The Broken Hearts Honeymoon

 

What do you do when you need a thrilling adventure in a country you’ve long dreamed of visiting but have no currently realistic way of actually going to?  

Well - you read a book, of course! 

The book is dedicated “to anybody in need of an armchair adventure”, and thanks to author Lucy Dickens, I just had the most wonderful, calming, lovely, vicarious immersion into the culture, people and places of Japan and savored every moment! It was just what I needed before my family and I jump into a slightly less relaxing and enjoyable adventure of packing up and moving this month.

Charlotte has been with her fiance, Matt, since they were school children, and they’ve never known an existence without the other.  Now three weeks before their wedding, followed by their planned month-long honeymoon tour of Japan, Matt presents this brilliant option to Charlotte:

“... how about we take a week off … a pre-wedding break … a holiday from each other … a week off from our relationship, to sow some wild oats, to make sure that we’re doing the right thing?”

*Record scratch* Um. What??  Needless to say, this suggestion is NOT received favorably by his wife-to-be, and Charlotte puts a literal break in their wedding plans.  Broken heart aside and life dreams smashed to pieces what does she decide to do?  

Duh … go on her honeymoon minus her honey!  

What should have been a month of celebrating the beginning of her new life as a married woman, and her upcoming internship at travel magazine Adventure Awaits in pursuit of her goal to be a travel writer, her honeymoon instead becomes a journey of self-discovery in this foreign land, a la Eat, Pray, Love style. In Japan, this is called ‘ikigai’, which means finding your purpose and living happily. By its nature it’s flexible and fluid, changing with each day and experience that comes.

It took me a short minute to get invested in Charlotte as a character, and I couldn’t really relate to her “decision by sibling committee” way of making major decisions, since that’s not my own experience with my siblings, but despite that, she grew on me quickly.  It was fun to journey alongside her as she experienced the color, lights and sounds of busy Tokyo and Harajuku, and immersed herself in the natural beauty of the ocean, bamboo forests, cherry blossoms, Japanese gardens, temple shrines, hot springs and mountains in places like Kyoto, Ishigaki Island, Hiroshima and Nagano. Don’t even get me started on the food.  I want to eat it all.

Those are some of the places she went, but I’ll leave the joy of discovering her specific adventures - which range from fun and light-hearted to more thoughtful and contemplative - to those who choose to read this.  Her experiences in each place and what she learned about the Japanese ideas of life are what made this such a fun and delightful book to read, and one with some added meaning and depth.  Those thinking it’ll be a fluffy romance will be disappointed.  It’s not absent altogether, but it’s barely there, and I really appreciated that.  It wasn’t about Charlotte finding her meaning in a man, it was about her finding the meaning and joy of being herself and creating the life of adventure she’s always wanted.  First stop, Japan.  Next stop … who knows? Adventure awaits!

★★★★ ½  

Thanks to NetGalley, Rand0mHouse UK/Cornerstone and author Lucy Dickens for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. It will be published May 27, 2021.