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A review by lynguy1
Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy is a contemporary new adult romance. Nineteen-year-old Abbey Bly applies for and gets the opportunity to study abroad for a year at Pembridge University in London. She loves her retired rockstar father, but he is overprotective. She’s ready to be free to achieve some of her own experiences versus hearing of her father’s exploits. She’s looking forward to meeting the girls she will be rooming with and making new friends. However, arriving late at night, she finds it's three boys, not girls, that will be her roommates. There’s only one house rule. No fraternizing between housemates.
Abbey doesn’t tell her father that her roommates aren’t girls. Abbey has been sheltered due to her father’s guilt and regret regarding his early life. Then, she falls for two different guys and one of them is a roommate. Additionally, she has a significant research paper for a class that leads her to a scandalous nobility family. She’s curious, inquisitive, adores libraries, and is funny and unpretentious, and is majoring in European history.
A lot of the book is focused on romance and which guy Abbey will choose. To me, this part was cute, but too predictable. However, the sections that I enjoyed the most were the ones regarding her research paper. At an estate sale, she finds a painting of a young woman who is unnamed and centers her research around this woman. This not only requires significant time at the library, but provides her with adventures and exposure to several different types of individuals. Themes include trust, lies, fear of obscurity, communication, being candid with others, friendship, independence, protectiveness, betrayal, romance, and much more.
Overall, this is a cute, bur predictable romance with some humor. However, it is more than that. Abbey’s research efforts and the mystery to be solved, as well as the people she meets and the friends she makes along the way, are the most interesting parts of the novel. This could have been the focal point with a romance as a subplot, instead of the other way around.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date was February 13, 2024.
Abbey doesn’t tell her father that her roommates aren’t girls. Abbey has been sheltered due to her father’s guilt and regret regarding his early life. Then, she falls for two different guys and one of them is a roommate. Additionally, she has a significant research paper for a class that leads her to a scandalous nobility family. She’s curious, inquisitive, adores libraries, and is funny and unpretentious, and is majoring in European history.
A lot of the book is focused on romance and which guy Abbey will choose. To me, this part was cute, but too predictable. However, the sections that I enjoyed the most were the ones regarding her research paper. At an estate sale, she finds a painting of a young woman who is unnamed and centers her research around this woman. This not only requires significant time at the library, but provides her with adventures and exposure to several different types of individuals. Themes include trust, lies, fear of obscurity, communication, being candid with others, friendship, independence, protectiveness, betrayal, romance, and much more.
Overall, this is a cute, bur predictable romance with some humor. However, it is more than that. Abbey’s research efforts and the mystery to be solved, as well as the people she meets and the friends she makes along the way, are the most interesting parts of the novel. This could have been the focal point with a romance as a subplot, instead of the other way around.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date was February 13, 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content