighties and nineties. After way too many scarring years in commercial news and current affairs, Fiona co-wrote ‘Boned’ with her equally disgruntled colleague Jane Hansen. They lived through every hideous, misogynistic moment they recounted anonymously in that novel. ‘Boned’ was published in 2008. Judging from the constant scandals and million dollar payouts, nothing much has changed. But they did make the bastards squirm for a while.

Television and its dastardly cast of characters continue to appear in Fiona’s stories. But she’s now stepped away from that world to concentrate full time on writing and to make the most of life’s next stage. She believes absolutely that middle age is just the beginning and that women only get stronger as they age. There is a world of both figurative and literal mountains out there to prove it.

Fiona lives in Sydney with her husband Murat, son Arley and their rescue cattle dog Vels.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime by Fiona McKenzie Kekic for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

3.5 stars
Eva’s 50th Birthday is certainly one to remember, she finds out via a phone call that her position has been restructured and she out of a job and then a Facebook communication from ‘Ernest Friend’ relays that her husband is having an affair….what more could go wrong? Well, her parents going missing from a tour company in India would be it.
This was an enjoyable, light hearted read but it did touch on many subjects as we age in a non confronting way such losing our way as we go through life’s motions, dementia and infidelity. There were a few cliche moments that I did cringe at but in the context that this isn’t a heavy book I just let it wash over me.
This would be great holiday read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Eva Moore wakes up on her fiftieth birthday, her spouse Jonathan has left for work and she has no idea her life is about to change. Eva receives a Facebook message claiming her husband is having an affair, then she’s sacked from her job and her elderly parents go missing in India.

Eva is worried and her dad Doug has early stage Alzheimer’s and her mum Debbie has always been over the top and flamboyant and Eva finds her mother embarrassing. Debbie has been busy posting TikTok videos, and the sight of her gyrating and flaunting her pierced nose has Eva concerned and anything could happen to them while MIA in India and she decides to rescue them.

Upon arrival Eva is shocked, not just by the sights, smells and large number of people, everyone seems to want to rip her off and her mother decides to play a game of hide and seek with her and she wonders how she will find two elderly Australians in the mayhem?

I received a copy of Eva Reddy’s Trip of a Lifetime from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. Fiona McKenzie Kekic novel looks at what it’s like to be a middle aged women, one minute she’s thirteen and the next Eva’s fifty and has she achieved what she wanted?

The answer to that question is “no” the main character has put everything before what she wants and she comes last on her priority list and she’s lost herself and on her trip she finds Eva and her backbone and much more!

The narrative was hilarious and so were the characters and especially Debbie thinks her daughter rather dull and boring and she wants her to have a good time and the perfect choice for a book club or you want to have a down right good laugh.

Five stars from me and a thoroughly entertaining read and in so many ways.

I absolutely loved this story! Eva’s journey felt incredibly relatable—especially being in the same age group. I laughed, I empathised, and I cheered her on as she navigated life’s curveballs with unexpected strength and humour.

The writing is clever and warm, with just the right mix of emotion and laugh-out-loud moments. Eva’s character is so well-crafted—someone who has lost herself and is slowly finding her way back. It’s such an empowering read, especially for anyone in their 50s and beyond.

A fantastic book full of heart, wit, and the reminder that it’s never too late to start over.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime was a rollicking good read with non-stop action. It’s covered a few issues in a sensitive way, without shoving point a of view down your throat like many authors seem to do.

Infidelity, expected behaviour for the elderly, dementia, workplace relations, friendship as well as mother / daughter relationships are all part of the backbone of the story. And India - a huge chaotic, colourful, diverse country that is a character in it’s own right.

The book opens on Eva’s birthday when her comfortable, predictable, possibly even slightly boring, life comes to an end. A Facebook post message from an unknown person says her husband is having an affair, and her obnoxious younger male boss tells her that her job no longer exists!

After a boozy evening with her best friends they advise her to follow her husband and see if the anonymous post is true - it is!

Happy Birthday Eva

Then she gets a phone call from India and the tour director of her parent’s tour announces that due to her eccentric mother’s poor behaviour her parents have been kicked off the tour but have both disappeared instead of catching the provided flight home. Worried by her mother’s TikTok posts showing her doing crazy, crazy things, and the fact that her father is in the early stages of dementia, Eva makes the snap decision to fly to India and drag her parents home.

Then the story really picks up pace as she chases her mother through India, always just missing them. After being befriended by a local gentleman who at first seems to be ripping her off then confesses he was but only to try and show her the traps that a single woman could fall into. He then ends up helping her look for her parents.

And what an adventure she has, and along the way she finds the Eva she wants to be - one that is not a disappointment to the teenage Eva who left a letter to her future self spelling out where she wanted to be when she was 50. There are a lot of flashbacks to events from her teens, early working life and marriage explaining where she went wrong in her life's direction. And being in India clarified which direction she wanted to take from now. But first she has to find her mum, and avoid her husband who has followed her to India to stop her “nonsense”

There are lots of adventures with twists and turns which kept me turning the pages and glued to the story!

Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime was a great book. I really enjoyed reading it and I will be recommending to all my friends who like this genre

Thank you to HQ Fiction for providing an advanced copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own

This is amusing, genuine and warm: one of the most enjoyable contemporary novels I’ve read for some time. Even the often justifiable angst Eva feels is handled in a way that doesn’t feel too heavy.

Eva is having an awful birthday. At 50, she has to admit she’s let her health and appearance slide a bit. Her relationship with her husband is distant. Her job is not what she dreamed of doing. And her annoying mother is a never ending source of embarrassment and angst.

When multiple things combine to make everything worse than Eva could ever have imagined, she implodes. One of the problems is that somehow, a tour company has lost her elderly parents in India. Eva sets off in search of them, temporarily leaving her other problems behind. But nothing involving Eva’s mother has ever been simple.

This novel is told in Eva’s voice, but it dips back and forth between her current self and the writings of her teenage self. Both are vivid and strong voices, but the differences between them tell us a lot about Eva and the life she’s lived.

The plot is relatively simple, but it’s packed with events and experiences. Most importantly, it’s Eva’s literal and metaphorical journey, and she sweeps the reader along. It’s easy to get caught up in the actual search for her mother, and the search for Eva herself kind of sneaks up on you.

This is a very female novel, and most female readers are going to recognise a lot of Eva’s experiences and feelings. Kekic approaches this with a decent dose of humor, but there’s a lot here that will make readers grit their teeth in understanding.

As I said, this is a warm and genuine novel. Kekic is more interested in engaging us with Eva and her internal journey than in having a go at other people. It feels very honest, but never like a lecture or moral lesson. The tone reminds me of a friend relating a story: it’s that sort of engagement.

I enjoyed this immensely. Eva is a vivid, believable and relatable character. I’m almost inclined to wish her all the best for the future… Most readers will find this an engaging novel which zips along and leaves you with a good feeling.

Fast paced with it's loveable characters and laugh out loud moments. There are a few serious issues in the plot but they are told with dignity, respect and a lighthearted tone that makes you feel all fuzzy. It's a journey that you have to take as a fun adventure.

The title, cover, and a quick skim of the blurb were enough to make me want to read this book, and thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Australia, and Fiona McKenzie Kekic, I got the opportunity to do so before its release later this month.
The book begins on Eva’s 50th birthday, and let’s say that the milestone isn’t met with much celebration. A message sent to her via Facebook anonymously claims that her husband is cheating on her, and then she receives a call from her young hot-shot boss saying she has been terminated from her position. On top of that, she discovers that her parents, who are currently travelling in India, decide to ditch the tour group and travel on their own.
Eva is concerned about her parents, her mother is a wild and adventurous spirit, whilst her father is in the early stages of dementia.
Eva uses this opportunity to head to India and try track down her parents, following her mum’s bizarre Tik Tok videos for clues as to their whereabouts.
As she undertakes the cat-and-mouse mission, she begins to discover more about herself and her relationships.
The author’s descriptions of the bustling, noisy commotion that is India is done very well, allowing the reader to be immersed in the setting.
Eva’s character grew on me as the story progressed, and it was nice to see her standing up for herself and not allowing herself to be a pushover, whether it be with her husband, or an Indian scammer. A bit more authority with her mum and daughter would’ve been good, especially as they were both prone to commenting on Eva’s weight!
There are a great cast of characters in this story - Utkarsh, a local who befriends Eva and offers to help her on her mission to find her parents, her oldest and dearest friends Rachael and Katie, and her father Doug, to name a few.
This was a highly enjoyable read. The story was entertaining and will definitely appeal to women of middle age like myself.