Determined to finish her novel, Ava decides to attend a writers’ retreat in Italy. While at the retreat none of the attendees are allowed to use their real names or reveal any personal information. That doesn’t stop Ava from falling for “Dutch”, a man who was attending the neighboring martial arts retreat. Once the retreat is over, Ava and “Dutch” (aka Matt) return to London where they try to see if they can make their relationship work. But they soon find out that their fake selves are far from their real identities.
I’m feeling a little indifferent about this book. I really disliked the characters, especially Ava, and I thought her friends were horrible. The book is told from Ava’s point of view so although there were times when I also disliked Matt, we don’t know his motivations or what he’s thinking which I think would go a long way in improving his character.
I thought Ava was annoying and immature. I cringed at everything she said and did and I found her to be utterly exhausting. I kept reading and imagining her as a 20-year old and then I would realize that, nope, she was in her 30s. She lives this completely disorganized life and while I feel that the author was trying to make her quirky and off the beaten path, Ava comes off as incredibly naive, as well as very intrusive into other peoples’ spaces and lives.
I didn’t think Ava and Matt were compatible at all and I couldn’t understand why they were trying so hard to make their relationship work, considering that they only had one week together at the retreat. Again, there’s not a lot of character development for Matt since the book is Ava’s POV, but I think it would have been so much better if we knew what Matt was thinking. He comes across as a bit wooden and apathetic but then we learn he has this whole backstory that could have explained so much about his character.
Also, I cannot stress this enough, I LOVE a dog in a story. But Ava’s dog Harold was horrible. I did not like him one bit and I couldn’t understand Ava’s strange relationship with him. The fact that Ava could not understand that Harold needed training drove me crazy.
The book does come together nicely at the end although it was a little bit too wrapped up for me. The main characters and their friends all live happily ever after with their dream jobs while the villain gets her comeuppance. It was just a bit far-fetched.
This book was a bit of a letdown.
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