There’s no better way to travel around the world right now than with Romy on her adventures in Eighty Days to Elsewhere. Romy begins the novel as a clerk in her uncles’ bookshop in New York City – a city she hasn’t traveled outside of in more than a decade. But when the bookshop rent is raised significantly, Romy begins a journey that will take her on a wild ride around the world in order to beat her competition, land a new job, and receive the prize money that will save her uncles’ shop.
I enjoyed watching Romy grow as a person every step of the way during her journey. As she meets challenges along the way – and overcomes them – she realizes she has much more strength within herself than she ever knew. With this comes an inner confidence that carries her through other hard times she faces later in the story. It’s lovely to watch it unfold.
The romance takes a backseat in this story, but you still get glimpses of it along the way. And the HEA more than makes up for it!
I think my favorite part of Eighty Days to Elsewhere is the wonderful, vivid descriptions of each locale that Romy visits. Dyer’s writing made me feel as if I was running through the streets of India, climbing the hillside in Hong Kong, and sailing the seas with them. One night I put the book down exhausted from my travels! Ha! That’s how you know it’s powerful writing!
I had so much fun traveling with Romy!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Born and raised in New York City, Ramona Keene dreams of attending photography school and traveling to Paris, but her reality never quite catches up with her imagination. Instead, she works at her uncles’ quaint bookstore, where the tea is plentiful and all the adventures are between the covers of secondhand books. But when the new landlord arrives with his Evil Nephew in tow, Romy’s quiet life comes crashing down. He plans to triple the rent, something her uncles can’t afford.
In order to earn the money to help save the bookstore, Romy applies for a job at ExLibris Expeditions, a company that re-creates literary journeys. Romy snags the oddest internship ever: retrace Phileas Fogg’s journey from Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days and plan a suitable, contemporary adventure for a client. The task is close to impossible; sticking to the original route means no commercial aircraft permitted, and she’s got a lot less than eighty days to work with. Shaking off her fear of leaving home, Romy takes on the challenge, only to discover she’s got competition. Worse, Dominic Madison turns out to be the – unfortunately hot – nephew of her family’s worst enemy.
Can Romy win the race and circle the globe in time to save the bookstore? And what happens when she starts to fall for the very person who may just be the death of her dreams?