Don’t worry! You’re in the right spot! I unveiled my new blog design today, and I’m pretty much in love with it. Things needed to change! I’m still working out some little kinks, but I wanted to make sure it was live and working in time for TTT!

Books with travel aspects (or that just make me want to pack my suitcase and jet set somewhere amazing) are my absolute favorite kind of books! I especially love books that take place in places I’ve been to before because it’s a cheap way to go back for a visit. lol. So today’s topic highlights 13 of my very favorite books that awaken the travel bug in me!

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (Florence and Rome, Italy)
This book takes place in Florence and Rome, Italy and it is amazing. Lina moves to Italy after her mother’s death, and learns all about who she is, who her mother was, and that she’s not as alone as she thought.

Love, Lucy by April Lindner (Florence, Italy)
This book is actually a modern YA retelling of A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. I can’t really comment on the retelling aspects of the story because I’ve never read A Room With a View, but I really loved Love, Lucy. It’s the perfect summer love story that blossoms while Lucy is backpacking through Florence and drinking in everything from the food to the architecture. She falls for a street musician, and I pretty much fell for him too!

Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae (Rome and Cinque Terre, Italy)
BAH. This book is one of my greatest loves! Pippa is off to Florence for art school, but ditches that plan to explore instead. She finds herself traveling solo through Italy and ends up in the beautiful Cinque Terre, living with the cashier from a coffee shop and her family. She goes on long walks, explores ruins, eats a lot, souvenir shops, goes on train rides, swims in the Mediterranean Sea, works in a restaurant, and goes sightseeing.

Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson (Italy)
A few days before a class trip to Italy, Jessa discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Before she leaves, her best friend equips her with a list called “Top Twenty Reasons He’s a Slimy Jerk Bastard”. She also gives her instructions to do one thing out of her comfort zone each day she’s gone in the hopes of getting her through the heartbreak.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman (Paris, France)
I love Paris. I could picture Allyson and Willem on the train, walking the streets of Paris, eating crepes, gazing over the river, even walking past all the street vendors. I loved that they did not do the typical touristy things, though. They experienced Paris in a way that most people who only have one day there don’t. I want to do what they did, and I want to find a guy like Willem to be right there next to me.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Paris, France)
This is just SUCH a cute boarding school story set in Paris, with a pretty cute boy. Paris is described so perfectly, and brings the entire city to life.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (Central America, namely Belize)
Artsy Bria goes on this crazy adventure through Central America. Along the way, she learns so much about herself and gains a lot of life experience. Plus, she sees amazing places, experiences new things, meets cool people, and falls in love.

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill (London, England)
A class trip to London results in a really cute love story. The author paints a really great picture of the city, and I felt like I was there, wandering the museums, running in the rain, and soaking in an old fashioned bath tub after a long day of walking.

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch (Ireland)
Addie, her brother, and her brother’s swoony online friend drive all over the Irish countryside in a tiny dilapidated car, looking for important sites that are tied to a popular band. It’s both funny and romantic.

Austenland by Shannon Hale (England)
Jane is obsessed with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Seriously obsessed. After her great aunt’s death, Jane’s learns that she left her an all-inclusive, all expenses paid trip to Pembrook Park to experience what it’s like to have your very own Mr. Darcy. It’s fun and fluffy, and I loved it.

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker (Summer on a sailboat)
Clem and her family spend the summer aboard a sailboat, spending time together, eating disgusting meals made only from canned foods, eating s’mores by blow torch, star gazing, sunbathing, laughing, and bonding. Clem, Olive, and red spend many hours hanging out trying to catch fish, perfecting their Little Mermaid moves, giggling, and teasing each other.

Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley (Road trip through the English countryside)
Carrie’s fiancé comes home from a stag party and tells her he can’t marry her anymore. Her best friend, Rowena, decides the two of them need to go on a road trip to Italy and beyond. But then Rowena gets a job on a soap opera and has to back out of the trip the morning of. She mischievously calls on Dr. Matt Landor, an old friend from college, to go with Carrie instead. Carrie is mortified at this change in plans, but Matt finally talks her into going on a trip with him. They spend just over a month traveling around the English countryside meeting new people, and getting to know each other far better than they expected. Love blossoms among several different sets of characters. There’s even a bit of a scary twist that makes you worry for the characters!

Girl At Sea by Maureen Johnson (Summer aboard a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean Sea)
Luxury yacht in the Med, guys. And the book has history, mystery, adventure, suspense, romance, and humor. It’s the complete package, and I LOVED it.

Over the last few years I’ve gotten much better at embracing the concept of DNFing (did not finish) books. I’ve been drowning in a never-ending pile of review books for about 8 years now, so it has become necessary for my health and happiness that I give up on books I’m just not enjoying. Life’s too short for bad books! Most of the time I’m very confident in my decisions to DNF, but every once in a while I worry I’ve given up too soon. Perhaps it’s a book I really wanted to love and was super excited about. Or maybe it was a book that has gotten a ton of hype and I’m worried there’s something wrong with me! I’ve also DNFed a book because I wasn’t in the mood for it at the time and just never went back. Did I make the wrong choice?

Today I’m sharing with you some of the books I’ve given up on in the hopes that you can help me decide whether or not to give them a second chance. I understand that some of these are very popular and might elicit some pretty strong opinions, so I’m ready for your comments! Hehe.

1. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
I DNFed this at 13% because it just felt too dark and depressing to me.

2. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
This one is hard for me because it has SUCH high reviews and I know so many people who loved it. It also sounds like something I’d love, and I was so excited when I received it for review. I just found it to be slow and boring.

3. The Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins
This book is SO popular, and I love thrillers so I was super excited for this one! But at 15% I still wasn’t feeling it and ended up setting it aside. Nothing was happening, and I was getting tired of hearing all about what this woman saw from the train.

4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The unique format of Illuminae is what drew me to it, and probably what made me DNF it. I just could not connect with the story or what was going on. I felt like I was reading from a pile of paperwork instead of a book. I made it to page 65 before I decided to come back to it some other time, and I still haven’t.

5. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
At 18% I sheleved it as “try again later” and never did. Now I can’t remember anything about book #1 and I’m just stuck. lol.

6. Pivot Point by Kasie West
I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when I picked this one up, and have not found the motivation to go back to it since.

7. With Malice by Eileen Cook
At 17% I felt that this book seemed too similar to something else I had read and decided to move on. Maybe it started out too slow for me?

8. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Antsey
At 17% I updated Goodreads with: “Started out super cute and interesting, but things are really dragging for me. I’m not sure how much longer I can hang in there…” I DNFed at 32%. This made me so sad because it started out so great for me and had all the makings of something I’d love.

9. A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis
I found this too be too dark, dismal, and depressing for me and DNFed at 29%. I LOVE gothic stories, so this made me sad.

10. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
I made it 13% through and gave up because it wasn’t what I was wanting at the time. I want to love this book SO much, so hopefully I can eventually go back to it! I’m just not motivated, and worried I’ll DNF it for real the second time.

Do you DNF? Which books did you DNF too soon?
Should I give any of these another chance?
Which books have you set aside, gone back to, and ended up really enjoying?