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joskypay's review
4.0
I'm still processing this and I put the book down thirty minutes ago. This was a very sweet tale of intrigue and love in all its forms. Its full of fun, young love, mystery, travel, and smart banter. A rarity in my recent reads, this book had no profanity and the love scenes were sweet somewhat tame. It reminded me of fairy tale love stories and I'd recommend it to younger readers or some of my friends who enjoy the romance but appreciate a little milder heat than what you normally find out there. I REALLY enjoyed the travel aspect, the reader made me feel like I was right there with her.
anacarter's review
5.0
~ {Blog Tour} Delayed Departure by Abigail Drake ~
Full Review on my blog!
Oh my, Oh my. This was quite a read! This is actually the first book I’ve read of Abigal’s and I’m hooked! I NEEEED moRE! AHhHHHH! Delayed Departure is the second book in the Passports and Promises series, but it can be read as a stand alone! Abigail Drake paints such a beautiful picture of Turkey. The descriptions of these exotic places are so vivid that you feel like you’re there. This wasn’t the typical romance novel; each character has depth and real emotions that are so believable and actually create foundation for love not just lust. I can’t wait to read other books of this author!
Delayed Departure basically starts off with, Greg telling Bethany he won’t be able to go on the study trip to Turkey. Going on this study trip with Greg is something she looks forward to but he backs out at the last-minute for a job offer! I know right! They had this planned for sooo long and he just backs out like that. At first I thought that Greg was a coward and selfish. I mean he basically just hides behind Bethany to keep his secret from his parents, instead of facing them. But at the end of the novel I feel like his character really grows and he really does change. Bethany is in a ‘relationship’ with Greg which we later discover is a fake relationship. Bethany has been covering for Greg for soo long, and it really has taken a toll on her. She constantly puts others before herself. She has grown up with a dream which was shattered two years ago and yet, but she lives in hope. She is literally living a lie. You can tell she’s not happy and is tired of it, but in her mind she has to. But as the story progresses, Bethany is more confident, and she finds a new strength in her that she didn’t know she had; she finally stops being naïve and lets herself be free, ultimately she becomes the person she was meant to be.
So Bethany ends up going on the trip on her own, at the beginning of the trip, she’s unhappy with the turn of events, but she quickly makes friends and start to appreciate the purpose of her visit. I loved how open and friendly all the characters were with each other.
On the trip she meets Adam, an Australian T.A on the trip. They hate each other at first, but slowly warm up to each other. Adam is a sweetheart. He is kind, considerate and doesn’t judge. But no matter what Bethany does, he finds a way to pick on her or make her feel stupid. The thing is though that he doesn’t know her and vice versa. I immediately fell in love with Bethany and Adam. They have such amazing chemistry and I’m a sucker for the “hate you-love you” type romance. They’re bickering and banter is classic and so perfect.
“I looked up and caught Adam staring at me. Again. He seemed quite focused on keeping track of me all day. I had a feeling he wanted to make sure I didn’t get into trouble again, but maybe it was more than that. Our eyes locked for an instant, and I felt certain he’d been thinking about the kiss, too. It made one thought enter my head and simply refuse to leave. If kissing him was so spectacular, what would sleeping with him be like?”
After reading this quote, I really wish we had Adams POV. The descriptions of the ways he looks at her, just makes me want to know what he’s thinking.
This book has mystery, history, romance, culture, travel, and humor throughout. I highly recommend reading this novel, such a good read and you won’t want to put it down, it will sweep you away from the very start. I can’t wait/ hope for more in the Passports and Promises series! :3 Now I gotta go pick up book one!
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Full Review on my blog!
Oh my, Oh my. This was quite a read! This is actually the first book I’ve read of Abigal’s and I’m hooked! I NEEEED moRE! AHhHHHH! Delayed Departure is the second book in the Passports and Promises series, but it can be read as a stand alone! Abigail Drake paints such a beautiful picture of Turkey. The descriptions of these exotic places are so vivid that you feel like you’re there. This wasn’t the typical romance novel; each character has depth and real emotions that are so believable and actually create foundation for love not just lust. I can’t wait to read other books of this author!
Delayed Departure basically starts off with, Greg telling Bethany he won’t be able to go on the study trip to Turkey. Going on this study trip with Greg is something she looks forward to but he backs out at the last-minute for a job offer! I know right! They had this planned for sooo long and he just backs out like that. At first I thought that Greg was a coward and selfish. I mean he basically just hides behind Bethany to keep his secret from his parents, instead of facing them. But at the end of the novel I feel like his character really grows and he really does change. Bethany is in a ‘relationship’ with Greg which we later discover is a fake relationship. Bethany has been covering for Greg for soo long, and it really has taken a toll on her. She constantly puts others before herself. She has grown up with a dream which was shattered two years ago and yet, but she lives in hope. She is literally living a lie. You can tell she’s not happy and is tired of it, but in her mind she has to. But as the story progresses, Bethany is more confident, and she finds a new strength in her that she didn’t know she had; she finally stops being naïve and lets herself be free, ultimately she becomes the person she was meant to be.
So Bethany ends up going on the trip on her own, at the beginning of the trip, she’s unhappy with the turn of events, but she quickly makes friends and start to appreciate the purpose of her visit. I loved how open and friendly all the characters were with each other.
On the trip she meets Adam, an Australian T.A on the trip. They hate each other at first, but slowly warm up to each other. Adam is a sweetheart. He is kind, considerate and doesn’t judge. But no matter what Bethany does, he finds a way to pick on her or make her feel stupid. The thing is though that he doesn’t know her and vice versa. I immediately fell in love with Bethany and Adam. They have such amazing chemistry and I’m a sucker for the “hate you-love you” type romance. They’re bickering and banter is classic and so perfect.
“I looked up and caught Adam staring at me. Again. He seemed quite focused on keeping track of me all day. I had a feeling he wanted to make sure I didn’t get into trouble again, but maybe it was more than that. Our eyes locked for an instant, and I felt certain he’d been thinking about the kiss, too. It made one thought enter my head and simply refuse to leave. If kissing him was so spectacular, what would sleeping with him be like?”
After reading this quote, I really wish we had Adams POV. The descriptions of the ways he looks at her, just makes me want to know what he’s thinking.
This book has mystery, history, romance, culture, travel, and humor throughout. I highly recommend reading this novel, such a good read and you won’t want to put it down, it will sweep you away from the very start. I can’t wait/ hope for more in the Passports and Promises series! :3 Now I gotta go pick up book one!
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sutherlandreads's review
4.0
This book will take you a whirlwind adventure. The details and writing make it worth the read alone. I recommend this book to the hea adventure seekers.
grace_loves_books13's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book!!! Loved the exotic setting, and I loved the steamy romance. Sometimes I wanted to shake some sense into the main character, but in a good way, as a friend! Intense chemistry and the passion oozed off the pages. Impressed! Highly recommend!
becsa's review
Bethany Beaumont had her whole life planned out until her ex-boyfriend, Greg Harper, decided to change his plans at the last moment and left Bethany to make a big decision on her own. Bethany decides to continue to trip to Turkey without Greg and hopes to finally make her own decisions.
When Bethany finds a book on the Sultan's Harem she decides that will give her the courage to finally be free and follow her own path. When Bethany meets Adam Drake, the handsome teaching assistant to Professor Aybar, he challenges her in the most annoying ways yet she can't help but be attracted to the man.
As Bethany begins something with Adam, Greg needs Bethany to do a big favor for him. Will Bethany allow Greg to control her life or will she for once choose her own path and destiny?
This was such a good book about love and following your own path and doing what makes you happy.
I felt so bad for Bethany as we learn about her as her life had been controlled by her parents and Greg for so long and she had no opportunities of her own. I loved that she almost snuck off to Turkey as her parents would not have allowed her to go without Greg. She was such an amazing photographer but she was also a little careless with not knowing what dangers were lurking around her in a foreign country.
Adam was interesting in that he was comparing Bethany so his ex which I understood yet he obviously cared for Bethany but was afraid of getting hurt again. Adam was also aware of how much of a disaster magnet Bethany was so he always seemed to be there at some point to help her out.
I loved the caring nature of Bethany and that was evident when she met the old man who collapsed and I loved how that turned out.
I was definitely afraid when I knew what Greg had planned but I crossed my fingers that Adam and Bethany would be able to figure things out. I was super mad though at Greg for being so selfish and not realizing what everything was doing to Bethany!
This was a great book and I look forward to more from this author!
When Bethany finds a book on the Sultan's Harem she decides that will give her the courage to finally be free and follow her own path. When Bethany meets Adam Drake, the handsome teaching assistant to Professor Aybar, he challenges her in the most annoying ways yet she can't help but be attracted to the man.
As Bethany begins something with Adam, Greg needs Bethany to do a big favor for him. Will Bethany allow Greg to control her life or will she for once choose her own path and destiny?
This was such a good book about love and following your own path and doing what makes you happy.
I felt so bad for Bethany as we learn about her as her life had been controlled by her parents and Greg for so long and she had no opportunities of her own. I loved that she almost snuck off to Turkey as her parents would not have allowed her to go without Greg. She was such an amazing photographer but she was also a little careless with not knowing what dangers were lurking around her in a foreign country.
Adam was interesting in that he was comparing Bethany so his ex which I understood yet he obviously cared for Bethany but was afraid of getting hurt again. Adam was also aware of how much of a disaster magnet Bethany was so he always seemed to be there at some point to help her out.
I loved the caring nature of Bethany and that was evident when she met the old man who collapsed and I loved how that turned out.
I was definitely afraid when I knew what Greg had planned but I crossed my fingers that Adam and Bethany would be able to figure things out. I was super mad though at Greg for being so selfish and not realizing what everything was doing to Bethany!
This was a great book and I look forward to more from this author!
mirificmoxie's review
3.0
3 Stars
ARC provided by Backlit PR via NetGalley.
This review contains minor spoilers.
After the disappointment of [b:Girls Who Travel|25194152|Girls Who Travel|Nicole Trilivas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437007137s/25194152.jpg|26732688], I was still craving something light with some wanderlust in it. [b:Delayed Departure|36101336|Delayed Departure (Passports and Promises, #2)|Abigail Drake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503364457s/36101336.jpg|57685841] seemed to fit the bill. It is a New Adult read about a college student, Bethany Beaumont, who goes on a study abroad trip to Turkey. While there she gets involved with someone and deals with issues from her past.
The love story part was fairly standard. It was fun at times if a bit predictable. Despite the standard love triangle and Chick Lit vibe, there was also some more serious topics tied into the story such as sexuality, homophobia, alcoholism, prostitution, and rape. While I appreciated involving deeper topics instead of just fluff, some of them tied into the story more while others seemed just thrown in there. It muddied up the plot. There was even a suspenseful subplot involving some criminal activity, that was occasionally thrown in with the rest of the story but was anticlimactic.
There were references to the first book (which I have not read). I did not initially realize they were references to people and events from the first book and couldn't tell if those were things that would tie into this book (they didn't), so they just confused me and brought up things that were not resolved. And the subplot involving "confronting her past" was far-fetched.
The main character, Bethany, was definitely a poor little rich girl: loaded but with a rather predictable and not in-depth past. But what was the most frustrating was how selfish and irresponsible she was. Not even her far-fetched life drama. I'm talking about how she repeatedly sneaked off at night in foreign cities and sought out the most dangerous neighborhoods because she liked to take pictures of them. Not surprisingly, that lead to trouble. But even after repeatedly ending up in bad situations, being begged by everyone to be more careful, and promising over and over that she would stop, she kept doing it. And that annoyed the hell out of me. It showed that she really was a clueless rich girl with no real concept of danger or consequences. On the other side you had her love interest, Adam, who while fun to read about was a little too perfect. He felt like a character designed to be a heartthrob rather than feeling like a real, complex person.
The romance was very predictable but admittedly still cute. Although there were parts that were toeing the line towards erotica. Lots of adult content. And being a bunch of attractive college students abroad, there was a lot of casual sex as well. It got too agnsty at times.
What the book did really well was the travel and cultural representation. That was hands down the best part of the book. Turkey's history and culture were tied in throughout the story. That aspect was interesting, accurate, and informative without info-dumping. The description of the sights definitely fulfilled my hankering for armchair travel, and the descriptions of the food were scrumptious. They made me hungry more than once!
I had mixed feelings about the book overall. Things wrapped up too cleanly and that took realism away. After all that angst, it was just too neat of an ending with ALL of the threads abruptly and completely tied off into one giant, pretty bow. Life is not like that. For a book that strove to talk about so many real life issues, that took the power away.
Delayed Departures is probably a good choice for someone looking for a New Adult romantic read with more substance than your average Chick Lit, but it is not outstanding. While I did enjoy it well enough, the story had a lot of conflicting aspects that made it hard to decide how to feel about it.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
ARC provided by Backlit PR via NetGalley.
This review contains minor spoilers.
After the disappointment of [b:Girls Who Travel|25194152|Girls Who Travel|Nicole Trilivas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437007137s/25194152.jpg|26732688], I was still craving something light with some wanderlust in it. [b:Delayed Departure|36101336|Delayed Departure (Passports and Promises, #2)|Abigail Drake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503364457s/36101336.jpg|57685841] seemed to fit the bill. It is a New Adult read about a college student, Bethany Beaumont, who goes on a study abroad trip to Turkey. While there she gets involved with someone and deals with issues from her past.
The love story part was fairly standard. It was fun at times if a bit predictable. Despite the standard love triangle and Chick Lit vibe, there was also some more serious topics tied into the story such as sexuality, homophobia, alcoholism, prostitution, and rape. While I appreciated involving deeper topics instead of just fluff, some of them tied into the story more while others seemed just thrown in there. It muddied up the plot. There was even a suspenseful subplot involving some criminal activity, that was occasionally thrown in with the rest of the story but was anticlimactic.
There were references to the first book (which I have not read). I did not initially realize they were references to people and events from the first book and couldn't tell if those were things that would tie into this book (they didn't), so they just confused me and brought up things that were not resolved. And the subplot involving "confronting her past" was far-fetched.
The main character, Bethany, was definitely a poor little rich girl: loaded but with a rather predictable and not in-depth past. But what was the most frustrating was how selfish and irresponsible she was. Not even her far-fetched life drama. I'm talking about how she repeatedly sneaked off at night in foreign cities and sought out the most dangerous neighborhoods because she liked to take pictures of them. Not surprisingly, that lead to trouble. But even after repeatedly ending up in bad situations, being begged by everyone to be more careful, and promising over and over that she would stop, she kept doing it. And that annoyed the hell out of me. It showed that she really was a clueless rich girl with no real concept of danger or consequences. On the other side you had her love interest, Adam, who while fun to read about was a little too perfect. He felt like a character designed to be a heartthrob rather than feeling like a real, complex person.
The romance was very predictable but admittedly still cute. Although there were parts that were toeing the line towards erotica. Lots of adult content. And being a bunch of attractive college students abroad, there was a lot of casual sex as well. It got too agnsty at times.
What the book did really well was the travel and cultural representation. That was hands down the best part of the book. Turkey's history and culture were tied in throughout the story. That aspect was interesting, accurate, and informative without info-dumping. The description of the sights definitely fulfilled my hankering for armchair travel, and the descriptions of the food were scrumptious. They made me hungry more than once!
I had mixed feelings about the book overall. Things wrapped up too cleanly and that took realism away. After all that angst, it was just too neat of an ending with ALL of the threads abruptly and completely tied off into one giant, pretty bow. Life is not like that. For a book that strove to talk about so many real life issues, that took the power away.
Delayed Departures is probably a good choice for someone looking for a New Adult romantic read with more substance than your average Chick Lit, but it is not outstanding. While I did enjoy it well enough, the story had a lot of conflicting aspects that made it hard to decide how to feel about it.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
broomesbooks's review
4.0
Bethany Beaumont goes on a study abroad trip to Turkey and ends up with so much more. I enjoyed the different aspects of culture and travel that had been portrayed. There was a lot of information about Turkey that had been woven throughout the book. The imagery was rich, real and beautiful. I didn’t find myself bogged down in the details and lose sight of the characters. I was there.
There were a few things I didn’t like. Bethany as a character bothered me a little. She was very woe is me, selfish and had a disregard for the rules. But it all fit into line with who Bethany was as a character.
The romance and travel was spot on. They are what I enjoyed the most. If you’re looking for a travel themed, new adult/college, read, this is a good one. I’d recommend starting with book one!
There were a few things I didn’t like. Bethany as a character bothered me a little. She was very woe is me, selfish and had a disregard for the rules. But it all fit into line with who Bethany was as a character.
The romance and travel was spot on. They are what I enjoyed the most. If you’re looking for a travel themed, new adult/college, read, this is a good one. I’d recommend starting with book one!
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