Book tour: The Summer of Chasing Dreams - Holly Martin

Eva is quite content with her life in London. In her job as a cover designer, she works at home, and often in her cosy pyjamas. She's happy to stay in her safe little world and not explore much outside of it.

She is the opposite of her mum, a free spirit who craved finding adventure and thrills in all corners of the world. But on the day her mum’s will is finalised, Eva finds a list of all the dreams her mum wanted to achieve in her life. Things she never did because she fell pregnant with Eva.

Eva decides these dreams will not go unfulfilled — she is going to be brave and complete them for her mum. As Eva has no experience travelling the world, she hires a guide to go with her on this holiday.

Gorgeous but rude Thor Anderson is not the person she would choose to accompany her on this journey, but somehow she gets stuck with him. As they discover the world together Eva starts to think he might not be as bad as she first thought. She is swept away by Thor's kindness and mischievous sense of humour. But will it be a simple holiday romance or could this wonderful adventure lead to so much more?

My opinion.

Where to even begin. Love love LOVED this book. Holly Martin wrote thé must read novel for this summer. It's an absolute gem. 

We meet our main character, Eva, when she's about to start crossing off some outrageous things on someone else's bucket list. Original to say the least, as a reader you're already set for journey full of unexpected twists and turns. Eva is a very easy to love character who feels like a friend, or at least very familiar from the start.

And then there's Thor. Pfew. Now I'm definitely at a loss for words. How to describe the Thor-phenomenon?! I was completely smitten. After reading this book, I feel as if I've already had my summer romance this year (don't tell my husband) and boy was it a steamy one. I felt every spark there was between him and Eva and I fell head over heals for their romance. Or was it Thor himself I fell for? Wouldn't be hard, seeing as he looked as either/both/one of the Hemsworth brothers in my imagination.

In all seriousness, Holly Martin's writing as always transports you right to the heart of the story. You feel the characters' emotions, you believe their dreams and you wish for their hopes and dreams. Someone almost had to physically remove the book from my hands for me to stop reading. I just couldn't get enough.

The fact that Eva is going on these crazy travels, pushing herself doing these (sometimes) ridiculous activities in memory of her mum adds another layer to this story. It's incredibly moving and beautiful. This story will definitely stay with you long after reading that final chapter. I'm always excited about a new Holly Martin book, but now I definitely cannot wait to read more!

Emotional, passionate, funny, and very, very addictive - 'The Summer of Chasing Dreams' is an absolute must read this season.