Come Away With Me

Alexandria and India Fisher are sisters, more rivalry than sibling, with parents with wanderlust and a penchant for cruises. In fact, with India’s wedding coming quickly, and Alexa is about topped up with everything being wedding-focused: from family dinners to India’s days spent working in the family business: estate agents. Finding that India is so happy and cluelessly selfish abou only her own needs, Alexa is still reeling from the shame of her last breakup with a man far less worth her time than the muck on the street. But when her mother’s impulsivity results in their winning a luxury cruise p the eastern coast from New York onto Halifax, and then across to Southampton, the dates conflict with their Australia cruise, and the cruise goes to Alexa and India. Let it serve as the ‘hen night’ that Alexa had yet to organize, giving them twelve days of luxury cruising, in a cabin, together, at sea. Drinking, eating, learning to fold towels into monkeys, crabs and bas, and a few dance lessons, lectures and more time together since they were children, Alexa and India are trying to repair their fractured relationship, perhaps even seeing one another as adults, letting go of the childish hurts and slights. With a famed “self-help” author on board, and an employee who seems to be ‘sort of’ writing and working on ‘lawyerly’ bits for her, India and Alexa are smitten by the pint sized bastion of all things “fabulous”, even when her advice is less personal and more a collection of every self-help fad out there. But her employee, that she calls ‘friend’, is Gabriel – and he and Alexa have something electric between them – even if she acts like a tongue-tied pre-teen in front of him. Their connection is electric, and Alexa allows herself a no strings fling with him, with the few uninterrupted moments together to talk always pushed off for drinks and other activities. But when his “boss” spins all that Gabriel has told Alexa , and her own doubts about her weight, attractiveness, oh just about everything, take over – she ducks him, leaving her lonely and him without answers. Maddie Please has brought another story together – rich with characters that grow and change before our eyes, and finding a happy ending for all. With a wedding that brought Alexa more stress with wrangling bridesmaids, and more questions about not having a plus one, India’s moves and their newly defined relationship brings everyone smiles in the end. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

rather predictable in places but a cosy evening's read

A feel good fun read. I didn't want the adventure to end.