My thoughts

Narrative and Plot

A Year of Chasing love is the journey of Olivia, who is literally chasing love. The narrative is a simple third person perspective of Olivia, her thoughts and experience throughout the journey. This is more of a character based story.

To be honest, the narrative is a bit slow and descriptive. There are long monologues of Olivia with herself. And the way the subject matter is handled looks very objective. It’s a quick read if you can get past the long descriptions.

Characters and Conflicts

Olivia is the central most character of the story. Even so, other characters require a bit more clarity. And not just from Olivia’s perspective. As a reader it is hard to sympathise with Olivia’s musings about Nathan. They know about him only through Olivia, who describes him in an idolised version with a longing that comes along with separation.

The central and only conflict of the book is “marriage”. The book definitely wants to take the preachy road as it numbers down the rules of relationships. It’s a bit on the face but there is fun as well. There are some good moments in the book here and there. It could have gone the way of “showing” rather than “telling” a lot of things. However, the pleasant landscapes of the trip around the world is enough to bring a smile to your face. There a lot of places where it feels like a debut novel is all. 

Conclusion

A Year of Chasing Love is the self-searching journey of a workaholic to find peace and harmony in life. This is a one time read if you are interested in reading about different places, culture and relationships in general.

About the Author

I received an e-ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley

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