Hoping for a chance to revisit the setting of one of my favourite vacations and a desire to support a debut author, I reached for this book, unaware of what it held.

If you enjoy reading about a flawed protagonist, family saga, travel adventure, family secrets, time and location hops, and a messy love story, this one will tick off all those boxes…and more! I enjoyed this story about a quest for meaning and how to navigate unexpected turns on life’s journey. I appreciated the reminder that choices have consequences.

I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I found the sections of this book set in Peru much more compelling than those set in England. I couldn’t feel any sympathy for the mess Edward made of his life there. I didn’t want to see him to choose between the two women - I just wanted him to grow up and leave them both in peace! The personal growth of the first person narration in Peru was a welcome change of pace.

I enjoyed the chance to see Peru through the various narrators’ eyes, and to learn a little more about a nation I knew very little about.

This is an interesting tale, told by moving to and fro in time, and in several lives. Some of the time this works well, and adds dimension, but in others it felt disjointed and the placing not quite right. The exploration of relationships in young adulthood however was masterful. It took me right back, the absurd ways we behave, the complexities of feelings, the power of our instincts and desires. This spanned from England to Peru really well, and all the characters were well constructed, how they related (or didn't), the span of their interactions over time, the perhaps inevitable mess people make of their lives, yet mostly still make good.

I know the author has spent time in Peru, and while this added to the sense of reality, I felt as if I were sometimes reading more a travelogue than a novel. While I understand the desire to add realistic information about various areas, it might have benefited from a little less of that. The power of the story was watered down a little as a result. But overall an enjoyable and interesting read. I found myself invested and curious about the lives of all the characters.